geoff.

I think you are thinking of the Tangent 400. It was a Heresy 2 in taller ported box. There was a Tangent 500 too, using a passive radiator instead of ports. The later series Tangent 4000/5000 are the real sleepers. They had 4 ohm woofers and noticeably better bass as a result.

@Mom, Turntables are a very personal item, not like getting him a tie, lol. You’ll need to get a mole in the organization and ferret out what his heart desires. …someone with an appreciation for all things audio, get them chatting him up and have your agent straight up ask him what he fancies

Recent developments and advancements in the understanding of all things Klipsch have led to the conclusion that the K-77-M should not be used with an AA crossover. It is too hot. WAY too hot. The K-77-M is pictured in this pair of La Scalas. The AA crossover was also designed to be used with the single phase K-55-V. In the speakers pictured here the date code is “W” which would imply the dual phase plug (soldered lug) K-55-V is used. The dual phase plug driver extends higher than the single phase plug driver and is not optimal for the AA crossover as designed. Whether these came stock from Klipsch like this, or they were modified, I don’t know. I do know there were anomalies during driver and crossover changeover years. But as these stand right now, they are not representative of what the Klipsch sound should be, according to recent discussions on here, with all the graphs to prove it. Don’t despair, others in better condition for the same price will be along soon enough. And when they do show up don’t hesitate to ask away on here. Welcome to the forum,

@Jeff Matthews, A Bluesound Node will give you free access to Spotify. There will be commercials periodically, but nothing like You-Tube. The only trade-off is you won't find Neil Young on Spotify, LOL! You will also find every radio station you've ever heard on the Node. But that will get old fast once you start chasing every album you never owned on Spotify. I rarely ever listen to anything else now. I never understood why people were selling off entire CD libraries, until now.

@nickyboy6100, maybe a silly question, but have you enquired at Klipsch parts?

what did you come up with for stands?

Wow !

@Deang, a little late to the party, work is really starting to get in the way of this forum, but I snapped a picture of the terminal cup/plate. Ya, who knows what someone else did to those La Scalas before I got them? They had an $8 Rat Shack piezo tweeter in one tophat and one K-43 ohmed out at 20 ohms. For eight years now I have been trying to figure out what is wrong with my perception because a pair of pristine AA crossovers, even after recapping with pseudo-authorized (mylar) capacitors, has never sounded like “all that and a bag of chips” in any of the FIVE pairs of La Scalas I’ve owned over the years. Each pair had K-55-Ms… I never found the midrange to be too loud, I always found the treble not as bright as I would have liked, but that is not uncommon for me. Before recapping I had to put my ear up to the K-77s to ensure they were working. Now though, even with colorful puppets to explain what I was hearing, thanks @mboxler, I’m left with questions. Hypothetically, not suggesting anyone modify any Klipsch product, how would a person correct for the overlap using an AA crossover with a dual phase plug driver? I seem to remember a suggestion to add a .35 mH coil to the positive squawker output, a la A/4500. Would another possibility be to add the same elliptical filter used in the AL series of crossovers and change the .245 mH to .125 mH? I really want to hear what the fuss is all about with the AA crossover. For starters, I imagine the un-smudged crossover would result in better imaging. So is what I’ve been hearing more like an “A” with better tweeter protection? Another question now springs to mind… how did the widely accepted crossover points become 400 and 6000 Hz if the graph clearly shows 4500? …my whole life has been a lie, lol

Maybe I’m missing something?

I own a pair of mis-matched LSI Splits, one came with the K-55-M / AL crossover and the other came stock with the soldered lug dual phase K-55-V / AA crossover. There has been discussion over the years, and still is on an “authorized vendor” site, that you cannot use the K-55-M with the AA crossover as it was not designed for it. The reasons originally proffered were the K-55-V rolls off sooner and has a dB less output at certain points in the frequency response curve. Well, the Klipsch FACTORY INSTALLED K-55-V dual phase driver in the La Scala Industrials using the AA crossover runs just as high as the K-55-M, and it turns out the frequency response results were based on test samples of the K-55-M that do not reflect final production units. It appears “the data on the Mig is inaccurate”.

…an object in possession seldom retains the lustre of an object in pursuit @Jvitti1970, did you wind up selling the ALK crossovers you had listed a while back or did you keep them?

I would buy all of those on principle alone

After taxes and shipping, from multiple sources, I don’t know if you could order the parts to build them for less than $500.

