ChemPharma Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 Here are my La Scalas I wanted to show off with the impressive ALK crossover and customized beveled glass cabinets. The ALK crossover sees the signal from a Nelson Pass Pure Class A 50W/Channel Amp. The set up is 2 channel/stereo, really strictly for watching old concerts on Laserdiscs (not available on DVD) and DVD's. This message has been edited by ChemPharma on 04-06-2002 at 05:06 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 Wow, those look gorgeous! My Cornwalls are at an antique restoration shop be gone over for the second time as I type. I had been thinking about glass tops for them and after seeing yours, I'm sold. Questions for the group: Is there some sort of downside to putting glass on top? How 'bout other items resting on the glass? What about replacing or adding to the dampening material inside? Thanks, Chris PS After taking my speakers apart for the 3rd time now, one thing baffles me. How can speaker cable matter much at all when you consider the connections inside the cabinet from the terminals to the crossovers and crossovers to the drivers. By that I mean every single speaker I have seen on the inside so far has very average wire inside. I've seen B&W, Klipsch, Martin-Logan, AR, Bose, McIntosh, and a few others. All of them use a very ordinary looking wire. What gives? ------------------ 2 channel Klipsch Cornwalls (1978) Cary CAD 300SEI amp (WE 300B's, various NOS 6SN7's) Arcam Alpha MCD cd player Accuphase T-101 Tuner HT Klipsch KG2.5 (front & rear) Klipsch KV2 (center) Klipsch SW12 (sub) Marantz SR7000 receiver Toshiba DTS DVD JVC SVHS VCR Sony Hi8 VCR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 cjk1026 You said: How can speaker cable matter much at all when you consider the connections inside the cabinet from the terminals to the crossovers and crossovers to the drivers. I say: It doesn't! Don't forget about the wire in the inductors either! Al K. That comment should inspire some action! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 ChemPharma, Those are the most beautiful LaScalas I have ever seen, my wife might even let them upstairs! Great job on the speakers!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpgwagon Posted April 2, 2002 Share Posted April 2, 2002 Scala's should be left exactly the way Paul intended them to be. The Glass top is OK for protection.IMHO. ------------------ http://gallery.consumerreview.com/webcrossing/images/MYSTUFF.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemPharma Posted April 2, 2002 Author Share Posted April 2, 2002 Thanks for the compliments on the La Scala's guys. Preserving these speakers is important.Considering the age of the La Scalas, they are hard to beat,quality wise, to todays standards even, considering the drivers, horns, cabinetry, etc. The only outdated and limiting technology from making speakers from this era sing(La Scala, Bellle, KHorn etc) are the X-overs. Capacitors, air coil inductors(Litz wire)etc, have far advanced in performance and specs.(which are audible!)in the past 30 years. Just keep these old beaut's you all have out there nand just tweek the x-over's (such as Al's units, well worth the money I might add)and polish the old wood and dust off the horn necks and rock on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyleS Posted April 10, 2002 Share Posted April 10, 2002 Your Scala's look great. I'm also in that minority who don't mind having a slightly unique looking pair of classic speakers. I'm attaching a pic of one of my La Scala's that was treated to a new coat of royal mahogany stain, and a bit of router work to soften the sharp corners. I posted a while ago, and was interested to see that some felt this knocks the resale value of the speakers, but in my case that isn't an issue as this pair is definately staying in my setup for a long time to come. Lyle. ------------------ Gear: Klipsch La Scala ;THX home cinema: KT-LCR, KT-SW15 Onkyo Integra DTR-7 THX Denon POA-2800 Amplifier Panasonic RP91 DVD NAD 7140 Stereo receiver (Pre Only with Denon Amp) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huhuru Posted April 10, 2002 Share Posted April 10, 2002 ChemPharma April must have been some type of "omen" for Klipsch Speakers. On April 1, 2002, I had glasstops - 1/4" Child Safety Glass, 12"x16" made for my Klipsch KLF 20s. They look great but I had an afterthought on how would it affect the sound. I only noticed that the sound seemed to get better. Maybe the glass weight put more anchor on the spikes, huh. Good Klipsch! Huhuru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShapeShifter Posted April 10, 2002 Share Posted April 10, 2002 Beautiful La Scalas. Did you route out the tops? The glass has an inlaid look. Have cut and polished glass tops on my 85 rear Cornwall I's and like them too. Great look! Wes ------------------ "KLIPSCH IS MUSIC"f> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikekid Posted April 10, 2002 Share Posted April 10, 2002 Wes, I agree with edster, by far the nicest I have seen! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted April 10, 2002 Share Posted April 10, 2002 I must say this is the most imaginative and beautiful mod I've seen. Congrats on the good work. Am I correct, there is no routing, rather a frame has been constructed around the shell of the original. Folks complain about vibration of the sidewalls and mouth. The extra strenght of the frame might well prevent such. Beauty, protection, and function. Nice work. