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CapZark

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Posts posted by CapZark

  1. Having re-veneered a couple pairs myself I can tell you how much time and material goes into a project like this. Even though I dont like the look of them personally they do appear to be very well done. I can't stand speakers that have chips and tears and scratches all over them. These look perfect in that respect and he should be able to command a higher price because of it. If a clean pair of stock La Scalas can fetch $1,200 on FleaBay then $2,000 to $2,200 would not be out of the question for these. I bet the guy is probably making about $10 bucks an hour for his labor of love when its all said and done.

    If you like them and you can afford them, get them. Life is short. If not, its easy to just sit back an say they are overpriced.....

  2. Got to see that house, man. That's the beauty of the LS. I built upstairs grills from my last set and liked them okay, but when I restored my latest set I went naked and actually prefer that look the best. I like to see that big horn staring at me. There is no right or wrong when it comes to looks. It's all a matter of taste. I once saw a pair that were covered in shag carpet and the owner loved them that way.

  3. A few years ago I purchased a pair of La Scalas that had been sitting in an old cellar for about 5 or 10 years. When I brought them home they were covered in spider webs, mold and dirt. I cleaned them up over time, but in the process I believe a few brown recluse spiders came along for the ride. I started seeing these spiders a couple of years later and I believe they "might" have come from this purchase. I'm offering this as just a word to the wise - check these old speakers closely before you drag them into your domain. You never know what might be hiding in them. I'm glad to report I finally chased all the hitchhikers out of the house, but they are stubborn little buggers.

  4. No comparison really, and nothing truly "blows away" a La Scala. Are there better speakers? Certainly, but La Scalas are one-of-a-kind like the K-horns. The efficiency is so important. Even with a big gun amp, I'd take a 103 over a 90 any day of the week. And a speaker without a horn? No frappin way (goes with the forum your on I guess).

  5. I ran 12, but truthfully I think 14 is just fine. I have older equipment and 12 wont even fit in the back of some older equipment. 18 is very much on the edge of what would be acceptable. It will work, but I probably wouldn't accept anything less than 16 if I knew about it on the front side. I hope the drywall isn't up yet? Wire isn't cheap, but its worth doing if you can get to it. If not, I'd just live with the 18 and be pissed. If you approach your contractor he'll tell you its fine because most of them dont know boo about A/V systems.

  6. Thanks for the advice, CAKE. I'll check into that place. I do have a question about edge banding. Do you have to use special stuff made for veneering the edges or can you just use the same venner you use for the panels (using the same glue and iron method)? I also guess tyou do the panels first and then put on the edge banding?

  7. That's way beyond my grade level. We have only one good source of veneer around here and it comes in 4X8 sheets (paper backed). I also use the heat lock glue. I've had horable results with contact cement. The veneer I get has a repeating pattern in it that's about 6 inches wide. Not like that sweet rosewood you use. I think I will run the grain front to back rather than up and down since the La Scalas are nothing more than a big box - so all the grain moving front to back, top, sides, and inards. The stock box runs this way except the grain on the angled panels in the house run up and down. I guess I'll stick with this plan.

  8. Yes, those look spectacular. Way more accents and trim than I am capable of though. I started thinking about it and decided I will try to veneer the inside of the house. My plan for the grills was to use the flat piece at the very back of the triangle or angled board to support one side of the grill and then tack on another brace directly opposite to support the other side of the grill. This grill would be much smaller than what you see in this picture and it would be further back basically exposing the entire diagonal in the house. They would also be at a right angle to the sides of the speaker, not at an angle like you see here. What do you think about that? Will those grills be too small and too far back to look respectable? Also, will the tacked in brace that far back effect the sound coming out of the loaded bass horn? The last thing I want to do is screw up the sound.

  9. I have a pair of birch La Scalas that are in rough condition. I'd like to go over them with a walnut veneer, but the inside of the dog house it too complex for me to veneer. I was thinking about painting the dog house black with a satin sheen and doing walnut veneer on the outside. Has anyone ever seen something like this? Do you think it would look okay or I am wasting my time with this plan?

  10. Had both, sold both. Sold CW first because Chorus II beat it out on sound and styling. Always wanted a pair of CWs until I had them. They sound okay, but they look kind of funny to me. Big box for the drivers, and kind of skinny in depth for their height and width. Chorus look much better IMO. I also like the grills on the Chorus with the beveled edge and the magnets instead of velcro. Ultimatley, I sold all my Heritage speakers that didn't have horn loaded bass. I found out that was the quaility I was truly looking for.

  11. This opinion is coming from an owner of Belles that swears he hears a more mellow tone from the Belles over the La Scalas when others tell me that, other than looks, 'thar ain't no darn difference'. I have a different opinion.

    I have all of these speakers and let me first say the Belles DO NOT sound just like La Scalas. The mid horn in the Belle is smaller and sounds more like the Cornwall horn. The Belle is not as deep so the bass is not quite as punchy. The Belle is 100 times more beautiful than the La Scala though. Older La Scalas are basement speakers and Belles are more like fine furniture.

    The Forte is a smaller version of the Chorus and sounds about the same. These are nice speakers, but they can't produce the mind blowing sound the La Scala is capable of. If you like loud rock music there is nothing that compares to the La Scala except the K-horn. You have to have the larger horn and higher sensativity to get to the loudness levels these speakers can produce. The Fortes can get loud, but they lack the mid loudness and punch bass the La Scala is capable of. They weren't designed for that. Some people call that smooth, I just think they are lacking that capability. Some here call the La Scala harsh. When I turn mine up and blow folks out of a large room, harsh is a word I don't hear. It's more like, "Those are freakin amazing!!" I can't do that with a pair of Fortes. They would clip and blow up first.

    I don't think you can really compare La Scalas and Fortes as they are too far apart in what they are designed to do.

  12. I checked those out and they look really nice. I have mostly vintage equipment, but I'm a little hesitant to buy a vintage CD player. There are some older Pioneer players on Ebay that are in my price range and they look like they are built like a tank (see below).

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270689256562&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

    I'm just curious if it would be wise to buy a 20 year old CD player that weighs 40 lbs? I would think the newer ones have come a long way since then, but I don't know a lot about them?

  13. I need a new CD player for my 2 channel system. I am most interested in the best sound quality possible for my budget. Something that will give me LP/analog like sound. My budget is $1,000.00. I only play audio CDs, so I would like to stick with something that specializes in CD audio. I don't need all the DVD, MP3, etc.. Single disk player ok. There are so many options, any advice would be appreciated.

  14. I have both and I am just amazed with the Chorus IIs. I also like their slim design better. Cornwalls are just plain big, a little duncy looking, don't sound any better, and can't handle near the power the Chorus do. So if I had to let a set go today - bye bye CWs.

    BTW - I have CW1s with Crites cast woofers and crossvers. My Chorus II are factory stock.

  15. Insurance companies ask for and take any personal information you will give them. They store it in a collective database, and sell it at will (it's all in the fine print). Ever notice how banks, insurance, credit, investment companies want you to sign up for electronic recordkeeping and statements? Claim they are going to save some trees. Give me a break. I'd rather keep them accountable and keep a few lumberjacks, millworkers, paper suppliers, truckers, and even the USPS working instead. You were smart to print some things out. I've mysteriously lost e-mails and even entire e-mail folders before. You can't trust any of this stuff and CYA is the name of the game.

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