Jeff Matthews

Not to belabor the point, but it sounds like 13' is the common wall width between the 2 rooms you want to combine. If that's true, I also will note that since you have the main room as 13' x long, your joists/trusses would typically run the shorter span (typically). If this logic holds up, the wall between the 2 rooms is not load-bearing. Maybe you're lucky. I know when we moved in a year ago, I had no idea what walls were load-bearing and assumed some were when they weren't. Even our foundation repair guy (which I should have done myself as well) was telling me a wall next to the stairs was carrying a load. It in fact was not, and we took it out this last weekend.

Both will improve sound quality. []

Meagain, 28-feet is the short dimension? Oooooh. That'd take an I-Beam before I felt safe. You can do that with an I-Beam, but you'd need a hell of a hoist to lift it - or maybe 10 fat guys. [] What kind of load is there on top? A second story? Attic? What dimension is the room you're using now? 28 x ? What dimension is the porch? 28 x? (If 28 is the small dimension, that must be one hell of a big porch.) Got a buddy with a wrecker and a hoist mounted on the back? And then, you step down? Onto slab or deck? If it's deck, no big deal. Sounds like your house must have a pier and beam (or block and beam) foundation.

Rick, how do you underhang the joists and not have your beam in the floor above? Or is it in the attic? Meagain, I guess the challenge of that wall is too much for now. On the "bettering" the LaScala issue, did you see my LaCornwalls idea? I think those would be great! BTW: On the different levels you mentioned for your rooms, I have the same thing here. Did you notice in the background (where the 2nd beam was) that there were all new joists in there? That area used to be a porch that the previous owners enclosed. The problem was the floor of the balcony did not align with the floor inside the rest of the house. So...... we tore it all out and raised the balcony floor by installing new joists and decking. Now, it's all even and more like an original part of the house. No step down into a "different area" - it's all just part of the same room, now.

..... And don't forget Sly and the Family Stone. "Dance to the Music." What fantastic funk! You can't just SIT and listen to that one. You gotta get up and shake it! []

Hey, I don't think I've seen anyone take a set of LaScala beaters and carve a circle right out of the front of the bass bin to mount a direct-radiator - and make LaCornwalls. I bet they'd look twice as cool with an inset direct radiator into that V-shaped bass bin.

There you go! From someone who knows the difference. I still like the "nostalgia factor" of having pre-rock speakers.

Tubes, you crack me up, man! [] Bow, wow, wow, yippy-yo, yippy-yay. Try some Blondie, too! Or how about "Brick House?" These old tunes ROCK!!!!! There's also a tune called "What is Hip." The guitar solo in that song is incredible. You'd think it was regular classic rock. I still think there's something about the extra apparent "effort" of the Corns that makes them give a "warm-sounding" low-end. Maybe it's a more focused soundstage as opposed to horn woofers that spread it out more.

I stand behind my comments made in your other thread. My knowledge is limited, though. As I remember, Klipsch says the KHorn was virtually unchanged since its original design in 1946, so....... How different could they really be? I still think it would be cool to have a pair of 50-year-old kick-butt speakers - there's just something about 50 years old that breaks past a curve of "antiqueness." Remember, this would be before ALL classic rock as we know it. Back then, we barely had "Candystore Rock" coming on the scene. It's hard to believe that there were such great home speakers back then, as speakers like that were "ahead of their time" (excepting jazz and symphony).

Re: my earlier comments, I also need to add that I built some matching stands for the Corns that raised them off the ground about 2 feet or a little more - so maybe getting the K-33's up high was a substantial factor. But in any event, I adore the sound of Corns. Like many drummers, I dig the bass guitar big-time, and funk and disco are allright by me. I never thought 20 years ago I'd ever say I liked disco, but it's true. I think disco sounds alot more like classic rock than it was given credit for. My wife turned me onto disco, which was long forgotten by me. There's so much cool, nostalgic stuff.

I believe I have read a few posts saying the wood horns are better. Good luck! If these are in nice shape, or you get the right price and beautify them, it seems they'd be a piece of history and a nice talking point. I'd imagine they are comparable to your 72's.

