Don A. Childs

Maybe its just my hands shaking from too much bourbon last night but....(punctuation misuse of ellipsis intentional "for effect").....putting my hand on the bass bin I can feel significant vibration in certain places on side walls. Obviously this isn't all bad even as it is equally obvious its unavoidable with that driver pumping out bass frequencies. However, whatever we may think about these "good vibrations," the empirical test is actually having a Klipsch Lascala owner [AL5 or II only] put something between the two bins and objectively report the results. With mine I noticed that now I enjoy a little higher volumes much more due to the HF bin not being 'disturbed' as much. Notwithstanding, everything vibrates constantly throughout the universe. Signed : Klipsch Fan boy and inveterate tweaker (not twerker)

My point about isolating the HF bin from the LF bin was...resonance overall not specifically at a certain frequency. We know the bass bin produces tremendous vibration. This in turn vibrates the upper bin and both horns in the Lascala. (And the side walls, etc.) Without this bass vibration effecting the upper so much (my 'iso-puck 76's don't quite really 'isolate' but minimize) the over all clarity is enhanced because the resonance throughout the frequency range is not (so much) allowed to have this polluting effect either on the top or bottom. Its a little like placing an opera singer on a vibrating surface as she sings. Her voice will be effected by shaking her as she sings. Well, despite the poor illustration, I'm still curious if Lascala II or AL5 owners can try this and let me know if it doesn't improve audible clarity. If it doesn't then it doesn't. Maybe my floating yurt floor was the problem needing a solution. The same clarity happens when vibration is eliminated from turntables, CD players, speaker cables, and amplifiers. Anecdotal is the best I've got. But if anyone else tries this and discovers an improvement I'll have an anecdotal friend at least.

Seeing alot of very good tips above, let me once again suggest a HUGE non-invasive tweak. The HF and LF bins on Lascala II and ALS beat the living 'sound' out of each other in a discordant interaction. I NEVER would have believed such a claim until I experimented in placing "purple" cushions between the two sections. I know there are those preinstalled rubber feet but the cushions really cleared up the sound overall. (Side effect was a 'ringing/cathedral' effect) Taking a hint I splurged and purchased 6 Iso-puck 76's to place between the two sections. I half way anticipated returning them since I expected little difference, HOWEVER the clarifying effect was dramatic. I feel like a selfish, self centered creature if I don't attempt to get this news out to my fellow Lascala owners. The "resonance" issue is aggravated by this unfortunate interaction between the two halves. I wonder if the designers thought so too when they installed those rubber feet between the bins. More of that idea contributes to tremendous clarity enhancement! I heard the Nobsound springs maybe a cheaper way to go, then there's the Townshend pods which I wish I had bought instead in the first place since the returns are so impressive.

Consider risking millions in investment money! Lets say Raven Audio decides to try and bribe Steve Huff to write a good review no matter what he hears. Imagine the headline: "Raven Audio bribes reviewer to say their crap don't stink!" Business: CLOSED

Correction: I did NOT say you had said "all SS amps are bad with Klipsch speakers".? What I said was: "No fault to my Lascalas if I used a crap SS receiver." And my 'receiver' was crap relative to the quality of Klipsch Lascalas. Clear? Secondly, Steve Huff ended up buying that Raven amp for himself at full retail. (I checked with owner of Raven personally) [He could have lied to me] Third, if a company was stupid enough to directly bribe a reviewer to send out a review contrary to the truth, wouldn't "audiofools" who buy crap realize eventually the reviewer LIED and they were scammed? The long term "job security" of any reviewer is to develop an audience which learns to trust that said reviewer is being trustworthy and truthful. Maybe I hold my fellow human beings in too high of state? However, even if nothing but evil self interest motivates them, it is still to their personal advantage to be honest reviewers because their reputation determines their future monetary security. Anyway, most of us don't have a choice but to try and evaluate reviews of products we might want. I can't afford to drive to wherever to hear whatever in a specially designed (or not) soundroom. Thank you for pointing out my "hypocrisy" however. As a new member here as of a week in, I never realized this forum would care enough for members to engage in personal character attacks in the hopes to spare "audiofools" a lifetime of wasting money and effort! Your efforts will not be in vain I trust. My gullible trusting nature has gotten me in trouble more than once before.

Great clip! Well worth watching!

