mark heija

Hello veloceleste, Thanks for the lead, I'll be checking them out. -Mark I'll post some updates as things progress

Hello KAC Folks, My first speaker purchase in the 70's was the AR-11, not long after I discovered the LaScala. I've loved both pairs ever since. Recently I've embarked on my first crossover rebuild... I have a bit of soldering experience and used a meter to test speakers when I rebuilt four salvaged LaScalas. (loved the pre-fab crossovers from Bob Crites, RIP) I'm more of a woodworker and have the cabinets already looking like new. I was told I would probably need to replace some (or all) of the capacitors and these are the assumed current component ratings (I see five capacitors so I'm not sure about this list - a later AR-11 version? -some in parallel?): One 10uF One 40uF One 50uF One 72uF I do see these numbers on a schematic I found online. I'm hoping to get some advice on how to check the status of these parts and how to proceed. Photo attached. Also, included a photo of the plugs I cut to fill the screw holes... had 'em up on steel brackets with some added fastener security... living here in earthquake country! Thanks for any help, Mark

Thanks tigerwoodKhorns, I hope the Ebay fellow "vintage-ar" who is sending me the foam surrounds has a handle on the original density (I guess for aesthetic purposes now).

Hello Mustang_flht, Thank you for the link to the DIY foam surround. I have some concern about the density of the foam to use (not having anything to compare with except the mush on the tweeters now). I went ahead and ordered a pair on Ebay to start. I also would like to know how best to remove the residual adhesive from the tweeter.

Hello Bacek, The walnut veneer on the LaScalas was treated with Rubio Monocoat Pure (a truly wonderful product both in terms of ease of use and in being environmental friendly) and lightly buffed with Rubio Maintenance Oil (adding a slight sheen). A white "Scotch" pad cut in a circle works well with an orbital sander to buff the Maintenance Oil.

Thanks, but unfortunately, while I photographed the steps I was always too occupied with my program to get the time to post... I was busy with weekly instruction in these areas: Ceramics, Jewelry, Etching, Screen Printing, Woodworking, Laser Cutting, 3D Printing, Photo Lighting, Darkroom Process, Computer Graphics, and Bike Repair (and homework help!). The walnut veneer on the LaScalas was treated with Rubio Monocoat Pure (a truly wonderful product both in terms of ease of use and in being environmental friendly) and lightly buffed with Rubio Maintenance Oil (adding a slight sheen). Sorry, Floor Plan didn't take to the lower Rez to attach...

Thanks, We sold this pair for $2000 which covered all materials & parts for the four. The second pair was finished in a more kid-proof fashion and produces some fine audio for the big screen TV in the rec room. Now I'm looking forward to seeing how the old AR-11s turn out.

I got in touch with the fellow on AK, GD70, and while he didn't give me the specs of the material he is going to fabricate (and send pics) when ready to ship. (pay with PayPal) I like getting back to as close as original as possible. I may continue looking into the felt option and have spares when this foam breaks down (probable after me;-)

Thanks Randy, I've left a post with GD70 over at AK and will let you know how things go.

I would like to know the specs of the foam, but even determining the thickness of this gooey material is questionable. I will try to see if this information is available somewhere. Thanks

Hello Folks, so after 43 years of working with the kids at the Boys & Girls Clubs in San Francisco I've retired. Some of you may recall the LaScalas the kids & I refurbished thanks to the wonderful guidance from the Klipsch community (see attached). So now I've brought home from the Club my old stereo (from my teen years) a 70's, a near mint Sansui 9090 and a pair of AR-11 speakers. I'm in the process of refinishing the AR cabinets and while removing the drivers had the foam on the tweeters basically disintegrate in my hands. I haven't been able to find an exact replacement and was told I could use 1/8" felt instead. I don't have any knowledge about the function of the foam so I'm not sure if I should try the felt. I would really appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance, Mark

Can 5G transmissions be picked up by unshielded speaker cable? Thought I'd start with changing to shielded cables. Speakers have new crossovers from Bob Crites.. Recently had an overhaul of the Sansui. My tech says he replaced the usual time-sensitive components and the rest checked out fine. Because the random nature of the issue (some days perfect some days not)... He believes it may be a leaky transistor and asked me to pull the U connector in back when hearing the static to help with his assessment of location. I will give the current cables the swap also. Thanks!

