Shock-Late

I did it! i bought my first tube amp!!! I have to say that...well...first impressions were pretty bad in fact...Imaging was hollow, definition and timing were poor, and there was a distinct lack of treble "sting" BUT after a re-positioning of my Scalas, with this time the mids angled towards my listening positions, the results are great! In fact my previous amp was very "clear" sounding (not to say agressive) so I had to find a speaker orientation that would make up for that. Now I was able to re-position the scalas the way they are intended to be! The most impressive difference with my previous SS amp is with the same output power you get a lot more undistorted volume! that's really great! on the minus side, my ss amp was quite a little better with electric rock. Less cool is the way this class-A amp manages to make the temp of my listening room run ten grades higher than in the rest of the house...don't know what I'm gonna do when the summer will be really there...gasp! (don't have air-co).

I'm planning to buy an integrated tube amp. But, as I'm using LaScalas, i was wondering about the possibility to connect a powered sub to the speaker-level outputs of a little tube amp, since this last one uses output transformers, wich are for 8 OR 4 ohms, and what's more those output transformers often have a limited bandwith in the bass frequencies, so the signal sended to the sub would be also "short" in the very low frequencies? thanks!

I'm quite wondering about vertical mounting of the K77 tweeter. Never tried, will try it tomorrow, but I can't see why klipsch mounted them horizontally if they sound better vertically. And also, the shape of the little horn WOULD seem to indicate that the horizontal dispesion is better...strange. But why not after all...

Well, DWK, I don't think it would be a good idea: -first, you would also need to buy klipsch cross-overs to match your horns, and those horns would probably be way more sensitive than your fisher woofers, resulting in an awful, unbalanced sound, with everything above, say, 1Khz sounding 10 dB louder than under 1Khz!!! -And secondly, klipsch speakers are great as a whole. It's the skill of the manufacturer that produces such great speakers; taken separately, klipsch parts are very average and not worth being used as replacement parts. You should buy, if you're short on money, a pair o second-hand klipsch, you'll have a lot more fun!

It reminds me one day after spending an evening at a friend's house, listening to music on a Bang and Olufsen system feeding Bose acoustimass speakers; back in my listening room, in front of my scalas, the sound i heard was strangely similar to that of the Bose system. I spent a few hours thinking "i thought I had a good system and it sound not better than a Bose plastic cube! Then I noticed the speakers were connected out of phase. Bose has the only speakers that sound like out-of-phase klipsch. It costs less, after all...Does an out-of-phase Bose system sound like in-phase Klipsch? maybe i should try

I'd like to buy a tube amp to use with my Scalas. Since I don't have much money, i'm considering a second-hand AMC CVT3030 currently for sale in my favourite shop. But i was'nt able to listen to it on my speakers (the seller doesn't want to let me take it at home for a try), I just listened to it on little JBL columns, and yes it sounded damn good, with a warm balance but good details and holographic soundstage. I currently use a little Musical Fidelity B1 amp, 2 x 35W SS in class AB. The AMC amp is 2 x 30W in class A, EL34, the preamp section is SS but class A too. I think it is a cheap but quite good little amp, can someone tell me if it works with the big Klipsches?

It's not very easy to get a good soundstage with klipsch speakers. I use Lascalas, and I had to play a lot with their position to get a wide but focused soundstage. Finally I chose to let them parallel to the front wall, without having the horns pointed at me like i used to do before. But then you need to get a good distance between you and the speakers if you want to hear all the midrange details; if you're too close the sound simply passes "around" your hears, so directional are those little beasts. In my setting the voices are slightly less focused centre-stage than they were when the speakers were toed-in, but the sensation of space, depht and clarity are now much much better and you get also much less "distortions" and "melting" of the sound when you crank the volume up. It took me an entire afternoon to get the proper distance between seat and speakers, tough...

