Rhetor

I just wrote that "better minds" would need to jump in . . . ;-)

Again, sorry I missed that post.I had a blown K77 in one of my first La Scalas. Found out you can buy a diaphragm, but it is not going to be a factory equivalent . . . they just are not manufactured to satisfaction. So, I sourced an original working vintage K77 round magnet to match. Of course I first bought a pair of CT125s, but went back to old school. On a K77 or a K-55 on an older speaker, hard to tell without opening. And when you open a K77 at least, probably going to destroy the phenolic diaphragm every time. K-55 factory level replacements, as I understand it, are readily available and I would not be concerned if it was replaced. Probably knew of the best ways to tell if it has been replaced is if it has a super crappy solder job on the wire leads. But better minds than mine need to jump in in this one.

Sorry, Sancho . . . Somehow I missed your post #102 and got confused.

Diaphragm? On a crossover? We have just been talking about caps on the crossovers.

Overkill? I thought that was the point of a hobby. My K-horn fronts testify to that. ;-)

Inspection? Yeah, I inspected mine when I got them. Looked inside the HF section and said to myself, "Look there are nearly 40 year old caps in there!" Talked to Bob the first time. Convinced me that a 40 year old cap (looking good and even testing good on a multi-meter) was most likely weakened over time. He convinced me to try it myself the first time. Never soldered in my life. Pointed me to the tutorial for AA on his website. http://www.critesspeakers.com/rebuilding_a_set_of_type_aa.htmlAfter I got the old ones out I tested them with the trusty multi-meter (first use of one) and most of them were still tested good, all of them tested good on one crossover. But BOTH speakers, which sounded good with the old caps, came alive with the Sonicap replacements from the Crites kits. Went on to replace the caps in in a pair of K-horns and a pair of Heresys and woke them both up. It was a fun learning experience. And you cannot get much better from a sideline coach than through Bob's tutorial. Took just a few days to get the kits from Crites. Plus, I had a backup plan. If I failed, was just going to pack up the crossovers and mail them to Bob for a makeover. One caveat . . . some people prefer different caps than the sonicaps. But, Bob did right by me . . . More than once. PS Edit: his tip at the end of the tutorial on changing out the inductor screw was spot on for me. Two of the three sets of crossovers I did had regular steel screws holding the inductors down instead of stainless steel. That was a simple change out and I am sure gained a little performance the dogs can hear. Made me feel better anyway.

That is $220 for two rebuilds; Or just buy the DIY build kit from him $87, enough to rebuild two AA crossovers . . . Youth is like a Klipsch mafia middle man . . . He knows people who can do the dirty work! ;-)

Oval tin cans.....looks totally original...very Old School Nastalgic Looking Crossovers Yup, those are the original old caps. They are great looking with the old caps. Lucky for me none of mine had leaked before or after I bought each Heritage speaker with those in them. I really did not want to replace them because I liked the look, but performance won the day.Your crossover looks clean too. I see a recap in your future to bring them back into spec. Well, not your future, but someone else who you know that can help out. Even before I recapped mine, they sounded better than about any speaker I owned before. Just sounded better after the recap. You know, looking at the wood in your HF section, it looks lacquered. I have one pair of LS that are birch that were walnut stained and lacquered at the factory (stickers still on mine) . . . Maybe that is what you have.

Now if were a book on miscellaneous I could do better. Uh, isn't that the point of the forum? ;-). Love your posts!

That's true, and wakejunkie is already trying to figure out when he can come down again next. Might be a fun project together (aka me watching him solder).Man, it's getting hard replying to everyone's comments so if I miss yours, don't hesitate to bring it to my attention. Well, we are all excited for you . . . you give so much to the forum.One question. When you look inside the back into the HF section of the LS, do they look like the old oval tin-looking caps, or do they look new? (Someone may have saved you the trouble.) Even better, snap a quick pic when you can. But I know there is a lot going on for you between now and Easter morning. And . . . I love that pic of the La Scalas aside RFs in your HT pic above. Inspiring in a Klipsch sort of way.

Now, that is hilarious! BTW . . . I would not send the AAs anywhere to get totally rebuilt, I would only recap them since they are working . . . I think you have enough forum friends nearby that you could get one to do the soldering for you once you have parts, Bro. The first time I did a recap, never soldered before. It took me 90 minutes to recap that first pair of La Scala crossovers. I was working as slow, careful, methodical and focused as a centenarian on a bed pan in a nursing home! But everything came out just fine . . . for both of us. ;-)

I think we all have that one set of speakers that we love and that all other speakers are compared to, even "technically" spec'd better ones. From reading, I won't speak for Youth, but it seems that may be the 83s he says he will probably never sell.

