henry4841

😀 You and all others that own LaScala's from that period that have never heard of this site. As far as some saying bad that can be stated about all the Klipsch speakers. It is said by many that horns speaker are awful sounding to them from all the sites that talk about audio products. The only place I have ever heard that the AL crossover is awful is on this site by sellers of crossovers and those that drank the cool aid. Never bad sounding but I will agree that there are other crossovers that do sound better with LaScala's to my ears. I Still have my AL's with new caps but I prefer the sound of AA's. I just find it misinformation, a common used word these days, to say they are bad sounding. Nothing wrong with them and like you there are many that prefer the sound with the AL's over others.

Not quite correct, My LaScala's were made in '86 with AL crossovers minus the diodes as well. About saying bad crossovers from Klipsch I guess this means members here know more then the engineers at Klipsch. I still see no one saying exactly what is wrong with those crossovers. Having an electronic background I see nothing that much different from other crossover other then the notch filters that are still being used by speaker manufacturers. Cannot see how notch filters would make them awful sounding as those on this forum claim. Saying that did and does make sellers of crossovers money. No one can disagree with that statement. For those that disagree I would like to know there engineer background in audio and what speaker company they work for. I was never dissatisfied with my AL crossovers for decades and was a happy camper. Klipsch has not what I would call ever made a bad speaker. Saying the AL crossover in a Klipsch speaker is bad is saying all those LaScala's made with AL crossovers were bad sounding.

Stating facts dude. If you cannot handle the truth you are in a big group these days.

The first lesson on working with tube equipment. One hand in pocket. The 2nd lesson one hand in pocket. There are serious voltages inside a tube amplifier. Like Erick I have worked on and built many tube amplifiers, love the sound, and I am still respectful and follow the rules working on such gear. Again one hand in pocket and drain those filter caps first thing.

First thing to check is connections, all connections tubes and input cables. Cleaning the pins of tubes and sockets is always advisable. Many different products available. Always consider connections before digging deeper or replacing tubes.

Are you the same Dean that makes, made crossovers for a profit on this forum? If so his opinion would be biased for financial gain. I lurked back when that Dean and Bob had serious conflict of opinions on whose networks sound best trying to sell their products on this forum. I will say one thing, Bob was always a gentleman and I respected him for that and he did not try and improve on what the engineers at Klipsch produced not having an audio engineering degree. Only selling the original design with new parts. The bottom line is if you like the sound you have now with the AL crossover, or for that matter any of the Klipsch crossovers, why try to fix what is not broken. I do not ever remember replacing an inductor in any piece of audio gear due to failure or for that matter a film cap as well. But I do understand that some of the equipment in the 30's and 40's had film caps that did give a problem. I do not work on gear that old. Just finished restoring an Onkyo receiver, which is by the way a tank, replacing all the electrolytic caps testing both the old and new ones for specs and ESR and about half were still in spec. Replaced them anyway due to the way an electrolytic is made with a liquid that leaks and dries out over time. Still half being 40 to 50 years old still being in spec. is really good considering how old they are. Many restorers do not replace all the electrolytic caps leaving the good ones alone.

When I bought my LaScala's way back when there were a lot of rags testing audio gear. K-horns and Klipsch speakers in general, Heritage line, did poorly in their testing for frequency response. If memory is correct the factory specs were something like + - 5 db where speakers like the AR-3a's were almost flat. I previously had a pair of AR-3A's. To put it mildly the AR's sucked. PWK said it best, music is dynamics and his speakers shined in that department. Too much emphasis was put on specs that fooled many into purchasing the best number products and were disappointed with the sound afterwards. Klipsch speakers back then depended on the drivers and horn for it's frequency response graph using the best ones available at the time. With time and improvements the drivers and horns have improved and expect have a better frequency response.

I never had a problem with mine but then they were what I had and listened to like I said for decades. Some engineer just went notch filter crazy at the time the AL was introduced but then flat frequency response was all the craze back then. I think it foolish to think the engineers at Klipsch ever made what you would call a bad crossover, especially during the days when PWK was in charge. Anyone that says different are saying they know more then audio engineers at Klipsch. There are some on forums that say different but then some on forums claim to hear a difference on the color of zip ties. We had one of them not so long ago.

Too much emphasis is put on low ESR on caps. When you reach an acceptable level of low ESR lowering it some more is not going to have any more effect. Not to say that Sonicaps are any lower then any of the good audio caps out there. Sonicaps are Bob Crites proprietary caps and he does not make them. They are some brand of cap that is readily sold by another name.

