[jsalk]

Jim,
Please explain the two Mundorf upgrades?

See Jon's explanation above.

Would switching from Castrol to Mundorf oil make a difference in my Songtowers?

Patrick

That is a tough question to answer and would likely lead to a lively debate.

We do cap upgrades for customers all the time.  When we finish a pair of speakers with upgraded caps, if we have an identical pair with our standard Solen caps, I always like to do an A/B comparison (as we did in this case).

When I first hear the speakers with the upgraded caps, I get a sense that the treble is a bit more transparent.  So my first reaction is that there is a difference (of course, I know which caps are in which speaker, so this is not a legitimate test).

Later, I usually have someone switch back and forth between the speakers without telling me which pair is playing.  I then try and see if I can tell which is which.  Here's where it gets a little murky.  I find that I can correctly identify which speaker is playing about 50% of the time - no better than a simple guess.

So I'm not confident I can say it does make a difference.  On the other hand, I can't say for certain it doesn't.

Based on those results, I will not normally "recommend" a cap upgrade.  Rather, I put it like this...

If you are the type of person who would wonder, six months down the road, how much better it would have sounded if you paid a bit more to upgrade the caps, then it is less costly to do so on the front end and never have to worry about it.  It certainly can't hurt. 

On the other hand, if you just want to enjoy the music and you don't get overly concerned with things like this, perhaps invest the money somewhere else in your system.  The sound will certainly be very good with our standard caps.

Personally, I almost never upgrade the caps in my own personal speakers.  And we never upgrade the caps in our demo or review speakers (which would be a bit unethical) either.  So when you read a review or hear our speakers at a show, the pair in question was built with our standard caps.

So I guess I would say I'm a bit agnostic when it comes to cap upgrades.  Some people swear they hear a significant difference and I certainly do not doubt they are telling the truth.  But those comments are not normally based on a well-designed blind A/B test.  And I have yet to prove to myself that the difference, if any, is significant enough to justify the cost involved.

Sorry I can't offer you a more definitive answer.

- Jim

[SCompRacer]

I respect Jim and his answer. Audio is so subjective with absolute claims that cannot always be proven. When using AC coupling caps in circuits I have experienced improved sonic differences between using a cheap capacitor and a higher quality capacitor. The only thing I would add is Jim uses high quality caps to start with, so you could run into the diminishing returns thing. But isn't that what makes audio interesting, the little bit here and little bit there that add up.

[PETE6737]

Caps or no caps, they sure are purdy speakers! Enjoy!

[Rocket]

Hi Guys,

This is a photo of my speakers that have a deep red/rose finish.  The grain is a bit different but nonetheless similar to these SS8's.



Btw I had a discussion with Jim regarding upgrade capacitors and in the end and with my limited budget I decided to install blackhole 5 instead.  Although I still occasional have a what if?…  moment occasionally.

Anyway I hope the purchaser enjoys his speakers.

Cheers Rod

[JonnyFive]

Btw I had a discussion with Jim regarding upgrade capacitors and in the end and with my limited budget I decided to install blackhole 5 instead.  Although I still occasional have a what if?…  moment occasionally.

Anyway I hope the purchaser enjoys his speakers.

Cheers Rod

Rod, very nice!  Thank you for posting.  I doubt you'd notice a difference in the caps. 

I'm really loving them.  Experimented with a few crossover settings to the SVS SB13, but the bass is more coherent and the sound stage more impressive when run full range, so that's where they are for now.

[dhax001]

Wow, really nice red rosewood. Congrats on your purchase !
Mine also deep red rosewood.






3 speaker batch of deep red rosewood 

[Saturn94]

I got a chance to see and hear Jon's SS8s today (thanks Jon!).

What a treat for the eyes and the ears! 

I thought I was gonna cry when I heard track 9 from this CD (Agnus Dei, for chorus & organ/piano (arr. from 2nd mvt. of String Quartet), Op. 11);

http://www.amazon.com/American-Adagios-Various-Artists/dp/B000009RCU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392598920&sr=8-1&keywords=american+adagios

Enjoy Jon! 

[Folsom]

Jim and all,

Whether or not the capacitor upgrade is worth it or not I can't say. But what I can say is A/B comparrisons on anything not radically different, are usually kind of useless and not terribly scientific, dated, approach.

Audio memory is very poor. In A/B tests you have to switch with little time passing to compare direct sound bits, but humans are yes, about as good as a decent guess, so it doesn't have much of a point.

Also we hear more than we explicitly interpret. We can't seem to aquaint ourselfs to differences in sound too easily. Therefor the only scientific conclusion can come from what a human can do, the memory of familiarity. It works because it's attached to not audio memory per say, but rather repition of stimulation and emotion. It also gets exhibited through our behavior patterns.

Jim, try upgrading the caps in whatever home speaker you are using ATM, burn them in and listen to them for at least two weeks regularly. Then 2-4 weeks later swap the caps back to Solen's. You'll know quickly how different or not the capacitors are in sound. We seem to be able to understand when something familiar is missing. But also make a note of pattern, do you want to listen more often?

I had a fellow using my conditioner, in A/B testing he thought it was equal to another. I said give it a few weeks. He did and at the end he said, "you know, it was different, more musical in a way I can't explain." And sometimes that's the difference that matters.