AKBman

I received the Roadshow Crossovers last Thursday, and I installed them on Friday. I invited a buddy over who is a Klipsch Chorus II owner, he is now an even bigger believer in the La Scalas! We first listened to TH49's recapped AL-3s, which compared to my ALs were fantastic! I then installed the Super AAs, we were impressed, over a wide variety of music, from Jazz, to Classical, from Classic Rock to modern Blues, Eagles to AC/DC, we listened at low volume settings, to I thought my ears would bleed. Across all of that one thing really stood out; clarity, I heard things on CDs I have owned for 25 years, that I had never heard before. Even my wife, who is far from an audiophile commented on the difference, that blew me away. System wise, I do not have the best setup, I now have an older Sony 5 channel receiver driving the La Scalas, and it is a far cry from the Yamaha system that drove them until the pre-amp succumbed to one to many PCS move. I did notice that it took just a little more volume to get the same level of sound, but not nearly enough to overcome the benefit of how great the sound was, I'm talking 8 instead of 6, I can certainly live with that. It just seems that every frequency was more vivid, while I wouldn't say it necessarily increased the bass response, it was more present, I'm not one for a lot of bass, so I could be making no sense there. Overall I am very impressed, and I am very thankful to Dean for the opportunity to give them a test drive. Job well done. Dave Beeman

These are awesome!! Even my "it sounds good on the boom box" wife says the difference is amazing!

Roadshow Crossovers are here, will test them out this evening with a good friend who is a Chorus II owner. Totally stoked!

If I had the cash right now, I would be ordering, I don't think I would wait for the Roadshow, I have read far to many testimonies to imagine that I would be disappointed. The AL-3s sound great, and no doubt if I hadn't read about Dean's Super AAs, I would be looking at purchasing the AL-3, but it is too late now.

Love having the musician in the room with me! I am super stoked to be on the Roadshow List, can't wait to hear the Super AAs.

Thanks to you, I am now listening to music every day, even if it is only for a few minutes. They passed the true test, the bagpipes sound like they are right there in the room with me, total satisfaction.

These sound great, such an improvement. I can see why people upgrade their tweeters, it was hard for me to imagine any better sound, but I'm a believer now. I have used other speakers, but I am so glad I never let these go, I have always come back to the La Scalas for their sound quality. I will be looking into the tweeter upgrade after I take the crossover plunge, and then the saving will proceed towards a tube amp.

Bruce, I think the mids and highs presence with the ALs was so weak, it made it seem like the bass was more prominent. Not being a subwoofer kind of fellow, I'm really digging the sound now!

Just a quick writeup on my perceived differences between the original Al crossover in my La Scalas, and the refurbished AL-3s that are on loan. The mids and highs are much more vibrant and pronounced now, whereas with the AL type, the bass seemed to be very prominent, now the speakers are well balanced. The clarity and precision of sound reproduction is incredible, these speakers are better than when they were new in 1989. I have played everything from country to jazz, pop to hard rock, classical to bagpipes, it has vastly improved my listening experience! I look forward to trying the Super AAs on for size.

Installed TK's AL-3s this morning, it is like having brand new, actually better than new speakers. The mids and highs are so clean and clear now, I thought there was a problem with the woofer, but it is just the fact that now everything sounds cleaner and has much better balance. I hit a wide variety of music, from Jethro Tull, to AC/DC, to Pink Floyd, Steve Earl to the Outfield, amazing what a diiference it makes! TK, thank you so much for this opportunity! I would like to try them for a week, and ship them back to you after Labor Day if that is alright? Dave

Sir, You should have an email in your inbox! Thank you again. Dave

FedEx delivered the AL-3s today just before I left to come to work. I will do the install this weekend when my schedule is clear. I will post my impressions of the difference between the AL type, and the AL-3. I am giddy as a school boy! Dave

Thanks to TK, I am now waiting like an expectant Father to try out the AL-3 crossovers! Generally I turn to Jazz, or classical music for sound testing, Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here is a good one as well. Just wish I had a better amp for the process, but good things come to those who wait. Dave

The two things I feel I need the most are the crossovers, and the amp. Right now I am driving my La Scalas with a Sony home theater integrated receiver. They still sound amazing, but not even close to the reproduction my old Yamaha setup could provide. The rest of it is just hopes and dreams.

Thank you Islander. I am learning more than I ever imagined here. I thought I knew a little about sound, I was sadly mistaken. My La Scalas are the only things I have left from my equipment I purchased 25 years ago. I have plans to replace the crossovers, a new amp, tube is my preference there, a preamp, a backup CD player for backup, possibly a turntable. I am looking at he tweeter, and I am intrigued by the wood midrange horns. Money dictates that I have plenty of time to do my research, and I look forward to it.

