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
I chose the Mills and Obbligato parts based on experience with them in the past and user reviews. They are just very good for the money. Not the best, but good.

I am not sure of the results yet. The parts are still burning in.

I am putting together a plan for a nice outboard crossover what I will make in time. I plan to use Duelund parts for this.....including inductors.

I am not sure how important the parts are, caps and resistors, in the Zobel networks. I don't want to spend Duelund money if these parts are less important and don't give a nice level of sonic improvement. I just don't know and can't experiment unless and until the crossovers are external. Just too much of a pain to swap parts as the current crossover boards are configured.

I am quite impressed with the quality of the build in my speakers. Very nicely done!
Grannyting, (Bill)
I wish you were a neighbor of mine, it would be a lot of fun hearing each other's systems and also temporarily swamping components between the two to try out.
Charles,
Agreed Charles. Just send me your amps and I will tell you what I think in a few months :-)
Gentlemen,

well, I've (finally) made a decision! After weeks of reading and reading about this fascinating topic I've been able to place an order for parts with some confidence.
I have a pair of Coincident Total Eclipse version one speakers set up as Bi-wire. My crossover is split up into two areas. One of them at the bottom of the speaker, near the two bass drivers and the second high up inside a chamber that houses the two mid range range drivers and single tweeter. Quite a bit different it seems to Charles1dad's setup (unfortunately). With the help of the Australian Duelund distributor (himself a maker of fine speakers) I've been able to decipher the design of the crossovers and work out the key components.

Like Grannyring (I'm going to ask you how you got that name one day by the way! lol), I was reluctant at this stage to build an outboard crossover so I've focussed on parts that fit my enclosures.

All my original caps are Solen and resisters are Lynx. I had a key capacitor to replace in the high frequency crossover that handled the tweeter (5.2mfd) and this is going to become a Duelund VSF Black. Have people here heard of that type? Apparently, it's the version of cap between the VSF and the CAST. I simply couldn't fit a CAST into the internal space I had available. The VSF Black is a perfect compromise for me.

All bypass caps will be replaced by Janzens and resitors will be Duelunds. While everything is on order I'm trying to make up my mind what internal wire I should use. Can people here recommend anything strongly? I thought of Duelund 2.0 and, the Duelund distributor recommended his own hand made wire but I'd love to have people's opinions from here. Do I really have to spend $25 per foot for internal wire?

Thanks in advance everyone and have a happy and prosperous new year

Tas