Dave A

OK here are the pictures requested for the three sets of La Scalas. In addition you can see my custome sound room/theatre with the AL-3 pair in place. Now speaking of these I have also attached a pic of the tag. I can't find a match for the data on here so I am asking for help to ID these.

Yes to the 3mm to RCA idea and I have one on order that should be here today. Now fiddling around today looking at system devices I discover that the Nvidia Quadro K2000 graphics card I have has 2 HDMI ports and in addition I have a SoundMax integrated Hi Def card to so between the two if the cable does not work right I am certain something can be done with the other ports. I am victim of being to literal at times and I looked at ports only in Device Manger instead of being clever enough to look at the sound and video section. First things first though and if the cheapo solution works I am all for it. Downloading some 24/96 audio and I will see how that helps out to if indeed it was done right. Next on the list would be the HDMI and is that the better way anyway? A hookup for that to the Onkyo cant be much although I am going to have to go look and see if there is an HDMI port on it. In any case looking at all the responses I know this can be done one way or another. None of my Workstations are three years old yet Beeker. With CAD design and machining programs there are to many compelling reasons to keep pretty current with technology because times does matter and faster is better.

Thanks again for the replies. A bit overwhelmed and I am going to start with the cheaper solutions and work up from there. One thing I am discovering is the problem that Dave M mentions. I sat out in my shop last night listening to a Bach organ download and was once again disappointed. 192 bit rate and lots of hiss in the background and just not good definition like I had from an old E Power Biggs recording I have somehow lost. It caused me to get other files out and seriously listen and I have come to the conclusion that somehow people can make lossless and FLAC and high bit rate files out of junk so what I get to hear is junk. So add to the mix now where the heck do you reliably get decent quality to play so you can even figure out if what you are doing with the speakers is worth while? One thing leads to another I suppose. I can turn the Onkyo up way louder than I could if I was playing anything and there is not even a hint of noise from the system so I am pretty sure the Onkyo is not a part of the problem except for the hookup issue I have talked about.

OK, back in for lunch and a pile of replies. I do not want to use the USB port on the Onkyo with a flash drive. I like the features of Windows media to sort, compile and edit lists and to be able to click directly on a file and open it without the mindless scrolling that the USB and flash drive combo demands. I have no idea what quality the sound card is but all my PC's are workstations and in general use better than consumer components. I will have to check the one in the shop and see what ports it has but I do think I remember seeing a co-ax connection if this implies digital output. Just went out there and I think all I have are USB ports and the regular jack type for speakers like a Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 would plug into. Looking for good sound quality but don't expect to ever get audiophile quality in a shop full of hard flat surfaces. But that having been said all introduced problems stack up and I don't mind spending some money. I just don't want to jump right in and start throwing money at things that may not require it. I can see how quickly this can get out of hand. I will have a look at the other suggestions as I have time later today. Thanks all.

Here is the background to this question. I have an Onkyo 8050 reciever which I really like but the interface is clunky with the USB. I also have a Klipsch 2.1 speaker system which just for the heck of it I used to power the La Scalas. Worked pretty well with all the volume that I wanted but was not even close to the output quality of the Onkyo. I did like however the idea that I could A, use the files on my PC with the audio card on the PC and B, there was a graphic equalizer I could use to. What do I need to do to use my PC as the main "controller" for powering these La Scalas? I really like the idea of numerous files I can pull from and do whatever mix I want and be able to control it all from the PC

What a joke. So you buy some 6061 aluminum rod stock, write a program and cut time for these could not possibly be more than 30 seconds each. It is called do something a typical hobbiest can't do and turn $1.00 into gobs of $$$$$. Can't speak for the pretty box though except perhaps a little Vulcan mind meld action might be required to make it work.

Hi all, I have been out of town on a few jobs and just have not looked here for a bit. First off the Noblesville sidetrip was a dud. The Klipsch Ampitheatre was about two miles from my jobsite but with 6 inches of snow on the ground nothing was going on and no locals knew anything about a Klipsch soundroom so I never had that pleasure. Bruce, I will take you up on that offer and next time I am that way I will call ahead and plan a stop. My preferences are all across the board from 70's rock to Irish folk and bagpipes. I am not fussy. Cabinet condition is a desirable thing but I am finding that pristine cabinets are not out there. All have some degree of damage unless I want to shell out a lot more money. Now I have added to my situation in the mean time with another pair of La Scalas that were for sale in Cary North Carolina which was on the way to my last job. I figured at $1,100 I could not go wrong and can always resell them later anyway if I choose not to keep them. These have the AL3 crossovers and the best shape cabinets of the three pairs. I am having trouble though identifying the age of these since there does not appear to be a number that corresponds with anything I can find. Their SN#'s are 26247 and 26214 and both are W/O 4738 and both have the same part numbers which is a long string of numbers only. I guess I will pick the best and sell the rest although I have thought about a little fix up first and then see what the market will bear here in TN. I have some observations on the sound from the three as I bought them. The oldest AA type has the muddiest sound with less definition of the instruments which I assume is due to old capacitors. I am seriously thinking of getting new crossovers for this one just to see how it sounds. Also there seems to be a general concurence here that these years of AA crossover production were some of the best. The AL type has better sound to my ears with better definition and the bass and drums reach right out and grab you better than the AA pair. The AL3 has the best definition and oddly enough requires less power to drive them to uncomfortable levels. You know I had to do that though as a matter of strict research This has led to my consideration for the new AA crossovers as older to newer of the three have a pronounced difference in sound. Is the difference here in the sounds due to just the deterioration of the crossovers or do the components make that big a difference to? As far as I can tell all tweeters etc are OK and all has been tightened up. I will get pictures of the three up in the next day or two.

I have a job in Noblesville Indiana this week and found out that Klipsch is there. I wonder if they have a sound room where I could hear factory fresh LaScalas for comparison?

Thanks all for the answers. I have been out all day and so no reply until tonight. The caps on the crossovers are all original and I don't know if the prior owners did anything besides run them. Of course mods interest me if I can see the value to them. I have thrown money at problems before without truly knowing what the problem was and it never works out well doing that. My preference would be to hear the difference first though and so if there is anyone close to southern middle Tennessee that has done so and is willing to let me hear the results I would appreciate it. I will dig into some of these suggestions over the next week and report back as to what I have found. You all might be entertained by where my "home" system will be. Out in my shop somewhere in front of my Haas VF4 CNC mill. I was reading of a tweeter horn designed and milled out of wood on one of the posts here and it got the wheels spinning in my mind as these kinds of things would be real easy for me to do.

OK so I bit the bullet on a recent job in Orlando and bought two pairs of La Scala's there. It has been a long time dream of mine to have some and now I have two pairs. But here is my question. I have looked through the various forums here and I have not found a single thread that talks about what to do for basic things to check on these. I have found for instance comments about making sure things are screwed in and lots of comments about crossovers and tons of ways to spend money but no single thread on the ABC's of it all. What I would like to know is how do do basic maintenance on these to eliminate any simple problems that do not cost money but are important. Without any electronic testing devices is it possible to verify that components are working right? The AL crossover in the 80"s model sounds much better than the AA crosover in the 70"s model and all I read here contradicts this so I presume there are problems. So, you have just bought that old set of La Scalas. What do you do when you get them home to make them right? I played Broadsword by Jethro Tull yesterday and the bass and drums just reach right out physically impact you and the louder the better. I had chill bumps listening to this. It is a good thing I live way out in the country.