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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
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Hi Volleyguy,
I eagerly look forward to your comparisons, my admiration and success with the Duelund CAST is quite similar to yours. You are a very good reference point for me. I do subscribe to the natural vs synthetic material idea. While I certainly accept the "implementation" argument, I do lean toward the better sound with natural material concept. So I'd gravitate towards paper in oil or wax rather than teflon/plastics generally speaking. My interconnects and speaker cable(Ocellia Silver Reference) adhere to the "natural" material (dielectric") principle and they are beautiful and utterly organic in character/tone with excellent resolution. Take your time and report back when you're ready.
Thanks,
Charles,
volleyguy1's avatar
volleyguy1
343 posts
 
Will do Charles
If you remember I could not use the Duelund WPIO tweeter inductor? The vintage wax one was quieter but there was DCR change.

I can say much like using Poly caps and oil it was weird in stereo at first different discharge rates?

The Jupiter's to me were dead out of the box but do change in time maybe more than the CAST did.

I can say I have been quite impressed with the high end clarity!

Still looking for faults with the mindset you are thinking.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Volleyguy,
Gon member Snopro has the same SET amplifier as I do. On his system page he says he replaced the stock Solens(used with the 6em7 input/driver tube)with the Jupiter Cu foil. He is pleased with the results and said burn in was 200 hours in his case.
Charles,
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,982 posts
 
Volleyguy,
I was very interested in your observation that the Jupiters were sounded overdamped at first. I took delivery of a Audio Note Kits Kit 1 Tenth Anniversary 300b integrated 2 weeks ago,(professionally built for me by Digital Pete) and for a variety of reasons, I didn't have a lot of time to put hours on it. When I ordered it, I specified (and provided) (4) 0.22 Jupiter copper foil output caps. When I first started to listen, I was surprised by the poorly extended and bouncy, overdamped bass. Not being used to SET amps to begin with, I was a little alarmed. I knew efficiency was not a problem with my speakers.
Anyway, just a short time into break-in now, the bass is loosening up as well as becoming more extended. Overall, very happy with the sound, although I know there is a lott more burning in to go.
I want to say thanks to you, Charles and Grannyring for making me aware of these caps. I wanted really good ones, and even if I could have afforded Duelund CAST, or even the less expensive series that I have in my DAC, they would not have fit in the shallow chassis of the amp.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Hi Roxy54,
Congratulations on your new amplifier. The AN Kit amps have a very good reputation for sound quality(I've no personal experience with them). As long as you have an appropriate speaker match you should really enjoy them for many years. I understand they offer various output transformer upgrade choices as well as other parts.
Charles,
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