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Dave MacKay

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Everything posted by Dave MacKay

  1. The information you are looking for is pinned to this forum. Heresy speaker Walnut veneer, oiled finish Built in 1981
  2. The Heresy IV is a fine speaker but you’ll miss the La Scalas. I have a pair of La Scalas and a pair of Heresy speakers. The La Scalas have ruined me for other (smaller) speakers. I know I’ll have to move the LS along at some time in the future; that’ll be a sad day.
  3. Wish I had some really insightful suggestions, but I don't. Whenever I've approached a firm about room treatments they've simply tried to sell me as much soft panels and traps as will fit, and as thick as I could manage. There's been no real insight from any of the (just two) firms I dealt with. My 2 cents worth: - certainly get rid of the mirror - add curtains to the windows, ideally floor to ceiling and the heavier the better - cover the hard surfaces (the sidetable tops) that the speakers are on, even with a bit of fabric The open spaces above the walls may be challenging. WAF will likely play a big factor in determining what is acceptable. Good luck.
  4. When I moved to an active crossover and tri-amped my La Scalas I was concerned that an amplifier might malfunction and send DC to the drivers. To prevent the tweeters and squawkers from being damaged if that were to happen, I added a 13 uF capacitor (Fc = 1500 Hz) to the positive line of the tweeter, and a 100 uF capacitor (Fc = 100 Hz) to the positive line of the squawker. I sized the caps to have an Fc 2 octaves below the crossover points that I planned to use (400 Hz and 6000 Hz).
  5. I’m not familiar with QED79 cable. 14 gauge copper wire has a resistance of approximately 2.525 ohms per 1000’ (305m). 12 AWG would be about 1.6 ohms over 1000’. If it’s copper, your 8m of 14 gauge cable will contribute an additional 1/15 (0.066) ohm of resistance. That is insignificant.
  6. Today I learned that my Heresy Is are actually Heresy 1.5s. I put together this table to distinguish between the Heresy I, Heresy 1.5, and Heresy II: Heresy I Heresy 1.5 Heresy II Cabinet construction Baltic Birch Baltic Birch MDF Rear panel Removable back panel Removable back panel Fixed back panel Driver mounting Drivers are mounted on the rear of the mortarboard Drivers are mounted on the rear of the mortarboard Drivers are mounted in rabbets on the front of the mortarboard Network type E (or C for early models) E-2 E-2 Network mounting on board on board on PCB on terminal cup Tweeter K-77/cast zinc lens K-77/cast zinc lens K-76/plastic lens Mid-range K-55/700 K-55/700 or K53/701 K-53/701 Woofer K-22 K-22 or K-24 K-24
  7. I’m also in Canada (just outside Toronto). +1 on everything @geoff. said. I tried 5 different networks from Klipsch, Cr*tes, and (user-built) ALK with my La Scalas. I wasn’t entirely satisfied with any of them. I ended up using a MiniDSP Flex Eight DSP and tri-amping my speakers (with inexpensive Aiyima A07 amps). Given the cost of new networks (and even replacement capacitors), going active is not much of a premium. Although it takes some work to configure the DSP, the results are outstanding. I’ll never go back to passive networks. Even Klipsch is moving to active networks with the latest Heritage iterations.
  8. I have an R-N803. I hadn’t noticed one side getting hotter than the other.
  9. I’d suggest taking this discussion to the “Klipsch Korner” on Audiokarma. You’ll find several ideas there. This forum discourages/prohibits discussion of modifications.
  10. Can you post a photo showing the corrosion? Also, what are you wanting an upgrade to provide?
  11. Yes. I repaired the damage to the cabinets with wood filler and bonds, then laminated 3/8” baltic birch to the top, bottom, and sides. I then applied a ribbon Sapele veneer and used Rubio Monocoat “Pure” as the finish.
  12. Yes, I still have them. They bring me pleasure every time I listen. Here’s a before photo and an after photo.
  13. Run and buy them. They’re a steal. I paid CAD $2800 nearly 3 years ago for a pair. I repaired and refinished the cabinets myself, which was an enjoyable project.
  14. Do you know what wattage the subs are rated for, and how many ohms they’re spec’d for? From that it would be possible the calculate a maximum voltage level. If you have a graph showing impedance versus frequency that would allow an even more precise calculation.
  15. Seems to me that the only problem is with the midrange horn. The Cr*tes upgrade should be fine and the Kappa 15C is generally regarded a a little better than the K-33. We’re it me, I’d check to see what it would take to bring back the midrange, and use that when negotiating price.
