Rotobadger

Hi, PM sent.

Forgive my ignorance but can these be used in place of the La Scala mids (Al3 Crossovers)? I’ve seen pictures of setups like this but am not sure if I’m mixing up what your horns would be used for. Also, I don’t know if crossover mod would be necessary. Thanks in advance… Andy

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I have Forte III but these are tempting as hell. Any thoughts on shipping cost to 85048?

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As I sit here with a Vanilla Crown Royal listening to Sonny Stitt, I just have to say the Forte III are just fantastic speakers. I’m going to continue to work with the Altecs but the FIII light up the room effortlessly. The folks at Klipsch sure know what they’re doing.

I really think that’s great advice but my problem is I don’t know if I’ll really ever know which speakers I really want. I know it’s crazy but part of the fun is searching for what we all know doesn’t exist (the “perfect” speakers). Yet, much to my wife’s chagrin, I persist. But I have fun on the journey for sure and get to listen to great music along the way. If memory serves, these are the speakers I’ve owned. No particular order: Klipsch Heresy 1 Klipsch Forte III Klipsch Cornwall II Klipsch KG4 Marantz Imperial 6 Boston Acoustic a100 Boston Acoustic a150 Boston Acoustic a200 KLH Model 5 Infinity Qa Infinity Qb Mission 770 Freedom Altec Lansing Model 19 Really have a soft spot for the Marantz Imperial 6. I actually had a pair of KLH 5s a couple of years ago. I recapped them and stripped off the horrible black paint from the cabinets that some previous owner had applied. Excellent speakers but not super sensitive. 86db if I’m not mistaken? Also, the Forte III are not harsh at all (to me at least). In fact, sometimes I feel they’re a little too tame for my tastes. I really enjoy mid-forward speakers. Sometimes I think that the Klipsch bashers have never really lived with a nice pair and had them matched to an amp that suited them. With that said, it’s highly subjective and I’ve done my best to adhere to the philosophy of “Listen to what sounds best to ME”. I actually really loved my Klipsch Heresy I when I had them. And they DID exhibit some fatiguing tendencies but tubes smoothed them right out.

I’ll take a look. I’m pretty happy with the sound of the III but, to be fair, have not really given the IV a listen. The local heritage dealer has been pretty friendly and has spent some time with me so I could audition the La Scala and the K-Horn (even though I made it clear brand new K-Horns we’re WAY out of my budget). Interestingly, when I asked him if they still sold the Forte III he said they did. He said, surprisingly, some customers preferred the III over the IV and bought them instead. So, he really wasn’t pushing the IV on me knowing I had the III. But, take with a grain of salt and all that…

Absolutely. The room I’m in is a bit odd. It’s actually our dining room which my wife graciously allowed me to convert into a listening area (complete with an Eames chair I got for Christmas!). The room is somewhat narrow and puts the 19s about 7 feet apart (measured from center of speaker to center of speaker). The ceiling is sloped upwards and opens into our fairly large formal living room with ceilings that reach around 12-13 feet. I’m feeling like the walls on either side of the 19s is constricting the sound and causing audio smearing and some unnatural resonance. The room is very live as well. I’ve bought some acoustic panels and will be adding more but there’s not much I can do with the large open space directly behind me when facing the speakers. I’m considering selling the 19s and going with the Forte’s and maybe testing some Cornwalls. However, although not perfect, they are in beautiful shape and are still outstanding speakers. Just may need a room better suited for them. So, if I don’t sell I’ll just park them for the time being. I don’t want to end up with seller’s regret but, at the same time, feel it’s a shame to let them languish. I have an extended business trip coming up so I’ll ponder for awhile. Attached pics show area. Room is not complete yet tho. Thanks for reading and thanks for the helpful comments from all!

Good to know. My hope is that Corn IV will be everything the Forte III are but with a bigger sound and stage.

Well, I already own the III. I’ve got them hooked up to compare with the Altecs. EDIT: Oops. Were you referring to the Cornwall? If so, I totally agree. I’d just go IV.

See, that seems to be the consensus on the Altec 19. I’ve also had other people sit and pick which speaker sounded better. I just said “A or B” as I switched. My daughter’s friend liked the Forte more because they sounded “together” and not “separate” like the Altecs. My wife liked the Forte III because she felt the Altecs sounded “blurry”. To me, in my mind, this translates to sound smearing and/or resonance from the Altecs. I may try a temporary test of dampening the horns to see if that helps. Again, I WANT to like the Altecs more but the Fortes just sound better. If I could make the Forte sound as big as the Altecs… And the only Klipsch Heritage dealer in town has every model on demo EXCEPT the Cornwall III or IV.

