Rivervalleymgb

Beta Sound copied Klipsch on at least two of their models. I have the M-100 also, which are the first "Cornscala". I need to get them uncovered and get some pics of them. My M-100 were made in '77, IIRC. I have Fraziers, also, and yes they are similar. These were a late run of the M-045 from what I can find out. I bought them in Tyler, Texas where one of the owners of Beta Sound lived. It seems that they made the change from the first production models to the one I have due to pressure from Klipsch. There is a pair of midrange horn lenses on eBay right now from Beta Sound. I haven't pulled my mids on the M-100's, but I may do so when I can get some HPM-100's moved and a few consoles. My M-100's are so rough on the outside, I hate to post pics of them. Beta Sound used foam instead of grill cloth on the front. the foam has long ago rotted off the two pairs I have. I wish Phil Clements would answer some of these questions about Beta Sound, but he isn't talking!

I forgot to mention that the pinterest post you referenced is mine.

I think it is different production runs. I remember Bob Moers talking very bitterly about Beta Sound ripping off Klipsch designs. If I remember right, they were going to pursue legal action. This may have necessitated a design change. I know that the M-100 was the first "cornscala" design. Matter of fact, there is an eBay auction right know for Beta Sound horn lens being sold as a match for the K-600 horn. The seller said he had the 15" woofer, but no cabinets. My M-100's have a horn designed and patented by Phillip Clements, Beta Sound's designer. It is not like a K-600 horn, but more like a K-400. It is a proprietary design. The literature you cited is the same I sent you. It is from 1976. I first heard of them in 1977 or 78 when I was playing poker with a bunch of Klipsch employees and Bob was there and the discussion turned to Beta Sound. I think they were out of business by 1980. So there could have been some quick design changes to avoid the wrath of Klipsch lawyers. I know my 045 will outperform a Heresy in the LF range by a long way. They are supposed to get down to 35 Hz. I haven't tested them due to other projects. The last time they were playing they were mounted on 12" stands with a 1o degree tilt. They filled the room with excellent sound. When I get travel, I have to go to Speakerworks in Tulsa, so I will ask Dave Miller about the history. He used to sell them where he worked bakc in the 70's. The literature you and I have copies of is the only literature I have ever come across. That is why I spent time trying to get an answer out of Phil Clements, but he refused to talk about Beta Sound.

My Belles had camel grill cloths. Darker than cane.

They are approximately the height of a Heresy, but you can see they are wider due to the tuning slots. the tuning slots are front and back. It will be a while before I can test them and post charts. I had foot surgery yesterday, so carrying anything is out for the next six weeks. They really sound very, very good. They havre to be placed away from the wall at least a foot due to the slots on the back panel.

Pics of my Beta Sound 045's

i will grab my pair this afternoon and get some photos of them. On both my sets of Beta Sound speakers, the woofer has vented dustcaps. ala Altec. The 12" in the 045 will need dustcaps made for them. I got some 15" dustcaps for the woofers in the M-100's from my speaker repair place in Tulsa, Speakerworks. Dave said he didn't have a source for 12" dustcaps. So I will make my own.

I hope it all works fine for you, Coytee. I always had problems with signal strength at around 50'. I always used female on each end of the long run that would screw into the faceplate for a flush mount on the wall.

I can't believe you guys actually keep track! I have sold and bought so many speakers and gear that I lost count. My first buy for resale is when I should have stopped. A mint pair of Cornwall Decorator and a mint pair of JBL 4333a. Total was $1600. I should have stopped there. I already had a pair of walnut Belles in the living room. I still regret selling those JBL's....

i have built many HT setups using ceiling speakers. I got the best results by locating as you are planning from the corners, AND installing a 1/2" plywood running over the ceiling joists, THEN insulting the ceiling. i also filled the "box" with fiberglass insulation and place cheese cloth attached to the plywood joists to keep the fiberglass off the speaker. Most in-wall speakers need plenty of space above/behind them to sound their best. Since I always used cellulose insulation, the "box" was necessary to allow for climate insulation of the room envelope and the fiberglass was to smooth out reflected waves. My own HT project in this house is to use Frazier F-12-4H for ceiling speakers.

Thanks duder!

Same question as above. Dimensions of the riser for the K-horn top hat. I want to put risers on mine. I will use 5/4" Ebony.

I have been wanting to build a J-Pole for FM reception. My question is: If I build it tuned for the middle of the FM dial, how does this affect the rest of the bands reception? Since we all get good reception with various antenna setups, does the tuning of a J-Pole diminish the reception of other channels? This is just a long buried project I have always wanted to build just for the heck of it. Now the copper pipe fittings and attachment plate are getting in the way and I need to build this before I use the fittings for plumbing!

