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DizRotus

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Posts posted by DizRotus

  1. As I've said before, the 4 Speakerlab SKhorns (factory built, plywood, aluminum 350s and T-35s) used in a DJ biz in the 70s played so loud and clear the SPLs were dangerous. The SKs were 8 ohm, so 2 per channel created a 4 ohm load to the Dynaco 400, which put out 300 watts/channel into 4 ohms.

    One time a woman called to book a return engagement. When I quoted a price, she asked, "Does that include the drummer?" It was all I could do to convince her there had not been a live drummer the first time. She'd never before experienced that much horn loaded sound in such a relatively small space.

    In addition to accelerating my high frequency hearing loss, all that SS power regularly fried the voice coils of the T-35s. I could call EV on Monday and a new diaphragm and an invoice for $11.00 would arrive in time for the next weekend's gig. I mailed a lot of checks to 600 Cecil St., Buchanan, MI. Those were the days.

  2. Last Tuesday evening I enjoyed the power and punch of ClaudeJ1's all horn system. I expect Claude will join this thread with the technical details of his powerful system. I'll supply my experiential observations

    The transient attacks are amazing. Claude's single DIY Danley style tapped horn augments the horn loaded bass, mid and treble perfectly. Whether music or move explosions, the sound was real, even when real loud. The bass was felt as much as heard.

    A drum recording showed the system at its best. The speed and clarity of the various drums were presented as only horns, big horns, can do.

    In the sweet spot, the imaging,especially female vocals, was spot on. Close your eyes and the large horns disappeared, but the music soared.

    Claude's large loft space in Downtown Pontiac was also very interesting. Apparently, Claude's loft is in the upper section of what was a 2-story showroom in a 1930s automobile dealership. The Art Deco architectural features are way cool. Thanks, Claude

    On another note, Claude's space reminds me of the Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg Museum in Auburn Indiana. I highly recommend the ACD Museum if you ever find yourself on I-69 between Fort Wayne and Indy.

  3. I saw this yesterday and liked it.

    Detroit, as the attached photo of a lonely solitary house in the shadow of downtown documents, has many vacant lots. Vacant--except for trash, old tires, etc. That's space that could be used for urban agriculture.

    Part of the solution to Detroit's many problems is consolidating the few remaining residents into viable neighborhoods. Then the isolated, all but abandoned, houses could be demolished to create aggregated open spaces for parks, agriculture, etc. The dilemma is that, no matter how humble, people tend to want to stay in their own homes and neighborhoods and let the other guy relocate. It's kind of NIMBY in reverse.

  4. No. At its low frequency limits, La Scala is already functioning as a sealed box. Adding a tuned port enhances the low frequency output, while still functioning as a horn from ~50hz to 400hz. The tradeoff is slightly reduced efficiency. To my ears, the bass is still "La Scala" fast and tight.

    Altec's VOT, and others, have utilized horn/reflex hybrid bass for years.

  5. I asked the same question before I vented out the backs of the tops. The short answer seems to be that it makes no difference sonically. At least any sonic differences are way less significant as compared to issues of appearance, ease of mod, ease of reversal, etc.

    Forum member djk, who first proposed the most often copied mod, seems to believe it makes no difference. Forum member Dr. Who applied his academic credentials in agreement. At least that is how I interpreted their comments.

    There are many threads regarding the La Scala bass bin mod. In some I started there are links to others. Search this forum and Google for "djk bass mod" and you'll get more results than you're likely to absorb.

    IMO, if La Scalas alone don't satisfy your need for bass, try the bass reflex mod or add a sub, preferably not a direct radiator.

  6. "It's all now in a new place, huge room, it dwarfs what you heard before. My "coffee table" is now standing up in a corner of an 18x24 loft inside of an 18x45 foot room. It goes to 15 Hz. easily. Anyone who has hear this latest setup, same speakers, new room, has commented on the definition, TRANSIENT response, depth, etc. of the bass and the total lack of boominess."

    Have you moved? I don't recall any "huge" rooms or lofts in your condo. I'd like to hear how it sounds. It's hard to imagine it sounding better than it did before, but if you say it does, I believe it.

  7. ... a tapped horn is up to the challenge.

    While I agree with your subjective assessment of tapped horns, my pedantic side forces me to point out that a tapped horn is not so much a horn as a variant on the tapered quarter-wave pipe (TQWP) concept. In fact, tapped horn, TQWP, "transmission line", "acoustic labyrinth", "Transflex", and "Air Coupler" are all variations on the same theme.

    And, properly executed, they sound really good, too.

    I agree the TQWP variant description applies. Nonetheless, in terms of distortion, efficiency, etc. a tapped horn is closer to a true horn than it is to a direct radiator, and better able to integrate into a horn based system than a direct radiator. And while not small, they are small by comparison to a true horn system able to do what they can do.

  8. The details are still sketchy, but at least 1 person died in another house explosion.

    http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130227/METRO02/302270439/1409/metro/One-person-dies-Royal-Oak-house-explosion

    I was approximately 4 miles from the explosion and heard it while in the basement. I hope it was not "foul play" like the one in Indy. The nearby houses were damaged, but not to the extent in Indy. The houses nearby had their windows blown out.

    It appears to be a natural gas explosion. Natural gas is extremely powerful. It's almost surprising this doesn't happen more often. I hope the fatality count stops at one.

