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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
face
516 posts
 
Ait,
IIRC, Jensen copper foil paper tube style caps are only available to 1uf, so you'll have to pick up either an aluminum, copper or silver VSF for your midrange. I went with an 6.8uf CAST on my tweeter and a 60uf aluminum VSF on the mid and have no regrets other than I wish I could afford an 110uf VSF for my woofer. :)
Mike
volleyguy OP
789 posts
 
I suspect the Jensen is only available up to 1uf maybe after that the Duelund VSF would be the way to go if you can use low volts? The Duelund is $139 and Jensen $105 at 1uf. (of course there is a voltage difference) I find the Duelund to be good value in mid to large size uf's. In small uf's the Duelund is realatively pricey. I assume this is because it likely takes no less time to make .047uf compared to 2uf?

The Jensen's are at around 120 hours now. Ait the Jensen's are very musical sounding cap. Norah's "Turn Me On" the vintage makes the drums to loud they crowd the singer which I am sure is not right. The Jensen is a fuller richer sound and much deeper in the bass. The foundation of the music is much better. The vintage can not capture the mood, missing much of the bottom end. I wonder if that is why I did not really like this CD before but really do now? I have heard some people say this CD is boring. I kind of thought so before as well but do not now. In a CD like this for sure the big beefy caps (like Jensen) make a BIG difference.

I really like the Jensen caps. I am really curious as to how they compare to Duelund? The Jensens are very fun to listen too. Only when one gets critical is the midrange "alive" sounding?

Time to fire up the solder gun and install the Duelund.
duelund_coherent_audio
110 posts
 
Thank you very much to the people following this thread who looked me up in Denver. Was great to see you.

Best regards,

Frederik
volleyguy OP
789 posts
 
Well guys did you get to hear the speakers? Very curious what they sounded like?
ait
480 posts
 
I have just finished running the Supratek preamp for 4 straight days to get 100 hours break-in on the 200VAC Cu CAST caps. That was also a nice check on my other modifications: the constant current source on the output tubes, the new wiring and tube sockets, the Solen PP caps in the power supply, the bypassing of the mute switch, whether the 200VAC Duelunds can take 175VDC over long periods of time, etc. It passed the torture test with flying colors - no problems whatsoever.

Now to the sound. I have to say I have never heard this preamp sound so balanced and natural, with excellent detail. The Mundorf Supremes I had been using previously sounded nice, but after hearing the Duelunds I realize that the Mundorfs over-emphasized the high frequencies at the expense of the lows and low mids. The CAST caps are wonderfully balanced, and I can hear all the music from low bass to high treble very clearly.

I highly recommend the use of Duelund CAST caps in a preamp application. Since the preamp gets the full audio signal, it is critical that it amplifies and passes the signal on to the amp with as much neutrality and clarity as possible - the Duelunds do that superbly. The preamp may actually be the best budget application for Duelunds, as coupling caps are usually small values and preamp voltages are often in the range where the 200VAC "speaker" CAST caps can be safely used.
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