jhoak

They started out as La Scala I single piece. I cut the tops off and built the tophats in the style of La Scala IIs. At the time my camera had been sent to one of the outer moons of Neptune for repair so I didn't get any photos of the early stages of the project. I flipped the bass bin over so the doghouse cover is up. The bottom of the tophat is open. The tophat has a sealed back with a port slot and a 7" deep port shelve. The top of the bass bins and the bottom of the tophats are built to make an airtight seal to each other. The woofers are Crites CW1526Cs. The squawker horns are Fastrac horns built by GotHover with F-55-M drivers and the tweeters are Crites CT125s. The crossovers are a pair of Crites A/4500s that have been converted to Type-As by changing out the tweeter capacitor. I'm saving my spare nickels and dimes to get a pair of ALK universals for them. The original design concept was to give me as much configuration flexibility as possible. As they are today. the can be set up six different ways. 1) Conventional with sealed bass bins facing forward 2) Conventional with sealed bass bins facing backward (the back of the bass bin is veneered) 3) Ported with the bass bin facing forward 4) Ported with the bass bin facing backward 5) Sealed tophats (much larger internal volume) with the bass bins facing forward 6) Sealed tophats with the bass bin facing backwards. I haven't tried all of the possible configurations. To date I've only run them with configurations 1 and 3. I am VERY VERY happy with them. I suspect that they'll be with me for a very long time. []

Where in Florida will you be loading them up? There are quite a few of us here on the forum who live all across Florida. I can't speak for the others but if you're talking fairly close I'll volunteer a Saturday or Sunday to help you get everything taken apart and packed properly for the trip. Jeff

I know where there's a very nice Juicy Music Merlin for $600. Add http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preaphon&1264285089&/Juicy-Music-Tercel-(original-/ and you're golden.

I bought the same two pieces. They're hooked to a newly acquired Bob Latino VTA ST-120 (built by Bob) which is driving a pair of La Scalas. I think you'll be very happy with your Emotiva equipment. I know I sure am!!!

That's easy. ALL THE WAY UP!!! []

According to the Klipsch web site Academies were finished in walnt oil, oak oil, oak clear, and black. I could custom veneer it if someone wanted something special. It looks pretty good as is in walnut though. I've done a little bit of veneer work [] http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/p/125734/1271067.aspx#1271067

Well the whole point of the refinish was to get it ready to sell.

I'm pretty sure that the veneer under the paint is NOT oak.

Here's #2

OK... I couldn't stand it. I ran to the office to get my SD card an snapped a couple of pictures. Here's # 1

So I'm in the process of prepping my black Academy for new veneer. While I'm sanding off the existing black paint I'm struck with how nice the underlying veneer is. Just for grins and giggles I dig out a can of Watco Danish oil and wipe a quickie coat on. WOW... What's underneath the black paint appears to be really REALLY nice walnut veneer. Who knew? I'm not sure what to do. I was planning to re-veneer this speaker in oak (oiled) but it looks SO good in the existing walnut. It's now down to a matter of "value". What's worth more currently? An Academy re-veneered in oak or an Academy refinished in walnut? As soon as I can retrieve my SD card from the office (tomorrow) I'll post a few pictures. Other than the back corners being sanded all the way through the veneer (we're talking 1/16" here) the veneer / finish is just gorgeous.

VERY VERY Nice. I'll bet the combo sounds fantastic.

Not much to share at the moment. I'm using stock Crites A/4500s with the squawker moved from the #4 tap to the #3 tap. I know that makes a change in the cap value but I haven't taken the time to work it out yet. They sound very good as is. Once I get closer to a "final" decision (yea right) I'll be posting what I ended up with. In the mean time... I'm working on a set of Belle drawings. Belles really would fit my listening space better than La Scalas do. Who knows... I might be posting a DIY Belle project soon. I'm thinking CW1526Cs - GotHover Fastrac horns - unknown squawker driver - APT-200 tweeters - maybe Beymas - unknown crossovers - probably ALKs. HMMM... Another project... Oh yea... JUST what I need. As a little "thought project" in the wee hours of the morning this past weekend I drew up a DBB Belle. I drew it with conventional bottom bass bin and a tophat ported upper bass bin. I don't think the design is workable because (a) the Belle tophat doesn't have enough internal volume to support the porting and (2) Dear God they'd be tall. Like 8" taller than Klipschorns. Fun project though.

At the moment I have a pair of Selenium D250-X drivers mounted. They sound pretty good actually. They surprised me, I was really expecting a significant difference considering the difference in cost. Right now I'm trying to educate my ears on the differences so I can make a better educated assesment when I do strart trying different drivers. That said I'm "amplifier challenged" at the moment. The MK4s are in rebuild limbo waiting on parts and my Emotiva UPA-2 sold quicker than I expected it to. I just this morning pulled the trigger on a used Bob Latino VTA-120 and I'm waiting on it to arrive. Hopefully I'll have it running by the end of the week. In the mean time the La Scalas are hooked up to my Behringer EP/2500 Pro amp. Not what you'd call "stellar". It's a great amp for big subwoofers but as a "main" stereo amp it leaves much to be desired sonicly. Soon Jeff... Soon Jeff...

There are a lot of folks here using them. You might want to post the question about ALK Universals over in the Updates and Modifications area. I don't have a pair...Yet. I'm pretty sure a pair of Universals is "in the cards" for me they're just not "in the budget" at the moment. []

Enameled wire can be a royal PITA no matter what method you use. If you really want to tear out what little hair is left try Cardas Litz tone arm wire. It's 33AWG and the internal strands are finer than hair. They also break much easier than hair. I was glad I bought extra when I rewired my RB-300.