  16. Nope. Good amps and proper gain matching = low hiss, even with efficient speakers.
  17. This is an interesting development. Lenbrook has a number of interesting firms under their umbrella and Cheskly has a great reputation. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
  18. I agree with @jcn3. You will likely find the sound more pleasant if you toe the speakers in towards your listening position. However, you won’t need a lot of toe-in. I measured on-axis and off-axis performance of my La Scalas and found that they degrade significantly the further off-axis you go. Some people say to align the axes so that they meet in front of the listening position and others recommend a couple of feet behind. What works best for you will likely be determined by your room’s acoustics.
  19. Thanks for your kind words. It was quite the learning experience. Before I built the THTLP subwoofers I went through two other subwoofers. One was a low-end Klipsch subwoofer that I got at Best Buy. It was not good. I bought an SVS SB1000 Pro subwoofer and really liked it (even though SVS recommended their larger 3000-series subwoofer as a better pair for La Scalas). I expect you'll be quite satisfied with an SVS subwoofer. Some folks on AudioKarma spoke very positively about the THTLP, so I decided that, rather than buy another SVS subwoofer, I'd try the THTLP. Building (but not veneering) a THTLP cost about the same as buying an SVS SB1000 Pro. With respect to the La Scala low-end running out at 50 Hz ... that's correct. Also, the La Scala bass bin stops acting as a horn for frequencies below about 104 Hz. However, you'll likely find that the acoustics of your listening room are dominant at those frequencies. You'll be able to experiment with a range of crossover frequencies on the subwoofer. The management of this forum frowns upon discussions of modifications to Klipsch products and of other vendors. To participate in a discussion about that, I'd encourage you to go to the "Klipsch Korner" on Audiokarma. Originally, I had wanted to keep my La Scalas looking as they were when I bought them: Birch, Raw. Heck, a neighbour even nicknamed them "the blondes" on account of their colour and the attention I was lavishing on them. I bought a sheet of birch veneer and tried a number of different finishes (with and without wood conditioner) but didn't find anything that I thought was attractive enough. That led me to consider both painting the speakers (which I rejected) and using other veneers (e.g., walnut, cherry, sapele, others). My speakers didn't have a grill to cover the squawker (mid-range) and tweeter. Because I was happy with the look of the exposed horns, I just sanded the horns and gave them a fresh coat of spray paint. If you have a tablesaw (or have a friend with one), you could easily mill suitable moulding for the frame. Or you cut make the grill frame out of fibreboard and cover the edges with the grill cloth. If you search this forum you'll find photos of a number of La Scalas, with and without grills. I expect you'll be able to find birch iron-on edge banding in widths >- 3/4". (I found some listed on Amazon and at Home Depot). However, if you can't, you could use maple instead. The difference between maple and birch would barely be noticeable. Good luck.
  20. Thanks. At first, I wanted to keep my speakers light coloured. I even considered veneering them in birch to retain that look. After making a few tests using different veneers, I ended up going with Sapele. I veneered the speakers myself. I didn’t think I had the skill to veneer the bass bin (doghouse) so that painting them black was the best way forward that I could think of. I used Rubio Monocoat "Pure" to finish the speakers and subs. The “pure” (i.e., no pigments) finish might be worth considering for your speakers. I looked at Danish Oil, tung oil, wipe-on poly, etc. but — to my mind — they imparted a yellowish colour. To be frank, I was underwhelmed with how the La Scalas sounded stock. I ended up trying 5 networks (Klipsch AL, C***** AA, C***** A/4500, A** Universal A, and A** A/4500). Of those, the AA measured best but I preferred the sound of the Universal A. Even so, I still found the speaker wasn’t living up to my hopes. I ended up tri-amping the speakers using a MiniDSP Flex Eight DL instead of a passive network. That brought them to life! I documented that whole endeavour in a lengthy thread on Audiokarma’s “Klipsch Korner”. In my opinion, "going active" was transformative for the speakers such that -- again, in my opinion -- they sound far better than stock. The subwoofers made a big difference too. You’re right, the La Scala peters out of low end around 50 Hz. I added a subwoofer — then a second sub — because I wanted more low end than the La Scala could produce. I needed two subs in order to address some of the deficiencies of my listening room. The subs were a great addition. Highly recommended. I didn’t make any changes to how the squawker was mounted. It’s mounted to the back of the front baffle.
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