JohnA
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Posts posted by JohnA
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I twisted 3 pairs of 4-pair and then braided the 3 twisted pairs into a single cable. That means each front La Scala got a cable made from six 4-pair "runs". The solids became + and the dashes became -. After all of that work I couldn't hear ANY difference AT ALL!
My La Scalas are '81 models with Type AA networks.
John
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They are DIY grille covers, but nicely done. I chose not to do that to mine because the bass horn is so striking.
John
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mace,
Yep! It's Cat-5 network cable with teflon insulation (plenum rated). Twist 2 runs of 4 pair, braid 3 of the twisted runs, seperate the solids from the dashed conductors and you have about 11 gage equivalent. It's an attractive rope that's about 1 1/4 inch in diameter. The twisting and braiding of twisted pairs is supposed to cancel inductance and the teflon insulation is supposed to have such a high dielectric coefficient that capacitance is small. The result is a low R, low L, low C wire that is supposed to sound great. It's pretty cheap and doesn't seem to hurt anything.
John
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I've always matched the length of the Left and right speaker cables for one reason, DC resistance.
I'm currently using braided CAT-5 for speaker cables to the front 3. I could not detect a difference between it and OLD Monster cable on the La Scalas. I heard a difference on the KLF-C7, but I'm hard pressed to describe that difference; cleaner mids and highs, maybe.
I know the theory behind the CAT-5 and many of the other cables. Trouble is it's only theory and there is no evidence that it's not just marketing, instead. Buy large, cheap wire.
John
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If you hear it in your headphones, its not the drivers. There's no need to take them apart.
John
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Randy,
You've been surprisingly analytical and honest. Most people, including me, want to prove something to themselves or somebody else with their tweaks. So, the tweak always sounds better, regardless of the truth.
I have always tried to address a physical and audible problem with my changes. For instance, I changed caps in order to make the original Type AA and the Lab-built Type AA match in value and cape type. the happy coincidence was the tweeter caps smoothed the sound. The Hovlands on the squawkers wasted about a $100. The same thing was behind Dynamat. I heard a ring with some piano notes that I could feel with my hands a well. I had read about Dynamat being used for vibration damping in cars and tried it. Later I found out Altec built some of their horns with tar-filling.
It is my opinion that a vibration in a cabinet or horn, no matter how pleasant or "involving", is undesireable and unwanted.
John
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I have La Scalas for mains and rears and a KLF-C7 for a center channel speaker. It works very well and has a good tonal match, though not perfect. Heresies from about the same year your Belles were made would be the optimum, but they could be hard to come by. Conventional rears that should be good would be the RS-3s or RS-7s.
Your Belles deserve better than a mere reciever of any ilk. I recommend seperates. I'm very pleased with my Acurus pre/pro and Parasound amps. For the money they are hard to beat. B&K also makes good equipment at a step up in price. Then, there is Aragon, Proceed, and McIntosh at a bit higher. If you are willing to go into the Aragon territory, start looking at good tube equipment. If you can find a good tube technician, used tube equipment can be a good deal. I don't know enough about tubes to be confident buying used.
There is no reason to have your Belles serviced. The way PWK made stuff it still operates after 50 years. We have some guys on the BBS using mid-50s K-horns that are completely original.
John
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Great!
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If you like it LOUD, do not substantially modify the factory crossover. The factory crossovers have tweeter protection built in them and it's required. The tweeter can handle about 2 watts continuous and 10 watts peak. The spec varies a little depending on where you hear it, but this seems to be a reliable set of ratings.
Here is the crossover upgrade you're heard about: http://www.alkeng.com/klipsch.html. Al's crossover's don't have any tweeter protection. However, they do sound superb.
La Scalas won't go as deep as your 30s do, but the bass is clean and "quick" and obviously natural for the frequencies the bass horn covers. Sitting in a corner, on the floor, the bass horn begins to roll off below about 55 Hz. Be sure to listen to them before you buy. OTOH, La Scalas can comfortably reach 120 dB at 1 meter and the pair easily hits 110 dB in my 16' x 18' x 21' x 19' room.