Was there any mention of it being "Litz" wire? If so each strand is individually enameled. The wire has to have the enamel either scraped or burned off before it can be soldered. Here's a good explanation from Handmade Electronics: Updated: June 24, 2009 Litz is composed of very fine strands of wire insulated from each other then bundled to form a larger gauge wire. The varnish on each strand must be scrapped off before a good solder joint can be achieved. You can flatten the wire, then use a single edged razor blade held 85-90 degrees to "shave" the varnish off the wire. After removing most of the varnish, use a 40 watt solder iron and a bit of solder to burn off the rest. A scum will bubble up and harden after the wire cools off. A solder pot can also be used to burn the varnish off.

I made the change this morning. I won't be able to give a subjective opinion for a while though. My Dynaco MK4s are currently undergoing a "rebuild" so they're out of service and this morning I removed the Emotive UPA-2 so I can ship it to the buyer. At the moment I'm listening by way of a Behringer EP2500 pro/amp. GREAT for subwoofer use but not what you'd call "stellar" for 2-channel music. Hopefully I'll either finish the MK4s or the VTA-120 that I'm buying will show up here soon. Within days of either of those events taking place I'll have a better idea what effect (good or bad) the Seleniums have had. Right this minute under less than optimal conditions amp wise i have to say that I don't hear a lot of difference between the D250Xs and the K-55-Ms. Time will tell...

My router is a Porter Cable single speed with a fixed base and plunge base. As for speed control I bought one of these: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=43060 At only $20 it was a WAY cheaper option than a variable speed router with the other functionality I wanted.

HMMM... I've actually got a pair of those boxed up to return to PE. I was always under the impression that they were more of "low budget compromise" than a viable replacement for the K-55s. It's a long story but I researched the D250Xs for quite a while so I'm pretty aware of the required crossover mods. I may give them a try in my speakers before returning them. Who knows... They may have found a home. One thing is for sure... If they stay I can sell the K-55-Ms for a LOT more than the cost of the Seleniums. I'll report back soon...

Any chance we could get you to share that design with us? If you set on building your own take a look at the "Universal" kits from ALK Engineering. They're $300 plus shipping and include everything. Al also has the schematics and layouts available free for the download. I took the time to track down and price all of the parts to DIY them from the plans and they ended up about $40 more than the kits. When I started looking at replacing the caps with higher quality one the pricing just went up from there. WAY up. Good info here: http://www.alkeng.com/ Click on the Klipsch image on the left side of the page.

I use Jasper jigs along with a Porter Cable plunge router. Perfect circles every time.

I'm toying with the idea of spending a little time and some $$ playing with active cossovers. There are quite a few choices out there that range from really cheap to OMG! I don't really have a "budget" amount in mind but certainly under $1K and hopefully much less than that. If I decide to spend the coin they'll be working with a pair of rebuilt & ported La Scalas. The current driver/horn compliment is: Crites CW1526C woofers, K-55-Ms mounted to GotHover Fastrac horns, Crites CT125 tweeters. The installed crossover is a Crites A/4500 that's been converted to a Type-A. As for the electronics... Emotiva USP-1 preamp, a pair of Dynaco MK4 monoblocks (40W/ch) and UPA-2 amp. Coming very soon is a Bob Latino VTA-120 amp (60W/ch) which will replace the MK4s. Assuming that I don't sell, trade, or return the UPA-2 in the very near future the plan is to use it to drive the woofers (125 W/ch @ 8ohms & 185 W/ch @ 4ohms ( those aren't really email addresses) and the VTA-120 to drive the squawkers and tweeters. If I do dispose of the UPA-2 there are a LOT of 2 channel SS amps available new and used at very reasonable prices. It should be noted that the USP-1 does 2-channel bass management. I'm currently set up that all content below 50Hz is directed to an IB subwoofer with a bit over 2K watts to draw on. Musical taste... Widely varied. From Van Halen to Vivaldi to Miles Davis to Ozzy Osborne to Steely Dan to Britney Spears. The only noteable exceptions in my collection: There is no Rap - Hip/Hop and there is no Country Western. Do you think that this is a worthwhile effort or would I be better off just spending that money on a pair of ALK universals and enjoying the tunes?

I see a lot of buzz about how much better this driver is than a K-55 and how much that driver is than a K-55. I currently have a pair of K-55-Ms attached to a pair of GotHover Fastrac horns in my ported La Scalas. They sound very nice and I am quite pleased, but... I can't help but wonder what the "next level" is. So I guess the question is what squawker driver could I purchase that (a) isn't a boatload of $$ for a pair, ( would work with my existing squawker horns with little or no modification, (3) would not require major crossover changes, and (4) would make for a "noticable" improvement in the middle frequencies? Just for reference the La Scalas currently have Crites CW1526C woofers, Crites A/4500 crossovers converted to Type-As, and Crites CT125 tweeters. They're "slot" ported through the tophats. I don't think I'm quite ready to go 2-way (I.E. K-510, K-402, etc) just yet. I'm just looking to "raise the bar" on what I have a bit. THANX!

I did it to my Cornwalls. Well the squawker and tweeter anyway. Absolutely no discernable improvement in sound whatsoever. However I like the way they look with the grills off better. I looked at doing the woofers too. By the time you route out 9/16" out of the face of the motorboard there's not much left of the original 3/4". Doing that would require some major reinforcement to the motorboard on the back side surrounding the woofer. For me it just wasn't worth the effort. My advise... (1) Skip it. Especially for "garage" speakers & (2) crank em up and enjoy the tunes just like they are[]