And what was it about them they did not like? I believe it was more what was said here from sellers that made their decision to try another type. I've heard Crites say the autotransformer was no good and should be replaced. H'm, Klipsch engineers used an autotransformer they knew to be bad? Not much about transformer to go bad except catastrophic failure. If Klipsch engineers used a good autotransformer, which is what I believe, basically the only difference from other crossovers is the notch filters to flatten the frequency response. Anyone that can read a schematic sees the notch filters, which some believe is a positive thing, the reason Klipsch engineers added them. Bob Crites trashed the AL and this being a Klipsch forum members picked up the call for it being bad as well. All that being said I am in the camp of less is better and prefer an A or AA crossover for them being less parts and less phase shift. Like I said I was perfectly happy with my 'crappy' Al crossovers for decades and never found anything to complain about.

Regarding the AL crossover, my speakers came with them and I listened to them for decades before changing to the AA's. The Al has notch filters on all 3 drivers to flatten the frequency response. The reason for many more capacitors and inductors. The ones usually knocking the Al for years were those that sold crossovers for a living. The AL-3's is supposedly a very good crossover. I would stick with it and be happy knowing you have a good crossover.

Yes, if you do not you can be assured you will burn out your K-77 tweeters.

Blue is one of my favorite colors.

All the big watt receivers are commanding a big price these days. Marantz, Sansui and Pioneer are at the top of desirable. Not to leave out Mac but they do not come on the market too often and McIntosh are secretive on releasing service manuals.

Just one suggestion for aesthetics. Paint those covers on the transformers black! I built many just leaving the covers blue but the last 2 amplifiers I took the time to paint them black and like the look much better.

Not cheap. I spent right at 8 or 9 hundred building mine and that is just parts alone. The tubes themselves are right pricey along with the iron. Worth every penny though. George is building this one for a customer so it is probably appropriate to contact him via private message.

I am sensitive to phase shift. The more parts one adds to a crossover, 3rd, 4th, 5th order the more you have to consider phase shift. I remember one crossover that the mid was reversed on the crossover and years later engineers at Klipsch decided it was wrong and to change it. A simple 1st order, A and for mids AA, you do not have that much of problem with phase shift. Most involves the autotransformer.

I played around with crossovers years ago for my LaScala's and liked a crossover without the autotransformer better. Am I right with phase shift being a problem with the autotransformer? I did just put the AA back in mine for posterity though. I am on the downside of the mountain now.

Reminds me of the great mathematician chess player Emanuel Lasker who said there is always another mathematician that claims to have a better solution to a mathematical equation but in chess I just checkmate them. For chess lovers the Chess championship is happening right now in Dubai and is available on youtube. Carson vs Nepomniachtchi. All ties so far.

Carver, one of the best designers out there. I will not knock the price great engineers ask for their products. We have to pay for their expertise which is worth a lot for those that can afford it. Knowledgeable people know there is not anything exotic or expensive in any amplifier that cost all that much. The cost of parts is not what you pay for. It is the knowledge of how to put those parts together that is worth the cost for many. I would be proud to own any amplifier from the greats like Carver and Pass.

I would say be cautious when just chasing numbers. I did much the same when I was younger. Amplifier design and our hobby is entertainment not all science. The best number amplifier will not always sound that good. Jean Hiraga said it best many years ago. Some 2nd harmonic with a touch of 3rd will sound the best. Not to criticize the topic of this thread. Never heard it and it probably sounds good for cost. I have an Icepower amplifier which is class D and it sounds very tube like. Designers know Hirago and intentionally make their offerings sound good where they will sell and not sound dry.

My thoughts as well with all the better class D offerings. Amplifiers of the future for the masses. Audiophiles will look further. Class A is still Class A. Everything else is a compromise of somewhat. The reason it starts with the first letter of the alphabet. Not to say class D can and does sound excellent if designed properly these days.

Technicians have been do so with the many D amp boards for years. Some of the older amps and receivers are just not worth the cost in time and money to fix. Cheaper to install one of the D boards you can buy real cheap. Not so sure about the money the Topping cost but no reason why not. The Topping is a newer relatively cheap offering but I am doubtful it is a new design class D board. My guess is it is one of the many available for diy'er already. Some of them sound really good for what they cost. This is not to burst anyone's bubble but if it were a new class D design I am sure they would have stated so. The Texas Instrument's TPA-3255 is the best class D board I have heard and I have tried most of the ones that are offered. Who knows it may be the one Topping is using.

Marantz made some of the best looking gear in the 70's. I've had my eye out for one for a few years now but they command a good price on Ebay these days. Looking at them I understand why.

Put it to use as a bedroom system with some bookshelf speakers.