At least my current partner loves the consoles. She is the reason I haven't touched any of them. She loves the furniture look of them. Maybe it is time for someone to build one? I know the Motorola has provisions for external speaker and at one time I was driving a pair of Frazier F12-4H with them and the in-console 3-ways. Had a very good sound.

La Scalas have better midrange, but Belles for the beauty. I have also owned both. Sold my Belles (WO) for $1600 about four years ago.

I have four consoles, only one that is SS. I just haven't had the heart to gut any of them. Especially the Grundig Majestic. I have a 7 foot Motorola Low-Boy that is SS and sounds absolutely wonderful. Massive SS receiver in it. Dual TT. One of the better sounding consoles I have heard. It was absolutely showroom perfect....until my ex left it out on the porch. Didn't take long for the sun to bleach the blonde finish. A few years ago she forced me to sell my Belles. One of the main reasons she is the EX! She also talked me into selling my JBL 4333a's because they were too big. Both were horrible decisions on my part.

I am using Eminence L-pads on my CF-2's. Damped the horns very well and removed the acoustic foam pads, replaced with sonofil. Mine are version 1. I never noticed any cabinet resonance on the CF-2's, but it could be due to the smaller size. The cabinets are very well made and braced.

I used some rubberized stretchy type tape for auto use, I think. Then, I sprayed rubber undercoating on top of that. The horns seemed overly bright to me, but at the time I had JBL 4333a's and Belles for mains. I removed the two foam pads. Those cabinets are so well built and braced, resonance was not a real problem, but I thought the stuffing sounds better than the acoustic foam pads did. I have lost so much hearing over the years that every mod I do is relative to only myself!

My CF-2's were done in Black. I sanded both as much as I could. The red oak plywood final layer was about 1/16" think, so I could not have sanded through the final veneer. I hand applied the black satin poly and had rubbed it into the cabinet. It took a couple of weeks to sand and finish. I used damping material on the horns and polyfill to restuff the cabinets. I am going to redo them again since I had loaned them out while I was rebuilding a friends AR3a's. The largest complaints about the series was the horns overcoming the woofers. This time, I will be putting in L-Pads to be able to tone down the horns a little. Mine are Series 1 and the cabinets were in terrible shape. There was a raised area on the top due to water damage, so sanding it down to a smooth surface was my biggest concern. I was able to do so without getting into an inner ply. I should have stopped with two coats of the black poly as it gave the cabs a nice oak/black grained look. Runs are a problem, so you must go slow with thin coats as ryanm84 suggested. The factory sprayed the cabinets and the black finish really penetrated the wood. I am going to take mine back to were the oak still shows.

The slots have a fibrous material similar to the stuff used for air conditioner filters. The grill covers were acoustic foam, not cloth. I haven't found a pair that still had the foam left on them. The M-100's had identical fabric to Klipsch wrapped around the sides, but the fronts were acoustic foam. If I remember correctly (which is not very often), Bob Moers was extremely upset about Beta Sound. Calling them a rip-off of Klipsch products, but that is about all I remember ever being mentioned. I have a copy of the patent on the mid-range horn. I need to move a few consoles to get to the M-100's, but will do so soon. My M-045's are in Clarksville. They are next on my list to redo. Probably go out in the garage. The problem I have had is in finding the proper dust cap. I have the dust caps for the M-100's. I guess I will have to make my own vented caps for the 12" woofers. I have spoken with dealers that handled Beta Sound. The reason they did so was because they couldn't get authorized to sell Klipsch due to geographical restrictions of one dealer per area.

Hz, dang it, not mHz. Too early in the morning I guess!

The M-100 is the first Cornscala. I guess I will have to uncover mine in the garage and take some pics. The smaller cousin shown in the pics above is the Model 045. It is supposed to reach down to 35 mHz. There is a taller version that I have not seen before that the literature says will reach down to 30 mHz. The Model 100 is supposed to go down to 30 also. I can attest that they really sound great. The woofers on all have vented dust covers on the cones, ala Altec-Lansing.

Awesome. Getting too old to type!

Paul does great work. He has done all my work over the past several years. The Sansui AU7900 he modded for me will never leave my hands while I am in this world. His dad's woodwork is assume, also.

I will post some pics in the future of my rebuild of a pair of these. I have the M-100's set aside for the future. Very hard to find any of these, ever. The midrange horn in the M-100 was designed and patented by Philip R. Clements, owner of Solus. I have tried to contact him about Beta Sound, but could never get an answer.