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Wharfedale W90 KGB Kremlin re-Kap

Crestwood23

Crestwood23

He said touch it in the back
Subscriber
I've been enjoying the crap out of my '63 Wharfedale W90's, so smooth and fun to listen to with my little (Sony6060 supercharged) Fisher 101ST el84 amp. The speakers were totally stock, and I decided to give a recap a shot after hearing about Gangtwangers recent success.
I had purchased the last 2 8uf PIO "Sangamo" caps from the ebay seller that Twanger had gotten his caps from. I needed 2x 24uf caps for the bass/mids - but those were proving impossible to find.
After hunting for some time Sony6060 gave me the heads up on a bunch of 8uf NOS Russian PIO caps that were apparently original KGB issue, and of the highest quality. The idea was that 3 could be wired in parallel, equaling 24uf. I ordered 6 for a very good price - the shipping from the Ukraine was almost as much as the caps themselves! It took a little while but they finally arrived. Surprised they made it through customs as they look like some sort of explosive device. :sigh:

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Sony gave me some wiring guidance, as this was the first time Id chained caps together like this. At first I thought this was correct:

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Sony told me that this was wrong :nono: apparently this is wiring them "in series" and would not result in 24uf capacitance. Here is the correct way - "in parallel" (thanks Sony!):

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Got them all soldered together and installed inside the cabinets. :thmbsp: Curious to see how this will affect the sound compared to the stock caps. Listening impressions to follow....

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Looks real good!

I'm planning to do the same thing with my W90s. (Seems like a trend.)

Thankfully, these have a lot of trunk space!

Look forward to hearing your impressions.
 
Golly... why the massive ancient caps? Solen makes a sweet 24uF 400V Polypropylene... I wonder what the effect of reducing the cabinet volume is.
Don't get me wrong, if it's a solid upgrade I'm all for it, just would like to A/B them with modern, reasonably priced caps.
 
drknstrmyknight said:
Golly... why the massive ancient caps? Solen makes a sweet 24uF 400V Polypropylene... I wonder what the effect of reducing the cabinet volume is.
Don't get me wrong, if it's a solid upgrade I'm all for it, just would like to A/B them with modern, reasonably priced caps.
Click to expand...

I have found that I'm not really a fan of poly caps like Solens - especially in a speaker of this vintage. I had put some Jantzens in my JBL L300's and found them to be a bit harsh and grainy sounding. I sprang for some pricey Mundorf silver/gold/oils in those and it really smoothed them out. A buddy of mine recapped his w90's with these pricey Mundorfs and they sounded great.

The original caps in these w90's are oil caps - I wanted to keep the smoother sound signature in tact while staying on a budget this time. This meant Mundorfs were off the table. Gang Twanger had poly caps in his w90's and replaced them with giant vintage oil caps like these (on sony6060's reco) and has reported that the "glare" of the poly caps has been replaced by smooth sounding goodness. That's my goal too! :thmbsp:
 
I used Auricaps on my W70's and really can't say I experienced anything but an even sweeter midrange, but that was just my subjective opinion. I had originally used some no-name poly's and did not like that sound as it seemed sort of technical and in-your-face.
Glad you're preserving the Wharfdales and found a sweet spot! Don't run 'em too hot!
 
drknstrmyknight said:
I used Auricaps on my W70's and really can't say I experienced anything but an even sweeter midrange, but that was just my subjective opinion. I had originally used some no-name poly's and did not like that sound as it seemed sort of technical and in-your-face.
Glad you're preserving the Wharfdales and found a sweet spot! Don't run 'em too hot!
Click to expand...

:thmbsp:

OK I've done some listening and I just gotta gush a bit - Twanger style!:D
OMFG I am just shaking my head at the difference these caps have made! I was honestly a bit scared to recap these as the stock caps sounded pretty good already - if a bit bright. These caps have converted my w90's into a whole new set of speakers. MORE of everything I loved about them before. Instruments are SO much more defined, drums and bass have really tightened up, just unbelievable. Hammond organs sound EDIBLE :drool: LOL.
WARM but CLEAR as a bell. Been listening to 1960's instrumental British library funk and this music on these speakers is like PB&J - or should I say like biscuits and tea! :music:

:tresbon:
 
jgannon said:
Ok...so when's the next get together?!! :D
Click to expand...

Let's do it soon - you GOTTA hear these NOW!

Spelkid and I are talking about doing a recapped W90 shootout - his Mundorf recapped monsters vs my KGB specials! Bring your 800b - ITS ON!
 
Crestwood23 said:
:thmbsp:

OK I've done some listening and I just gotta gush a bit - Twanger style!:D
OMFG I am just shaking my head at the difference these caps have made! I was honestly a bit scared to recap these as the stock caps sounded pretty good already - if a bit bright. These caps have converted my w90's into a whole new set of speakers. MORE of everything I loved about them before. Instruments are SO much more defined, drums and bass have really tightened up, just unbelievable. Hammond organs sound EDIBLE :drool: LOL.
WARM but CLEAR as a bell. Been listening to 1960's instrumental British library funk and this music on these speakers is like PB&J - or should I say like biscuits and tea! :music:

:tresbon:
Click to expand...

