Shock-Late

quote: Originally posted by Al Klappenberger: Mark, DAAAHH! How dumb can I get. I just realized the sectored horns in my Altec Malibu speakers where the 800 Hz jobs. Yours are the big 500 Hz version! I think I need another cup of Coffee! AL K. Huh...Al, you sure need to modify the "standard" AlK crossover if you want to use the Altec driver, don't you? Also, the midrange horn cut-off is 500 Hz, and the cross-over freq. is 400Hz...so, there should be a mod here too?? Would the basshorn be able to go up to 500Hz? Frans

When I bought my Scalas the previous owner had fitted two wooden bars in each cab, between external walls and "V", in order to limit vibrations. But he did it so ugly I decided to remove themfrom one of the speakers and listen if I could live without them. Well, it's strange but I think they actually sound better WITHOUT strenghtening. You sure feel the walls vibrate more without it, but it sounds like the resonance frequency in the strenghtened one is higher, and that way more in the midband, adding a coloration to the sound that is more diffuse on the non-strenghtened cab. Maybe some mods are not that great; tell me what do you think about that. After all, maybe mine were only badly modified, with poor wood, I don't know... Frans

I'd like to try out something, but i have to be sure it's safe for the x-overs so i'm asking you. As I have two integrated amps, and two sets of AA x-overs, I'd like to drive one amp into one crossover connected to the bass speaker, and use the other amp connected to another crossover to the mid/high. I just don't want to burn the x-overs (it happened one time: I burned a crossover from a danish speaker system when listening to the speaker without the woofer being connected...could it happen with AA cross-overs?). I know it might seem an azardous mod but anyway it's just for a try...even if I'm sure the normal combination will still sound better. Thanks for your advices Frans

Please don't sell the klipsch!!! Or sell them cheap to me... Seriously, you won't get any upgrade by buying smaller speakers....upgrade in your relationship with your wife maybe, but that's about it (sometimes, i said sometimes, worth it). Even smaller speakers from the klipsch line wouldn't satisfy you sonically speaking. I suspect you choosed the klipsch for their sound; so any shoebox-sized "mini monitor" would be a waste of money since they don't have the klipsch sound. Nobody, exept klipsch, has the klipsch sound (well, maybe such advertising is worth a little gift? I'd like a KSW15... Bob???) Frans

I was thinking to sell my false-klipshorn-basshorns since now I've got real Scalas, but now I'm thinking about using the cornerhorns as subs...worth it? Would I get "the best of both worlds"?? those cornerhorns were bad as mid-bass horns but maybe they would be great as subs... Also, does anyone have picts of the K33E (not K33) woofer, and also of the K55M driver? Thanks! Frans

Very Nice, Sunnysal!! I like the amps on the speakers (tough for a fraction of second I tought they were plasma tweeters...). Frans

This beast is awesome, John!!! It's a pity to see how ugly and "plain" are Klipsch woofers. It's the same thing with my TESLA alnico woofers: they're so beautiful (tough obviously not as beautiful as this one) that I'm sad i have to sell them to get the money for a pair of K33E...wich just look SO cheap...Hopefully, in a klipsch, the woofer is hidden!!

quote: Originally posted by Kevin Kennelly: "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves" by Cher. "Copacabana" by Barry Manilow. (oh great....now I've got THAT in my head!) "You Light Up My Life", by Icky Dreck and the Sugarmonkeys. "I've Got To Get Away" by Lenny Kravitz (this guy writes music based on it's ability to be used in TV commercials). Any Mariah Carrie song, where her voice starts to make noises only my dog can hear. (Off Topic Pet Peeve: Acoustic guitar music that finds it necessisary to accentuate the sound of fingers moving up and down the strings. EG: Sade's new single). Oh god....I still have "Copa" in my head! Make it stop! Make it STOP!! MAKE IT ST... "At the copaaaa...copacabanaaaa!" Actually I think I like this song. Kinda kitsch (i like what's kitch). What about Santana??? beeeeuark! Rap in general litterally makes me sick. I can't even listen to it for the bass performance. the worse is (you lucky guys don't know it) FRENCH rap. Ever heard about NTM, DISY'Z LA PESTE, and the other bullshits?? well, you cannot even imagine what it is exactly. Frans

