Tarheel

I'm thinking you will have to change your crossover Duke...I am using Bob Crites AA xover...the ones on the Arkansas Cedar. So there is no way for me to try out the new horns and drivers without new xovers? If this is a dumb question please keep in mind that I know nothing about xovers. I guess I should have bought the 16 ohm drivers? Advice please. Chuck

George...my drivers are 902-8T, the 8 ohm. Came in yesterday from seller on ebay....nice and clean. Duke said I must change my BEC xover since they are 8 ohm drivers. Bummer! I wanted to just set them on top of the speaker to try them out. It would also seem from comments I read that the horn needs to be bolted to a frame or I may get the ringing that prompted me to abandon the original horns. Speakerfritz...I know nothing about xovers but I don't think I can change taps on the Crite xover? I have been told to buy ALK universal but hate to spend the money just to see if the 511B is going to correct the ringing concern. Advice? Chuck

Thanks for those pictures George....I want to do the same with my La Scalas using the 511b and 902 Altecs and your set up would be a great way of auditioning the new horns and drivers. Glad to hear your results were so positive. Chuck

Has anyone heard these tweeters (Visaton TL 16H)? I am in the process of building La Scalas and had been planning on using Beymas. Is his hookup to the binding post of the speaker without the xover an acceptable practice? Chuck

The original owner of my horn monos did a lot of tube rolling prior to selling me his amps. He assured me that you could use any tube that would fit the socket and that the amps are self biasing. He listed many of his favorites but sold me the amps with the original tubes. As stated earlier at Craig's advice I went to Dougs Tubes and talked with him about his favorites. I decided on the JJ KT-77s, a copy of the Marconi Osram tube when they were a part of GEC. I have been pleased with the results and the tubes were not expensive. Chuck

Duke.....they are 8 ohm drivers....what are you thinking? Chuck

Thanks for the tip...I will look for Sfogg's thread. I plan on using ALK universals with either horn. Just noticed I have passed my 100 post so I am going to take the weekend off. I certainly don't know enough to talk that much! Have a great weekend and I appreciate your help. Chuck

J.4Knee.....no I want to stay 3 way...am considering Beymas. Have you mounted the 511 in a cabinet or is it sitting on top of the speaker? Would like to see a picture if anyone has done that. Chuck

Thanks for more good comments Shawn....the BEC crossovers are type AA. Yes I do plan on changing the tweeters to Beymas. Going to check out the thread you sent right now. Chuck

Tom....this being my second pair in two years I wanted to run it by Al first to make sure I was heading in the right direction. I hope he doesn't mind that I quoted him but thats what he emailed me. I am sorry but I can't elaborate further. As you may have gathered I have little to no skills in speaker building and don't know jack about crossovers and/or horns. Bluesboy, a friend of mine, does all the skilled work and I pay the bills. I also try to do a little research first and the forum is a great place for that. With the other equipment I have bought this will be my last chance for awhile to "get it right". I love the looks of the big 511 horn exposed and have heard it in a k-horn with the 902 and it sounds great to me. I just bought some 902s on ebay this week and I have the 511 and 811 on hand. I think I will buy the xover kit from ALK and experiment with the two horns before the cab is built for the midrange. The bass bins are already underway. I also will buy the adaptor kit and try the k-55 with the new horns. And just think....until I heard Bluesboys new K-horns with the 511b and Altec 902s and ALK xovers I was fairly content with my LS. Why don't you start your project first and I can go to school on your efforts? Chuck

Welcome to the forum Vito! Chuck

Thanks Mike.... that is an idea I had not considered. If you can get me the part number I would appreciate it. Can I use the BEC cossover to this? Chuck