Well, mdeneen, the guy on the phone told me EL34 but maybe he was wrong. Don't know, and don't care, as long as it sounds good! Guy, yep I heard a lot of good things about the LEAK strereo 20, and there's one for sale on www.ibazar.fr it seems to be a very nice little amp. What about the leak preamp from the same year? I have to buy it too if i go for the leak, the guy doesn't want to sell only the amp. Thanks, Frans

Well...huh...from time to time I listen to techno at 130 dB but the more I grow "old"(! I'm 22) the more i listen to "quieter" music. My favourite band for the moment is Coldplay. I'm currently thinking about buying a french tube amp (Lafayette) from the sixties. It's rated at 2 x 12W (EL34) and I would maybe have a good deal on it (swap with my MF solid-state amp, wich is like new...). But anyway i wanna TRY tubes first! never heard what a tube amp sounds like!! at least on REAL speakers ( I mean no shoeboxes). Regards, frans

Thanks for all your answers, guys! If my memory's good these amps are from mid-sixties...I should check anyway. I really don't think they're bad! One annoying thing is: only one line-level input on each bloc, plus the fact that you have to use two volume knobs. (yep, these babies are INTEGRATED monoblocs). I'm not sure i'll buy them, I love the way they look (ooooh yes I do!) but they're 250$ so it's quite expensive if it's only for the looks. I believe they're pretty good but I found there are more powerful amps available in my price range...less "unique" and most of them are really ugly. Mdeneen, i generally listen quite "quiet" but that's true sometimes I like to crank it up! and i hate when the amps get short while i do that... Regards, Frans

They're tube of course. I wouldn't buy a 2 x 8W solid-state amp They're beautiful aren't they? Frans

I still have my MF 2 x 35W solid-state amp, but I'm looking around for a cheap-but-good little valve amp. And I saw something interesting, it's a pair of Akai monoblocs (don't shake your heads, those come from the years when Akai was a good brand), they're for studio-use, 8W RMS each, everything has been checked, they look FAB (see the pict) and they're within my budget BUT will I have enough clout to drive my Scalas with rock music at loud levels with only 8 watts/channel?? It seems to be quite a bit too low... My room is 4m x 7,5m (can't translate it into feet sorry). Here's the pict:

Heritage series are THE rock loudspeakers by excellence!! i have vintage scalas, and i listen to a bit from everything on them, and everything sounds grrreat, but that's true that Rage against..., radiohead, Coldplay, and in a more electronic style, Moloko ,Mirwais,Daft Punk, Underworld, are currently the best sounding discs i have. Coldplay sounds absolutely fabulous. Listen to "Shiver" or "we never change" or whatever on their last album and you'll feel like the singer is standing a few feet in front of you, singing for your own private pleasure... Go on, buy some big klipsches!!!!!!! regards, Frans PS yep, and that's true, Cake's "I will survive" makes the house boogie!

I was wondering if it would be worth building a pair of Cornwall boxes, but without the mids and tweets and x-overs, to use them as subs with my scalas? Do the cornwall reach the lower frequencies? Also, should I use the a K33E woofer? the reason i'd like to do it is that the cornwall doesn't seem to be very difficult to build, just a well-made square box... Thanks, Frans

quote: Originally posted by tblasing: As far as I can tell the drivers do have sound coming from them. It's not crackling but they do sound weak comparatively. Should I try the "battery on the terminals" test or is that only if it is a totally dead driver? BTW- Yes, both the Receiver and the eq are at near max (+6db and what ever the Receiver can deliver). Fortunately I did find a good bass tone with a good placement. The deadness I'm hearing could explain why the left channel (A) is not as loud as the right. I just got the Receiver back from Everett Audio (Carver's people) for a tune up and when I set it up it sounded a lot better than before (both channels playing pretty much equal). Reading other posts on the BB there has been mention of the highs being very bright in the beginning. I assumed (go ahead "When you assume.....") that what I was hearing was normal. Also I didn't yet find that proper spot for the bass to come alive. I'm hoping this is covered . I'm quite amazed you had to boost the treble with Klipsch loudspeakers! a lot of listeners find them already quite painful and need some "break-up" period to accomodate for the bright sound. Not that klipsch are SO overly bright, but other speakers are so dull... I'm speaking seriously: maybe you should check your earing. Don't take it bad, but... that's what i would do... regards, Frans

