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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
 
Micheal

Still doing the burn in. I have been very busy lately getting ready to finish the basement for being a sound room. So spending more time on should I insulate for sound deadening reasons etc than the caps. I knew I was getting into a long break in with the VCaps so have just tried to stay relaxed.

In going out to hear all the Hi-Fi systems I could the one that struck me the most was the one I bought his CD player and DAC from. He works for a high end Audio store in Toronto I would guess for maybe 20 years. He did a fabulous job integrating his sub into the system. I was VERY impressed. His system was better than mine in one area his bass was integrated into the room almost. I listened to his quite modest system after hearing $100k+++ systems the same day.

How many guys are using subs? Most of the time I hear this they sound disconnected from the system. His was awesome!

Right now mine excels at tone compared to anything I have heard but can for sure be beat in bass. I need a sub.
theaudiotweak
2,805 posts
 
I use a sub placed as close to the outside of each main as possible.. mounted on Sistrum SP101's coupling platforms "I'm a dealer" I have made mechanical measurements in hopes of aligning the centers of the respective sub woofer and the mid woofer of each cabinet.Those who come over to listen say they cannot hear the subs operate and they blend in a seamless fashion. The stereo subs make for a larger stage and better highs. Ground up presentation. Tom
volleyguy OP
789 posts
 
Tom

Any recommendations for subs with Klipschorn's or Lascala's?
theaudiotweak
2,805 posts
 
Have a friend with modded K-Horns and a Lascala center he uses with a single modded Velodyne servo 15 or 18. All of these speakers are on platforms as described previous. Coupling all these speakers made for a huge improvement in speed and clarity all across the band. They have such large passive radiators [the cabinets them selves ] that everything was cleaner and we gained in spl as well. He uses all modded Cary gear of some type. .The Velodyne needs to be sealed internally with Cascade V-Bloc. This material can be painted on internal surfaces to seal the pores of the wood so there is much less compression/expansion loss. Improves the midrange of the sub-woofer as well [upward harmonics produced by the cabinet] This acoustic paint should be applied with two or three coats. I used the same coating on the interiors of my previous Dunlavy SC4's and Paradigm servo 15's. I now use James EMB1200's also sealed with this paint. This paint greatly improves the sound of any mdf based cabinets. Also use it to paint the baskets of speaker drivers. Drys like concrete so has no ill sounding affects as do soft materials. Tom
volleyguy OP
789 posts
 
I have really been taking my time with this one and still not done. VCap Cuft vs. Jensen Copper paper tube.

One would think the better the cap they would sound alike, they do not.

At the start of this thread a long time ago I heard my speakers (all foil caps) that I have had for almost 30 years at the time with a vintage tube amp with all foil caps. My eyes were as big as pie plates! It was like Colour TV vs. Black and White. It was the first time I had ever heard Colour sound. I knew right away there was something to this.

Then came the Duelund's essentially the same thing but with lower noise floor and less resonance. Sometimes sounding wayyyy better than the vintage and sometimes just a little.

A couple of nights ago I was at a friends house with a dedicated sound room with a set of Khorns. (huge sound) He had them hooked to a SS Pioneer Elite surround sound amp and his Khorns have poly caps. It was the same thing Black and White. He was using the Oppo SE for digital. Still high res Black and White. The amp was far too noisy for Audio but still the biggest thing was Black and White.

Back to the VCaps Cuft these for sure are impressive. If one is looking at lowest noise floor the only competition might be Duelund CAST? I have not heard the CAST in electronics and cost is the reason.

So, so far if one has "all foil" caps in the whole chain I really like it. If you are at the Jensen level you are giving up bass tightness and have a higher noise floor vs. the vCap Cuft but are getting a more natural tone. If your system can not utilize the Jensen advantage then go VCap Cuft.

I think it comes down to what one values or can get.

I said this a long time ago now even one non foil cap in the chain changes the sound.

I know I take flack over this but Audio Notes mega buck systems are Silver and foil caps everywhere.

Still burning in but unless there is change I will put the Jensen back in or move up to Duelund at some point.
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