AudiogoN Forums: Capacitor log Mundorf Silver in Oil

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 (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)

05-21-08

Responses (501-550 of 1935)

Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.

12-07-08 Danmyers a crazy stubborn. yes maybe! my local high-end dea ... Volleyguy

12-08-08 You are certainly crazy stubborn, but that is not necessaril ... Danmyers

12-08-08 Dan i did listen more than maybe it seems. someone on here a ... Volleyguy

12-08-08 It's not unsurprising that the most expensive cap sounds goo ... Dgarretson

12-08-08 The claritycap mr is just a killer cap.. in most applicati ... Undertow

12-08-08 I just got a vintage tube amp all check over (tonight) and r ... Volleyguy

12-15-08 The x100 i should say sounds good but not very good. there i ... Volleyguy

12-15-08 One speaker with cast one with vsf. have not changed the ... Volleyguy

12-15-08 Volleyguy, exactly, the cast has the lowest noise floor by ... Stormen

12-15-08 Stormen is right but likely correct to temper expectations. ... Volleyguy

12-16-08 I take back any comment that the duelund in the midrange is ... Volleyguy

12-17-08 Have the duelund vsf now in both midranges. the only differe ... Volleyguy

12-17-08 Stormen you are not kidding. when i first put the cast in i ... Volleyguy

12-18-08 Stormen did mention the break in with cast being dark. he th ... Volleyguy

12-21-08 Now that i have found out what crossover caps can do i am re ... Volleyguy

12-22-08 I wouldn't pay too much attention to that url. perhaps the r ... Dgarretson

12-22-08 Here's another cap shootout....i agree totaly about the bg's ... Wavetrader

12-22-08 Thanks dave. those new set's are looking better. thanks wav ... Volleyguy

12-22-08 My experience is that with these ultra low noise caps...they ... Wavetrader

12-23-08 Volleyguy, yes, aren’t the cast just fantastic? i was shock ... Stormen

12-24-08 Stormen the cast are amazing! they are dark and quiet when ... Volleyguy

12-24-08 Now it explains it... well i see where your true issues lie. ... Matrix

12-24-08 Matrix i am not spending more on caps. cast are much quiet ... Volleyguy

12-24-08 No doubt my post was not very clear.. **first i totally agr ... Matrix

12-24-08 Thanks matrix all clear i am leaning to the new set as well. ... Volleyguy

12-28-08 Gone through 120+ pieces of vinyl to be traded in. the noi ... Volleyguy

12-28-08 Stormen any experience in mixing vsf and cast? thanks Volleyguy

12-29-08 You might find this interesting....kevin hayes being intervi ... Wavetrader

12-30-08 Wavetrader i am very glad to hear that about the black gates ... Volleyguy

12-30-08 Glad to hear that your horns are singing again and that you' ... Danmyers

01-02-09: Volleyguy
Thanks Dan they are singing like they NEVER have in the 28 years I have owned them!

I am the one who is writing in to Arthur's site about the caps (CAST and VSF) and my feeling is if he had moved the Khorns down to Class C (upper) from Class B there is NO comparison to standard Khorns. I am not sure if they are again best in the world but they are MILES better than any stock Class C ones! I did invite him to hear them. If one likes Khorns they are going to love them with Duelund.

I do agree Dan on the Cd's I do not have a ton anyway. Now as for CD era and '70's?? Was it not early '80's that they came out? Do you mean '80's and 90's?

I now know without a doubt my old gear was mid-fi. What I once struggled with wondering was it the Lp or amp or speakers when sound was not good is now child's play. I can not believe how easy it is to hear record wear.

I have 150 records to go to the used record store. He is very excited about them as mostly they "look" new. Likely 100 of the will be the best in the store. The thing is I could not tell for sure they were worn out (before) now it is just so easy!

I have a original Blue Note Lp Somethin' Else from 1958 (stereo version) and it sounds AMAZING! Mine must have been played 1000+++ times (maybe 10k times) has noise but you can tell the level of the recording is just mind boggling. To think they did that in 1958 and then the garbage from the early CD era. What you can tell is that those old heavy Lp's stood up wayyyy better than later era vinyl. Much harder and heavier. I really can not hear any wear in the record, noise yes but no wear.

The only thing I am struggling with is to get a handle on the CAST vs. VSF and everyone wondered if one could even hear the difference. That could not be farther from the truth they do not even sound close to VSF. Biggest difference from any cap I have heard.

On the noisy Blue Note record it is the CAST that cuts noise by 90%? I know that is shocking but true. I can listen to either the CAST speaker or both but not the VSF in comparison.

The VSF though do seem to give air around the instruements better. The VSF's are looser the CAST the ultimate in detail and noise reduction. The air from the VSF does make things come alive more.

My ideal might be some combination of the two. I am hoping (praying) the mixing will give me both the air and noise reduction. Maybe the best of both world's.

I have put a request out to Stormen to see if he has ever mixed and which should go first? (in series) I remember reading someone said it was like cooking a little of this a little of that for best results. I am going to mix today and see.

I hope the sum of the two is better than each seperate.

Well here goes a CAST for noise reduction and a VSF for a bit of air. Please!
Volleyguy (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)

01-03-09 Regarding the era of poor cds, i mean that the cds published ... Danmyers

01-04-09 Dan i came back to vinyl around late '90's. i went to buy a ... Volleyguy

01-04-09 Volleyguy, i don’t know, i find the duelund casts to be so ... Stormen

01-04-09 Your blue note recording from '58 was probably recorded on a ... Wavetrader

01-04-09 Sorry stormen for the confusion. my crossover is 2 2uf caps ... Volleyguy

01-04-09 Wavetrader how would you describe what the cast have done? ... Volleyguy

01-04-09 Wavetrader i have been doing some new vinyl reviews. for me ... Volleyguy

01-05-09 Volley...i'm sorry....i meant your experiment seems to have ... Wavetrader

01-05-09 Indeed the cast do have a profound effect. i can not imagine ... Volleyguy

01-05-09 Wavetrader when trading in the lp's i picked up a few cd's ... Volleyguy

01-06-09 Volley...late 50...early 60's....anything done by rudy vange ... Wavetrader

01-06-09 No don't be sorry for the "rant". i just did not ... Volleyguy

01-10-09 Funny i was listening to a rudy van gelder cd: "red cla ... Danmyers

01-14-09 Thanks dan i am a so so stones fan. i did find out that my ... Volleyguy

01-17-09 Volley, as i said earlier, i do not listen to lps anymore. b ... Danmyers

01-17-09 Volley, as i said earlier, i do not listen to lps anymore. b ... Danmyers

01-17-09 Looks like your guy aurthor s. recommends the krell standard ... Danmyers

01-25-09 Sorry dan slow reply. thanks i have gained some appreciatio ... Volleyguy

02-11-09 Humblehomemadehifi tested the cast: http://www.humblehomema ... Stormen

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