Yeah, good way to put it. Corns get funky real good. There's something about the added effort that the Corns are forced to give that produces good, low-down funk. I might even go so far as to say KHorns can't do funk like the Corns - but I'd have to compare first. KHorns just have a certain feel about them as if they don't have to try as hard. Whatever that is???? Someone described Corns as "boomy." Exactly, except that I think the terms was used to slight the Corns. "Boomy" to me is good - especially with tunes where the bass player is seriously talented. The horn-loading may make the bass a little "colder." Anybody care to comment on this?

Tell me what song Squier's bass goes below 20Hz. I think drums play much higher than this - except if you're getting into those symphony drums with drum heads 3 and 4 feet around. One of the members on this forum posted a little download so you could tell the computer a note to play by Hz. I was very surprised at how high sounds were at 100 or so Hz. I listened down around 30Hz, and as a drummer, I've never heard rock or jazz drums go that low - not even the kickdrum. It be almost like paper flagillating in the wind - no way. Rap? Okay, but they're not real drums. Symphony? Okay, but those are not kick drums. Rock and jazz doesn't seem to go that low. Try for yourself. Listen to 30Hz. http://www.linearteam.dk/ I'm sure someone will prove me wrong.

That, is most properly called a " Flitch" plate Thank you, Mr. Spinner. It's been a while since we talked. I tried to get your attention to some real cheap Crowns in New York about a week ago, but you just missed it, and I never bothered. I think they were an MT 600 and an MT 1000 for $460 for the both. It's way back in this 2-channel by now.

"yep" who?

Maybe we just hear them differently. Or, if your kickdrum is coming through the mids (which is not as wild a concept as you might think), then, yes, the LaScala will push more kickdrum at you.

Well... most drums won't be venturing much below 100hz, so the La Scala's won't be an issue there. All I'm saying is play that same album on a Cornwall and tell me what you think. There is no way it can provide the lifelike sound of a kickdrum at high volume that the La Scala can. I have Chorus's as my rears (and I love them), and they sounded great as my mains prior to the La Scala's. They went lower and they can thump. But a La Scala they are not... at least not to my ear. I don't listen to rap, hip-hop or synthesized music. I much prefer older classic rock, jazz and acoustical stuff. The La Scala can more than hold it's own there. Mike Mike, I have Corns. I won't speak on behalf of Chorus owners, but as far as Corns, you're incorrect. I drove my Corns for years with my MT 1200 (until I recently bought KHorns). Those Corns rock, and they definitely provide as much kickdrum at high volumes. When the hair on your arms shakes with the soundwaves, you know you've got live concert sound. [] I am an avid classic-rocker myself. Not to bash LaScalas. You will never hear me get negative on them. They are great. But I just want to clear up the comment re: Corns.

No LOL's. My house was built in 1949 (at least half of it) - the half I showed you. You want to move a wall? They all move pretty much the same way. Not only do you have easy, complete instructions, you have photos to help you interpret the instructions. It really wasn't that bad, and on the big wall, I spent probably $200 in materials. If you hire out that same job I did in the local market, I'd bet you'd have to pay $2500 or more. And that's for only 1 of 5 I did. You might could hire it out for less, but only if the person has experience enough to jump in. Some that I had look at it just scratched their heads and said "That's quite a job. Could be alot of work. I don't know. Hmmmm."

No, the Khorns stay in the drum room. If I moved them, it would be in the TV room, which is a bigger room - about 35x35. I doubt I will move them, though. As far as "staying alive," there ain't no way that 1/4" steel sandwiched by 2 2x10's is ever moving. They use 1/4" steel in parking garages and skyscrapers. Try to stand a 1/4" thick by 8" plate up on its 1/4" side and bend it. You could park several cars on it before it would even budge.

Yes, that was load-bearing. See how the joists run perpendicular to the beam? They used to rest on top of the old wall. Now, they're tied into to the beam. Pretty easy if you get past the conceptual hurdle. The speakers are in an upstairs room. By the way, the beam holds the second floor up. There's a bedroom right above that beamed opening. Nothing to it. In fact, if you look in the background, you can see a second beamed-opening of about 12 feet in width. That's 2 of 5 beamed openings we did.

The old load-bearing wall is gone.

A look at the beam.

Beam project.

