Old78s

The Tubes Asylum thread says PWK used a Brook 12A push-pull 2A3 amp to design the Khorn (the source of this information was not provided, however). This makes me a little intrigued about this amp. Does anyone out there have experience with vintage Brook amps? Thanks again, Bob

Does anyone know what kind of preamp and/or amp Paul W. Klipsch favored? Was it the same set-up he used to test speaker designs? Just curious... Thanks, Bob

I have a pair of LaScalas that sound incredibly good with beautiful detail in the mid range and high end. The bass is is very clean and tight, but doesn't thunder and resonate all over the house (which is a good thing, I think). My LaScalas are great for acoustic music - country blues, old jazz, bluegrass, etc. I have no experience with Cornwalls. A potential drawback of LaScalas is their awkward size. Each one is almost the size of a clothes dryer, so they will jut out from the wall beyond your entertainment center and they don't fit neatly into corners like Khorns. The footprint is 2x2 feet. My lady friend just about threw a fit when I brought the LaScalas home, but she likes them now because they are great for displaying knick knacks. Bob

Those look like AL crossovers. I also recently bought a pair of used La Scalas with the exact same crossovers. I was unimpressed with the sound, so, on recommendations from others in this forum, I replaced the AL crossovers with a new set of Bob Crites AA crossovers. The sound quality improved DRAMATICALLY. The sound improved probably because (1) the ~20 year old capacitors in the ALs had lost their proper function, and (2) because the A and AA model crossovers are better designs for hi-fi listening while AL crossovers are better suited for high volume PA-type applications. I'd recommend you pick up a set of Crites' A or AA crossovers. He sells brand new units on eBay. People also rave about ALK crossovers, but these cost a little more than I wanted to spend.

I installed a set of Bob Crites AA crossovers last night, and it made all the difference in the world! Now I would say my LaScalas unambiguously surpass the Heresys. I did an A/B test with the old AL crossovers versus the new AA crossovers, and the new Crites crossovers definitely clean up the sound. A certain muddiness has been removed from the mid-range, and harshness in the high range is now gone. The sound is very sweet and is perfect for my tube amp and old records. The main advantage of the LaScalas over the Heresys, in my opinion, is the "room-filling" quality of the music, even at lower volumes. For whatever reason, it is much easier to get a dimensional quality to the sound throughout most of the room with the LaScalas than with the Heresys. The LaScalas look great too - mine have dark wood grain with grills. Thanks all for your opinions and advice. Bob

Please hush now, Mr. Mallette. It would be a disaster if audiophiles became interested in 78s. My bank account would vaporize instantly. Pre-war 78 prices are already starting to shoot through the roof, and since I moved to the West Coast it's nearly impossible to find lucky bargains at the junk shops. Some of the electrically recorded 78s have truly amazing sound. I always wondered if they used some sort of special microphone that made everything sound so great. Even before 1936 (the date of the RCA ribbon mic you mention) there were some electrical Okehs from the late 1920s that had phenomenal sound quality the exceeds any CD or most LPs. A musician / electrical engineer friend of mine speculated that they were using a special source of high quality carbon in the mics...? I don't know much about mics but I am very curious about this whole thing.

Last night I noticed that my La Scalas have PLASTIC HORNS, whereas my Heresy horns are made of metal - probably aluminum. Does metal vs. plastic horns affect the La Scala sound in any particular way? Bob

It's interesting you point this out about AL crossovers, because when I crank the LaScalas to high volumes they do sound much much better. I would normally never listen to them at such high volumes, though.

Found a pair. Thanks everyone!

I've read of problems with blown tweeters. Would it be obvious is one of my tweeters was blown? Could this have something to do with some of the shrillness in the sound?