  9. " . . . But, as we all know, it is a real challenge to get that last octave with a horn."

    Claude's system convinced me that a tapped horn is up to the challenge. His coffin sized unit functions as a coffee table.

    Tapped horns can be integrated into a system in many ways. They can be in an attic, under the floor, in a closet, in a garage, as part of a bookcase, used as a coffee table, etc.. Despite their size, with a little creativity they can be hidden or camouflaged. They're easy to build and relatively inexpensive.

    In other words, "We don't need no stinkin' direct radiators."

  10. If a cone moves, it produces distortion. If you want to REDUCE cone movement, put a HORN on it. Power input will go down, power output will go UP, distortion will go DOWN more than the power input does (very cool). Horns will play louder and more like live music because the cones don't have to move as much, so they ACCELERATE faster for more lifelike TRANSIENT response.

    The greatest movement in any loudspeaker regardless of size or brand is in the woofer section. The least amount of of movement is in the tweeter section. Where is the horn needed most? In the Woofer section, of course, yet this is the LAST place people put a horn. Why? SIZE and COST. But for those who don't wish to compromise, like me, I insist on ALL HORNS in the entire sytem, except for surrounds because they are down so far in output.

    This is why I use Tapped Horn Subs (18 to 24 feet long), which will give the greatest bass output into the TEENS in the smallest cabinet possible working in concert with ROOM GAIN.

    Since I was just a kid out of college, I have owned Klipschorns with a LaScala in the middle using PWK's resistor box. I know this for sure because I went to his house and saw/heard for myself. I had the exact same system that PWK had for 30 years.

    I spent the last 5 years doing about 10 iterations of horns going from 5-way to 4-way (including the TH sub in this statement). My whole system is based on the K-402 with the Klipsch 1133 driver, found in over 50% of newer theaters around the world. There's a reason for this.

    So if that setup produces the lowest distortion possible for a great big room like a theater with hundreds of sears, imagine what the same horns do in your home?

    Talk about ridiculously LOW DISTORTION using only MILLIWATTS from little CHIP amps of about 6 Watts per channel (except for the subs), where one can measure between 0.010-0.025 W in the main channels and 0.25 (1/4 watt) in the woofers for normal listning with maybe 10X that for "cranked up demo mode."

    Spoiled ROTTEN you say? You are darn RIGHT!

    I've had the pleasure of experiencing Claude's system. It's ALL HORNS (except Cornwall center) and it's superb. Claude knows of what he speaks!

  11. i saw a photo awhile back with a grill covering the whole face of the la scala, looked like a huge cornwall. i think im gonna go that route. hopefully the heritage speaker cloth that crites sells is wide and long enough to cover a whole la scala.

    ". . . like a huge Cornwall."

    That is exactly what I would seek to avoid. Cornwalls look great, but the La Scala's best visual feature, it's dog house roof peak, should not be hidden behind a flat grille cloth. If grilles are used (not my preference), I prefer the angled Belle-like look favored by Greg, at Volti, and others. Greg's method of attachment also addresses the stiffening of sidewalls, which is a MUST (your mileage won't vary). It would be a shame for you to do such excellent work and fail to reinforce the sidewalls. I made that mistake.

    This is only my opinion. There is no correct answer. Your choice will be correct for you.

  12. Stroh's is available again around here, but it's not "fire brewed" in Detroit like in the day. Miller acquired it years ago, which was then absorbed by UK based SABMiller. The Stroh family are clients of mine; nice people, but no longer in the beer or ice cream businesses.

    Which is why I try to buy local brews from the local market (also a client).

    I look forward to your review.

    Attached is a photo (circa '69) of the day I loaded the frat house Coke machine with Stroh's. PBR and Stroh's long necks were $3.27/case. The Coke machine sold 10 oz. soft drinks (pop in Michigan) for $0.10/bottle. By putting an empty bottle between each beer bottle, we sold cold beer for $0.20/bottle. I think it might have been illegal.

    I'm the one sampling the product. I don't know why that guy's holding my elbow, must be the injury under the band-aid.

  13. Working at the computer on a Saturday afternoon is made tolerable by my Klipsch ProMedia 2.1, a bottle of Detroit Brewing Company Bohemian beer and Pandora playing a Buffalo Springfield station, which is a great mix for my 64 y.o. ears.

    EDIT: After reading another thread about MOG, I'm streaming that. The sounds is nice, too soon to comment convenience or value.

  14. Your question seems to be whether to "upgrade" a vintage plywood unit or spend the same amount of money to get a new MDF unit.

    In my opinion, the answer to that is a definite, "it depends."

    The MDF vs plywood is, in my opinion, not an issue. The more important question is whether you're a tinkerer and tweaker, or whether you want "turn key" excellence. If the former, then hot rod a used unit; if the latter, then buy new and support a great company.

    The BMS, Tractrix, etc. mods are "upgrades" that would be impractical in a commercially viable product, even on a limited production basis. DIY hotrodders will tell you the expense is worth it. If you're even considering that option, then you should probably go that route.

    On the other hand, most non-audiophools would probably listen to stock new Klipschorns and the best customized, spare no expense (e.g. TAD drivers) vintage Klipschorns and only perceive that they both sound fantastic. If you want excellent sound, a fine piece of audio furniture without second guessing, go with new. If you live for the pursuit of DIY sonic superiority, then buy used and open your check book.

    Good luck in either case. There is no wrong answer, just different answers.

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