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The veneer will be Tasmanian oak

And another

"Had advice from Bobs company that all the components left the States on 30th December, so wont be long before they hit the shores of Oz. Been reading with interest threads regarding the pros & cons of MDF verses Ply & quite like the idea of using the brace & sticking with 3/4 inch ply. Will let you all know when the drivers arrive." Well everything is here & finally started on the cabinets. Gone with 3/4'' ply all around & the design is a copy of one of Gregs refurbishments. Heres a photo of the mock up.

Here's a link to some amazing Klipsch restoration projects. Maybe you have seen this before, but if not, it just shows what can be done to those old Klipsch's. Enjoy! http://www.dcchomes.com/LaScala.html

Does anyone know if when using this brace does it run all the way to the rear of the cabinet?

Starting the road to La Scala ownership again after many years absence. For whatever reason I can't remember, I sold my early 80's La Scalas & went through a variety of different speakers before settling with a pair of Altec Model 19's. Fantastic speakers & ideally suited sound wise to the home environment. I've always missed that tight bass from the La Scla's though, so I've taken the plunge & ordered all the components from Bob Crites & will get some cabinets professionally made here in Oz. We don't get a lot of options second hand wise here in Australia, so I figured this was the best route to go. Had advice from Bobs company that all the components left the States on 30th December, so wont be long before they hit the shores of Oz. Been reading with interest threads regarding the pros & cons of MDF verses Ply & quite like the idea of using the brace (attached photo) & sticking with 3/4 inch ply. Will let you all know when the drivers arrive.

Here's the La Scala plans, but I agree with everyone else.....if you want more bass you need to add a sub of some type. Adding more La Scala cabinets won't make your bass go any deeper, will just give you more of the same. LaScala11.pdf

Yes I see the difference now. Instead of coming to a point, it has a flat section & then tapers away. Appreciate your input but I don't think I want to go that route. Have to head off to work now & get this out of my brain for the day.

The motorboard is basically the same as what you have posted from the plans I have. I have added them as an attachment as I don't know how to post them as a picture like you have done. Getting very confused here with all the info everyone is contributing but I do appreciate it though. My first plans were to build a set of original L Scala's as that is always what I have wanted & the pair I had sounded great....no complaints at all. I have a few doubts about changing the design & also the material. I know from previous experience that the cabinet will produce a sound of it's own & the ply will have a characteristic tone. By altering this, theoretically it will change the sound of the speakers. Whether that is for the better or the worse is ultimately up to the listener. Thicker walls & less resonance may remove a hump in the frequency response, but that may be part of the characteristics of the original sound. My thoughts always return to that original sound of my previous La Scala's & that is the sound I am looking for. I need to have a good hard think about what I am trying to achieve here before I commit to construction.LaScala11.pdf

Yes I think you're spot on there.....the cab is made from 1"stock & the dog house is made from 3/4"stock. This scenario tallys up exactly with the plans I have for the original La Scala if you were to substitute 1" material for the sides.Will be discussing with the cabinet maker soon.

From any of the photos I have seen, the sides, top & bottom of the bass cabinet are made from 1" material. So to achieve the correct overall width you'd need to make the dog house from 3/4" material. What I was thinking of doing is make the bass cabinet as a seperate enclosure with the cabinet sides, top, bottom, back & woofer mounting board from 1" MDF, the rest of the dog house from 3/4" MDF. The horn & tweeter enclosure in 3/4" ply to keep the weight down. Both enclosures veneered. So in effect this would be La Scala 2's. Can anyone with a set of factory 2's tell me whether the dog house is made from 3/4" or 1 inch material?

Yes, just looking at the plan adjustments now. The new La Scala is 24 1/4' wide & 25 1/4' deep. The old one is 23 3/4" wide & 24 1/2'' deep. By my reckoning the cabinet will be 24 3/4' wide if I keep the base chamber & the horn exit widths the same. Maybe they've adjusted the size of the dog house slightly? I suppose this might not be that critical as the bass driver seems to work just fine in a Belle & that's a totally different shape altogether. Wait a minute......just have to turn the aircon up a notch.

Yes, I see what you mean. I can get the look I want by using the 1"MDF, but my concern then is that I have to veneer the cabinets which is extra expense & probably not something I would tackle myself. Having said that, the sound is the most important priority for me & I will give this some serious thought. Components should arrive early in the new year so am arranging a meeting with my cabinet maker for then & will discuss this option with him. Yeah, it's probably average 30 degrees C each day up here with hardly a cloud in the sky, except for the evenings when we will get a storm. Well, someone has to live here.

No, keeping the 19's. Learnt from my previous mistakes that if at all possible you should try to hang on to the good stuff. I'm going to keep the retro look & for that reason will have them built from 3/4'' birch ply like the originals.

Starting the road to La Scala ownership again after many years absence. For whatever reason I can't remember, I sold my early 80's La Scalas & went through a variety of different speakers before settling with a pair of Altec Model 19's. Fantastic speakers & ideally suited sound wise to the home environment. I've always missed that tight bass from the La Scla's though, so I've taken the plunge & ordered all the components from Bob Crites & will get some cabinets professionally made here in Oz. We don't get a lot of options second hand wise here in Australia, so I figured this was the best route to go. I'll be running a Velodyne HGS 12 inch sub with them so can't wait to hear the bottom end.[] Will post some pics in the new year when the cabs are under way.

Like any component, I believe the better the quality the better the sound. Ivor Tefenbrun from Linn lead the way when he developed the Linn Sondek & proved all the skeptics wrong that the source was the most important link in the chain. Garbage in = garbage out. No use updating your speakers & other components if you're feeding them rubbish. Can I suggest you are correct that the difference between a $200 & an $800 player might not be that great, but the difference between a $200 player & a $5000 player should be night & day. Obviously we have the law of diminishing returns once you start comparing $5,000 players with $10,000 & $20,000 players & everyone has to decide if the difference is worth it. A lot of complaints regarding "in your face sound", "harshness", "honky bass sound" are all due to improper source components, including the start of the source. I still regret selling my Linn [] & have been trying to capture that sound since the day it left....but we won't go there. Surely your Khorns & La Scalas deserve the best chance they can get.

I've found that the cabling in your system can make a huge difference, but in the end only your ears can tell you if it is worth it. Currently I am using Eichmann interconnects & speaker wire on my Altec 19's & that smoothed them out no end & gave much more detail throughout the whole range. Also a power conditioner which gave a much cleaner background & more detailed bass. You have to do a lot of experimenting to find out what works best with your system components, so find a dealer who will let you try any cables before you buy.