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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 do have mine sitting on cloth and plywood and the plywood is on cork. I am not sure if this is good or not it just was what was already here.

Maybe duelund could comment on the need (or no need) for isolation and what kind?
duelund_coherent_audio
110 posts
 
Agree with Face, also remember a lot of components are not very well connected to the casing, so even if you damp the casing of a cap, the windings themselves might resonate all on their own.
mingles
796 posts
 
remember a lot of components are not very well connected to the casing, so even if you damp the casing of a cap, the windings themselves might resonate all on their own.
Duelund_coherent_audio (Answers | This Thread)
That's a good point, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to damp them. In my thinking, it can only help. Caps and inductors shouldn't be exposed to vibration. Damping will prevent additional vibration from entering the picture. Whether this makes an audible improvement is a question, but the cost is so small, why not do it? I just haven't seen anyone talk about it, so I thought I'd bring it up. I agree with your premise that the quality of components is first and foremost in terms of importance.
theaudiotweak
2,801 posts
 
You want to minimize the storage time by tensioning the components of the crossover to a mother board such as Ironwood or brass terminated to ground...the floor with single piece footers, preference of brass or bronze.

I have added bags of steel shot to a outboard crossover such as the one mentioned above. At first adding single zipped locked bags of steel shot over and around components seemed to make for an improvement certainly a difference...made everything blacker/darker. After awhile I decided the music had died away. I played the same disc over and over again while removing single bags of shot. Each time more of the music came back with each successive removal...finally all the bags were gone and the music returned to the room. That was ten years back.Today I would improve my choice of components and expand upon the tensioning grounding methods applied elsewhere in my system with no soft damping materials at all. Damping will increase the storage time of resonance. Trapped. Tom
sherod
1,690 posts
 
So in a nutshell, draining the vibrations away vs. dampening would be most effective. How about the way the internal speaker wires are routed in the cabinet?
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