mark1101

I agree, this is turning out to be "if the owner can live with it".

I'd like to see Decware's measurements on a lascala. I'll be back in this thread in a couple of weeks with mine.

Any chance you could tell us your dad's name? Some of us may have known him. Feel free to message me if you would rather have this be private.

Well I got my two SE84UFO amps after the 2 1/2 year wait. I'll just save a lot of typing and state that I have them connected to a pair of lascalas in monoblock fashion and both amps hum exactly as the last 6 pages of this thread have discussed. I have tried everything mentioned here and I am absolutely positive the hum is simply a design defect as both amps do it about the same with no inputs connected. Tubes have been swapped from amp to amp and some have been replaced (input tubes and rectifiers). Nothing changed. Before doing the above I tried with and without preamps, DAC direct, using just each amp in stereo. I replaced RCA cables, and Y jacks (for monoblocking). I tried cheater plugs. I have also read everywhere on the internet about Decware hum and in Decware forums. The darn things have the sweetest sound, tight bass, 3D sound stage, extreme clarity...........and in between songs hum loudly in the room like a defective unit. My speakers have had recent Klipsch K77 and K55 replacements from Klipsch parts, known good K33 woofers, and the AA networks have had the JEM caps installed. My NBS preamp and VRD monoblock combo on these lascalas is near dead silent. I still am not sure what I am going to do with these. I have a lot of time off around Xmas and plan some measurements to understand if this is 60, 120, etc.........and how loud it actually is. I know this hum won't be going away.

No matter..........GET THE SUB.

When we were in Hope Roy discussed exactly how to swap the doghouse, it comes right out.......you actually can get a whole new doghouse with the 12" woofer and ports already installed as part of the upgrade package. Or....you can leave the 15" woofer and doghouse as is. You can op to just change the top horns and drivers. This can be done to any lascala. The new tweeter is much bigger and some significant routing and maybe even tweeter trimming would need to be done. But it's possible. If you chose to replace the top horns/drivers and the doghouse the only thing left of an AL5 is the outside frame and top hat. It's really quite a job to upgrade to an AL6. Several of us basically said just get the new lascalas, as you also mention. By the time you try and replace the doghouse you may scratch the heck out of what's left and you have to hope the new doghouse matches the veneer you have. Knowing what I know from being there, I would never try it.

Really, you don't need an AL-5 to upgrade to an AL-6. You can do this with any Lascala. You may need to do some routing for the tweeter. That ought to tell you what an AL-5 will be worth soon.

I saw the show and thought the whole thing was fake. The fact that these are not noticed by the naked eye bothered me. I'm supposed to believe these things are flying all around me at super fast speeds so fast I can't see them. But a camera can. I am not buying it.

Yeah, For those who don't know or haven't visited, those are just some of the rooms in the Visitor's Center. The place is huge. Lot's of cool equipment and different sounding systems. There are at least a few more rooms not shown. A Forte 4 room, a Cornwall 4 room, plus more.

I have been using my MCM setup (see full name in signature below) for close to 15 years for mostly music. It sounds very good for sports events and movies too. But long ago Klipsch helped optimize these big systems for people who wanted to use them primarily for music. Works very well for everything actually.

I admit communication for those not in attendance could have been a little better. But the museum events are staffed and run on volunteerism. I can't overemphasize how hard the volunteers worked to prepare the Visitors Center, the food and refreshments, the stage and PA for the band, the lab and class, and cleanup. I'm sure I'm missing a whole lot here. Roy not only spent the whole day teaching about the new AL6 Lascalas and with no lunch, afterward came to the Visitor's Center and grilled steak and chicken for everyone.

Bill Hendricks is one of the finest gentleman I know. He is probably the most ethical person I know as well because I have been working with him the last two years volunteering for the Klipsch Museum, and I have known him since 2007. The entrants names and number of tickets each person had in the drawing and the ticket numbers for each entrant were public. The sheets were printed out and sitting on tables at the event. Full disclosure for all in attendance to see. A random number generator app with a max setting for the number of tickets in the drawing was tested probably 10 times before it was used on the stage to determine the winner. Two attorneys were standing there and so was I. There was nothing funny or rigged about this. It is disgusting IMHO to hear any suggestion of this.

Question: Do those subs bother the tubes in that NBS preamp? Those are very close. What kind of music do you usually play?

Can you post pics of the drivers and crossover so forum members can get a sense of the condition of the speaker components?

I was lucky to have ordered two. I am using them on lascalas and using only one in stereo was simply not enough (for me). I could make it distort and clip too easily. However, using two as monoblocks works fine for me. At the moment I am using a line stage NBS preamp. Honestly, these have sort of given my NBS new life and I am enjoying that. These little amps are clearer sounding than my VRDs and have a much bigger soundstage. They don't have near the power, but they have plenty enough as monoblocks. I have not found the limits as monoblocks yet. I never had a set amp. So the dynamics, 3D soundstage, and especially the coherence of sound from these little amps are kind of impressive to me. The clarity is very good. The sound is engaging and what I really need to make this be excellent is one of Roy's new horn subs. These little amps put out some very clear and pounding bass. But the lascalas just can't dig low enough for me at times. I doubt I would ever try to use these little amps on the top horns of UJs or in any large system like that. I think they are great, actually made to order, for the Khorn on down. But for me.........I need a sub. I'm so used to listening to UJ with subs, and my MCM with subs, that anything with less bass........is WAY less bass. I have about 10 hours on these amps, and they both do exactly the same thing. They have a faint hum. Very faint with my ear at the lascala bass bins. I tried a few things. Rolled some tubes, changed interconnects, tried cheater plugs. They freakin hum. Period. My 60 year old HH Scott LK-72 is quieter. I have to say that honestly it hasn't mattered at all though. But it does bother my nervosa that it exists and these are brand new. I read that this is what they do. So I sort of expected it. I already ordered a bunch of new tubes for them as well. I ran into a bad input tube after about 6 hours. Decware has been no help to date after I put in a trouble report. I probably will end up eating it. These things are very receptive to tube rolling. I have been using some different NOS 6922s from my stash and enjoying the results. My recommendation is that if you like these little set amps DO NOT order a Decware unless you are OK waiting years for it. I would find something similar that you can have next week and try that. If you can find a Decware for sale now, I'd definitely give that a try. I'd buy mine again if I didn't have to wait.