mark heija

Well, while the receiver's being checked out (found a near by technician working from home) I'm using my older Sansui to play vinyl through the LaScalas & SVS subwoofer. (forgot how heavy these receivers are - 50 lbs , especially with three flights of stairs!) Though the Geodisc (found used on eBay) helped with the initial cartridge adjustment and smoothed out the pretty harsh sounding highs I'm feeling it went a little too far and I'm missing out in some respects. Downloaded another protractor from Vinyl Engine which I'll try today - sifting through a lot of info. Hope to zero in soon.

Thanks, I'll give the tape monitor a try to check the balance. Not sure I'm ready to take any switches apart. I do have a nearly identical Sansui 9090 (a year older 1975) I can bring home from "work" (I'm retired but still volunteering at the Boys & Girls Club)... while I pick one of the local vintage repair shops to check things out.

So, had some fun today aligning the cartridge/stylus, leveling and checking the tracking force with good success - sounds pretty sweet over the whole album. Except... But back to the sound leaning left (or weak on the right). I tried swapping between the two phono inputs with no improvement. Tried spraying Deoxit on the source selection switch (pulled the knob and sprayed from the front panel - can this help?). No help. Guessing it's something inside the tuner (1976 Sansui 9090DB). Should I open the unit and try cleaning the switch from the inside? Any other ideas? Thanks.

I swapped the phono cables and the unbalance did not switch with this change (still heavy on the left). I've Deoxited the RCA connections. I've assembled the necessary tolls to go for cartridge alignment and will go ahead with this process... cleaning as I go. Thanks for the help.

Hey sorry for calling the cartridge/needle assembly just the needle... the whole thing was replaced and installed by a turntable specialist. But, I'm not sure how much attention went into its alignment. I will check the connections. Headed now to the Vinyl Engine and will let you know how things go. Thanks!

Hello Klipsch Forum Folks, with my new SVS sub-woofer added to my LaScalas (thanks for the great suggestion!) my dear wife saw how much I was enjoying revisiting my music collection (CD's these days). She surprised me by having my long disabled turntable repaired and the needle replaced for Christmas. (Pioneer PL-630 & Grado G+ bought in the 70's). Upon listening to my early Mobile Fidelity discs I was left with the nagging feeling the stereo was leaning to one side. Listening to other sources of the same albums did not have the same unbalance. After some trouble shooting I'm thinking it may be that the needle/cartridge needs adjustment. I've done some research and see a wide variety (and price) of devices for this purpose. So, I guess I'm looking for some confirmation that I may be on the right track and then some suggestions as to a good way to start the process of making things right. Thanks for your thoughts, Mark

Well, stayed on top of the delivery service used by the SVS folks (starts with F and ends with X) and sure enough our particular driver has some aversion to ringing door bells. Fortunately, I found my box with the cables for the SB-2000 on the sidewalk, again! Perhaps these drivers have more than they can handle this time of year? Anyway, the good news is the subwoofer integrated seamlessly into my system... kicking myself for not adding one years ago. Hearing all my music with new ears. So much so, I have my turntable (Pioneer PL-630) in the shop (actually a local working out of his apartment and just on turntables) for repair right now. Thanks you all for the great SVS recommendation and support with hook-up (just went with the simple two cables main out).

First, thanks to all the folks who sent me suggestions for possible DIY subwoofer designs. Many seem quite doable with our wood shop and know-how. I'm planning to volunteer to help the kids wrap up the LaScala projects starting in February (finish by summer?) and start the subwoofer then. Will keep you posted. Second, this last post has me wondering. Will there be a problem with the length of the cable (12m) I need to connect the subwoofer? I ordered the SVS brand SoundPath. The size of the room and the door way I need to run up and over don't leave me any other options.

We had a close call last night! Went online yesterday morning and read to expect delivery of the SVS Subwoofer by "end of day" so my wife and I made sure one of us was around all day. We could see at the tracking service "delivery pending". Checked periodically during the day and one more online check just before going to bed (11:30pm) and saw package "Delivered"! Went right downstairs and there sitting on the sidewalk outside of the gate of our apartment building was the SB-2000 box, large subwoofer graphics and all! I know for sure this box would not have been here this morning if left out overnight. I filed a complaint with the delivery company. They said the package had been signed for (some jumbled letters of my last name) and that "safe" placement was at the discretion of the driver!? Well, at least it did arrive before the end of the day. Also, sorry to say, ordered 12m RCA cables and 1m cables arrived... so set-up will have to wait a few days.

