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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
irish65
170 posts
 
Rfog18,

Because your inductors are in series with the tweeter I am assuming they are a small value. Under 1.0 mH perhaps.

You may have already mentioned this but are your xovers internal or external?

Look at the Cast this way. With the dollar losing value and the threat of losing the privilege as the worlds currency, having some commodities such as copper might prove a wise investment :-)
undertow
1,033 posts
 
Reynolds853
Not to throw a monkey in the wrench or is it the other way around?

But, I will say this the Jupiter new beeswax "HT" cap is REALLY killer. And I have used this in electronics now as a coupling cap not speakers, it is virtually equal to the Duelund VSF. It is a bit softer than the Clarity MR, and a little warmer than the Duelund, so its somewhere between, they are reasonably priced about what the MR's are at this point I believe.

Not to much info on them, they came out about a year ago I believe. NOT the standard Jupiters, they are HT's for High temperature. They seem to be sold out everywhere I ordered them at the time.

This is another option I can endorse, whether it would provide the absolute resolution of the Clarity MR, or the full organic sense of the Duelund in every case I don't know, but for a fact I can tell you that this cap is very ORGANIC and smooth, with good detail, and even more Robust bass than I have heard from most other caps in electronic full range applications.

Might be worth trying one in your tweeter or something and compare to a MR' of equal value and see where it takes you for small upfront test fee to see the direction, they do take some hours to burn in, at least 25 hours before they open up...

Currently I use all MR's bypassed by the Mundorf Silver oils and have no desire to change this but the SINGLE value Jupiters I feel would be about equal for less money and space needed. Just an option I felt was necessary to throw out there, as I did mention this way back in the thread somewhere and it got lost. Good luck
undertow
1,033 posts
 
By the way I have a pair of 1.0 uF Clarity CAP MR's in excellent shape left over from a project if anybody needs them for a good price. Probably less than 50% for the pair shipped, email me if interested.
irish65
170 posts
 
Undertow,

I have used the Jupiter HT and think they are a very good cap. They don't have the tonal balance or naturalness of the Duelunds. They are no doubt warmer. The Clarity MR and Jupiters pair well together. This would help prevent tilting the sonics in one direction.

Jeff over @ Sonic Craft has them and usually can get them to you the same week you order.
reynolds853
386 posts
 
Irish,

Thank you for your reply. I did not take your suggestions as your trying to pound across your point. I am keenly aware that you and the other members are genuinely trying to help. Your sincerity has never been lost on me, and the time you have taken to help me has always been appreciated.

I was feeling bad that you and several others were spending more of your time trying to provide guidance when in fact I had reached a comfortable launching point for the project based not only on your advice but for reasons I had not communicated – based on the merits of the MR cap as well as through a process of elimination of other options that I just didn't want to try. I wanted to acknowledge your replies - I certainly did not want to come across as ignoring your suggestions or as being unappreciative. The only considerate thing I could think to do was to explain my thoughts more completely. I am glad that you received my explanation in the friendly spirit in which it was intended.

Undertow and Irish,

I finished writing the above note and just found your comments about the Jupiter HT cap. There's certainly no problem with throwing a monkey in the wrench! I'm going to dig around a little and come back with a few questions if you both don't mind. As always, I appreciate your help!
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