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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
reynolds853
386 posts
 
I have Mundorf S/G/O in my speakers but am going to replace them with Duelund VSF copper. I ordered the VSFs earlier this week. If I had room in my speakers I would have opted for the CAST copper capacitors.

Having lived with the S/G/O for the past five months, what has me wanting to move to the VSFs is that I want to go from "slight top-end emphasis" to "tonal balance near perfection" as Tony Gee wrote.

Compared to the Mundorf S/O or S/G/O, might I also be picking up a little more richness or liquidity in the midrange?
reynolds853
386 posts
 
I have one other question that I'd like to ask this group. In my speakers I am using Mundorf S/G/O and Mundorf M-Resist Supreme resistors. As I mentioned in my previous post I am planning to replace the S/G/O cap with VSF copper, but am also wondering about the resistor. If I keep the M-Resists then the VSF will be a simple drop in replacement. If I change to a Duelund resistor, I'll have to figure out a different topology.

I am wondering if changing out the Mundorf resistor for a Duelund resistor would make an audible difference?
volleyguy OP
789 posts
 
Reynold853

I can not comment on the S/G/O as I have only had the S/O. Do post back on here it should be interesting. The VSF may come across as flatter but with better tonal richness.

Dgarretson did mention long ago something that I believe that we should go after the era of weakness for most improvement.

I have not used a Duelund resistor as I do not need any but the most common comment I have heard is a no brainer on Duelund resistor.
irish65
170 posts
 
For the price of admission the Duelund resistors will not disappoint.
reynolds853
386 posts
 
Volleyguy and Irish65:

I wanted to thank you both for your responses. I am going to place my order for a pair of the new CAST resistors today. Duelund is going to make them a little shorter and wider than the standard offering so that they'll fit better in my speakers.

And I must add to this thread that over the weekend I exchanged several emails with Frederik Caroe, owner and founder of Duelund Coherent Audio. He was a huge help! When discussing the dimensions of his CAST copper capacitors he offered to custom make them if necessary to make them fit in my speakers. I didn't follow up on that discussion because I suspected they would still be too big for my application (too bad!!!!) so that's why I opted for the VSFs.

But the point I want to make is that working with Duelund Coherent Audio has been great. I haven't even heard Frederik's products but I am already a big fan of his company and give my highest recommendation to anyone considering his products.

Also, regarding the potential for the VSFs to sound flatter compared to the Mundorf S/G/O, I asked Frederik about that and I trust that he won't mind me posting his reply to me on the subject:

"It's not a question of lack of depth, the VSF simply doesn't sound shut in like a metalized cap does. The shut in effect is often mistaken for depth."

That response has me very intrigued and anxious to experience the new sound that my system is going to provide. I'll update this thread accordingly, but it'll take a couple of months for everything to arrive and get broken in.
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