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
Regarding the Clarity TC caps in amplifier power supplies. I am using them in a rebuild of my Lafayette KT-550 power amp. I have been very pleased with these caps (I am using the 50uf, 75uf and 110uf values).

Compared to the original electrolytics and some new panasonic caps that were recommended by other rebuilders, the Clarity TC caps have a smoother sound with less harshness in the upper ranges. The midrange is less pronounced, while still maintaining lifelike qualities.

Regarding coupling capacitors in a tube pre-amp:
I am thinking of replacing the coupling caps that are currently Audyn Q4 series. These caps are in the phono stage and the line stage, so the replacement caps must be very very quiet.

I am thinking of the following replacement caps: Audyn True Copper, Duelund, Mundorf Silver in Oil or the new Jupiter Copper caps.

The space is very tight, so I have to probably stay away from large caps. The current caps take only 1" in width in between the solder points.

Why replace the Audyn Q4 series coupling caps? The sound is a bit harsh on the to end and the upper midrange is a bit forward. I am hoping that upgrading the coupling caps will alleviate these issues and also give some more 3D depth to the soundstage. A cap with some meat on the bones and upper frequency smoothness would be welcomed.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.
HiFi News a long article about the Denman horn from 1929.

Absolute monster over 7' high square at mouth and 27' long.

Clearly not made for your living room but Denman did make one for his house. (Predating Japanese audiophiles) Apparently astonishing sound. WE 555W driver of which Klipsch tried to copy.

That speaker (mono era) spawned the folded horn to use the walls and no doubt save space.

I know Steen Duelund was into horns and making huge horns. Based on the Denman horn?

Today Duelund is thought of as caps and resistors but Steen had a wide interest in Audio.

I would be interesting to hear from Duelund what was Steen's thoughts?
Volleyguy,

I had my share of oily leaking caps and broken connection with the cast. It's alot of money. You know the casts probably better.

They do some magic in the midrange that the close competitors cannot do. Naturalness to the sound starting from the midrange and not perfect in any way.

The casts is organic and midrange centric, doing the tube vocal trick so well. The hybrid come in to take up the slack in areas in the highs, bass depth and detail that ..... other premium caps do better.

I have just ordered the silver foil to bypass the cast (copper) and have excellent result using mundorf silver oils which came in as a bandaid to add openness, detail, speed and slam to the casts. The forte of the cast is the glowing midrange which ...NO other capacitor can give.

It just gets me thinking how the $30 0.1uf mundorf add so much more to the cast costing 10X the price. Making it sound more like the Jupiter copper foils, whilst having the midrange that the jupiter lacks. IMO, the jupiter does the detail, openness and definition way more acceptably.

the only reason it stays is that midrange presence, almost 300b tube like. but with all the difficiencies of the 300b tube sound.
CAST are great caps, but in my system I found them too tipped up in the upper mids and lacking in deep bass compared to the Jupiter copper foil caps. I found the Jupiter caps evenly balanced from top to bottom with no exaggerated upper mids.

I would still use them in the right system to arrive at a net sound I desire.