…I think you’re safe to start the bidding at $350

So…, my La Scala-ish speakers have unmentionable, unauthorized parts in them. Someone broke into my house and threatened my family if I didn’t let them perform these mods… From where I sit, quite figuratively, it’s not an issue of a bass trade off, the bass of the 396s although spec’d higher sounds lower to me. And the K-48 (any iteration) produces tight, fast, clean, and detailed bass. It’s more of a “live sound” versus “studio sound” argument that is brewing. I have yet to use more than simple tone controls on the 396s, comparing both sets of speakers “flat”, but wholly believe equalization may take them out of the studio and onto the stage. Not there is ANYTHING wrong with their sound as they stand. These remind me of my first pair of Tractrix horn equipped speakers, Forte 2s, only with more of everything. I find myself looking up from my screen and replaying songs I’ve listened to for decades. Again. ANOTHER thing I have yet to try is removing the grilles. These are pro models, built for battle, and there is an acoustic foam liner behind the perforated metal grilles. Removal of the grilles would no doubt bring a presence to the sound that cannot be achieved behind these screens. ONE CAVEAT to anyone new to these, @Heritage_Head, and others thinking of removing the grilles… Lay the speakers flat on their backs before removal. The screws, all 11 of them, have a hollow tube spacer between the motorboard and the grille. And take your time, I can’t even count how many screws I’ve stripped and surfaces I’ve scratched in my excitement, sigh.

…I envision myself with a four foot 3/8” threaded rod, a grinder and some bluing

They’re BETTER than the old Heritage! There is a bevelled plate under each screw, so you could just twist the wire and insert it under the plate and screw it down. No clockwise loop, lol. I would have soldered the ends if I didn’t already have (a box of) spaded terminations lying around.

My son commented again today about the soundstage, lol I have them angled such that the trapezoidal sides are parallel with the walls. It suits my OCD fine and FILLS the room.

The bottoms look like the tops! (Another one of) the REALLY great things about this second version, the SMA-II, is the simple yet effective barrier strip terminal connections instead of Neutrik.

Whew… glad to hear raw birch is not all they’re cracked up to be. I would always have wondered. Had I been in the unlikely position to order “new”, I would have been leaning hard in that direction too! The big black grill and 16 black bolts (and one big screw right in the middle on the top) probably make for an odd spectacle. Did Cory add any suggestions about a stand, whether it be screw in bolts or something more elaborate? As they come, they don’t sit flush on the floor and you won’t want to scuff up the new cabinets.

@Heritage_Head, what finish did you order?!

These puppies have 16 fly points, you unscrew a bolt and screw in an eye hook. No WAY MDF is prudent for that.

A few weeks ago I was able to obtain a pair of KI-396s for a price I believe I could sell them for should I grow tired of them. It was more than I have ever spent on a single audio purchase by a factor of two, which for me isn’t saying much, lol, but it was more than I spent on my last used car. My first impression was: “Wow, for a speaker that is only supposed to go down to 60Hz there is a ton of bass.” The 60Hz at -3dB figure doesn’t do the 35Hz at -10dB figure any justice. 91dB bass at 35Hz is pretty solid, un EQd. With room gain and a couple dB gain from the simple +/- 5dB bass knob on the NAD C165BEE preamp they pound through an Emotiva XPA2 with 300 watts RMS per channel. Not quite the Klipsch recommended 1200 watts (!), but far from underpowered. I haven’t pushed them to the point where they knock the chess pieces off the board and I like my windows so they still keep the rain out but I am searching for a professional amp… “I got’s to know”. My immediate second impression was: “Wow, these suckers image like a ______-______!” In the picture below both of my sons, independent of one-another, assumed the La Scala-ish speakers were active. They were as astounded as I was by the wall of sound in front of us. The sound stage is WIDE and full and the sweetspot from my tiny 10’ wide x 8’ deep listening triangle is not precise (a good thing), if I move my head from side to side and especially back and forth it’s still sweet. The 396s also seem very forgiving of poor recordings (masterings), without a doubt these are as FAR from harsh as any of the Klipsch I’ve owned. Dare I say it, verging on “studio sound” - gasp(!) I’ve owned Chorus 2s until recently and still own KP-301s, I think the 301s are going next (a moment of silence please). And those are both incredible speakers in terms of both performance and value. They are not, however 396s. I’m still early in the game here, but I hope I never have to choose between my all horn system and these.

A little footnote that may or may not be of any significance. Probably not for home use, but I can say from personal experience each time I have increased my amplifier power for a given set of speakers it was immediately noticeable in the bass. Woofers love watts. And the pro stuff loves lots of them.