2. speakers
  3. 1211428524

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
tasouli
39 posts
 
Salectric

You have my absolute attention! Just before I go on, the Nichicon caps are 470uf NOT 47uf. Does that affect your thoughts here?

They are small (in size) physically......not that that's relevant, I guess.

In lieu of the 470 uf rating, would you say your advice would still apply?

Very excited here

Tas
salectric
748 posts
 
Tas, sorry for the confusion on the cap value. Too early in the morning! My comments on replacing the electrolytic with a small value film cap still apply, but the 470 µF value increases my suspicion that this is really a power supply filter rather than an output coupler.

One final comment. Just because a particular part like a Duelund capacitor has nearly unanimous praise does not mean that it will be an overall improvement in a particular application. For example, many years ago I made the mistake of buying a Threshold FET 10E phono stage based on reviewer recommendations. It turned out it had a large nonpolar electrolytic capacitor on the output so I figured I could improve the sound by replacing the electrolytic with a film capacitor. I tried a number of popular capacitors for that day, all of which made significant changes in the sound but overall I kept returning to the cheap electrolytic as the best sound for that particular preamp. It is quite possible you will find that the 470 µF electrolytic used by the manufacturer has some qualities that you sacrifice with a replacement film capacitor. I'm not saying that to discourage you but you need to go into this with your eyes open.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
I find it difficult to understand the use of such a high capacitance electrolytic as a DAC's output "coupling" capacitor. On the surface it doesn't make sense ( most are .47uf-1.0uf). 470uf???

Salectric as usual you offer good perspective and advice. It's true, you won't no the result of a modification until you actually hear it.
I'd find it hard to believe that a premium PIO capacitor wouldn't be an improvement over a large value electrolytic as a coupling cap.
Charles,
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,467 posts
 
Salectric is right. If you are certain you have the right position and they are not power supply caps, then replace them. If they are output caps, then no need for that value and a 1 uf will be fine.

I replaced the 100uf output caps in my Sony NS 900 CD player with .47uf Duelund CAST two years ago and the improvement was astouding!

Salectric explained it well. Just be sure those are the right caps to replace. Wether 47uf, 100uf or 470uf, if they are output caps, then 1 uf will work great. Most inexpensive, mass market, CD players use these very large value electrolytic caps as output caps as an FYI.
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,467 posts
 
One other thing to consider. Replacing caps on a circuit board is more work. It can be a lot more work if space is tight, the board is cheap, the board has to be removed, there are small resistors in close proximity.........

It can be tricky and ask yourself if you are up to the task. If you over heat the board you will lift a pad or trace easily. You ould damage the unit so much that you need a new board or more likely.........trash the unit depending on age.

Are you up to the task? Practice on a $30 player/board many times desoldering parts and replacing. You also need a good soldering station.
More to discover