It's not that I am opposed to swapping them out, it is a matter of I don't want to right now, I have other priorities, and I am still very satisfied with the K77s. As far as AKB48, I never knew they existed until I just googled it! AKBman is short for Alaska Beeman, I started using it when I was stationed near Fairbanks.

I appreciate the generosity, I will PM my address. Dave

Nothing to disagree with there! I have been looking at the drawings for the AL vs AL-3, the AL-3 is an improvement for sure in efficiency, in radar, I am used to RF bandpass filters, this stuff is intriguing, wish I had looked into it sooner.

I'm almost always open to a bit of experimenting! The AL-3s are rumored to be much better than the older AL type that are in my speakers now. Initially, my idea was just to buy a set of AL-3s from Bob, but after reading feedback on your setup, and it actually coming in a little less expensive, I started leaning towards your Super AA setup. Dave

When I admire the work, it is from an electronics standpoint, as I obviously have nothing to base my opinion on otherwise. When I speak of overkill, I mean that for my listening tastes, or rather my abilities, which have been diminshed by 20+ years of Fighter Jet engine noise, that I would be unlikely to appreciate the more subtle changes in sound brought about by some of the components ALK is producing, not meant to reflect poorly on his work at all. I wasn't sure exactly what kind of Caps Klipsch used in the late 80s, and not doing a whole bunch of work at that component level, I wasn't sure. The wires on the crossover, and to the drivers, is in surprisingly good shape, hardy any corrosion, I think due to the fact that I have spent the majority of the last 19 years in dry climates. I actually replaced the wires to the speakers from the receiver, the cheap wiring I was using had high impedance, and was only 18 guage I believe, I replaced it with Monster wire of 14 guage, and now I can get clear sound from both speakers at minimal volume level, the crackling and cutting in and out is gone, I do still have a fair amount of white noise, and I'm not cetain if improved crossovers will mitigate some of that. I really do want to upgrade my components, and may do more upgrades to the speakers themselves in the future, although as I have said, I have loved the sound of these speakers from day 1. I do know that I am in need of some carpet squares to put under the speakers to isolate them from the new tile we have in our house now, at higher volume levels, I am getting some buzz from vibration, the ratty leftover carpet I used to eliminate it can't stay, wife won't have it, so I am thinking some sort of nice carpet, or maybe some sort of rubber isolators on the "feet" will be the ticket. I can't tell you guys how happy I am to have found this community in the course of looking for info on my speakers. Dave

That is a list I need to be on, even though I am 95% certain that as soon as the bank account allows it, I am going to take the plunge. I ran new speaker wire today, and it eliminated 90% of my issues, so I'm guessing my caps aren't as dry as I first thought, not bad for speakers that have been on 2 continents over the past 24 years. I am impressed with your work, as well as Bob's, the ALK is probably overkill for me. I want to enjoy these speakers for at least another 24 years. Dave

Thank you again.

Wow, thanks TK, I think we may have a winner! So now, it is new improved crossovers, a tube amp, and an improved mid range, say a Fastrac LaScala, this is going to take me a little while, and I will be looking into the bass bin beefup. Muel, the Caps from 89 are still working, just seems to take more juice to get sound from the speakers, one is far worse than the other. I bought these speakers when I was stationed at RAF Bentwaters in the UK, had them in a 12x12 dorm room, for a while I had the La Scalas, and a set of Cerwin Vega CD-90s, the Cerwin Vegas were too much bass for me. I ran everything back then with a Yamaha C-65/M-65 preamp/amp setup, now I am using a Sony surround sound system in 2ch mode.

I thought about just refreshing the Caps, but after research, I think the Type AL-3 Crossover is where I want to go. I have loved these speakers from the day I bought them. I love the way they sound, and the fact that it takes very little power to get big sound. I want to save my money and invest in a tube amp to drive them. I'm not big on the booming bass, I like to hear it, but I am into nice clean natural sound, which is what these speakers have always delivered, they are the only pair I have held on to all these years.

I am looking into replacing the Type AL crossovers in my La Scala speakers, I have owned them since '89, and have never replaced anything on them. I really don't want to have to spend the $$ to replace a tweeter as well, so I have been leaning towards the Crites Type AL-3 crossover, which wouldn't really improve the factory sound, but it would refresh it. I have looked at the ALK crossovers, and they are impressive, but I do not wish to replace the K77 at this time, nor do I have the means to drop more than $350-$400. Just looking for general opinions.