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
Hello Duelund

I have been reading the thread on the Tannoy Westminster's.

http://jeffsplace.me/wordpress/?p=3794

Tannoy speakers use an autoformer same as mine. I assume the Tannoy autoformer is of similiar construction as mine a thin gauge wire wrapped in wax paper. Is this a part you could make? I know if have asked this before.

My understanding on the autoformer is the taps are set for each driver. My autoformer is of similiar construction as the vintage woofer inductor, wax paper wrapped wire some resonance control but not great... Does the wax dry out in time as well? (especially at the edges)

In testing that I done years ago on the vintage wax paper woofer inductor it was better at noise control than a new air core inductor with no way of dealing with resonance. The Duelund VSF inductor was even much better at noise control and I wish I tried CAST but oh well only so much money.

So I guess two questions.

1 Can you make autoformers out of flat wire? (my gut tells me this is a area of weakness in my crossover)
2 The new CAST Mylar caps will they be in higher voltages and suitable for power supply?

I have not yet found a better power supply cap than the vintage electrolytics but I would like to and suspect CAST would be very quiet? I hope someone tries them.
No plans to make autoformers at present...

We can scale the CAST Mylars to higher voltage, currently, they are 250 volts.
On Jeff's place doing the Duelund crossover for the Tannoy Westminster's they had hooked the speakers up to to a vintage amp. They were shocked at how good the vintage amp was.

http://jeffsplace.me/wordpress/?p=4121

The reasons? Hmmmm.

My guess is the vintage is foil caps... I had also mentioned on here before the vintage power supply smoked and I mean smoked the Jensen Electrolytic in the power supply. It was like like liquid vs. dry...

I have been really hoping someone would do a Duelund paper in oil power supply. Leak was using paper in oil in the power supply many years ago...

My gut tells me even a VSF power supply would be very good. I have a full Duleund chain except one vintage cap in the phono stage I am still testing and will finish off with another CAST.

You can mix and match caps as long as they are of the same type with not much problem just energy and dynamic differences.

This thread started off years ago trying to best the vintage caps (in the speakers) and it was not as easy as I thought it would be...
has anybody here tried Jensen Copper Tube?
how's that compare to Paper Tube version or to V-Cap CuTF?

I only get this information from Jimmy's page, I want to hear other's opinion

thanks
Eherdian

I have not heard the Copper tube but would expect similiar to paper tube.

The VCapcuft is altogether different.

I was getting some work done on the amp today from a local tube amp builder and repair guy. (great guy)
The amp that caught fire a long time ago.

We were talking about the very subject of what is different in a vintage amp?
1 Carbon resistors. He is not a fan as they drift.
2 Capacitors are foil vs. poly.
3 Paper bobbins vs. plastic in the new output transformers
4 Vintage tubes themselves.
5 Vintage Electrolytics in the power supply.

This can total up to be quite a big difference in sound...
I have not directly compared 1 and 3 directly but have done 2, 4 and 5 and 2 I like the vintage or Duelund or Jensen and 5 I have not bested vintage.

Oddly #4 the tubes themselves (the one everyone goes nuts over) I would like to hear more of but maybe the new tubes are better? This may not be strange though as there is no plastic in either tube!

Maybe the issue is plastic? 2 and 3 for sure it does.