quote: Originally posted by cls72: I braced the "V"s in my la scalas and it made a good difference. I put 4"x1" braces on the inside of the "V" and put 1" panels on the sides. I put the panels on first and they really didnt do very much. They just flexed right along with the origional sides. The horizontal bracing is the best thing you can do for your bass and upper mid. Deeper vocals dont sound as muddy coming through the bass horn anymore and it tightened up the bass. Perhaps my favorite mod has been to stack several dryer sheets on top of each other and then cut them to fit between the squawker driver grate and the mouth of the mid horn. It seems to be much smoother. I know that its primative but its cheap and now my tweets are more prominent. The mids are not so overbearing with my solid state Sony amp. I know, I should have bought the Denon but I have used them with the Denon 3300 and it still sounded harsh up around reference level. Wow, using the words "la scala" and "reference level" in the same paragraph makes me happy! As I'm originally french-speaking I don't understand some of the terms used in some posts...but I'd like to hear more about the way you made your mids less prominent; have you a pict of a sheme of this?? Thanks! Frans

Thanks (once again) for your help djk! I'm quite amazed the K33E has a 4Ohms coil (I always thought it was 8 Ohms, just has so many high efficiency speakers, or even 16... My x-overs are of the vintage AA type, thus designed for the K33, not K33E. Was the K33 4 ohms too?? And considering my woofers are 8 ohms, what's the actual cut-off frequency with the AA network? If it's 800Hz it's quite OK for a short time, but if it's 200Hz I'll install new inductors for the woofers tomorrow morning!! I hate to know there might be a "hole" in the sound....gasp!!!!

I opened my scalas once again and this time I understood why I got a shy bass. I took one tesla woofer out to examine it closer. And it happens it has the same look as a JBL D130, you know with the extra-hard edge, exponential cone profil and aluminium dust caps. It's apparently a model desiged to be used as wide-bandwith loudspeaker, but with a very short bass just as the JBL D130. Don't know who had the stupid idea to use it in a bass horn....That said, these speakers are superb and I think I'll sell them for a good price, as they're in very good condition. Then I thought "there's no reason my EV work worse" and after fitting one in my Scala it appea rs to give more bass, even without mods...it's not fabulous, but already a lot better. At least I hear some bass now. I'll be able to listen to some music while I build the modified tops .

OK OK now it already looks quite simpler ;-). But what i was wondering about the 38Hz filter is WHY do I need it? Is that to prevent the woofer to "flap" because of the ported enclosure, and so reducing the risk for him to hit the mounting board? What about using a second gasket to keep it slightly furter from the board? Because I spent a lot of time to get the amp that would have the simplest path from input to output, and thus the more transparent sound, and I'm also using a (reasonably) "expensive" interconnect for the same reason. Maybe it would be a shame to use any active or passive filter in the path....(but correct me if I'm wrong). What would happen without the 38Hz HP filter? Also, don't yo loose the advantages of horn-loading (no distortion, no "slow bass",...) when you port the enclosure? And last but not least, why do you change the woofer inductor? Is that because of the different specs of the EV15L, or because of the ported enclosure? I think I'll keep my EV15L to try this mod, anyway. Sounds tempting to get deeper bass. many thanks, djk, for helping me becoming less dumb ;-)) Frans

Thanks for your answer, djk! I'm afraid, however, that it is a bit too complicated for me. I'm sure it works perfectly but for now I don't wanna make enclosure changes, even less if there are changes to make in the crossover (I don't know anything about cross-overs. I wouldn't even be able to recognize the woofer inductor you told me i should replace!). Maybe later, when I'll be a bit more experimented, I'll try this mod cause it sounds interesting. What do you mean by "a high-pass filter of 38Hz in front of the Power-amp"? And if I used my EV without adding mods, would it work the same as K33 or less good? I apologize to be as dumb, but all this is quite new for me ;-). Many thanks! frans

