Desert Noises

I like my SVS SB-2000 with my La Scalas. I've had it for 3 years now with no problems and it sounds great. I think the SB-2000 is discontinued and replaced by the SB-2000 Pro.

Big fan of the Audio Technica VM540ML here. Tracks like a freight train and is very accurate and revealing. Some don’t like that, though. I’ve been a happy AT user for over 20 years now. My second turntable has an Ortofon Blue, and I like that one, too, but still prefer the VM540.

They aren’t worth anything. Might as well give them to me and I’ll properly dispose of them. Just kidding. That’s a nice looking La Scala. I love the spider crawling out of it. That’s almost no joke since my pair literally had spiders living in them before I got them. On a serious note, don’t try to ship them. I paid too much for mine a few years ago and had them shipped. Big mistake. They got damaged and I had to fix it. No sending them back. You could try offer up, Craigslist, or eBay with local pickup only. I’ve seen cases where people drove a hundred miles or more. For price, I’d think somewhere between $2k-3k. It’s hard to tell anymore because prices are getting crazy for vintage audio.

I’ve been using Apple Music for a few years and like it. Their recent switch to lossless audio, some with higher bit and sample rates, was great news to me with no additional charges.

Congrats! Enjoy your new speakers.

A grandpa and grandson go fishing. While sitting on the end of the dock, grandpa pulls out a bottle of whiskey and takes a swig. The grandson asks, “can I have a sip?” Grandpa asks his grandson, “can you touch your butthole with your wiener?” “No,” replies the grandson. Grandpa says, “well, you can’t have any, then.” Some time passes and the grandson pulls out a bag of cookies that his grandma had baked that morning. Grandpa asks, “how about giving gramps one of them cookies?” The grandson replied, “can you touch your butthole with your wiener?” “Why, yes, I can” replies grandpa. The grandson looks his grandpa in the eye and says, “well, I guess you can go f#$k yourself then.”

Haha! The album cover is gold. Is this a regional parody band or something?

I recapped my 1982 Heresys with a kit from Crites (Sonicaps) 6 years ago. I don't think the old capacitors were bad; they were the square black plastic 2uF capacitors and they tested good on capacitance at least. I noticed a very subtle difference after the recap, all in the high frequency end of the spectrum. No difference from midrange down. The best way I can describe it is that the Heresys sounded more crystal clear with more definition in the tweeters. I perceive this as a good thing, but can understand if it drives other people nuts. I have that same definition in my Sonicap/Dayton La Scalas and Cornwalls and I love it. It's especially nice to have that detail in classical music. It kind-of reminds me of the criticisms of the Audio-Technical AT440ML phono cartridge I read a number of years ago. A lot of people panned it for being too bright and "clinical," but others, like myself, found it to sound accurate and wonderful. When my AT440ML wore out, someone convinced me to replace it with a Grado Gold1 cartridge. I immediately disliked it; it sounded like someone turned the treble down 6dB or more. My records sounded lifeless and mushy with sibilance in the inner tracks that I wasn't used to before. I think I'm that weird kid in the class that likes good HF detail and sparkle in my music. Hence why I prefer the K-77M to both the CT-120 and CT-125.

Piss Crystals. Best suited for a punk rock band.

I agree and I have learned some important lessons during my past few years of La Scala ownership. The first mistake I made was throwing out the original AL crossovers before listening to them and getting an idea of the original sound. Instead, I installed a new reproduction AA crossover that wasn't designed for the K-55M. Then I upgraded each driver trying to achieve optimum sound. Looking back, I should have just ordered an AL-3 and called it a day. I knew something was up when I built a pair of Clonewalls and put all of the original drivers from my La Scalas in those. My Clonewalls have the B-2 crossovers. I listened to the Clonewalls and wondered why they sounded so much better than my La Scalas! What the heck? After trying different crossovers (A, AA, A4500) and lowering the mids by another 3dB, I still wasn't satisfied with their sound. Then I did more reading and research and decided that I had to return the La Scalas to stock and use a crossover that was specifically designed for the drivers my speakers originally came with. Just to get a baseline. I was skeptical, but after listening for less than a minute I knew they sounded right, the sound I was searching for all along. Now, when I compare my Clonewalls (CW1526CF, A55G, K77M, B-2) to my stock 1988 La Scalas with AL-3 I'm getting a similar basic Klipsch sound, even though the two have a very different sound, if that makes any sense. Now I'm happy with both my Clonewalls and La Scalas.

My pair had me scratching my head and pulling my hair out trying to make them sound right. I tried all the upgrades and thought they sounded better after each one. But a persistent annoying sound in the mid bass kept bugging me. Finally, I returned everything to stock and built a pair of AL-3 crossovers, which are designed for my specific drivers and configuration. My La Scalas are from 1988. With the original drivers and AL-3, my La Scalas have redeemed themselves. They sound correct now and I’m really enjoying their sound. I’m not going to mess with them anymore. I’m a happy camper.

I rewired my La Scala washing machine with monster cable and my towels come out whiter now.

I have this dryer. Came with the house when we bought it and it keeps chugging along. The washing machine is a few years newer. I had to put new dogs in the agitator last year as the agitator stopped working. It was stupid simple and it works like a champ again. I will hold on to these forever!

You'd probably be hard pressed to discern any difference between the Daytons and Sonicaps. I've used both and can't tell a difference in the sound.

I found that an SVS SB2000 subwoofer crossed over at 60 Hz with its volume set at about 1 o' clock is a fantastic match for the Heresy. I wouldn't even mess with mods to get more bass out of a Heresy when good subs are relatively cheap.

