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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
volleyguy OP
789 posts
 
Had to take the gear back to the other speakers. I just could not stand the Klipsch any more. I have with help of others re-thought the crossover to just getting new inexpensive caps. If the Klipsch do not at least sound not defective they will be sold. JohnK may be right? If they sound chaotic and not even close with new caps. Why bother? I am not sure how much is age (age of the caps) also age of me? I am aging and musical tastes are changing. I hear guys talk about Eddie's eruption being great on Klipsch but that is me 10% now and nothing against eruption but that is not me 90% anymore. (used to be) I think the higher end companies appeal to an older music and it makes sense. Guys in there 50's and 60's which is not me yet (Thank goodness) are looking maybe for a more mature sound than the big Klipsch. Maybe why my other speakers sound sooooo much better on a much wider variety of music. The Klipsch make everything sound like a rock concert but not everything SHOULD sound like a concert.

Another thing that I wonder is can the Klipsch reveal higher end gear? I have heard guys talk about they felt there gear was maybe moving beyond Klipsch. The last TT ugrade I did I took back to the dealer because I could not hear any difference at home. At the dealer against a comparable old TT I was shocked! at the improvement yet it was not showing up in my Klipsch. Is this why many people (I know not all) use Klipsch with quite low end gear. Do they feel it is not worth it for better source and amplification?

In fact each upgrade seem to reveal more problems in the speakers or maybe the caps were going down at such a rate they kept sounding worse no matter what.

PWK was a master at getting a lot out of realitively cheap components. I heard once the PIO caps were automotive grade??? The crossover and connections with lamp cord are clearly out of step with today. I know PWK once said anything more than lampcord was bullshit. Yet I could HEAR the difference going to 12 gauge monster 25 years ago over cheap speaker wire. So has time just marched on past these once magical speakers???

I will give the speakers the $100 cap replacement after all that is the least I can do for a speaker that has given me 25 years of joy (owned for 27) without even a dime spent on them.
volleyguy OP
789 posts
 
Caps coming and should be here later this week ot early next. Really curious how much difference to expect? Other speakers hooked back up and I take back about them being boring. Other speakers not boring they just do not shout at you like my Klipsch do. I am going up to listen to some of the same records with my comments in hand.
volleyguy OP
789 posts
 
Linn speakers hooked back up. Voices are oh so smooth. Easy to focus on detail and you want too! Sounds beautiful.

A Taste of Honey (Beatles)
Still can't tell if Ringo hitting the cymbal with a brush. When he hits with a drum stick though the sound is nice. Ringo's drums much, much better to follow. Much better seperation of voices. Everything sounds way more musical.

Downside of the Linn is the Beatles are around 3 ft tall. Sound stage much smaller. About half the Klipsch size.

Linn
Instruments real
voices wayyyy better
want to listen more
The more you listen the more you like
Fine detail wayyyy out of Klipsch league
Linn sounds like a beautiful stereo but a stereo none the less.

Klipsch
Life size image but a mess
Klipsch hit you fast with the size of everything. First thing you say is Wow what a huge sound stage!
Klipsch sound like a bad live concert and make everything feel like a concert even when it is not supposed too.

Both speakers cost about the same used. So this is fair in the $ sense. The Klipsch are somewhat more new.

Ideal world would be Klipsch true to life sound stage with the finesse and ease of listend too of a more modern speaker. The Linn's are ahead by a mile now. The only unknown is how much of the negative of the Klipsch is caused by worn out crossover components. The Klipsch could get better? By how much? The Linn cannot have the same sound stage. The detail can be improved by even better upstream components but the sound stage will always be smaller.

Right now 1/2 scale beautiful is knocking out full scale mess.

For anyone buying used Klipsch with original components they are not in the league of more modern speakers! Can they be brought to modern levels. I hope so they COULD give life size image on a beer budget.
volleyguy OP
789 posts
 
The caps that are going in are Sonic caps. They are supposed to be semi-highend on a affordable budget.

Kind of excited. Wondering how much the old caps have gone bad? Bob Crites who is a good guy says he has tested hundreds of old caps and they were all not in spec. Since mine sound so bad I am SURE they are no exception.

I wonder if this will lead to a complete rebuild of crossover?
volleyguy OP
789 posts
 
Picked up some crossover wire. Tested both speakers at 4.3ohms. Not sure if caps will have any effect on the resistance at least as far as a measureable number. I just wrote the numbers down. Quite excited to try this out.
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