Does someone know if I could use my Electro-Voice woofers (EVM15L) in my scalas? For the moment they use Tesla woofers. But I have EV woofers in my DIY klipschorns; Bruce edgar recommended their use for a klipschorn enclosure, but I don't know if they would work in LaScala. I don't want to try if i'm not sure it could give some good results, because I'm always afraid to break something, specially the holes for the screws. (even if plywood is more solid than MDF.) Anyone ever tried EV woofers in LaScalas? Thanks! Frans

Thanks for your help John! ;-) Here K33E woofers cost 36000 FB /set. It was two years ago; I think in the 1998 US$ it made a little more than $1000 /set. Five times more expensive than in the US. And it is the same with complete loudspeakers and with every other pieces. That's why you don't meet a lot of Klipsch owners in Belgium. However, I think I'll try to hear a factory set of scalas before replacing my woofers. I plan to build a 18" sub, anyway. Frans

My Scalas don't use any spacing between woofer and slot. The woofers are not K33, they're TESLA (see description of my Scalas in the topic "Scalas pro: now i have them at home!"). I never heard the woofer hitting the board. But I use a low powered amp, maybe if I used a 100W amp they would actually hit the board (brrr, it makes me shiver to think about it: ask for the price of a re-coning!!!). Someone told me the less space the better, because it helps getting flat response up to 400Hz. Logically if you add space you add air volume in front of the cone and thus you lower the higher reachable frequency. Frans

In fact there's bass you could hear, but you cannot "feel" the bass (except at levels definitively bad for my hearing...) And the sound with some beat-driven music is pretty more "toc toc" than "thump thump".(With Jazz or classical, sound is crystal-clear but the short bass is less annoying and the sound is fabulous. Never heard piano solos sounding so "real".) That said, my ground is made from suspended wood, not very rigid, and I don't even have good solid walls to help make the bass a little stronger. My CD player also has very "rapid" bass, I use flatline interconnects which also have quite an upfront and bass-light sound, and my amp is more delicate sounding than walls-breaking. Now if I could add a little more by replacing the woofers with K33, maybe I would do it, but I really like the TESLA woofers...they look like TAD!!! And K33 are difficult to find here, and new from Klipsch they ask you $1000 for a set. That's three times the money i had to find to buy the Scalas!!! Maybe the best bet would be an external sub; as I have some room, I might try to find a nice 18inch driver. Frans

Huhh....you're telling me I"ll have to re-open them to pict the woofer? OK but first you'll get the EXTERNAL picts ;-)

This time it's real!!! I'VE GOT MY PRO LA SCALAS AT HOME!!!!!! :-))) The guy brought them yesterday evening.... Here are my impressions. First, the look: They're HUGE! They are actually 2 or 3 inches taller than the "domestic" version. They're UGLY too: they were initially raw birch but the guy who used them for 15 years painted them in a pale gray. You know, the same gray as the metal cast doors in your college, when you were 16... The edges of the enclosure have been rounded off (not bad, and well done; should look great in black...) The worse thing: he fitted two PIEZO TWEETERS along with the Klipsch tweeter (he had a switch to make them ON or OFF depending on the situation: sono or hi-fi). Of course I disconnected them !!!! but they're still on the face, and I'll have to close the holes when I'll take them out... He also fitted an horizontal strenghtening in the mouth of the bass horn (between walls and triangular enclosure...It helps eliminating vibrations, but it's ugly. OK OK they're not collectable items anymore...but remember i got them for cheap. I'll put a pict in the topics in a few. Now the parts: AA x-overs (one has been repaired, but you couldn't hear it so I suppose it has been well made). K55V mid drivers. K400 cast metal horns. And...K77 tweeters with ALNICO MAGNETS!!! They're very old, i didn't expect to find some in there. They've been added later, since there's a price sticker on one of them. They're in perfect condition. The strangest things, however, are the woofers. They're not Klipsch K33, they're not Klipsch at all. They're splendid (way more beautiful than K33) TESLA (anybody knows???) woofers with alnico magnets, vented gap and 4" voice coil. They're absolutely like new, but they surely are not since i think only TAD still makes Alnico magnets. They're rated at 150W RMS. I don't know if these woofers were fitted by Klipsch or by a previous owner. Anybody knows about Klipsch using "alien" woofers??? And now the sound: to die for, exept in the bass. No bass at all with my amp and in my room (wich is, i know, particularly bad for bass frequencies. NEVER been able to get good bass in this room...).So maybe it is because of the "foreign" woofers? Mid bass and mids are superb. And treble is absolutely splendid; they seem less harsh than the non-alnico version I've been using for a while in my false-klipschorns. May be a cheap way of upgrading LaScalas: find alnico tweeters! OK I'm stopping here. I talk a lot too much!! Any reactions are of course welcome! ;-) Frans (Shock-Late)