No fault to my Lascalas if I used a crap SS receiver! I recall PWK used a Crown SS amp. (Crown was super in the day) Raven Audio is a small company in Texas not exactly doling out the dough to get positive biased reviews. To say this of Raven Audio doesn't mean there isn't alot of bias and "incentive" for reviewers to kiss up tp the big money companies to secure future free equipment to "Review". Sounds like a great gig if you can get it! lol However, the more consistent reason you rarely if ever read a bad review of anything is many reviewers when confronted with a sour piece of kit will simply not publish the negative review based on the old adage: If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all. Even so, I have read reviews where you can tell the reviewer is struggling to find some redeeming qualities even if by comparison. (Its better than BLAH, BLAH, BLAH) Robinson's review of the Lascala is fantastic and reflects what we all know. He now personally owns Lascalas as his main speakers. I doubt Klipsch needed to slip him $50 or a half off coupon to entice him to write a positive review. The sad thing is as brick and mortar stores are closing fewer of us can audition the options before we buy. Reading reviews and trying to read between the lines of said reviews unfortunately becomes the default method of choosing equipment. Sad really but those HI-Fi rooms never were ideal environments to base a decision on anyway. I should know, I sold McIntosh, etc. All this to say, as a new member here, its great to be rubbing elbows with all of you Klipsch aficionados. I hope to learn alot and maybe tips on how to give my Lascalas every advantage so they can shine even brighter! The improvement with the integrated tube amp definitely showed me the only thing holding Lascalas back is what goes into them!

Steve Huff did a review on the Raven Audio Nighthawk you may want to "google" it to see how he interpreted "entry level". The Nighthawk is the "entry level" for the Raven company (which tells you more about how good it gets going up their line from their 'entry level') but the sound quality is... well....I've owned one and its fantastic. Especially with Klipsch speakers! Maybe because this is my first tube amp since the 1970's (when tube amps had a few details to refine {McIntosh} ). Any way they have a 45 days trial deal if you aren't thrilled to pieces. I was simply blown away by the "human-ness" of the vocals and realism of the music in general. In fact, not to go crazy, my Lascalas exhibited many of the classic negative characteristics too often regurgitated by so-called Klipsch critics. But with the Raven Nighthawk for the first time I felt like I had achieved a level of musical reproduction that was above and beyond any expectations I had for what I'd ever be able to afford. No itch yet...

I'm have sympathy for price restraint..... however...I have crawled up product lines buying the next upgrade in my components until it dawned on me that if I added up the cost of replacing this or that multiple times was adding up to an amount I thought I couldn't "justify". The Klipsch speaker line is an example. I've owned almost everything but the Khorn and Jubilee. If I had just bought my Lascalas immediately I would have saved a considerable sum. (Although all my friends and family now own some great speakers! lol My son enjoys his RF7's!)) After buying SS amps/receivers I decided to stop this tactic. After MUCH consideration I bought the Raven Audio Nighthawk tube integrated. Lascala and Raven is a match that will blow your mind. BUT at $2999 it far exceeds your dollar limit by a wild margin. However....you don't know what will finally scratch that itch. (One hopes that Maybe the cheaper step will be ok until the lower performance drives you crazy)

By the way, since I'm the new guy, would there be a better way to interact with the forum on this topic other than tagging onto this discussion?

Actually cant see a thing except that the HF bin sits about 3/4 " higher than it did. I cut and painted one inch tall 24" long (black) square sticks to hide the pucks and add visual continuity. Raising HF bin helped too. Now the sound stage presentation is more appropriately lifted to a realistic level to my hearing. (May have contributed (1 inch) to the perception of enhanced clarity but one inch higher couldn't account for this massive enhancement since I've often experimented with height adjustments in a million increments. Do you own Lascalas or know anyone who does? Very curious if Its just me or if this is as dramatic universally?

In answer to the question what did I hear improvement in (the bass or upper end). At first I noticed the clarity of the upper end. The instruments took on more dimension and realism in that each musical aspect acquired more of its own flavor. this morning I noticed the violins now have that unique violin tone that makes them so intriguing. Let me know if you try it! Oh, now it seems, the bass stands alone in its own world. Much improved

I've owned the Lascala II for about five years. Recently I placed Isoacoustic pucks between the HF and LF bins, attempting to experiment with isolation benefits. The improvement in clarity is stunning. Apparently the LF bin being only isolated from the top by those 4 rubber feet weren't accomplishing much. I think the LF bin was beating the heck out of the upper bin so much so it was drastically effecting the sound quality. I had a theory that if isolating stuff helped then...well...you got the idea. At first I placed "purple" cushion pieces between but thats when I decided to do the Iso-puck 76's. Surely I'm not the first to discover this Lascala tweak. Forgive me if I'm rehashing a well-known item. The improvement is so dramatic that I couldn't keep this to myself! Lascala II owners need to try this. Cheap and effective. I'll check back to see if anyone tries this or knows about this.