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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

Showing 9 responses by fas948

fas948
9 posts
 
I hear that too many VCaps will leave a signature. Any feeling on that? Some say cool?

Volleyguy, I have not experienced that on my Sony SCD-1, I use four on the balanced output stage.

I fully agreed that the CAST are a big jump from the VSF, a huge jump from many other caps.

Cheers,
fas948
9 posts
 

Face, The CAST will make you appreciate music to a whole new different level, the VSF are excellent caps and the CAST are truly special.

Cheers
fas948
9 posts
 
I have the Vcaps plus Deuland VSF on my CDP (soon to be upgraded with CAST). Vcap & VSF are both excellent caps, they share similar sound qualities and it really comes down to personal taste. The CAST on the other hand are by far the very best, no cap that I know of comes even close the CAST’s sound performance and I have tried many of top caps on the market today.

In terms of size, getting the Vcap & VSF installed on electronics will depend on the cap value. However in my case installing the VSF was easier because of their flat shape.

Cheers,
fas948
9 posts
 
I have just recently upgraded the caps on the pre-amp section on my Pathos INPOL-2 with Duelund VSF & the mighty CAST capacitors and I can not begin to describe in words how amazing these capacitors are. If anyone has the budget and space on a component go for the CAST. If you don’t have the budget yet, save save save until you are able get them. Duelund CAST are the very best there is in the world of capacitors (audio signal path).

I am also using a pair of VSF on the output stage of my SCD-1 and the sound is just great. I would like to use the CAST but there is no space available. However I might consider an external setup in the future.

I have been lucky to audition many of the top capacitors in the market (audio note silver, V-Caps, Mundorf silver/gold/oil, etc.) and to my ears the CAST are the very best.

The CAST deliver the most natural sound, after 100 hours on burn-in time they start to show their sound beauty.
fas948
9 posts
 

I forgot to mention that for my electronics I’m using VSF DC and CAST 630V. The INPOL-2 is a well designed amp plus beautiful looking and these were the missing caps for one of the best integrated amp in the market IMHO.

Like with any amplifier, you really need to know what you are doing. Pathos will not share any technical information and on the INPOL-2 there are many sensitive areas (high voltage) that you need to be extreme careful.
fas948
9 posts
 
Removing the two 2.2uF output stage caps is a big mistake (I know because I have tested). Replacing the op-amps with 627 plus the Duelund VSF will give a sound performance you can not imagine (I plan to use the CAST in the future).

The SCD-1 is an incredible player, the secret is to replace the right components, the clock is the only add-in board that I have installed, everything else I have done is about replacing the cheap components.

Cheers,
Felix
fas948
9 posts
 
Dave, I saw a picture of your SCD-1 and I’m impress about the amount of work you have done to it, looks nice. You really like batteries:-)

I have seen & seriously compare other modded scd-1/scd-777 with add-in modules to bypass the analog stage and I honestly was not impress with the sound quality for the amount of money this boards cost. Don’t get me wrong they do change the sound quality from the stock components but to my ears it was not pleasant.

The audio board on these sony models is well designed and as I mentioned before, in my experience, changing key stock electronic components is all it takes to make these players to deliver a sound quality to the level of any player costing over 15K. I always recommend putting most of your money on the entire audio signal path components (from the RF board to main board and to the last output wire (silver wire) on the audio board, of course there are other areas that need improvement.

Last year I purchased a used SCD-777 just in case I ever need spare parts, the previous owner have upgraded this player with Allen W. level 6 mod and while it did sound good compared to the stock components but I can not justify spending the asking price for the modules, I think they are extremely over priced.

BTW I noticed that you have the SC4 on your player, I used to have it too. If you are interested I can recommend a better clock module. The only issue might be that I live in Europe.
fas948
9 posts
 
Face,I have done this comparison (I also included V-Caps) and the Duelund VSF & the V-Caps are the winners. If you can get the CAST, go for it and be prepared for a whole new natural sound. For me and many other people with very demanding ears, the CAST is the very best.

Enjoy your comparison. I had a lot of fun doing it.
fas948
9 posts
 
“My system makes extremely real sounds but could benefit from quieter (but even more real sounding) caps in the amp.”

Volleyguy, there is no doubt in my mind that once you upgrade the caps on your amp with Duelund caps the sound quality will be way beyond your expectation. You will defiantly get a quieter background and if you use the CAST you will get more natural sound..

Cheers,
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