tromprof

As an owner of K-horns and la Scalas built over 36 and 35 years ago respectively, I wonder how well MDF holds up over the long haul. It would require a lot of convincing and a big leap of faith for me to spend in the thousands to purchase a MDF speaker. My experience is MDF doesn't do as well as plywood with the bumps and bruises that go with time, not to mention exposure to moisture. All things that you hope your prize speakers are not exposed to but are inevitable with the decades.

It was your Cinema F-20 that got me started on this. I was probably going to build a Tuba HT, but wasn't real exited about starting because of the time it took to build the tuba table (lots of angled cuts!). This one is much easier and I can't get over how good it is.

I use it for music and movies, but at a very low volume for music, the k-horns don't need much help. Yes, there is no center channel. I have had surround sound before but didn't think it was worth the investment in equipment (or I couldn't afford the equipment to make it worth it?). The K-horns image so well in their current spot that surround sound kind of takes care of itself.

Painted black and in place. The sound is amazing and a great match with the K-horns. I ran RTA on it and the response is very flat, no EQ needed.

In place and testing. Found one small leak along the bottom face. Fixed it with a little caulk.

I decided to install the hatch cover over the driver opening instead of flush as the plan calls for. I figured it would be easier to seal and nobody will see it anyway.

Driver installed and hatch cover made.

With the top on, actually the bottom since I built it upside down.

Gluing underway. I used pocket screws to hold things in place and PL to glue and seal.

Cutting the baffle for the 15 inch driver.

Putting the pieces together before gluing to make sure it is right.

I have finally finished building my Cinema F-20 and thought I would share some build pics. This is doing the initial layout, the lines had to be exactly the same on top and bottom!

Coming soon, I want to paint it first.

I have built two horn subs, a Cinema F-20 (recently finished with more pics coming soon) for my K-horns, and a tuba table for the La Scalas. The tuba table is a great match for the La Scala both for music and movies. I turn up the sub volume for movies, and lower for music. When balanced correctly the transition from La Scala to sub is seamless. The tuba table is a reasonable size box (for those of us with BIG speakers), the Cinema F-20 not so much. It is bigger and heavier than the k-horns, but a huge bottom end! The tuba table is a bit of a PITA to build with all the angled in side cuts, the Cinema F-20 easy. Attached is a pic of the F-20, as yet unpainted.

HT and music. I turn it up a bit for movies so it's a bit more in you face, but again overall volume levels are sane. I do enough damage to my ears in the orchestra with the tympani behind me!

Relax. A low pass filter is mandatory and it sounds like you have that covered, but the high pass is not. I don't have one on my tuba table and have no problems at all, and am not planning on using one on the Cinema F-20 currently under construction. However I am not out to impress the neighbors or shake loose the foundation of the house. The high pass is really needed if you want to crank it up, and mine seems to have plenty to offer without a lot of power.

A great price. Jump on this fast!

Try some Herbie Hancock

I paid $1,700 for my excellent condition birch ones . At the time I thought it was the deal of the century but have since seen several pairs go in that price range. As noted above, exotic finishes up the price, but $4,500 seems way high to me (unless you are outside of the US, then who knows?).

How low a horn speaker will go is determined by its length. A trumpet will never go as low as tuba, it is too short, and the same goes with horn speakers. The difference between the K-horn and La Scala is the length of the bass horn. My experience with the La Scala is placement is key to maximizing the bass. Good corner placement yields great bass, but it does not go all that low. I added a horn sub (tuba table) to mine; the transition is seamless and I now have great low bass as well.

You have me convinced. My wood is cut, the driver is sitting on the bench, now I have to find time to assemble. [] I will post pics when I have more that a pile of wood.

I have found several nice tube amps in that price range. Two that I currently own are an Elite 80 (http://www.idealinnovations.biz/default.htm), a 20 watt Canadian built amp. The second is a Sophia Ellectric "Baby" amp. The Sophia I bought used off of Agon and currently powers my La Scalas. The Baby only has 10 watts but that is plenty for the La Scalas and does not lack for bass. Both amps are dead quiet (as any properly set up amp should be). The Elite 80 sounded particularly good with my Fortes (now gone) and therefore might be a good match for the Chorus. Good luck.

I can't tell you how many years I waited until a pair of K-horns came along in my area. After I got them it seemed like K-horns, La Scalas, and Cornwalls showed up every other week. Be patient and set a budget. There are too many people who list these things based what they hope they are worth. I have seen too many asking $3000 plus for k-horns on Ebay and Craigslist. Try posting a wanted in the garage sale area.

Thanks for posting this build, I am truly inspired. I was thinking of building another tuba to go with my K-horns, but I am going to build this instead! Thanks again. [8-|]

Fortes for sure. For even a bigger step up find some Chorus, same footprint as Fortes but La Scala league sound. [6]