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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
volleyguy1's avatar
volleyguy1
343 posts
 
In all the testing I have done in 4 years here I have yet to find the smaller capacitor be more dynamic than a bigger one given a cap of the same style.

The Mundorf Supreme was much more dynamic than a Sonicap...

I expect the Duelund RS to be more dynamic than the Jupiter. (much bigger) possibly less dynamic than a CAST as it is smaller.

Tony Gee seemed to quite like the RS second best cap was his take.
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,518 posts
 
I also found the Vcaps to be very, very fast and detailed. I can see how folks like them. In my set up they did not have enough body and weight. But my system already leaned towards fast and detailed.

The CAST are world class caps as I have been one of their chief advocates on this site. Still think they are top three. No issue with Jupiter dynamics in my rig which excelled in dynamics before and after the Jupiter caps. It does come down to personal tastes and system synergy with these top three caps. All of them sound fantastic to be sure. I have had the opportunity to actually compare the Duelund and Jupiter in several pieces from speakers to tube amps I feel like I have a solid understanding of each. I have spent a good deal of time and money listening to both.....less with Vcaps that I tried once in a DAC.

The most dynamic cap I have heard in a power supply are the big can computer grade electrolytics! To Volleys point they are huge! 3 inches wide by almost 6 inches tall. Very dynamic. I am spending more time of late comparing caps and chokes in the power supply. Thus far my favorite caps are the GE 97f oilers. Thanks Salectric for the tip! The only issue for me is they don't come in values above 60 -100uf. I like to build with more capacitance and will try the Clarity TC film caps some day. They have values of several hundred microfarads and even higher. They are costly however.
jetrexpro
506 posts
 
Soon I'll be installing GE 97f oilers in the C1 position of my amp's power supply at the suggestion of Salectric. I am almost finished with the long break in of the Duelund .1uf 630v Copper cast in the coupling position of my amp. They are more natural sounding than the V-Cap Teflon they replaced. The air and space around the instruments sounds more natural as well. In my system they are a bit darker sounding than the V-Caps. I'll have more to say about the Cast after the holidays.
salectric
755 posts
 
Interesting Jet! It does appear that my reactions to V-Caps vs. Duelunds are a minority view, but I can live with that. It won't be the first time! My system may need some extra zing in the HFs or maybe it's my 62-year old ears. In any case, I agree with you and Grannyring and the others that the copper CAST caps are very good sounding and certainly belong in the top tier of caps.

Let us know what you think of the GE 97F caps. I have one as the first cap off the rectifier in both my phono preamp and SE 46 amps. In both cases, I use Black Gates for the remaining caps and the GE seems to complement the Black Gates very well.
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,518 posts
 
I am going to heat my outboard crossover box/enclosure to keep all the components at a nice operating temperature of 100-105 degrees. Much better sound with this modification as they will operate at the temperature they sound the best.

Just kidding:) Well kind of? Happy New Year to all!
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