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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
theaudiotweak
2,801 posts
 
John

Look for materials of music in wood or metal. MDF is dust and glue so I wouldn't go there. How can that have a pleasant sound. Any chassis that you choose I would terminate with a hard material such as brass or bronze to the floor so vibration has a place to exit as fast and as coherent as possible. Tom
reynolds853
386 posts
 
Tom,

Thanks for your reply. Below are a couple of the comments I found on another forum that had me thinking that I should stick with a wooden enclosure:

"...I think you are right about the enclosure. It is a Faraday box. Any magnetic fields inside that box tends to get squashed if they are not static."

"An aluminium box will lower the inductance of the coils quite a lot, as would a brass box. A steel box would increase the inductance a lot. Either way you could also be having a faraday effect, or at least a compression of field lines, or even a coupling of 2 coils via the box."

I don't know if the above statements are correct or not, but they raised my concern. If a steel chassis is in fact benign related to the inductor's magnetic fields, then that would be one option I might explore.

Thanks again for your help,

John
theaudiotweak
2,801 posts
 
Okay

With the help of a friend who has a large quantity of test equipment I will request his brain to test the variance of inductance in the presence of these different materials. My thoughts of a chassis was the material that the crossover components were to be mounted on, not the top cover or sides.Whatever material is chosen as a base, it should be just that a material that is rigid and conductive of resonance and vibration. Select a material that is reactive and not a material that will store and hold energy such as MDF or any material that is suspended on rubber, plastic glass or any other parasite of musical nature. Whatever chassis you choose direct couple it to the floor. Tom
reynolds853
386 posts
 
Tom,

Wow! That is a generous offer, and thank you. However, I would hate to see you or your friend go to any trouble since I have not decided upon a metal enclosure but rather saw some when looking on the internet and was curious, although instinctively skeptical, about using them for the crossover chassis. I know some guys around town who are woodworkers and was thinking of having them make me a couple of enclosures out of black walnut. I would have them made out of solid wood and mount the crossover components on the base in the manner you suggested. I will use some spikes to couple the enclosures to the floor through the carpet also as you suggested.

Thanks again for your help,

John
duelund_coherent_audio
110 posts
 
At least relative to our components, avoid metal enclosures unless they are of the diamagnetic type such as copper.

Steen himself made wood enclosures, that were painted on the inside with graphite. He would literally make his own using graphite powder.

A fun experiment, is to remove the metal lid on your cd-player, amplifier etc. Then substitute with a wooden lid with either a copper shield or graphite painting on the inside.

It can make a very large difference, but is of course for the more tweaky inclined. And as always, experiment at your own risk. :)

Moreover,

I thought this thread had ended, you guys are fantastic!
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