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
Resonance

It is common thought at least on this thread that the best of today's capacitors exceed what was available in the past.

It has been known for decades that bigger beefier caps were more dynamic and were in many companies better amps.

What is better today? Resonance or better control of it. What is bad about resonance? Resonance fills out a frequency giving perceived liquidity. (sounds good) The bad part is this is not done across the spectrum but at the frequency the part resonates at...

In all the cap testing I have done it is the middle upper to upper frequency that parts resonate with loss of clarity and detail at the extremes.

Tubes. Vintage capacitors do not have the same following or held in the same regard as vintage tubes. It seems no tube can be as good as a tube made many years ago in North America or Europe from the "tube era"...

Here is a review not of a capacitor but of a new tube (Northern Electric) vs. vintage. (KT88's)
The reviewer does not know it (I think) but is talking about resonance. I feel I could have wrote this comparing vintage caps to Duelund CAST.

"Compared to a pair of NOS tubes that I had on hand, the only area where the NOS tubes excelled was in imparting a noticeable liquid quality to upper mid-range and lower treble.  However, this small gain was at the expense of considerable bass control, definition and detail, especially given the single-ended application in which these tubes were used.  While the NOS tubes imparted a romanticized character to the sound, the NE tubes conveyed a confidence that the listener was hearing more of the source material and with greater accuracy".

Tomorrow I am going to test the vintage 12AX7's tubes vs. the new Gold Lions.

Selection of tubes is an extensive list of Telefunken, U.S. and British made tubes.

Even before the test I was quite shocked when the Gold Lions went in. They exhibited all the same characteristics of putting in CAST caps...

Low resonance increased detail I had not heard more and better controlled bass.

Looking forward to trying some of today's better tubes.
Hello BarrySandy,

The largest CAST capacitor I bought is 56uF, and the largest CAST inductor I bought 6.8mH, so I figured that I needed a cable cooker based on what was written here. Thanks for confirming.
Cheers,

VPN
VN101606 Wow. That cap is huge. Whatever board you end building the new crossover on, mount the inductors on different planes so there's no magnetic interference (note the orientation of the inductors on your board now).
My 17 uF cap is shown in my pics. I played the system with the new XO for over 200 hours - still needed the cable cooker to open things up.
Ok gang, I have been using a cap that is so good that I'm afraid when you hear the price most will disregard my comments. Keep in mind I compared it to the best - Duelund CAST copper.

This cap came very close to the CAST and offers a richer sound it is also more expansive sounding. The bass is more full bodied. It lacks the ultimate degree of detail of the Duelund. The Duelund is a tad more resolving and in the end is still the king. However, you must try this cap out as you will be amazed. I would use it ahead of any Mundorf as well as most every other cap aside of CAST.

It is my cap of choice based on sound quality and price. I have only tried it in tube amps and preamps mind you.

They cost under $10 for values under 7uf. Yes, this cheap and darn good. Yes, metalized film.....Yes, it still is this good.....

Several other Aphiles have heard them and also agree 100%.

You can get them at Just Radios in Canada. They are Chinese made. Don't worry about that either as they sound great.

Ok, there it is.