It's funny how when I first started the in the forums, how I would often say that to my eyes, that I did not care for the design of the "older" klipsch speakers because they look so "dated" and that I prefer the much more modern look of the Reference Series. While this is still somewhat true, my opinion has begun to change the closer I get to 40. LOL. I'm beginning to appreciate all Klipsch speakers, both current models as well as older generations."Somewhat true," Youthman? ;-). Little more than 24 hours after your first post, I think you are now over the slope! Just like so many of us!Bought my first set of raw birch La Scalas two years ago for a song, replaced a blown tweeter on one with an ebay vintage tweeter, recapped them (with a Crites kit) and was blown away. 16 months later, was listening in the 11 channels of Heritage in the HT! And have La Scalas and Belle front int the wife's home office too. I had a great 7.1 Reference setup in the HT when I bought those first La Scalas not knowing what I was doing. But the end result (no more Reference speakers in the house, though I loved them) . . . two Heritage setups now and all Heritage HT. I walk in the room and smile big before I turn on the first amp. Now, a technical point. If your La Scalas still have the original caps in them, no matter how much you turn them up, you probably still have not heard them yet. I replaced the broken tweeter and hooked mine up. liked them enough, but kept looking at those old caps. A couple of weeks of that, I bought from Bob one of his crossover recap kits for my AA crossovers, learned to solder, recapped them . . . and . . . BAM!!!! I was blown away! The bass even then was light to me because they only go down to 53hz by design. For some, that is sufficient for their desires, but I like a lot of thump, so a sub simply made it happen just fine and transparently . . . The clarity is amazing. From looking at your pics, from the factory, your LS were probably raw birch and then later walnut stained by one of the previous owners--who looks to have done an outstanding job of it. Either a Belle or another La Scala would make a great center. I run a Belle between K-horns in one setup and a Belle between La Scalas in another. To me, the Belle is still the most beautiful speaker Kilpsch ever stopped making. In any case, pony up the few dollars for a cap kit from Bob. He has a walk through on how to replace them on his website. It was my first solder job, which I am sure you already know how to do. It will bring those puppies back into spec and wake them up. IMHO no need to A/B them with the 83s until you recap the LS with new . . . not going to be a fair comparison with the 83s if the La Scala caps are old and out of spec. Can you take a pic of the LS HF section so we can see the caps on your crossover? Maybe a previous owner already recapped them. Congrats and welcome to the Heritage slippery slope! And you thought you were pretty well done after that major score will all those high end Reference speakers you recently bought all at one time! ;-) Billy

Got my orange ones in Monday . . . got orange to use these on my Harley and while pressure washing. I have other more expensive in-ears--Bose, Klipsch, Shure, Turtle Beach, and those crappy Apple ones that come with the iPod. Got these for the "rugged" . . . weatherproof purpose. For $40 bucks, I could clean the ear wax out after testing and give as a gift if I did not like them.I really like them . . . Great volume and bass. I figure if I am going to lose my hearings, I would rather listen to music than just the pressure washer. Can't even really hear the pressure washer with these on . . . and the right tips on them make them comfortable. The wrong size tips and they fall out or just plain hurt. Using the right tip is comfortable and seals them for acceptable music listening. I like the oversize buttons . . . not hard to find when changing volume or songs while working/riding. Only one,problem . . . as I was ordering, I asked my wife over and over again, "Do you want me to order a pair for you too since they are waterproof and so cheap?" Adamantly, she repeated over and over again, "No, I will just take your old Apple ones. Quit asking. No!" Then she listened to the S4i in-ears when they came in. Now, I do not have a pair anymore. Got to wait now on another sale before I can have some too!

They had been on the Atlanta CL for $3000 for a long time. Guess the seller lowered to a price point somebody liked. And the buyer may have negotiated them down further . . . you never know.

Careful, faux mahogany finish on these originally birch k-horns. $2300 is the seller's asking price. No affiliation. https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/for/4397448073.htmlt

No affiliation. https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/ele/4403777493.html

Ring those Belles, Taz! Glad you got two pair. Saving you a lot of trouble. Because, once you get your first pair of a Heritage, then you immediately have to get a second pair! Saved yourself a lot of time! ;-) Nice score.

Made my HT a multi-purpose room. Iced my vinyl in there for 2 channel, then moved my home office (desk, computer, printers, etc) in there. Been an amazing use. I spend more time in there using it for a work space too! So, all that hard work for the HT final vision arrived ( and set up 7.1 in my wife's office and a couple of k-horns in the basement workshop) . . . then I found, "Well, I have arrived; now what?" Hardly ever went back in there until I turned it into multi-purpose HT, 2 channel vinyl, and office. I am enjoying the HT again and getting more desk work done! And, since I work in there, it is easy to breakaway from the HT to work on my other hobbies, vintage muscle and motorcycles.

Have you thought about selling them separately . . . one mahogany finished and one unfinished? A single La Scala makes a nice center.

Then I will learn from you experience . . . and not do it! Thanks, Billy And yes, that is a cigarette butt. I actually bought a cap and tried it. The LS suffered from nicotine withdraw and was horrible to live with for weeks after that experiment. Thanks for that... Do not tell the Surgeon General!

Thanks for the tip. I really like the AAs aI have in most of my Heritage speakers (recapped, of course). Just thought there might be a simple way to get a little extra out of the stock ones . . . Until I save my nickels for the DeanG ones! Billy

Then I will learn from you experience . . . and not do it! Thanks, Billy

That is it, Dean, what I had bounced around into. If it did not sound right to you, good enough for me not to bother with it. Thanks! Billy

Yeah, I had to . . . My Professional life ramped up to high speed (in a good way) about the time you were sending out the crossovers on Dean's roadshow. I had been reading the roadshow thread once in a while. I will look at what Fritz has done too. Billy