geoff.

Caveat emptor. Salesmen have real jobs to do. Wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing, but a job nonetheless. Having said that, misrepresentation is despicable. Hanging is too good for them. (lol?) A law stating all reviews, must START with “PAID ENDORSEMENT” would be a good beginning. Strict penalties and fines would be another step in the right direction. Taxing the crap out of the endorsements would really be a bonus! The national debt could be paid off in no time. ...sorry about that last one, we all know a government that needs to increase taxes doesn’t know how to run it’s house...

The question I have is WHAT existing pair of speakers will you get rid of to make room for the new pair, and where are they going? After listening to bigger speakers I cannot be happy with less. Once a man has seen the truth, he cannot un-learn it! I no longer own any “bookshelf” speakers. Smallest speakers I own now are Forte II’s. Got rid of my RB-61’s and RC-52 in the master bedroom and dropped Cornwalls under the TV. No love lost there! But if I were in an apartment (shudder) the Quartets, on stands, would be an option. When I was demo-ing my Quartets before selling them I remember being impressed with their sound, and they must have been three feet off the wall. Chorus or bust!

This is exciting! Nice work. It could also be used on a K-601 or K-701. If there is room... Am I ever glad I have held on to my Forte ii’s. Are the output levels of the K-55’s and K-61’s the same?

I have tried the titanium MIDRANGE diaphragms in my Forte ii’s, and Cornwall ii’s with the K-61 mids. The Cornwall ii’s already had Bob’s bandpasses and CW2 crossovers as I knew down the road I would have to see for myself what it sounds like. The Forte ii’s don’t have the bandpass but they cross higher to begin with. In both cases the result was similar. Up to a certain volume level, say “spirited levels”, the midrange was crisper, more detailed. Pleasantly present. Better imaging too. Once pushed they became unpleasant, to my ears. I do not doubt that with a redesigned passive crossover, or an active they would be an improvement. Crossed even lower to the tweeter, like most Klipsch three ways are now... But as they stand right now, I prefer the phenolic mids. I should also mention both the Forte ii’s and Cornwall ii’s have titanium tweeter diaphragms so there would be even more disparity without those.

I have said this in another post, but it bears repeating. The person I bought my Forte ii’s from had his Klipsch Belles playing in his basement when I arrived. I descended the stairs, rounded the corner and was hit with a musical presence I have only recently attained. I asked him with great enthusiasm if the music was coming from the speakers I was there to buy (read “could afford”). He then switched over to the Forte ii’s. My heart sank at the pale lifeless sound (in direct comparison to the Belles). In his basement, 15 feet apart, the Belles had more “perceived” bass than the Forte ii’s. Let’s not even get into imaging and detail... Two years later and LaScalas sit where once Heresys, RF -3s, Forte ii’s, Cornwalls (1s and 2s), and Cornscalas used to flourish. And you already have tubes too!

I watched a detective on the news not too long ago with regards to ANOTHER case, a time worn member of the police force, look into the camera with the 1000 yard stare in his eyes and solemnly tell the interviewer “What people need to understand is that this is their sexual orientation. You and I are heterosexual. Some people are homosexual. These people are pedophiles. No amount of rehabilitation will change a persons sexual orientation.” Prison. NO chance of parol. May God have mercy on his soul. I have no compassion for these people, but their stories, told without compensation - ever, may hold the clue to prevention in the future.

Mark, you have all of the steps up the Klipsch chain there. And a nice chain at that! I have yet to hear a pair of Chorus ii’s, but with Klipsch, bigger IS better. They must ROCK. I started with Heresy's, RF-3’s, then Forte ii’s, which I sold within weeks of getting my first pair of Cornwalls. Sometime after the second pair of Cornwalls I found CF-3’s, which I sold within weeks of getting LaScalas. As a sidebar, if you haven’t put the Crites titanium tweeter diaphragms in your Chorusesess yet, put that on the extreme shortlist. The Chorus ii/Forte ii midrange fits pretty simply into the Cornwall cabinet with a few cuts, but I think the B-2 crossover is for the K-55 driver and not the K-57/K-61. The Cornwall box would LOVE a Crites woofer, and the bigger the horn you can surface/flush mount, the better. The Cornwall box really shows off the extra few hz on the low end when they are there. If your CW1’s have the square magnet K-33-E you are golden, they are supposed to go lower than the round magnet version. Two-way is the way to go if you have the option, and you do! Any Cornscala you build will impress you. But I have to add a caveat here. I would be remiss not to suggest giving a decent pair of LaScalas with good amplification an ear before your next project. I probably would have skipped a few of mine. Probably be on to tubes by now!

Thanks Boom3, the K-90 horns were used in the KLF C7 center channel. It had two 8" woofers and I always thought they would make for an amazing pair of bookshelf speakers. The KLF C7 had bite and punch. In a bigger cabinet it would have made a solid tower. What you have detailed pretty much sums up the reviews of the now defunct Santanas I hoped to re-populate. The cabinets are just too nice to trash. Another day, another diversion. Lol Thanks for the constructive information.

