steamer

I agree with Jim I am utilizing the best of both designs and am very happy with the sound! SS for the low freq. SET for everything above 500hz. See my profile... I enjoy good sound be it SS or TUBE Note:I switched to Tubes 2yrs ago after 20+yrs of SS(mostly Bryston SS)but have since purchased 2 Bryston PRO amps to configure my current system,and have alot of work to do in the tweek dept.(mostly room).This system is ...WOW!!!! right now and not even close to 100% LOL is it ever! Greg

What price range are you refering to? Greg

What is the going price of new LaScala's? What did these cost new? I paid $1700 new in 1987...maybe they are not so high after all. Thanks for the post BTW. I would like to sell my 98's and just go with a set of Scala bass bins to pair with my Altec 511b/902's,wonder what they might bring? I understand we all want to purchase items at the lowest possible price but what are they really worth,can they hold thier value? Greg

Very good read,thanks Pauln! Greg

here is an interesting thread on the Decware forum on horn coloration,they have some different perceptions: http://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=General;action=display;num=1136965613 Greg

I have the 8T's on my 511's,your gonna lovem soooo much better than stock,happy listening Greg

I have heard similar results in wire or differences I guess To me silver gets toooo edgy with SS but works great with tube power(takes a little warmth away)resulting in a clearer presentation. Copper is good with SS but adds to much warmth with tube power Tonight I changed my Bluejeans speaker wire(6 in total per side)with some older Audioquest Indigo(same length/litz design/better shielding)and there was a noticable difference for the better IMO,the bottom line was there was a difference! I have no idea what is going on,maybe interaction between components,but yes I have always found wire can make a difference. Greg

I believe it starts with the mastering process, 30 min ago I grabbed a Van Halen cd(diver down)and put it in...well it sounded really bad,Im thinking WTH then realize I picked up the wrong one. I bought several Van Halen discs a few years ago that had been remastered with HDCD to replace the originals mastered in the mid 80's I put the remastered one in and well there is a huge difference.Actually makes Van Halen sound good with LaScala's vs. the original releases. Greg

Check this link out as well http://alteclansingunofficial.nlenet.net/index.html and this one http://www.greatplainsaudio.com/ Greg

Here is a link for you: http://www.wmeckle.com/INTRO/SMALL/ALTEC.HTM Greg

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guess not,how the...do you put an attachment on a post? Greg

Well here is the rig I have been talkin so much about!

It might be due to the better bass of the Cornwalls(more prevelant),I find bass adds a perception of power(louder)to the sound you hear. Greg

It's really going to depend on who responds and what kind of music they listen to...the claims that they dig down to 40Hz are completely ridiculous though. Below the 70Hz Fc of the cabinet the speaker acts like a normal sealed cabinet...with the K33 -10dB around 50Hz makes a lot more sense. How low it goes after room gain is really a mute issue (which I cover a bit later). Anyways, I would never even consider using the lascalas without a subwoofer for 2 channel. But I do greatly prefer the lascala + subwoofer sound over that of the khorn any day of the week. I have actually had the opportunity to do an instantaneous volume matched ABC comparison between the cornwall, chorus II and lascala with updated crossovers. The cornwall has the best bass by far - yes it's over exagerated but it sounds great with a lot of music. The chorus II has by far the best midrange and most accurate sound. The bass is a bit lacking in comparison to the cornwall, but the bass totally destroys that of the lascala. The only thing the lascala might do better than the rest of the other drivers is in the lower mids. However, a lot of people don't like the upper mids from the squaker and have upgraded to better options - two popular ones are the altec multi-cell squakers and Al's Trachorn design (I would highly recommend the trachorn approach). I would describe the lascalas as sounding like a bigger version of the heresy - and not really digging that much lower either (again, I have done instantaneous volume matched comparisons). And as a side note - one should never rely on room gain for the LF response. First of all, room gain doesn't start occuring until around 30-40Hz in a typical medium sized room. Sure, there are gains associated with corner placement, but that is something different (and it reveals itself as an overall increase in sensitivity...in other words, the lower lows aren't relatively boosted more than the higher lows). Also, if you had a perfect recording of a say a timpani solo - the recording will be more believable if your speaker is anechoically flat down to 20Hz than if it was flat down to 20Hz after room gain. The reason being that if the timpani were in your room, it would be getting the same reinforcment as your speakers - so in essence, flat after room gain is lacking in LF extension because it doesn't achieve the same sound at the listening position that the live instrument would. Room gain is merely a decieving marketing ploy...Btw, there were quite a few klipsch engineers that have explained this to me (as well as some other "smart dudes")...so it's not me just making something up. So if you were listening to rock (like Yes for example), then the lascalas will not be very satisfying at all unless you added a sub to them. I would have to agree. I have been listening to Scala's for 20 yrs or so,the first couple with no sub,then when I paired a Velodyne with them there was no turning back. We all have different tastes for sound as well as different acoustical environments.I prefer to position my Scala's out from the corner a bit and they tend to sound weak in the bass not a bad thing because its very fast,detailed and hits hard(especially at higher volumes)but rolls of too soon for my taste,my perception. I find that there is a lot of information on a recording below the point Scala's drop out and a sub fills in that.I guess you could also call it reinforcement,I like live sound at the local adult beverage despenser and subs give me that in home +I get the awsome sound of LaScala's and what they do best...and its not low bass. An interesting note:My Velodyne sub had some issues awhile back and would shut down on thermo overload(I was drivin things pretty hard..getiin into the sound).Most times when it shut down you really did'nt notice because the Scala's loaded the room up and there was no need for a sub,were talking HIGH volumes to achieve this.At lower spl's I like my subs because it adds power and ambience to the music. Greg