I think that’s good advice. I’m leaning towards doing just that, which would mean sticking with the Forte III. I thought “If someone put a gun to my head and said ‘one pair of speakers has to go now’ I’d have to say goodbye to the Altecs”. Not quite ready to give up on them just yet though. The do have a much larger and “open” sound than the Forte. Maybe I should go audition a pair of Cornwall IV?

I went through great pains to obtain a very nice pair of Altec Model 19s. First thing I did was a full recap. So, I’ve been trying speaker placement, different amps (tube and SS) and acoustic treatment. The Altecs are fantastic sounding… BUT…I’ve made a huge effort to make myself love the 19s more than my Forte III. I have them set up for easy A/B auditioning. For me the Forte III win. They are more forward, detailed and, most of all, cohesive. I’ve read the 19s are the pinnacle of speaker quality but I have to remind myself the Forte III are modern $4k speakers (msrp). They are REALLY good. I’ve owned and compared dozens of speakers and the FIII are the best I’ve ever owned. Am I crazy? Am I missing something with the Altecs? It COULD be the room and placement but, as I said, I’ve done a lot of experimentation (not easy with 150 pound speakers!). Damn. I just love the Forte III. A lot. They image and have incredible intimacy the Altecs seem to lack. I’m listening to the F III now. Just magic.

Hey All, You may have seen my posts here as I'm on the lookout for a nice pair of La Scala in or near Phoenix, AZ. I really wanted to go with a cherry pair of LS II (non-AL5) but they're pretty scarce nearby. Wanted to keep it in the $4k range. Sooo, I've read a number of posts that talk about how you can upgrade an earlier generation LS to be as good as or better than LS II. Let me say right off, I have NO woodworking skills. None. Zero. Nor do I have the tools. So, reinforcing and upgrading the cabinet is out of the question. So, to my question. I'm looking at a gorgeous (albeit overpriced) pair of 1990-ish LS with AL-3 crossovers. Not recapped. My confusion is whether it would be a significant and worthwhile upgrade to put new Crites or ALK crossovers in or just to recap the current AL-3. Every thread I can find with this topic rapidly devolves into "you should look into the Altecs for that money" or "if you graft a JBL onto a XTZ-3000 THX horn and turn it upside down you'll do much better for cheaper!". I'm just after the easiest way to squeeze a little more out of the older La Scala. Or, if I'm lucky I'll find a nice pair of LS II within driving distance. For the record, I currently have a pair of Forte III which, to quote Adam Sandler, is Not Too Shabby (Don't lie. You just read that and heard his voice saying it). But I miss the punch of my old Heresy 1. Just want that quality with a bigger stage and imaging. Thanks for reading and looking forward to hearing thoughts/advice.

Thanks for letting me know. Unfortunately, Phoenix is a long, long way from upstate NY!

Interesting take. I’ve fallen into the trap of “newer must be better”. In fact, I really enjoyed my Heresy 1. Beautiful HWO. Only thing done was a recap with Sonicaps. Kinda regret selling them. I will keep my Forte III but basically want big sound big stage big imaging Heresy. Would that be the La Scala. 1989-ish?

Saw these. Walnut isn’t my favorite but I’d consider a pair. But the wood on these is pretty extreme. But they’re sold anyway. But thanks for the heads up!

Hey All, After a couple of potential deals fall through before they even really got started, I’m still in the hunt for a pair of La Scala II. Had a question. What’s the best price I can reasonably expect to get a pair of AL5 for new? I always read about people finding killer deals on speakers or gear at a steep discount but never can find anything like that. I’d be willing to go with a pair of NOS on a pair of LS II possibly. Thanks for all the great advice!

Yeah, that’s what I figured. At the end of the day I could be creeping into used AL5 territory (if I could actually find them locally or nearby).

Any ideas as to what the cost would be to pallet and ship freight?

Well, that’s kind of why I have a spark of hope. You have the original shipping boxes. I wonder who Klipsch uses to ship…

Ok, my apologies if I misinterpreted your post. They’d be going from South Carolina to Phoenix, AZ. Unfortunately, not a quick drive. I was in early talks with someone in Texas (about a 10 hour drive from me) but looks like that’s not going to work out.

Oh, absolutely. I certainly couldn’t hold you (or any seller) responsible for what a shipper does. Just don’t try to shove them into a paper bag. But seriously, I’m going to investigate further. They’re exactly what I want.

I’m definitely interested if I can figure out shipping that’s somewhat reasonably priced and, more importantly, can be fairly sure they will arrive safely. If you’d like to talk, let me know and maybe we can work something out. Really? On my WTB thread??