Knocking out a structural wall? No problem. I've done a few already. Give yourself a full week-end, and you'll be there. You have joists coming from both directions and resting on the top plate of the wall to be removed. They probably overlap each other (they should). If you find the joists run parallel to the wall to be removed, the wall is not load-bearing, and you can skip all the following and whip out your sledge-hammer. If the joists are in fact perpendicular to the wall to be removed, read on. You will need hammers, good sized crowbars, a saws-all (reciprocating saw), a good drill and a chop-saw (miter saw). Not too much in the way of tools. It is nice to have a nail gun for some framing, but if you don't, no big deal. You need to frame out 2 temporary walls about 1.5 - 2 feet from the middle of the wall that you will knock out. Just normal walls - a bottom plate, a top plate, and 2x4 studs on 16" centers (placed right below the joists). These hold up the joists while you knock out the load-bearing wall. You don't need to worry about framing these walls real straight and making them pretty because you will remove them at the end. Do make sure the temporary walls are real tight against the floor and ceiling. You don't want the joists to sag when you remove the old wall. Knock out the wall. Remove sheetrock in the ceiling to the inside edges of the top plates of the 2 temporary walls (you'll need to be working in there). Now, determine the beam material to use. You can get away with the same beam dimensions as the joists (e.g. if your joists are 2x10's, go with 2x10's for the beam - that way you can conceal the entire beam within the ceiling and you'll have one continuous room with no columns or headered openings). You also need to determine what you will use based on how far the beam-spanned opening will be. I had a 12-foot opening in 2 places, so I used 2 2x10's and a 1/4" thick x 8 steel plate in between them. I did the same for a 16 foot opening. Using what I had for example, 2 2x10's + a 1/4" thick steel plate calls for about a 3.5" total beam thickness. Therefore, you would pop a chalk line straight down the center of where the old wall was, then divide 3.5" by two (leaving 1.75"), and pop additional chalk lines 1.75" out from both sides of the center line. These two outside lines is where you will cut the joists. Cut all the joists along your outside chalk lines with the saws-all. If you have trouble accessing this with a regular saws-all like I did, you can buy one of those saws-alls by Porter Cable (at Lowe's) that allows you to turn the handle up to 90 degrees. This reduces the amount of space the tool takes up and allows you to get it in between joists much easier. After cutting the joists, you will then have a slot into which you can place your beam. Of course, the beam must be supported on the ends, which I assume would be walls perpendicular to the wall you are removing. Cut the beam material to proper length. You can cut the steel plate using a metal-cutting blade on your saws-all. Using my 2x10's and steel plate example, you would put the first 2x10 in the slot, and let it rest on the perpendicular top plates or studs (whatever you have). Pre-drill bolt holes in the steel plate, making sure the location of the holes for bolts will not be covered by your joists when you put the steel plate in. Then, place the steel plate on the 2nd 2x10, making sure it is aligned flush with 1 of the edges of the 2x10 (that edge will be the lower edge when the beam is installed). Once the plate is aligned on the 2x10, drill the 2x10 for the bolts by drilling through the same holes you drilled into the plate. Then, put the steel plate in right next to the 1st 2x10 you installed. Then, put the 2nd 2x10 in. While you are working on this part, DO NOT LET THIS STUFF FALL, OR IT WILL DEFINITELY HURT YOUR HEAD. Do whatever is appropriate to make sure it is secured in place until you can attach it all. Use lag screws to attach all 3 pieces snugly. Use screws that are long enough to penetrate almost completely through the entire beam. Use hex-head screws and the right-sized bit with your drill to drive them in snug. Finally, use joist hangers with the nails that are sold on the shelf right next to the hangers to support the joists against the new beam. Remove the temporary walls. Cover up your mess with new sheetrock and paint to match. You will have a gap in flooring material where the old wall was removed. You'll need to do something about that - whether it's re-carpeting, tiling, Pergo, wood floor, etc. BTW: You might wonder why I used 1/4 x 8 steel with 2x10's. In steel, 10" is 10". In wood, 10" is 9.5". If I used 1/4 x 10 steel, the plate would have been too wide and not fit into the ceiling. Also, you will likely have to do a little electric work to disable outlets that were on the wall - no big deal. You might have plumbing in the wall. If you have plumbing (inlcuding gas line plumbing, double the time and allow 2 week-ends. If you have a span that is considerably longer or your joists are less than 2x10's, your beam materials might have to change. There you go, DIY carpentry 102! []

Thank you. They are 1 year older than my Khorns.