A few years ago you could find a splendid Nakamichi 7 discs "music bank" cd player. Don't remember the reference, but it was not the MB4S wich is "middle-class", it was a very high-end player, as heavily built as a big amp. If I find the name i'll post it, since you should be able to find one second-hand. It was a truly splendid machine... regards, Frans

quote: Originally posted by Malcolm: Just Heresys and subwoofer: 1966 with EV woofers, Type C network 1972 with CTS woofer, Type C 1974 different CTS woofer, Type E 1978 Eminence woofer, Type E Decware WO32 subwoofer All in various stages of being veneered with Narra, trimmed with Teak and covered with cane grills. http://midtown.net/blackhal/images/1966.jpg http://midtown.net/blackhal/images/1972.jpg http://midtown.net/blackhal/images/1974.jpg http://midtown.net/blackhal/images/1978.jpg http://midtown.net/blackhal/images/wo32.jpg http://midtown.net/blackhal/images/narra.jpg This Deckware WO32 sub looks cool!! could you tell us more about it?? Thanks!! Frans

quote: Originally posted by Seb: john, AMAZING WORK!! have you ever considered selling some of those? if so, i'd be VERY interested... where do you live? Seb, so you're finally seriously thinking about buying some big klipsches?? Great! now we'll be able to sing "il est des no-o-tres, il a bu son verre comme les au-au-tres!!" (stupid student song, don't think you sing that in Quebec...) regards, Frans

Well...let's try again with that unloaded picts...

Ooooh...this is a really, really beautiful post!! i'm almost crying! i was sure this would end like "well, i ditched those old heresies" but you didn't!! you're a great guy . frans

I'm just playing with my new webcam, so here are some picts of my system. These are very very bad picts but I hope to post some good ones soon!! As you can see, my Scalas are far from "mint condition" as the first owner transformed them in "pro" version (two pieces). But they're real scalas, i can see the difference between the original wood and the one the guy added to make the "floor plate" of the mid-high box. The strenghtenings in the bass horns are very ugly too, but they do their job. What's really painful is the piezo tweeters he added; of course they're not connected anymore. but they're ugly too. I rather like the gray paint-job, and the black plastic corners. They integrate well with my industrial decor. Anyway, scalas are difficult to find here in belgium, and i bought them for very cheap... You cannot see it clearly on the picts (sorry again) but the electronics are MusicalFidelity B1MKII amp, Kenwood DP7090 CD, and Marantz model 120 tuner. Alas you can't see the cornerhorns (subs) on the picts. I can't place my "custom scalas" along your beautifully veneered heritage speakers, so i made a new post... ) frans

quote: Originally posted by MacKlipsch: I have had Klipschorns and a Belle center channel for 15 years....I love it....I have an 18 foot wall, so the difference is noticeable....I will try to post the "Dope from Hope" that deals with this subject. I will upload in 2 attachments...If it doesn't work, feel free to e-mail me and I'll send them to you.... Well with such a huge wall and klipschorns in the corners i can understand what's nice about a center speaker. I believe the dimensions of my listening room, plus the fact i use scalas, are responsable to the fact i don't want a center speaker. Al, sorry i was dumb about the "left-right mix". I didn't know there was the 6 db thing (see a few posts before ).But the idea disturbed me. Regards, Frans

quote: Originally posted by John Warren: Quite a fancy amp for a PA speaker designed for a train station in PA. i don't feel lascala sound like PA speakers, even if they are. And I listened to several PA speakers, being used to nightclubs and little rock concerts. you'll never can compare a lascala to a "traditional" PA cab, even the really expensive ones (JBL, Nexo, Electro-Voice). I think this is due to the fact that the LaScala, being from the "older generation" of PA designs, emphasizes more on sound quality than on raw power. Frans

quote: Originally posted by Marty65: If you can get your hands on a McIntosh C27 preamplifier it has a center channel output. Paul sure was ahead of his time. They just seem to give it new names today. Dan Except the actual "3 channels" process uses a processor that directs only the informations common on both channels to a center channel; PWK system only mixes EVERYTHING what's found on both channels; that's why i don't like the idea...it's a bit like using an amp that would have a very bad channel separation. That said, i can understand some people like the effect it has on the sound. After all, what's great with this hobby is that you can do it the way you like it Frans

quote: Originally posted by Dman155: I want the tuning to drop lower, like 20 hz or something (is that what you meant spider?). If the driver does get close to bottoming out, it will be producing a much higher spl then it is now (the front driver never moves more then an inch right now and apparantly, its capable of 2 inches). You won't get any good results by changing the enclosure of your sub. The driver and the passives used are precisely matched to the existing enclosure. There's nothing more difficult than to get good bass, it requires very precise calculations of the box/woofer interaction. And those "special" drivers as the one you have in your LF10 are designed to work only in very small enclosure; the high displacement capability of this driver is there to compensate the reduced size of the box. In a bigger box it would bottom out without producing any hearable bass... Regards, Frans