Thanks guys for all the good advice and comments. I still don't know what I will do but there are a lot of options....I just want to do it right this time since this will be the second pair of LS in two years and I want it to be the last. On the plus side I have a pair of 511horns and a pair of 811 horns on hand. I could take Mike's idea and hook those up to the k-55 drivers after I get the adaptors and see how the horns sound compared to the k-400 I am not fond of. If cost was not a consideration I would just get the trachorn and ALK crossover and be done with it. Those 2 items alone would exceed my cost for all components in the first pair of LS! Then I would have to buy the k-33 and Beymas plus pay Bluesboy at least minimum wage for his excellent cabinet work...not to mention the piano black lacquer. Enough whining. I will throw out one last hypothetical. If you had to work with the width of the LS being the only given and a ceiling of $1200 for parts, and the rest of the speaker a blank canvas what would you do and why? See what I am doing....picking the brains of the experienced for free consultations to further lower the price! But youre all my best buds ...right Chuck

I have been told the Altec 902/511b is not the combination I want in the LaScala modification. The 811b was suggested with the 902s. " Your plans sound good but you do not need to crossover so low that you need 511 horns. "The LS woofer will go higher. Cross over at 700hz and use the 902s with the 811b horn instead". Can I try the 902s and 811b with BEC crossover that I now have that cross at 400hz(?) or must the xover be modded to cross at 700hz or will the xover recognize the different horn and adjust? I just want to sit the horns and drivers on top of the cabinet and listen fo awhile before I build a new set of scalas. All this is to deal with the midrange that I do not like. Comments appreciated.

Nice equipment and setup Luther. Wish the event was closer. The reels of tape are starting to roll in from the tape exchange so I will enjoy those while you all party. Best to everyone! Chuck

Looks like plans have changed on the new speakers. Have been advised to use 811b Altecs with the 902 drivers rather than the 511b. Can I audition the new horn (811) and driver by sitting them on top of the cabinet and hooking them up to the BEC crossovers that crossover at 400hz. Was told that the LaScala woofer will go higher and to cross at 700hz or in other words "you do not need to cross over so low that you need a 511 horn". Do I need to make any adjustments to the xover? Chuck

Thanks Michael.....I would love to see pictures of the LaScala with the 511 in place if anyone out there has done this. I will take some photos as we move from the bass bins (relatively straightforward) to the horn and tweeter cabinet since this is where the creative juices will flow. This is new territory so all imput is appeciated. Any suggestions on the xovers? Chuck

Bluesboy has these same components in his modded khorns and they sound great. Has anyone done this with LaScalas? The 511 horn will only have 3/8" clearance on each side and must be front mounted and the Beymas will have their own little box and sit on top. Work has started on the bass bin assembly while I get the rest of the parts. I have the horns and woofers but need everything else (Beymas, xovers, 902 drivers). Any suggestions or leads on parts will be appreciated. BTW...What would we call this hybrid? Chuck

My plans are to build a pair of superscalas if I can sell my existing 2 year old LaScala clones built by forum member Bluesboy. Bob Crites crossovers and unblemished birch cabinets with numerous coats of tung oil. I would prefer to sell intact and not part them out. Will deliver within 100 mile radius of Wilmington, NC otherwise pickup only. $1200. Will not be near a computer most of the weekend so I may not answer inquires befor monday. Bluesboy may be available on this thread to answer technical questions. Chuck

Just went to Audiogon.com....There is a new Jolida mini mod by Underwood for $950 and two Rega Apollos for $745 and $749. If you are not familiar with that site just type in Audiogon.com and you will get to the home page. Click on digital players and scroll down to "classifieds". Wait a few days and you can probably pick up the Jolida at a good price. BTW it is built like a tank. Good timing cjgeraci. Great minds think alike! Chuck

Depending on your price range its' hard to beat the tubed output Jolida 100. I have one as does Duke Spinner. I think if you look hard you can find one on Audiogon.com for about $700 or new for $900. Bluesboy calls mine the best sounding cd player he has heard. I bought mine from Hotrodaudio.com and they threw in the mini mod (better tubes, sound deadning, iso feet) for free. I also hear good things about the Rega Apollo but have never heard one. Go to Stereophile.com and look up reviews under archives. The Jolida review sold me. Good luck! Chuck

Just wanted to move this up in case anyone looking for a record vac missed this. Chuck

Surgery will require alcohol. Are you bringing the scotch? Chuck

Great review William and congratulations on the CWs. I had never heard them until your review. I bet they are a great match with that Quicksilver gear. Enjoy! Chuck