Jump to content

Cathedral Guitar

Members
  • Posts

    42
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Cathedral Guitar

  1. A buddy of mine hauled around a pair of La Scalas as his PA system back in 1977, and kept them in his van when not in use at a gig, and kept them hooked up to his car stereo. We spent many hours driving around Denton, TX like that, listening to a lot of the KANSAS / Carry on My Wayward Son LP, and Fleetwook Mac / Rumors. That experience prompted me to get my own La Scalas several decades down the road, although not using them as a car stereo -- but they sounded great in the van.

    • Like 3
    • Thanks 1
  2. 3 hours ago, Schu said:

    I have the most issue with the 'wall of sound' rock music.

     

    I agree with this. Coincidentally, 'dense mix' is what the British A50 reviewer specifically called out as what my A50 amp was not good at. I guess it is easier for the system to give you a sense of the instruments being live in the room with you when the mix has some sense of space to it..

    • Like 1
  3. 20 hours ago, KT88 said:

    But I hardly know a better speaker for soft to medium SPL than my old LaScala with AA Xover. 

     

    I have the same speakers 1x = 21T424 = 1979 and 2x = 10R462 = 1977 (all w/AA + MAHL DE120) and I agree, they sound great at low to medium, and I listen to them all day long while working from home. As a result of this thread, I am also building a playlist for "Sounds Great Loud" on the La Scalas -- for taking a break when you feel like inviting John Bonham to play live in your room, and other tracks that are so euphonic they make you feel euphoric -- much like being high on drugs, but w/o the drugs. "Good Times, Bad Times" is track #1 on this playlist.

  4. 32 minutes ago, Bubo said:

    Mid horn is superior to any with female vocals......

     

    Totally agree here as well. I've always been fond of the Alison Krauss CDs, as the performances, arrangements, and recordings are all world-class. I was blown away when I first hear these on the La Scala.

     

    Going back and sorting through all recordings with female vocals and drums. This is great!! This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for, thanks.

    • Like 2
  5. 2 hours ago, Islander said:

    The Scalas reproduce the dynamics and transients of drumbeats so well that if the volume is high enough, you can almost see the drummer right in front of you.  Unfortunately, other instruments are not reproduced as realistically.

     

    Totally agree with this!! I had a Led Zep CD going, and oh my God, I thought John Bonham was in the room. I was totally blown away. Of course, it helps that he was a great drummer, but still, was indeed freakishly realistic.

     

    Also, on October Road, it was the super quiet drums played with brushes that blew me away. I had barely noticed them before, but auditioning the A50 I could hear all the details and edges of the notes played on parts that were just barely audible.

    • Thanks 1
  6. For me, it is very difficult to distinguish between 'deficiencies in the system' and deficiencies in the recording, or even deficiencies in the original performance, in addition to knowing what the amp is doing really well, and what the speakers do really well. I will switch out the A50 for a SS amp and see if anything changes. I'm actually looking to be thrilled and enthralled by the sound, and not just ok. I'm not inherently a James Taylor fan, but his CD "October Road" is one that sounds phenomenal with the A50 / La Scala combo. Also, several other things in the same genre, like Suzanne Vega, "Songs in Red and Gray" and Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Mayer, Mark O'Connor "Appalachian Journey." What threw me is the British A50 review specifically called out this genre as a great strength of the A50, when I was always under the assumption that it was what the La Scalas did best.

     

    Aside from this, I'm still wondering if anybody here has any thoughts on what music the La Scalas do best? Not just good, but what kind of music brings out the absolute pinnacle of the very best in them, bringing you to the Wow! state of euphoria. I agree with live music recordings, as something they really excel at, bringing the concert performance into your space in a powerfully convincing manner. So for me, it is not so much about the bass or lack of it. I think you can even generalize my question to 'what kinds of music do horn speakers do best,' as I really don't think they are universal.

  7. I always thought that amps were more universal, and that speakers were more the character components, but the above mentioned review made me question that assumption. Reference CD of Steely Dan / Two Against Nature does sound great with the A50 / La Scala combo, but it is not really a dense mix, either. Solo church organ CDs are not as impressive. Difficult to tell when something doesn't sound great on the system if it is due to the speaker, amp or the recording itself.

  8. So I currently drive my La Scalas with a Boyuurange A50 MKIII, and I love the sound, but have gravitated to the genres of music that sounds best with this system, and I had previously thought this is what the La Scalas did best. However, I recently listened to A British Audiophile's review of the amp, and he said this exact same genre was what the A50 amp did best!! This being singer/songwriter, folk + folk/rock, acoustic music, sparse jazz. So my question is, givin the assumption that not all speakers are universal, and will do their absolute best work when focused on specific genres of music: which genres do you think the La Scalas do best? 