Indeed, the first time I listened to them I thought "are the woofers working???".But then I heard the fabulous quality of sound and I forgot about the (very) short bass response. In fact its bass reminds me of my old JBL C36 wich used old D130 Alnico in the lows. I'm happy with my scalas!!! See my new post about "now i got them!!!" for further details, since they are quite special in some ways...

I'd like to know if there's any risk of losing/breaking something when opening the door to access the woofer. I'd like to do it when I get mine, to verify the condition of the woofer, but I won't do it if i'm not sure it is 100% safe. Thanks for your help. Shock-Late (but you can call me Frans)

Damned!! Mamma Mia! c'est dingue!! Here in Belgium the only fools with a multichannel Klipsch system are the one with the Micro Quintet stuff!! I've never seen something like that in my entire life (22 years, OK not very much...)!! This is simply GREAT! Would you care to invite me in your house next summer? I'll take the Alien 5DVD box with me! :-) Don't you have a lot of standing waves in your room with so many massive woofers pounding around? Mabe your room is acoustically treated? And why do you use such massive amplification? Is that for more sound pressure, or does it help to get better bass? I'm asking that because I'm getting new (second-hand) LaScala today, and I plan to drive them with a little Musical fidelity amp (2 x 35W). I listen to all kinds of music, but with a lot of rock and electro. My room is 45 square meters. I printed your picts (huh...I mean the picts of your system of course!!!) and with your permission I will scotch them on the wall :-). I want to show them to a friend who only likes JBL columns (berk!). What are you planning to add next? I think a Velodyne HGS18 with 18" driver sub would be nice, don't you think? Shock-Wave

Thanks guys for such a quick answer ;-) I'm sooooo happy I found this site, because here in belgium nobody knows about Klipsch, only a few very rich people who own klipschorns bought new for 7000 $ in gigantic rooms with Cary valve amps...Cool, for sure, but it's still better to share with more "normal" people!!! Actually i already own "Klipsch" loudspeakers: they are home-made Klipschorn basshorns loaded with EV woofers, and the x-overs are klipsch AA with k55v and k77m. The vintage stuff... But the basshorns were firstly made to be subwoofers only, they don't reach the 400Hz frequency, and what's more my room has poor walls....results: awful sound. I'm even forced to use equalizers, and I hate equalizers of course! Now that I'm going to have REAL klipsch, i think I'm going to sell the cornerhorns and keep my old klipsch drivers: I could ask a friend to build me LaScalas enclosures so I'll have two sets, one for surround duties. Or I'll keep the drivers for an eventual repair if the ones I'll be getting today are vintage too. I'll see. Thanks guys! Shock-Late

Hi there! First i'd like to say I probably am the only belgian guy on this site...I do apologize for every language faults you're going to see in my posts....thanks for your comprehension! I just bought a pair of LaScala very cheap, without seeing them (they were only 300 euros, I think it's about the same in US dollars) because here in belgium it's almost impossible to find second-hand klipsch products, and they're eye-popping expensive. I will get them tomorrow evening (how will I sleep till then???). The guy told me they were in good working condition, but that the enclosures were badly scratched. I don't care... BUT he also told me it was a professionnal version, with separated enclosures for mid-high and bass, to allow better flexibility of placement and transport; when I asked him if they were real klipsch enclosures he said "of course they are".... I never saw any LaScala you could take in two pieces so does it really exist and what are the technical differences compared to the standard model???? If someone knows this model...please help!!! Shock-Late