Very interesting perspective on the two K77 versions. I’ve only had experience with the K77M variant. I have them in my La Scalas and Heresys. From your impressions it sounds like the K77M is a little bit hotter than the alnico version. Years ago I “upgraded” my Heresys with CT-125s. It sounded like my tweeters were missing. It didn’t take long for me to put the K77s back in. In my La Scalas, the difference between the K77M and CT120 is a little more subtle, but I still prefer the stock tweeter even though on paper the 120 is better. Looks like you and I are in the minority on the subject of tweeters.

When growing up, my mom always told me that curiosity killed the cat. Aside from me trashing my ALs, which looked like they had been recovered from the Titanic anyway, I don’t try anything that can’t be reversed back to stock. The weird thing about mods is being biased towards believing that whatever changes you made result in an improvement no matter the outcome. Sometimes it’s just different and not necessarily better.

I have a pair of CT-125s that I’d be willing to trade for a pair of K77s.

Right? I’ve seen the plots on the graphs comparing the different kinds of “better” tweeters to the K77. On paper, the other options look better and have a more consistent response all the way out to 20kHz. That’s valid and respectable. However, our ears are ultimately the final judge. There must be a good reason why Klipsch chose the T35 for decades.

That was a few years ago and I regret doing it now. The sentiment then was unanimous that the AL was no good at all. I regret at least not listening to them to get an idea of how they originally sounded. I think the AL-3 gives me that with whatever improvements.

Alright, I’ve been screwing around some more. Not completely satisfied with my modifications (although they helped) I decided to build my own AL-3 crossovers to get back to the original intent of these speakers. Unfortunately, I threw the original AL crossovers in the trash without first listening to them. I was going to just buy a pair of AL-3, but they are over $700 now! I successfully built a pair of AL-3s (omitting tweeter protection) and I’m pleased with how they turned out. After all that wiring and soldering, I have blisters on my fingers! Now I know why they cost what they do. I returned my La Scalas to bone stock; K-33E, K-55M, and K-77M. For the past week I’ve been critically listening to this configuration with the AL-3 crossovers. After all, this is what I’m going to stick with. Something in the AL-3 got rid of that annoying nasal/boxy/stuffy sound in the bass. Is it the 4mH inductor or the two paralleled 68uF capacitors that are responsible? Aside from that, I just prefer the sound of the good ol K-77 over the CT-120. They just have that top end sparkle. I’m feeling satisfied and my itches are being scratched in the right places. So, here I am having gone full circle with upgrades and changes. Back to original, and that’s what is best for me with the La Scala. All of the upgrade parts now live in my Clonewalls (1526C cast frame, A55G, and CT-120). Oddly enough, my Clonewalls sound about the same as they did before, except for the tweeters. I want to put some K-77s back in there. The top end sparkle is now subdued. Anyone have a good pair of K-77s for sale?

Fluke 179 here as well. I trust it and never second guess its accuracy. It’s a great meter. At work I use a Fluke 87V. That’s a very nice meter and quite a bit more expensive, but work bought it.

I fitted my Cornwalls with PF Flyers. Now they run faster and jump higher!

I’m currently using an SVS SB-2000 sub with the La Scalas, crossed over at 65Hz. I’ve found that setting to be the best seamless transition point. I’ve seen others recommend crossover settings as high as 120Hz, which I’ve tried, but that’s just way too much bass overlap. Even 80Hz is too much. It has been my intent to get a second sub but other priorities keep coming up. I think it should be a crime to listen to La Scalas without using a sub. I’m going to see what the AL-3 crossover does, since that’s the closest design to what my La Scalas originally had (Type AL). Out of all the mods I’ve done to these La Scalas (and I’ve done them all) the one thing that made a difference was upgrading the tweeters to CT-120 from Crites. Next would be the A/4500 crossover with -6dB on the squawker. I have the A55G mid drivers and original K-55M and I cannot tell any appreciable difference between the two. Initially I thought the 55M sounded harsh with a Type AA crossover. I put them in my Cornwalls with B-2 crossover with low expectations, but the 55M sounds fantastic in those. Not shouty at all. I swapped the 55M back to my La Scalas with the A/4500 crossover at -6dB and the sound is exactly the same. My theory is that maybe the A/4500 rolls off the squawker and keeps the mid from coming back to life at 9kHz. I must say that the La Scala has been a great teacher, along with the people on this forum.

I have La Scalas, Heresys, and home-built Cornwalls. I completely agree with you. My 1988 La Scalas have been difficult for me to make sound right. I’ve had my 1982 Heresy pair for 12 years and they were always great speakers. Moved into a house from years of apartment living and decided to get a pair of La Scala. I thought I loved them at first and then went down the rabbit hole of “upgrades” to correct some harshness at louder volumes. Then I moved to a house with a basement and space for a second setup. I built a pair of Cornwall clones using the leftover La Scala parts. I was blown away by the Cornwalls, not expecting too much. I found that I preferred their sound over both the Heresy and La Scala, especially at volumes over 80dB. That got me to messing around with the La Scalas again, changing the attenuation on the mids from -3 dB to -6 dB (Type A/4500 x-over). That helped the mid harshness, but something in the bass just sounds “off” to me at higher volumes. It’s best described as a nasal boxy sound, similar to boom box speakers from the ‘90s. Right now I’m waiting on parts to build an AL-3 crossover with steeper slopes to see what that does. My La Scalas sound great at low volume. They just get a little screwy above 80dB. The Cornwalls, however, sound perfect to me at any volume level and they have great full bass. When I want to crank it, I go for the Cornwall system. Even when I had the Heresy pair hooked up, I tried convincing myself that I couldn’t possibly prefer them.