If you like deep bass consider a pair of monster subwoofers.
John
This message has been edited by John Albright on 01-21-2002 at 08:52 PM
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Those are designed for spade lugs, not banana plugs.
John
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I have a new Panasonic progressive scan DVD player hooked to my non HDTV-ready RPTV. It works Great! I cannot view progressive scan signals, but it will also output a very good standard NTSC video signal, too.
John
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Not switching to Ac-3 mode is a common problem with the ACT-3. Part of the problem may be with your DVD player. Can it be set to default to AC-3 (DD 5.1) rather than Pro Logic (4.0) or DD 2.0? Sometimes a DVD will have all sorts of different sound tracks on it.
John
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You can buy diaphragms from either Klipsch or through a local pro sound shop from Atlas.
John
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Not being made shouldn't be much of a problem unless it has some exotic tubes that are hard to find. I don't think it does. Seems like it uses EL-34s. They're common.
John
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$3000 is twice too much for decorator models; maybe more. Keep looking for another pair.
The K-horn will have noticeably deeper bass than your Belles. The squawker horns in yours will also have wider dispersion at higher frequencies than the K-5-J.
John
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The ACT-3 remote may not be able to control the Nakamichi. Mine won't control my remote light dimmer, but will control certain other light controls by the same manufacturer.
Call/Ask Acurus. They may have a code you can enter.
John
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Heresies of about the same vintage as your K-horns will be the best match for all positions. I don't know about the typical A/V receiver, but my Pre/Pro has a 70 dB adjustmant range on speaker level. The efficiency diffeence would not be a problem.
John
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Somebody reposted on this board an ad for a single La Scala. If placed behind a curtain, it could work.
John
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Try putting your La Scalas closer to the wall or corner. When in a corner, the La Scala's bass begins to fall off between 55 and 60 Hz. There is not much bass below that, even in a corner.
John
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I have not been able to hear an RC-3II, so I don't know how it will match. I use a KLF-C7 and it IS a good match, though not perfect. A single Heresy from the years your La Scalas were made is likely to be the best match for center and another pair for surrounds (that's what I intended to get) would be great. However, the Heresy woofer is not shielded, so it might cause problems with a direct view TV. Heresy IIs are still available if you want new.
Nothing succeeds like excess! I got a pair of La Scalas off of ebay for less than a pair of Heresies, so my surrounds are La Scalas, too.
John
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Without the serial number there is no way to date them accurately. The K-77-M was used beginning in the late 70s and the Type AA was used through 1981 with a K-55-V squawker. The -V has a round softball sized grey cover over its AlNiCo magnet, not square. With the known changes, there is no telling what year they were made, even the K-77-M could be an update. If the K-77-M is original, I'd say 1977 to 1981.
John
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I got mine from Home Depot in the weather stripping section.
Just mash it onto the outside of the horn like silly putty. Use 2 layers.
John
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The serial number might be stamped into the edge of the plywood on the rear of the cabinet. The Type AA network is pre-82, but Klipsch didn't use square squawker drivers in La Scalas. The rectangular magnet tweeter is correct (K-77-M).
John
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Actually, Y'all have it backward. The power amps should be turned on last (and off first) to keep turn-on (and turn-off) thumps from the pre-amp from damaging your speakers. In the 70s and 80s the gear demanded it. My ACT-3 is well behaved and doesn't need to be treated that way. This does not apply the receivers and integrated amps because the speaker protection circuits wait until the thumps are gone before connecting the speakers.
The preamp section of my old Yamaha CA-800 integrated was terrible. When using 125 watt power amps and my La Scalas, the windows would rattle.
John
La Scala rewires
in Technical/Restorations
Posted
"Just because I'm paranoid, ...."
Thanks, John, I needed that!
John