JohnA

Two Heresy centers won't hurt. The center rear is a new inovation. I believe it's called ES and EX, basically using ProLogic to make a rear center out of the 2 rear channels. The disc has to have the encoding for it to work well. I like to see an amp that can put out nearly 2x the rating into 4 ohms and I think 100 watts/channel is plenty. I like to see distortion ratings at or just below 0.1%, too low implies too much negative feedback and much more implies too little. I like simple designs, MOSFET output devices, high damping factors (>300) and slewing rates (>100). Knowing that an amp can pass a clean square wave at more than 1 watt is good, showing good power supply, current capacity and wide bandwidth (you won't se this info much). Finally, you have to listen to it, because all of the specs in the world won't describe how it interacts with your electronics and speakers. If the amp has a "character" or sound of it's own, other than the ability to tightly control the speaker, I don't like it. Boy, that sounds erudite, didn't mean to get that far out. John

If you want a lot of seating, La Scalas in all 4 corners, TV in the center of the short wall, 1 Heresy for a center channel, another for center rear, 2 more for side surrounds. Sell the rest of the gear and buy better amps than Adcom. Look hard at an Aragon Soundstage and 8008 amps. John

There is NO reason a passive radiator must be different in compliance forward to backward. That some are is a fact of cost and manufacturing. Earthquake passive radiators are unusual in that they are VERY stiff. The earthquake components I have handled have a spider and are almost identical to the active driver, just like every other system. The passive radiator is part of a system. The Earthquake passive is so stiff, it could not be used in anything else. John

I was going to jump in on the economic recovery statement brought on by our "National Embarassment", but I see I don't have to. John

I'm not sure. I track the La Scala series and pick up bits about the others. I thought I had an AL-2 schematic, but can't find it. The AK-3 is in 2 parts, which helps bi-wire/bi-amping. I'm unaware of other differences. John

Power is voltage x amperage. Your amp is spec'd at 180 into an 8 ohm resistor. It might do a little more. More than likely its power supply amd cooling capacity are designed for just that and have little "reserve". The protection circuits are designed to prevent exceeding the amperage that equals 180 watts to prevent overheating. Also the speakers probably dip to 6 ohms in the bass, drawing 50% more current at that point than they would at 8 ohms. That is more current than you amp's cooling and power supply can tolerate. Shutdown. BTW, 3/4 "throttle" on every amp is well beyond clipping with most sources. 10 to 12 o'clock in normally full output

A VERY Happy Birthday to you, Mr. Paul! And Thank You for many years of listening pleasure, plus many more to come. John Albright

The K-77 series are T-35As. Some years, and maybe still, they were tested and hand selected for best performance. The K-55-V was made be Atlas and modified for Klipsch. The K-55-M was made by E-V especially for Klipsch. I was told by E-V that it may have been based on the 1824 or 1828, but was modified to meet Klipsch specs. The K-400 Horn is an adaptation of a dsign Mr. Paul got out of another horn designer's trash can. The K-500 and K-700 are shortened versions of the K-400. It was not intended to be a diffraction horn, though I guess it could have some of those properties. The T-35/T-35A/T-35B/K-77/K-77-M are known as diffraction horns and at lower frequencies they are said to behave that way. However in the band Klipsch uses them they are said to disperse like a normal exponential horn. I found flush mounting the K-77-Ms in my La Scalas smoothed their sound noticeably. As an experiment, line the opening in the baffle with heavy felt to reduce diffraction. If you like it Klipsch has brackets used on the K-horn you can use to flush mount you tweeters (after enlarging the hole). John

Doug, I think you are heading in the correct direction, but most likely there is a point in the bass where the impedance gets too LOW and the amp is asked for too much current. The protection circuit kicks in to prevent heat damage from overcurrent. This is a likely situation. Pioneers of that age were not designed with much excess capacity either in the power supply or the heat sinks. John

Looks like M is 1972. John

There is a pair if La Scalas on ebay (100 miles north of me, starting at $1500, "buy now" at $2250) signed by Orndorf Hertz. The seller says that is PWK. I thought Mr. Paul used his own name on speakers. John

The Type AL xover is probably most of your problem. It is overly complex, unusually designed and does strange things to the response of the individual drivers. It over controls the system. My rear La Scalas had Type ALs and I though they were squawky, ill-defined in the lower mids and had a screech at high levels. I put ALK xovers in them and almost all of that went away. Damping the horns cured the rest. They are smooth and unaccented, now. The Type AA xover with high quality components is a good sounding xover, but it will have to be adjusted a little for your K-55-M squawker. My front La Scalas have modified Type AAs. Other than the Type ALK, I like the Type AA and Type AK-3, best. The AlNiCo tweeter IS a little weak in the upper treble and might also be contributing. The newer K-77-M tweeter is smoother and has more output in the upper frequencies. John

The KLF-20s will have a lot more low bass than the Heresy. They are moderately more efficient, too. John

I'm not sure Orndorf Hertz is legit. However, the O. Gadfly Hertz is, so Orndorf MAY be PWK after all. I've got an e-mail to the seller. She's ~100 miles away. John

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1220091123 Early push terminal types. John

The woofer in the Belle and La Scala sits behind the "V" and fires rearward. The sound is split into 2 paths and bends around to the front. The Belle is VERY similar, but the point of the "V" is cut off and the horn is stretched wider, but shallower. John

your KLF-30s dont *produce8 hiss, they are so efficient they show off the hiss in your receiver. Most A/V gear has it and is must be a product of the DSP. I have some trouble with it in my ACT-3 pre/pro. Acurus says it is a function the gain required to meet some Dolby Digital requirements. All you can do is try a different receiver until one suits you. John

The '99 drivers have all been unchanged since 1982. The fiberglass squawker horn started well after 1982, but I've never heard when. I doubt you'd improve much going to the aluminum squawker horn. If I had them, I'd listen to them as is for about 6 months before changing a thing. Only make changes to address a shortcoming you hear. I have the metal horns in my La Scalas, but damping the tweeter and squawker horns would be first on my list (use rope caulk from Home Depot, it's in the weather sealing dept.), then I'd tightly stuff the HF cabinet with polyester fiberfil from Walmart. Then, make sure the seals between the bass horn and the corner are good and it sits tightly in the corner. Finally, look into Al Klappenberger's replacement crossover. Your's should have Type AK-3 xovers. They are said to sound a lot like Al's, so consider it last. John

$3,000 is a lot of money over here, too! Hah! Hah! Hah! John

You have an open voice coil. It can be repaired for much less than a new one costs. The diaphragm can be bought from Klipsch or from E-V (for a T-35A). Most pro audio shops can get and install the diaphragm. John

Maintaining the tonal balance all around is important, though less so in the rear. For that reason, I'd go for KLF-20s or 30s. John

Not normally. John

Bucking Magnets MAY be available, but all of the drivers will require sheilding or bucking magnets, one. Distance is still your best bet. John

A bunch of nice pictures Doug! There were several I didn't take, so I copied them. John

My Hope Pics are at: http://www.cdc.net/~colt45/klipsch/ They are big files so expect a slow download unless you have a fast connection. John