     

     

  9. My 1/2" 2-track Denon DH 510 does 15 ips. Any mastering deck will do 15 ips, but it is really expensive to keep copies of more than a few recordings on 1/2" tape -- or even 1/4" tape. You could run the CDs to 2-track, listen to them for awhile, and then transfer back from 2-track to digital, and you would get the beloved analog tape sound on your new digital copy. I would be tempted to go ahead an use EQ and compression before going back to digital, essentially remastering it for optimal sound playback on your Klipsch system. I have heard the exact same studio mix A/B from digital master to analog tape master, and the sound quality difference is pretty dramatic, with a clear preference for the 2-track tape master. Also, don't discount 7 1/2, as some decks might actually sound better at 7 1/2, especially for rock. 15 will be more hiFi in most cases, which is usually, but  not always a good thing.

  10. If you love the tube amp, get another one. I have the Boyuurange A50 III 300B amp with La Scalas and love it. 8w per channel is plenty of power for the 106 dB La Scalas. Your choices for 300B tubes are also abundant, with many superior choices. It really shines on acoustic music, like James Taylor, or light jazz rock like Steely Dan. You might even dedicate the amp to cover a specific genre, like the 300B is known for being a softer sound, and I have found this to be true. So depending on the music styles you listen to, you can select the other amp to cover those styles.

  11. So on the side topic of nearfield LS, is there not a temptation to put them up on risers the closer you get to them, when listening from a chair? Or do listen to them from laying horizontal on the floor? I have tried the latter and they do sound great.

    • Like 1
  12. So first time I ever heard LS actually was in nearfield placement, in 1976. A buddy of mine used a pair for his PA for his Singer/Songwriter solo act, and when not in use he stored them in his van -- connected to his car stereo!! We cruised up and down the strip with the LS blasting out Rumors, and Carry on My Wayward Son.

    • Thanks 1
    • Haha 2
  13. I found the LS flyer fascinating, as the intended purposes for the LS are listed as Theaters, Recording Studios, and audiophile home use. This does not even mention what we now consider  a conventional PA system.

     

    Basically, I have 3x LS and was doing 3ch stereo and was needing to reorient the setup due to an internet issue, and was just looking at my options. I'm never adverse to trying something really different or questionable, like a line array or horizontal placement. I might try to use them as studio monitors, and interestingly, most nearfield studio monitors can be placed horizontally or vertically, but I realize that the LS is not a nearfield and the horns have different directionality than nearfield speakers. Basically just looking for some ideas how to set the 3x LS -- and I can always go back to 3ch. 

    • Like 1
  14. I'm in a 12' x 20' x 8' but I am in a little bit of an unconventional situation as I want to listen to music all day while working from home. but my best spot for internet is not the best spot in the room for listening. Luckily, I only have 3x LaScala, but I can stack 3x sideways to make one line array. I kind of like the wall of sound listening concept. I thought I would ask for ideas before attempting any heavy lifting, but so far from the examples, my brain is thinking of some good scenarios, although in my situation there is a chance all the speakers will be behind me.

    • Like 1
  15. Some of us have so many Klipsch Heritage speakers that the thought of a line array comes to mind. Say you were going to stack some La Scala, would there be an advantage to stacking them sidewise for more efficient bass bin horn contact? Or could/should one speaker stacked be upside down? Is there a best way to stack these besides the obvious upright orientation? Thanks for any thoughts.

    • Like 1
  16. I was in the same boat and after trying several vintage receivers that sounded really good, I settled on the 300B Boyuurange A50. Sounds fantastic. Depth and reach are stunning. Also, the vast number of 300b tubes available now are shocking. So I upgraded the tubes to a more high-end spec and the sound got even soother and more balanced. I actually run a 3ch system of La Scala, and my mid channel is a 2A3 monoblock by Tube Fantasy. Fantastic sound there as well, and they play perfect with each other. Journey over for speakers and amps. 

  17. Here is a related question: a lot of simpler designs for tube integrated amps have just 1x volume pot, and 3-way selector switch. These generally have 2 input tubes, a rectifier tube, and the output tubes. On the other hand, many tube monoblocks also have the 2 input tubes, rectifier tube + output tubes -- but without a volume pot, and w/o the selector switch. So disregarding the multiple chassis / PSU of monoblocks, but is the only difference between an 'Integrated Amp' and 'Power Amp' the addition of a volume pot and a selector switch? 

×
×
  • Create New...