When finished, our Teen Center will have a sound system the envy of all the other Clubhouses in the City. It would be fun to follow-up with building our own subwoofer at some point. Is this a subject discussed on the forum?

This refurbishment project has been mainly a summertime (3 years now!) project with the kids at the Boys & Girls Club... slow going, but little by little we've made progress. The Klipsch Audio Community has been wonderful with tons of good advice. Now that I'm "retired" I'll have a bit more time to volunteer on this endeavor. Recently we've been patching and sanding the cabinets in preparation of adding 1/4" mdf to the exterior prior to walnut veneer. I'm attaching some photos of the steps so far. Already secured all new (or had refurbished by Crites) innards.

This is very helpful. The SB-2000 ships Monday. After 40+ years of loving my stereo system this is really exciting! Thanks.

Sorry I'm not quite clear on the concept yet, is the pre-out to subwoofer (plan A above) a 1 or 2 cable connection?

Well, this sounds promising. Is there an advantage to plan B, taking off the bridge connectors, etc...? Thanks for your suggestions.

Thanks Peter, This is good news and timely... with free shipping from SVS if ordered today. -Mark

Thanks Keith, is this speaker selector a separate unit? -Mark

I've had my simple home system since High School (1976): Klipsch La Scalas and a Sanusi 9090db, working perfectly all these years. Recently retired after 43 years of teaching art at the Boys & Girls Club where I'll still be volunteering on our project to refurbish 4 La Scalas left on the sidewalk down the block! (my work studio system: AR-11 and Sansui 9090 also still great) I'm thinking of treating myself to a subwoofer upgrade. I'm a bit apprehensive with the Sansui warning (see attached) about mixing impedances and don't even know if this applies in my case. Also, don't even know where to start with regards to hook-up. Listened to a SVS SB-2000 (about my price range) and would appreciate any advise. Thanks

I'm working with members of the Boys & Girls Club to refurbish four La Scalas left on the sidewalk. We plan to sell one pair to pay for parts so we wanted to be sure we had all new components and could advertise as such.

Hey Folks, I've already received replacements for these and was wondering if the readings of 3.7 & 3.8 make these good candidates for resale? Thanks again for your advice, -Mark

I have a pair of 15" speakers removed from vintage (mid 70's) La Scala speakers (that are once again being refurbished... after a two year hiatus!) Is there a specific impedance that would indicate a good working condition? Also, how would I set the meter (image attached) to check this? Thanks, Mark (back working with the kids at the Boys & Girls Club on this project. Actually retiring this month so I'll have the time to get back to work with this project)

Hi Folks, just a quick update. We decided to rebuild the La Scalas with all new (or refurbished in the case of the mid-range drivers) parts from Bob Crites. We went with the idea of covering the exterior (top and sides) with 1/4" mdf prior to veneering. We're using walnut veneer with solid walnut trim. We're making grilles using the Klipsch fabric with embedded neodymium magnets (under the veneer) to hold in place. The back, lower bin and upper horn compartment will be black except for the roof of the "dog house" which will also be walnut veneer. My wife and I are off for a vacation in Iceland so we'll be picking up the project in late August. Thanks again for all your support, -Mark

Wow! You've done some really great work... I hope ours end up as sharp looking. We've read a lot of different opinions on the best veneer / glue combinations and are weighing the benefits of each. The majority of my experience has been with plastic laminates and contact cement. Thinking I'd be more comfortable using a contact cement with a wood backed veneer... but still open to advice from those with more experienced in this area. Also, looking at one of your grille designs, it looks like you're using 1/4" material. I was wondering if you think this makes the edge above the tweeter too thin and vulnerable to breaking. I think I'd like to use a similar thickness for our grilles to keep the solid wood trim pretty shallow (1/2"? depending on the final thickness of the grille). To address the thin grille edge concern we are probably going to add 1/4" MDF sheets to the sides and top of the cabinets allowing extra width on the grille above the tweeters and giving a perfect surface for the veneer. Thanks for sharing your inspiring images.

