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
JohnK sorry but what is Alnico "comp"? Do you have pics of your new ones? What has improved from PWK era?
Alnico magnet compression driver. Improved from pauls time I feel they where less well made after 1970s.VG email me if you want horn system pics.
Addition to log. (likely the last with old crossover!)

A taste of Honey by the Beatles.
Drums on the left and I can't figure out for sure if Ringo is hitting the cymbals with a brush? Not sure what the sound is? Sound is dynamic and frustrating.

Seperation of instruments not as good as (memory) of these speakers.
Everything has a higher noise level than normal.
Sounds seems tilted to the mids and they are breaking up.
Can't focus on drumming mid range to prominent.

Come Together (Beatles)
Symbals are hard and irritating!
Abbey Road none of the instruments sound real. Paul playing the bass is likely the least bad. Anything in the higher range is MUCH worse. You can not focus on Paul's playing the high freq will drive you from the room!

Best way to describe sound is a dynamic mess. If I had not owned these speakers for so long (an LOVED last 5 years with better gear) I would not keep them. Only my feeling of the caps being shot is the only reason I am putting money into them. They are more frustrating then my other speakers by a mile! Then can do great things but they are not? My Linn's are boring but nice. (in comparision) Klipsch you just can't get past the HARD sound. At this point the strong points of these speaker hyper detail is the BIG negative.

Do caps really slow the info coming through this much!!????

When you read this in the future you should be able to tell at least what to expect on Klipsch crossover rebuild. I do not work for Klipsch or the people making the crossover or the caps company. I am not a vintage guy only either. I may be a horn guy though, not sure? No financial involvement in any way.

It just might help with the justifaction of spending as much on the speakers to bring back past glory or it might be better to say Ya it was great but time to move on the speakers are done.

I used to hear no faults in these speakers and if rated 100 they are now a 20. In fact I am concerned about damage to my gear?

I want You (Beatles)
I used to LOVE Paul's bass playing in that long song! I never wanted it to end. I remember when the speakers went bad I thought it was the cartrdige. Noise level went up.

The speakers even seem slow? They never sounded that way before they went bad? They sound more muffled and tighter than they should. Does not sound like a band playing together and they are not commucating any emotion which I always thought was there strong point.

Here Comes the Sun
Ringo drums muffled and the symbal at the end of the drum roll is garbage!

What was scarry real before is just scarry!

Am I crazy trying to back old magic??? I am desperate! JohnK is right I am throwing money (and have been for the past year) at the problem. I have replaced all my gear in the process of getting the magic back. Now another 1k+ on repairs. This hobby will drive you to extremes. The only upside is I am not chasing a "new" and "better" sound just want the old sound back.

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.
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.