You forgot the mad amount of hyphens! :D

Glad to hear it worked out. I'm sure those oil caps do have a certain sonic signature that's desireable.. I, like a few others though, still wonder about a better alternative that is modern. One of these days I'll get a set of W_0s to mess around with.
 
canuckaudiog said:
You forgot the mad amount of hyphens! :D

Glad to hear it worked out. I'm sure those oil caps do have a certain sonic signature that's desireable.. I, like a few others though, still wonder about a better alternative that is modern. One of these days I'll get a set of W_0s to mess around with.
Click to expand...

Yeah unfortunately I think the "better" modern alternative is something like a Deulund or Mundorf oil cap - both go for big $$. I've heard the Mundorfs and they are killer - but the price to performance ratio on these big vintage oil caps is just off the charts IMO.
 
Crestwood23 said:
Let's do it soon - you GOTTA hear these NOW!

Spelkid and I are talking about doing a recapped W90 shootout - his Mundorf recapped monsters vs my KGB specials! Bring your 800b - ITS ON!
Click to expand...

Sounds exciting from everything you've written here! Would definitely be interesting to hear the KGBs vs. the Mundorfs! Let's do it soon!
 
Definitely looking forward to comparing the W90's! I'll bring my sony6060 upgraded Fisher 500c this time. Gannon should bring his sony6060 upgraded 800b again and some records. And of course Sony6060 to moderate it all! We'll get the wolf pack back together for round 2. Just not looking forward to transporting these speakers, but it'll be worth it!
 
drknstrmyknight said:
Golly... why the massive ancient caps? Solen makes a sweet 24uF 400V Polypropylene... I wonder what the effect of reducing the cabinet volume is.
Don't get me wrong, if it's a solid upgrade I'm all for it, just would like to A/B them with modern, reasonably priced caps.
Click to expand...

Already did that... My W90s originally came with Dayton poly caps. Those and Solen poly ones add a nasty glare to the sound, and once you hear them MINUS that glare, there's no going back.

Also, no worries about reducing the cabinet volume. The W90's (the ones he, Bouxy, and myself own) have a rear upper-deck area that is isolated from the driver areas, and this is where the crossover resides. The mids and tweeters are free-mounted (Dammit, I have OCD... What can I say? :D ).
 
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canuckaudiog said:
You forgot the mad amount of hyphens! :D

Glad to hear it worked out. I'm sure those oil caps do have a certain sonic signature that's desireable.. I, like a few others though, still wonder about a better alternative that is modern. One of these days I'll get a set of W_0s to mess around with.
Click to expand...

Hey, I only hyphen when it's grammatically-necessary. :smoke:

jgannon said:
You gonna be able to make it in one trip?!! :D
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Probably not without a roof rack, but I wasn't about to try and hoist one of those things up that high.

That's great that the KGB kaps turned out so..... darn great.

Jeez, now I'm gonna' be all hyphen-conscious... Oh crap, there I go again. Dang it. And this after someone recently told me I say "Tbat's the thing..." a lot. What is the world coming to?

Look at that. Ended a sentence in a preposition. I'm getting better already... :thmbsp:
 
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Gang-Twanger said:
Hey, I only hyphen when it's grammatically-necessary. :smoke:



Probably not without a roof rack, but I wasn't about to try and hoist one of those things up that high.

That's great that the KGB kaps turned out so..... darn great.

Jeez, now I'm gonna' be all hyphen-conscious... Oh crap, there I go again. Dang it. And this after someone recently told me I say "Tbat's the thing..." a lot. What is the world coming to?

Look at that. Ended a sentence in a preposition. I'm getting better already... :thmbsp:
Click to expand...

Bahaha! I'm only poking fun at you GT. Your posting style is unique around these parts. :yes:

Sorry I could not resist.. :D
 
canuckaudiog said:
Bahaha! I'm only poking fun at you GT. Your posting style is unique around these parts. :yes:

Sorry I could not resist.. :D
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Hey, you're telling me... I'm getting writer's cramp from all these damn hyphens, apostrophes (I always called it a dash, actually), and parentheses. I'm also edit-crazy (That's a REAL bad one for me... I've spent HOURS editing a post sometimes). Try doing all that stuff with a tablet (Just got a Kindle for Xmas :rolleyes: ). I feel like my hands are gonna' fall off.
 
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Gang-Twanger said:
Hey, you're telling me... I'm getting writer's cramp from all these damn hyphens, apostrophes (I always called it a dash, actually), and parentheses. I'm also edit-crazy (That's a REAL bad one for me... I've spent HOURS editing a post sometimes). Try doing all that stuff with a tablet (Just got a Kindle for Xmas :rolleyes: ). I feel like my hands are gonna' fall off.
Click to expand...

LOL don't sweat it GT - I'm a bit hyphen-crazy too!:thmbsp:
Over-hyphen-ization just adds to the stream of consciousness feel - it also makes the posts seem like you are just too psyched with what you are hearing/talking about that you don't have time for any stinking periods! Don't change a thing.

One more change I've noticed with these caps - there is now way more range when I twist the Lpad knobs. Before the tonal change was subtle when twisted but now it goes from extremely dark to extremely bright when I rotate the knobs back and forth. I can really dial it in now. :yes::music:
 
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