Hello Folks, well it's been a busy few weeks here at the Boys & Girls Club. Besides all the other crafts programs we've been running: jewelry, ceramics, pin-hole cameras, printmaking... we've managed to pull out all the components from our four LaScalas, sand and fill the bottoms, fabricate new hatches and over the weekend I sandblasted (lightly) the dirt and grime from the horns and stripped most of the paint (up to four layers on some surfaces) from the cabinets. The kids also built 1/2 scale models to practice the veneering. Looking at the condition of the boxes we are going to add a layer of 1/4"mdf prior to veneering and then trim with hardwood. We did a test grille in Baltic birch (1/4"), using the cabinet as the template and a straight cutting router bit. Worked very well. Is 1/4" wood thick enough, I've only seen mention of 1/2"? Thanks for all the suggestions, Mark

I signed up today to use the sand blaster and powder coating facilities at the TechShop... I'll start with the small brackets that support the midrange drivers. Talked with Bob Crites about the horn roughness and his explanation was that the frugal PWK got as many horns from a mold (done by the local cottage industry) as possible. Horns produced near the end of the mold's life showed more abrasion from the gradual breakdown. Thinking the plywood sheets that seal the woofer enclosures are so far gone (serious wear and coats of paint) that we'll just replace them...looking for similar heavy duty metal bumpers to attach to the corners.

I would have the woofers reconed, or replaced, I don't know who the best speaker shop is in SF, but there is one. The musicians that play live music blow their gear up all the time, so the musicians know who the best repair shops are. Or go into any place that has lots of live music and start asking around, you can also search the local yellow pages on line. There are several places you can ship them to for the recone Parts Express and Simply Speakers Tampa, and others. Recone or diagphragms price list http://www.simplyspeakers.com/klipsch-speaker-repair.html I don't think Crites Sells recone, kits, but he does sell replacement woofers that would be all new. The existing ones can be sold on e-bay and someone else will recone them. Someone probably knows who the OEM was for the Woofers, ElectroVoice maybe and the kit number to order if you go recone. You can post this as a separate topic in Tech and someone will respond with the kit info. If you are talking about the gasket between the woofer metal frame and the wood cabinet, that is part of the recone kit. The gasket between the wooden parts on the bottom of the speaker called the dog house for obvious reasons, can be different materials like weather strip. The mid range drivers are the heart and soul of the LaScals so tread lightly if you are going to paint them or bead blast them etc, there is a rubber gasket to contend with and dust and debris concerns, They too can be sent out to Crites for new diaphragms and gaskets if you so desire, I would ask him about painting if you are sending them to him, pretty sure the top cover can be removed and painted, very carefully don't touch the diaphragms. Judging by the mold on the speakers, I would give the inside of the speakers a careful look with a flashlight once the woofers are out. Crites sells replacement tweeters with the lens two models, disassembly of the stock tweeters, bead blasting and painting may be more then you think, Check out K-77 Electrovoice tweeter rebuilds on Youtube. If you get new tweeters, the old ones can be sold on e-bay. IMHO negotiate new tweeters, new woofers and new diaphragms for the mid range with Crites and ship him the mid range drivers after you repaint them for service and test. You will have new speakers in a better than new cabinet when you are done. The more expensive tweeters Crites sells are the better ones IMHO, ask others. The large metal mid range horns interior must be inspected by looking for any casting defects visual, and then feeling with your hands for regular shape and smoothness particularity at the thin end the driver bolts to, if you have calipers measure the diameter, one LaScalas owner who owns a machine shop actually bored out his horns to bring them to spec.. If they need work, a good machine shop (performance engines etc) when they are done being amused will probably quote a fair price. Crites sells the replacement gaskets, looks like a hose washer. If they are machined, paint them sooner. I like the AA crossovers and would build the system around them or the Crites replacement, the more on the mid the better. Your old tweeters, woofers, crossovers can be sold on e=bay since they all test good, show the photo with the test meter connected so the numbers are readable. Describe and show any defects. Agree, applying the veneer is the final step after all of the hard work is done. This first horn removed has a very rough interior. The pair I have at home have totally smooth surfaces. Would a machine shop smooth the entire interior or just the small end? Is this a common condition?