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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
 
That's interesting Undertow and a bit concerning? Sure makes me wonder if something else is going on? Making by hand is a tough job to quote. It is interesting as I imagine after the price increase sales would have dropped dramatically at least I would have expected that.

They may have waited for my order as well as more. My original order was in late July. (before the price increase) I was just allowed to add to the order. At first I was ordering just one cap of CAST to try because I did not know how much (if any) better they would be. Since it was a one shot deal meaning I could not order at the old prices after original order was complete I got the CASt's now.

I am Ok with the time as I know the VSF's are worth the wait so I assume CAST is as well. I just figured (maybe hoped) they were taking their time knowing there are people waiting to hear the differnce from CAST and VSF. I believe I will be the only one on the net who is not from a company who will be talking about them in camparison. (which is only a tweeter comparison)

I know there are people who have had both but I am not aware of there comments. I was only nervous that CAST would somehow not be as good as VSF. It does happen in other companies where not always the most expensive is their best. I know many like some of the cheaper Mundorf's over Gold/Silver.

From what I have read CAST does not change the sound just better damping so even quieter. That I have got to hear. I have been told that not to expect the jump to CAST like it was from vintage. I fully expect that as in all Audio the diminishing return. (and the VSF is already at a VERY high level)

Speaking of people watching this link is now over 10k hits.
undertow
1,032 posts
 
Volleyguy I see..
Well not sure on my math here, but you have now been waiting actually 3 months for those caps if you ordered at the end of july, not 5 weeks as you stated earlier. Thats a big difference, so obviously this issue is quite a bit longer at this point.
volleyguy OP
789 posts
 
Well my intial order went through end of July which is now 2 1/2 months. They never started those caps as the owner was on his honeymoon with his wife. He was back late Aug when the order was put through with the added parts. Which is now exactly 7 weeks.

I had to cut some slack for the owner who now just married. So since in Europe they shut down for a month and maybe large orders went through and could be causing this to take longer than thought. (normal is 6 weeks on the CAST so I understand) So I am just one week longer than normal.
undertow
1,032 posts
 
Well hopefully they come thru at some point.. Thats all we can say now!
volleyguy OP
789 posts
 
I did just talk to partsC and they say the rest of the back order is coming and may be here today. Apparently they have got a shipment in the couple of weeks. (just not ours) I guess there resistors sell very well. I did have someone on the board (e-mail me) who has got resistors recently. It is a small company and hand built is not like turning on a machine. I am wayyyy more hopeful/concerned on the sound then how long they take. From my point of view I have owned these speaker 27 years so far and am thinking long term. That is why I am spending more on the CAST even though they may not be that much better. I hope to amortize that cost over 20+ years. CAST likely would not make sense to a person who changes speakers all the time. Unless of course they have much deeper pockets than mine.

I am the odd guy in audio who would likes to keep equipment for a long, long time.
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