Does anyone have a graph showing the frequency response of the K-33-E ? I am specifically interested in how HIGH you could cross one in a two way box. I realize this flies in the face of everything Klipsch is about, midrange, but I recently dropped Kappa 15C’s in my LaScalas and have a pair of estranged K-33’s. Altec is famous for pushing their woofers higher and as fate would have it there is a pair of Santana cabinets sitting empty in my basement and a pair of K-90 horns dying to run with the pack. Could you cross a K-33 as high as 2000hz? I appreciate any and all input on this diversion. Thanks, geoff.

I would take two of those for 400 bucks in a heartbeat. 15” woofer trumps 12” woofer any day.

KI-362 SMA-II?

GSM, you are looking at 100 bucks worth of cabinetry with “white van” parts inside, maybe original crossovers, one tweeter and midrange. A labour of love awaits this attempt by someone else to improve on an engineered benchmark speaker. ...just when you thought you’ve seen it all... lol

A simplified answer to AA vs. AL-3 crossover is: AA for low powered/tube amps. AL-3 for listening at louder volumes. I have AL-3’s in my ‘92 LaScalas and am AMAZED at how quietly I can listen to them and still “get into the music”. There are MANY other options available too... The real bonus here is you SHOULD replace the capacitors in 30 year old electronics anyway, so it would be an eventuality to some degree. Even if you don’t wind up using your LaScalas in your “warehouse”, new crossovers will sound sweet inside. You are likely on the verge of going pro-audio in your garage. Looks like you have the fever pretty good.

Oh-oh! Did the drivers fit back in the cabinet “nice and easy”or did you have to wiggle them against the cut-outs, kinda force them through? The leads on the diaphragms are VERY delicate. I THINK Bob makes a point of stating that somewhere, but I am always in a big hurry when I get a package in the mail... I just recently recieved three pairs for my Tangent 5000’s, Cornwall 2’s, and Forte ii’s. I matched the impedance of each pair as closely as possible before installation and had the same issue as you in ONE tweeter. One of my Forte ii’s didn’t work. Sure enough, took it out and hooked up the ohm-meter and it was an open circuit. I had broken the lead.

Right you are Max2. Here is a slice of Groomlakearea51’s legacy post.

CECAA850, thanks for the clarification. Did you stick with AL?

That white rectangular power resistor in your AL crossover looks out of place. Your crossover is labelled on the front of the board at the far right. You absolutely do not need a powerful amp for LaScalas. Not like Vegas. Sorry to hear the Carver only has one speaker connection...

Did you make sure the polarity is correct on both sets? If not, one woofer pushes in while the other pushes out. Cancelling each other.

Hello again Pro Guy! NO! Don’t wire them in parallel. Might blow your amp, Vegas draw low ohms when cranked! My (lesser) amps used to go into protection every time I dialed them up! Your amp should have “Speakers A” and “Speakers B” connections. A to one pair and B to the other pair. And I STILL have the same problem as you trying to find other posts on the Klipsch forum. I just google the title and then go from there from the results... The AL crossover is labelled in your picture. I forgot to congratulate you on getting LaScalas. Stay with it man, they are worth it.

I sold them to Tizman, how about Tangent 5000’s sideways? LOL! ...it’s easier to A/B them like that, ahem...

You would need dual woofers to punch like LaScalas. BIG ones at that. LaScalas also image like nothing you have ever heard before. The thing about KLIPSCH is that there is a world of sound you have never heard before distracting you from the bass... In another week or so you will have difficulty listening to the Vegas without noticing the distortion and lack of midrange detail. You could try stacking your D-9s on top of the LaScalas for the best of both worlds... your welcome!

I think a 1976 Klipsch would have a “letter” designation for the year, “R” or “S” in the code. And, get this, it would be hand-written on the label. Yours have the “newer” K-55-M mid driver, but still have the metal K-400 horn. I think by ‘89 the resin K-401 horn started to be used on the K-55-M. And somewhere in there the AL-2 crossover came out. There is a list on this forum somewhere with all of the progressions over the model years. Like I said, there have been ALOT.

Prog guy, thanks for the pictures. Klipsch speakers are constantly in a state of flux. LaScalas have been around longer than I have. That’s a lot of flux! I honestly believe a lot of your disappointment stems from the AL crossover in your ‘87’s. Bob Crites even makes reference to it on his website. My ‘92 Lascalas have the AL-3 crossover. I use a NAD 372 integrated amp and the tone controls offer +/- 5db of bass at 50hz. At +2.5 the bass comes alive. At +5 db (full CW) it sounds un-natural, muddy. Like my former CerwinVegas - lol. But seriously, the bass will not be LOW with LaScalas. It SHOULD punch you right in the chest though!

Thanks!