Thanks everyone for your input. It seems there are alot of perceptions about the "perception of Horns". I guess I am not as sensitive to the cupped hand theory.I just don't hear that. I like the LIVE sound theory as I enjoy local bands and that energy during the performance. I agree with the idea that all speakers have distortion or colors. I did like the difference when I put the 511's in the system. Oh BTW my 511's are black. I did something really stupid in 95' sold my Scalas for a kickbut STEREO#$^%@!~ recommended system.The speakers I bought were a bi-polar design Mirage m3si.Very accurate,no coloration about 86db 1watt/1mtr.They just never did anything for me.I dont own them anymore.They did that reflection thing....all I know is that I am enjoying the compremises of that horn coloration with incredible dynamics,clarity,speed,emotional impact and most of all my speakers have SOUL!!!!!!!!!! Greg

From what I understand as long as you run them in thier desingnated freq. range ie. above 500hz you should be fine. Duke claims to have hammered on em with no problems and I read another thread where someone blew the K-33 and the 902 was still singin' at 120db. Greg

Yes you can,I run the T's on my 511's I have never had the covers off mine to check for the loading caps,They protect the diaphram against too much power,I believe the T's are the same as the B's.T stands for theater same as the B's though.The A version is not protected as such. Buy em they sound GOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!! Greg

Chris, I am not familiar with Angela design(guitar amp?). I think you would like an SET design for your midhorn setup,and it would be a big improvement IMHO,as far as low power SET's hooked directly to the efficient 511/2470 combo its plenty. I have been listening at low levels lately(more than ever before)and am amazed with the clarity,detail and accuracy,I have the power consuming lower freq. covered with SS and find that 4watts gives me plenty of headroom on my 511/902's. Your selection of SET topology will play a big role in your enjoyment,but in general SET rules.I am new to SET and would like to try other tube/circut designs like 2a3 and 300b with a kit I can build myself. Greg

Greg, I have heard a few say that matching levels was a long process. It is probably the divider network that I used (a Yamahe D2040) but I was able to dial my system in in less than an hour. I have a 200 wpc QSC for my woofers and two teac l700P's for the mids and tweets (30 wpc @ 6 ohms). The yamaha has digital and analog attenuation. I set both of the Teac's volume pots to full and the QSC to 26 out of 32 db. Here is where it was so easy. The yamaha lest you mute any indivikdual channel, so I can tun any individual driver off. I just listened and turned off drivers to isolate what I thought was too high and made adjustments. It was a very quick process that has required no further adjustment. I did one channel than matched the other. I know its silly, but the really cool part is watching the ananlogue volume controls move by themselves to match the other side (they are motorized). I did have to make an adjustment after tube rolling btu that has been it. I really need to run pink noise to check everything but have not gotten to it because it sounds so good the way it is. Chris PS - the steep crossover curves and time delay do seem to widen the sweet spot. Chris, I actually thought getting the levels set was't bad,I just got hung up on the sensetivities and gain of the bass amps in comparison to the 4watt SET for highs.I had the input level controls for the Brystons wide open,and was tring to match everything with the rane 2way.I could get evrything sounding good then have to readjust everything for the next disc.I chased my tail for a day or so,then it dawned on me the the Scala bass bin was vibrating like crazy,more than normal!.I noticed this early on but it didnt connect in my mind.Before I put the SET's and new horns in the system I was powering the Scala's with my Shannling 50watt PP monos and had to set the volumes for it at -12db and the Integrator for the BagEnds at +10 to get a balance,this was stuck in my head so I started out with the bass levels maxed on the Bryston amps.Well after I got those backed off everything fell into place and now I havent touched anything except for a minor tweek to the bass levels on some recordings with the Rane and that being only 1db or so. Here is a link from a post I did on the Decware forum describing my first impressions and the stages I put the system together: http://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=zen;action=display;num=1134436661 Greg

some more tips,sorry no pics: http://www.aikenamps.com/SafetyTips.html Greg

Oh great, Now I have to get some Trachorn's. Think I will wait until someone familiar with 511's posts an a/b comparison. I believe I read in an earlier thread that Al K.said they were very simular in sound. Greg

Guess I dont have to worry about starting an us vs. them debate here because we all own horns...at least I think we do? The question at hand is what is HORN coloration,what are the reviewers and rags talking about when they refer to horns as colored? To this day I dont understand that perception,is it related to tone? greg