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
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Volleyguy,
Are the V-cap Cu foils artificial sounding relative to the Jupiter and the CAST? Some products yield an "ultra hifi" sound rather than what some would describe as a natural/organic sound. Is that possibly what you're hearing?
Charles,
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Well,
The Jupiter Cu foil caps are steadily improving (25 hours at this point). The sound isn't "night and day" improved compared with the stock Solens cap, Israel Blume got excellent sound using this cap in the Frankenstein (undeniable truth). But! The Jupiter is an unquestionable step further up in music reproduction, the amplifier's strengths get deliciously better. I can't speak for other amplifier topologies but this Jupiter capacitor is fabulous in my 300b SET, utterly natural and it lets the music just flow and engage you (and I was already deeply pulled in before these caps were installed).
Snopro (Joe) I must thank you for mentioning this on your system page. What a nice addition they are for our amplifiers.
Charles,
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Based on my listening experiences with Ocellia cables, Duelund CAST and now the Jupiter paper and wax products, there's something going on with the "natural" material choice philosophy. All three of these have increased the overall natural character of the sound in my system. Of course I have no science or hard proof to back me up. Their avoidance of Teflon, other synthetics and plastic has to be a major factor based purely on simply listening. Something very good is happening as a result of their materials choice. It can't be a coincidence these three companies produce strikingly similar audible results. I'd recommend these three products to anyone who prioritize organic character and true tone.
Charles,
snopro
390 posts
 
Yes Charles, they are an improvement just not a huge difference in the Franks. At around the 80 hr. mark they will start to sound better and really let you enjoy their utterly natural presentation!
Good Listening,
Joe
bigkidz
3,381 posts
 
Chaarles,

Are the V-cap Cu foils artificial sounding relative to the Jupiter and the CAST? Some products yield an "ultra hifi" sound rather than what some would describe as a natural/organic sound. Is that possibly what you're hearing?

In my experience in direct comparison installing them in a Graff 50-50 tube (very tubish sounding) amp and Counterpoint power amps (tube hybrids), I heard the Jupiter caps sound what every is describing as organic. Mid-range especially was very musical and sweet. But when comparing the Jupiter caps to the V-Cap copper caps, the Jupiter caps lost the resolution. So for instance, the V-Caps are not organic sounding but they added texture that the Jupiter caps sort of glossed over. Stand-up bass was beautiful sounding but I lost the fingers on the string, lost the resolution on the snap of the strings with the box of the stand-up bass. Backing instruments were not as dimensional and there was less separation. You probably would not notice this until you do the direct comparison. The Graff amp being more tubish sounding did not need the Jupiter organic sound, it already has that in spades. The Counterpoint amp I can change the sound as I see fit since I do all of the modifications. This is my opinion only with a very short sample of comparison. The other V-Caps don't float my boat versus the copper V-Caps. I also use a DHT preamp so I prefer the sound of no caps to having a cap in the signal path. To me when hearing complex music passages, caps cannot separate the instruments and vocals like a transformer can. IMO the DHT preamp keeps the correct tone for high, mid and low frequencies better than a cap can. Again IMO caps sound stressed to my ears in direct comparison in a preamp to the DHT preamp. The jupiter cap will be the last cap I try at this point in an amp or preamp. If I can get caps out of the signal path, that is where I am headed. Again, this is my opinion based on my limited comparisons with the above components. I do not know the design of every component listed above but I do not that I can change the sound of any of them with a resistor, volume control, filter choke in the power supply that most likely will yield a better result that any cap swap.

Just my opinions. As long as you are happy, that is all that matters.

Happy Listening.

If anyone is in the NYC area, let me know and we can set up some dates to meet and listen to music.
More to discover