I'm considering upgrading my speaker wires (from plain copper in clear plastic old Monster) to something shielded... I've recently started getting an odd, occasional static and/or whine. G5?? Starting to trouble shoot... distortion only in one speaker and even when volume is at zero. Any thoughts? I have a pair of '76 La Scalas where one is close to my Sansui 9090DB and the other is on the other side of the room 12' away. Will having one cable shorter than the other have any adverse effect? I've been told they should be the same length but with the price of cables these days not sure I want to waste the money.

Any thoughts on driving the efficient LaScalas with lower wattage having any benefits?

Kind of what I was thinking, and the 909DB does even better on the vintage market. There is the .1%THD of the 9090DB vs. .2%THD on the 9090? Saw this post... "I'd suggest that likely the higher distortion is due to the quasi-complimentary output stage (all NPN devices) design of the 9090, versus the full complimentary design (NPN and PNP outputs) of the 9090db. The positive NPN's on the 9090 provide a nice low impedence signal path to the load, but the negative side of course has to drive the load from the collector, which is a high impedence source. I've never been crazy about this scheme, but sometimes the result is pretty damn good." Of course, I don't know what this means but perhaps the higher distortion shouldn't be a concern if I keep the 9090... as would it having 15 fewer watts driving the LaScalas?

I am the original owner of these two receivers. The 9090 (my first stereo purchase) powered a pair of AR11's for years in my studio. The 9090DB has been paired with LaScalas in my living room since day one. Recently both have been totally service by an excellent technician. Cosmetically they are near mint (a small scratch on the 9090DB's wood cover). The covers are interchangeable. Both receivers have taken turns in my living room with the Klipsch and I love the sound of both (recently added an SVS subwoofer and Rega P6 TT) to the system. I'm now retired and brought the 9090 home. I don't have room to use both. Sad to say, I need to let one go. I've read the DB feature can be prone to failure (though it's not something I use). Should the 110watts/channel 9090 vs the 125watts/channel 9090DB be a consideration. The 9090 probably worked a bit harder over the years. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Well I've been keeping a close eye (actually my hand) on the receiver and everything's fine. Unfortunately, I'm guessing the years of not having a turntable running through the 9090 seems to have left the phono input a bit wacky. No help from Deoxit. Not going to worry for now, I'll have a phono stage in the Sweet Vinyl Sugar Cube on the way... glad my nostalgia had me hang on to all the old vinyl. When the 9090DB's home I'll send the 9090 in for a tune-up. Thanks again for the advise, Mark

Will do. Wondering why more efficient speakers would be be an issue for the 9090.

Yes, the manual is the 9090's. Thanks for your advise.

Hello Forum Folks, I've recently had to send my Sansui 9090DB in for servicing and brought my 9090 home from work (forgot how really heavy these are!). The 9090 has no PreOut for the Sub so I'm ordering a Russound ADP-1.2 to take the speaker level down to line level. My concern is the warning in the manual (photo attached) about using 4ohm speaker combinations. Need I worry? Thanks for any help, -Mark

We sold this pair which covered parts cost for all four. Thanks, it was fun and satisfying to see just how perfect we could make them. Learned a lot about the process and came up with some nice techniques. Hope to lay out in words and photos the whole three year journey,

The pair pictured have been spoken for and the price covered our expenses. The pair for the Clubhouse is more kid-proof: grills attached with screws, plastic edge protectors and a good quality wall paint to match the newly remodeled games room (SF Giant Pablo Sandoval's Foundation supported the effort and he came to meet the kids at the Grand Re-opening). The speakers sound great as a public address system and the movies the members watch have that full theater quality sound... the La Scalas fill this large room beautifully!

Hey Folks, we finally finished the refurbishing of the four LaScalas at the Boys & Girls Club. I've attached a picture of the pair we're selling. Thinking I may post the photos and story of the whole process... it only took three years! Thanks for the great advice during this journey, -Mark

Well Hello Folks, It has been a while, In fact... it's taken years to finally wrap up our four LaScala projects. It really helped that I retired last October (43 years) and became a volunteer with just a few projects to focus on (the sweet life!). Things couldn't have gone better... a beautiful pair now sit on the stage in our newly remodeled games room. The second pair we made to sell and pay for the parts for all four... so a bit more attention to detail, i.e. the walnut bead molding toe kick and grills held in place with magnets hidden behind the veneer. I just have the one photo now but will post more photos with details soon. Thanks again, you guys got us off on the right foot! -Mark

Receiver's back from the technician and the balance problem is solved. Cartridge is sounding pretty good too. Now it's time to clean-up some old vinyl. 'till next time...