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Capacitor log Mundorf Silver in Oil

I wished I could find a log with information on caps. I have found many saying tremendous improvement etc. but not a detailed account of what the changes have been. I have had the same speakers for many years so am very familiar with them. (25+ years) The speakers are a set of Klipsch Lascala's. They have Alnico magnets in the mids and ceramic woofers and tweeters. The front end is Linn LP12 and Linn pre amp and amp. The speaker wire is 12 gauge and new wire.

I LOVE these speakers around 1 year ago they started to sound like garbage. As many have said they are VERY sensitive to the components before them. They are also showing what I think is the effect of worn out caps.

There are many out here on these boards I know of that are using the Klipsch (heritage) with cheaper Japanese electronics because the speakers are cheap! (for what they can do) One thing I would recommend is give these speakers the best quality musical sources you can afford. There is a LOT to get out of these speakers. My other speakers are Linn speakers at around 4k new with Linn tri-wire (I think about 1k for that) and the Klipsch DESTROY them in my mind. If you like "live feel" there is nothing like them. In fact it shocks me how little speakers have improved in 30 years (or 60 years in the Khorns instance)

In fact I question Linn's theory (that they have proved many times) that the source is the most important in the Hi-Fi chain. Linn's theory is top notch source with lessor rest of gear including speakers trumps expensive speakers with lessor source. I think is right if all things are equal but Klipsch heritage are NOT equal! They make a sound and feel that most either LOVE or hate. (I am in the LOVE camp and other speakers are boring to me)

So here goes and I hope this helps guys looking at caps in the future. Keep in mind Klipsch (heritage Khorns Belle's and Lascala's especially) are likely to show the effects of crossover changes more then most.

1 The caps are 30 years old and
2 the speakers being horn driven make changes 10x times more apparent.

Someone once told me find speakers and components you like THEN start to tweak if needed. Don't tweak something you not in love with. Makes sense to me.

So sound
Record is Let it Be (Beatles)
The voices are hard almost sounds like a worn out stylus.
Treble is very hard. I Me Mine has hard sounding guitars. Symbals sound awful. Everything has a digital vs. analog comparison x50! Paul's voice not as bad as John's and George's. Voices will crack.

different lp
Trumpets sound awful. Tambourine terrible. Bass is not great seems shy (compared to normal) but the bad caps draw soooooo much attention to the broken up mid range and hard highs that are not bright if anything it seems the highs are not working up to snuff. I have went many times to speaker to make sure tweeters are even working.

All in all they sound like crap except these Klipsch have such fantastic dynamics that even when not right they are exciting!

Makes me wonder about the people who do not like them if they are hearing worn out caps and cheap electronics? Then I can see why they do not like them! If I did not know better from 25+ years of ownership that would make sense.

For the new crossover I have chosen Mundorf Silver in Oil from what I have read and can afford. I want a warm not overly detailed sound as Klipsch already has lots of detail and does not need to be "livened up" they need lush smooth sounding caps. Hope I have made the right choice?

When the crossover is in I will do a initial impression on same lp's. Right now it goes from really bad (on what may be worn vinyl) to not as bad but NOT great on great vinyl. (I know the quality of the vinyl because tested on other speakers Linn)

The new caps are Mundorf Silver in Oil and new copper foil inductors are coming. I will at the same time be rewiring the speakers to 12 guage from the lamp cord that PWK put in. PWK was a master at getting very good sound often with crap by today's standards components.

The choice of speakers would be a toss up now depending on what I am listening to. Klipsch vastly more dynamic but if the breaking up of the sound becomes to much to effect enjoyment the Linn would be a better choice on that Lp. If I could I would switch a button back and forth between speakers depending on song and how bad the break-up sound was bothering me.

volleyguy
volleyguy OP
789 posts
 
I just talked to Chris on the phone and he thought the Duelund should be bigger and bypassed with a smaller amound Mundorf. They really recomend using two caps to stop the Sonic signature. He of course could not comment on the Duelund/Supreme in this case.

Undertow you are right though getting the midrange is even more important. I am still thinking 3uf Duelund and 10uf Mundorf.

I think I might put in the Sonicap while I guess which is the best combo for mids. I have a 13uf sonicap already here.

Now no vintage caps left in circuit.
volleyguy OP
789 posts
 
Yes I mean two caps in parallel to total 13uf yes stacked together.
undertow
1,033 posts
 
Oh okay, well yes 2 in parallel the way you speak would be better explained as a Bypass stack, or "Batteried" together.. Parallel in the circuit is a different thing, and normally this is how the cap is with the woofer which you don't have anyway, and again could be a cheap cap in most cases with basically no huge difference.. Anyway that’s where I got confused with the terminology.. I can agree that a stack making up 13uF is fine, and yes has some advantage over a single cap simply for voltage rating going up, and or better conduction using dual input and output 18 gauge leads etc… however in your case I really doubt you could justify it being better necessarily one way or the other, I would still look into maybe seeing if mundorf or duelund could save you money and get a custom value 13 uF single if you really want to push this.     
undertow
1,033 posts
 
I am actually suprised from all your trials here you have not considered the Audio note caps? Copper versions are a bit cheaper than the Duelunds even.. Maybe a stack of those on your mids would do the trick, getting right in between the mundorf/duelund combo on top... I am curious about these myself... I have seen in a few cases they say Audio note is the superior cap to all, including the V-caps and Duelunds in various applications.
volleyguy OP
789 posts
 
Undertow
I would have considered Audio Note if I had some reviews on them from others. Both Tempo and Tony Gee just had not reviewed them. They may be great. (built by Jensen as well like Duelund I believe)

I had to stick to a few brands for financial reasons.

One thing I did notice that was not much talk about was dynamics. When I put the Sonicap in the midrange again I had thoughts of is this all worth it. They tend to sound not defective but not exciting. Only AFTER I had bought the caps did I read stuff like from Steen that the bigger the cap the better. (all things equal) Now I know why even caps that don't sound bad (like the Sonicap) if they were only two or three times bigger they would be more dynamic. Of course that would end the Sonicap cheap price/performance ratio.

This is something for all to consider when replacing caps make sure you get as big (dynamic) cap as before. It is not something that stands out and yells at you (like a bright cap) or a cap that tilts the sound one way or another. You will notice that the music is just not as interesting. The Sonicaps to me are nuetral so the flaws only become apparent on direct comparison.

JohnK I know you think crazy money on caps is not proper spending but I do know the fastest way to kill a speaker is with cheap caps. JohnK if 50% of the speaker on the dividing network is too much what do you think is the proper balance? Of course I understand if you could get the cap that sounded best for $1 that would be the way to go. But I do not believe you can and more expensive caps are often bigger and have more reserves.

JohnK I am curious where you think is the proper point of spending in this case? Which caps and what kind of $?
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