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

Showing 15 responses by duomike

Not sure about the size/gauge of the internal wiring. For speaker cables I use VD Master bi-wire on the horns.Believe they are 10 gauge solid core copper. Heard Duelund also makes internal hookup wire. Maybe you try these
Hi Houstonreef,

I was pretty sure that you will be blown away. Mundorf caps are just average sounding! good that you have soldered all internal connections. This alone makes a nice improvement for nothing!
Guess sound will improve further with break in. Enjoy!
a few years back I replaced the 3,3 uF mundorf silver/gold in my omega duos tweeter xo with the v-caps. this is one of the best upgrades I ever did and literally transformed my speakers. chris put them on the cable cooker for 4 days before sending them to me. still it took them another few hundred hours to fully blossom. be patient and you will be rewarded!
mundorf caps are good for the money and they don't even come close to the v-caps.
michaelvv,

when I replaced the mundorf silver/gold in my omega duos a few years back with teflon v-caps it was an ear opener. the v-caps are in an entirely different league than the mundorfs. it's like going from a 911 to a F1 car!
the standard duo uses 2 x 2,2 uF mundorf supreme caps. I replaced the 3,3 uF silver/gold mundorfs in my omega dup with teflon v-caps. the improvements are dramatic. the tweeter cap has a huge influence on the sound and I'd like to suggest to buy the best duelund cap you can afford
Houstonreef,

just open the 2 screws to remove the back cover. Then remove the internal cable (clip on connectors). The xo circuit board is screwed into the 4 binding posts. very easy to remove. believe the duelunds are too big and won't fit the board so you will have to think about where to put them.

when opening the speakers I'd like to suggest you solder all internal connections with decent silver solder. Nice improvement for no money at all.

believe it is not a good idea to parallel 2 different caps
houstonreef, the duo midrange does not have any xo parts, luckily.
suggest you search for the thread "mods for avantgarde speakers". a lot of tips there how to improve your speakers!
Houstonreef, I use the teflon v-caps in my omega duos and they needed forever to burn in. not sure how long the cast will need. If the cast are extremely big you might not be able to attach them to the rear cover so you might be able to hang them on the cross bar. whatever you do, get rid of the xo board and hardwire everything and do not forget to solder the internal wire directly onto the drivers as well.
Houstonreef, as a duo owner I'd like to suggest to get rid the the xo board inside the tweeter housing. attach the new cap + the coil with cable ties the rear cover and solder everything together. sounds much better. Extending the caps leads will work but but this is not the best solution sound wise. suggest you make the efforts to solder the internal wire directly onto the drivers for better sound. the clip on connectors are bad for sound.
Enjoy your "new" speaker!
Houstonreef,

I change the internal wire to Audio Note silver. Do not use any jumper cable cause I'm tri-wiring my speakers.
Hi Houstonreef.
I put Dynamat into the mid/high enclosures a long time ago. Also wanted to fill the frame with lead shots but could not get any in my part of the world. Used sand instead. Made a small improvement. Remember Chadeffect tried the sand tweak as well and liked it too.
Replace the Mundorf in your preamp with cast or v-cap. Then you will know why I said they sound average!
Houstonreef,

you have to fill the frame with all drivers attached to the frame, regardless of what material you are going to use
Chadeffect,

don't remember the name of the stuff. Did do that tweak in 2001 in Germany. It was some stuff car audio guys use to dampen panels inside the car. 1 was app. 1mm thick black bitumen with one side with aluminium foil for heat protection I guess.

Houstonreef, since you are very serious improving the sound of your speaker I got another tweak which makes a huge improvement at almost no cost at all. Time align the tweeeter with the midrange. If you are interested I can give you the details.
I meant the mundorf silver/gold in comparison to the teflon v-caps I installed in my omega duos in early '07.
I agree with you that most companies use caps of lower quality than the mundorfs in their expensive speakers. Imagine how much such speakers can be improved with top quality caps like cast or v-caps