Hey all, I picked up a pristine set of early 1980s LaScalas this morning and replaced the Heresys in my living room. I was fairly disappointed by the sound quality of the LaScalas - especially after reading all the posts and recommendations in this forum. The LaScalas seem somewhat cold, with a shrill edge at higher frequencies that can be fairly annoying. My Heresys have a nice warm rich tone that sounds great with my records at lower volume levels (see the "Big horns, low volumes..." thread). It almost seems as if the LaScalas suck the life out of some of my favorite records - records that sound beautiful and alive on my Heresys. It is with great sadness I stared at my LaScalas while I played one of my favorite John Lee Hooker 78s. This particular record has such a life-like sound I can usually smell John Lee's BO - but it sounded dead and CD-like through the LaScalas. There is a loss of musical quality somewhere in the lower mid-range I think. Obviously there must be a problem here, because it seems to be a unanimous opinion on this forum that LaScalas should sound superior to Heresys. One obvious problem could be the old crossovers, but can the AL crossovers be THAT bad? When I first got my Heresys I recapped the E crossovers and did an A-B test on the original vs. recapped, and the improvement in sound was like going from slightly muddy to more clear. It was a nice improvement but it wasn't incredibly significiant. Muddiness is definitely not the problem with these LaScalas, which makes me a little hesitant about investing time and money into fooling around with the crossovers. I guess my question is: did I pick the wrong kind of speakers for my listening habits, or can upgrading the crossovers truly improve the sound quality of these speakers in a significant way? How would those of you with AL experience describe the sound difference with a new set of As or AAs? Thanks, Bob

Would anyone out there happen to have a used set of La Scala crossovers for sale? I currently am using the original 1970s AL crossovers, but I would like to upgrade to something better, like an A or AA, without spending too much. Thanks! Bob

Thanks everyone for the great responses. This morning I arranged to buy a pair of 1970s La Scalas off craigslist - I will pick them up the day after tomorrow. The description of the La Scala bass response sounds more suited to my listening preferences than the Cornwalls - in general I do not like bass in music, but if it is going to be there I want it to be tight tight tight. I'll report back when I get the new speakers up. Apparently the La Scalas I am buying have the undesirable AL crossovers, so I will have to pick up a pair of new crossovers somewhere. Any opinions on the A vs. AA vs. ALK...? I've seen some previous threads discussing these crossovers, but I'd be interested in getting fresh opinions in the context of this "low volume" discussion. Thanks also for the 78 insights David. I don't use any digital processing when listening to 78s myself - it's all tubes. My HK Citation I tube preamp has really nice settings for non-RIAA phono recordings with the HUGE bonus of having a stereo blend feature that allows you to blend the amount of left and right channel coming out of your speakers. This is incredibly handy for some 78s that have groove wear on one side and not the other. One of my favorite Blind Willie Johnson records sounds horrible on the left, but crystal clear on the right - probably because a previous owner had a crooked needle in their old Victrola. Besides the Cit I, using a custom 3.25mil truncated elliptical stylus dramatically cleans up the sound of many early electrical records - especially the Paramounts thank goodness. It's shocking how good some 78s can sound. Some of my 78s have a sound quality that surpasses any CD I have ever heard in terms of producing the illusion that a person is sitting four feet in front of me playing a guitar or fiddle. I don't understand why... but it is very pleasant indeed. It's interesting to hear that you have had the same experience. Most other 78 collectors I have visited tend to have pretty lousy sound systems, which is ironic because their records can be worth many thousands of bucks. It's been challenging for me to find any opinions or information on setting up a tube system to enjoy 78s, but I think I'm getting there. The Cit I was a big breakthrough (sounds great with LPs too!). I am interested to see how the La Scalas perform! Bob

Hey all, I am currently running Heresy I speakers through a tube system (HK Citation I preamp, Fisher SA-300-B power amp). I typically listen at low volume levels to small ensemble acoustic music (country blues, hillbilly, early jazz, jug band, etc.) from 78s, CDs, and LPs. My system sounds exceedingly dandy as it is, and I have way more volume than I will ever need, but I am wondering if I "upgrade" to LaScalas or Cornwalls (my room geometry does not suit Khorns) if I could significantly improve sound quality, as well as the "dimensionality" effect of my stereo recordings. In one respect it seems a bit silly to have gigantic PA-size speakers to listen to low-volume acoustic music in my living room, but I also understand that different horns may have desirable acoustic properties regardless of volume levels. Browsing the fora here reveal many opinions on speaker performance, but these are rarely supplemented with listening volumes or preferred types of music. I would therefore like to solicit opinions on the relative performance of the Heritage speakers for low-volume acoustic music listening. At low volumes would LaScala or Cornwall sound quality dramatically exceed the Heresy sound quality from the perspective of a non-audiophile hobbyist? Any thoughts? Another issue is that I often listen to source recordings with a lot of background noise. 78s in particular can have a lot of hiss and crackling. I don't have a problem at all with my Heresys, but I have seen other posts suggesting that Khorns and LaScalas can magnify source material shortcomings in a very unpleasant way. I know this is getting pretty obscure, but by any chance does anyone out there have experience listening to pre-WWII 78s through Cornwalls or LaScalas? If co, could you please describe the experience? Thanks! Bob R.