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornEd Posted April 11, 2002 Share Posted April 11, 2002 There is no substitute for a job well conceived and well done. Your work is an inspiration to us all. Now, in the hope that some of us can convert that inspiration into perspiration on our own beloved Klipsch products... pray tell us, step-by-step how you went about doing it... rather than us risk hazardous guesses. Thanks in advance. HornEd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemPharma Posted April 13, 2002 Author Share Posted April 13, 2002 Gil, that is correct, there is no routing, rather a hardwood frame with routed and custom trim has been constructed around the shell of the original. The glass has been inlaid flush around the perimeter resting on a 1/2' lip of the new hardwood periphery. There is a space of maybe 1/2" between the glass and the orginal birch top. The overall sturdiness and vibration correction is astonishing!It was an upgrade in all respects. HornEd, I will follow up with some more precise and descriptive steps taken soon once I find the plans. Brad (ChemPharma) Thanks LyleS for the pics. I enjoy looking at these classics with various stains and mods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vavoline Posted April 22, 2002 Share Posted April 22, 2002 ChemPharma, IMMMMMMPRESSIVE I have never seen a Scalla dressed to kill before!!! Outstanding work. Very imaginative! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted April 22, 2002 Share Posted April 22, 2002 Chemfarma, Beautiful work!!! Is that hard rock maple you used? In reference to mpgwagon's remark: Well, man, if PWK thought the LaScala was so damned beautiful, then why the hell did he beautify it by making the Belle?...hint, hint! Fact is, other than the design of the actual FUNCTIONAL part of the speaker cabinet, the only reason speaker cabinets aren't more beautiful than they already are is due to cost consideration on an already costly speaker!!!(ie., the difference in cost between the LaScala and the Belle). I worked at Klipsch for just over 7 years and not once did an employee purchase a pair of speakers without something aesthetically pleasing (at least to the intended owner) being incorporated into the cabinet...whether it was just a custom match of some extraordinarily beautifully grained wood, to various little treatments added to the cabinet!!!...AND...not once did PWK see a pair in his wanderings through the plant and not stop and go over to look at them...never offering up any bad commentary unless he felt the functionality of the cabinet was compromised, and even then his negative commentary was tactfully delivered with a suggestion on how to achieve a similar appearance and still retain the functionality of the design!!! The key is to use common sense and not to compromise the intended FUNCTION!!!...Nuff Said By the way, there were some absolutely gorgeous LaScalas built for employees...(LSBL)...very beautiful matched grain in the birch plywood and many had at least a 1/4" roundover of the edges of the top, and the outer vertical edges of the sides, if not an ogee treatment!...many also had the horn lens openings done in a router treatment!...one or two pairs were even two-tone, with the doghouse in high-gloss or flat black and the rest in clear laquer....(not quite MY cup of tea, but then again I didn't have to look at them everyday)...the point here is that the sky is the limit in aesthetics on a LaScala, since it is such a basic cabinet to start with. Once again, great job, Chemfarma!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemPharma Posted April 28, 2002 Author Share Posted April 28, 2002 Thanks HDBRbuilder! Yes, that would be hard rock maple used! I'm impressed! I had a real good cabinet maker help me get the materials and tools to do the job (very hard maple, routers for variable edge shaving, dowel rods for major corner joints etc...). Without him, I would of been afraid to start! This was a no cost compromise project. This job was done over 5 years ago and I cannot find the darn plans. I have even lost contact with the co-builder who was more instrumental in conceptualizing the finished product than I. I had the original idea of a good hardwood frame and glass top enclosing the original cabinet ( intended to be primarily aesthetic and protective in my first conceptual design). The hardwood cabinet maker opened my minds eye up to something that was far better than I had anticipated at the onset. That not only was the FUNCTION not compromised, it was IMPROVED! (vibrational/sturdiness aspects). The back of the speaker was left stock, engraved serial no.'s remain visible adjacent the ALK crossovers. LS-BR(17S801 and 17S802) I am in the D.C. area if anybody would like to come by to see and listen for yourself. I would be glad, even excited, to have one appreciate the work in person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cornell Posted April 28, 2002 Share Posted April 28, 2002 Yea the internal wiring on stock cornwalls SUX, id replace this, with heavier wire, thats all i have to say about wire! Tell him tblasing! Regards Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 ChemPharma, Did you also re-veneer the outside of the cabinet and the "roof" panels of the "doghouse" in this project or were you one of the lucky ones who got some LaScalas with nice figure to the birch? I can tell from the pics you have posted how all this went together...side cross-pieces, first, then side uprights(cut for a tight fit to the cross-pieces), then reverse routine for front, except that top edges were left nominally 3/4" higher than original top of cabinet all around...followed by mitered routed trim inserts into the "framework".....but I am curious about the bottom-front cross-piece...mostly about its WIDTH there...as in: is it also nominally 1-1/2" wide?...would love to see closer view. Again, great job, and thanks! ------------------ If you want to send a private message, or have already done so, be aware I have not as yet been able to retrieve them. Send e-maill instead, please...just note Klipsch forum in the heading so it doesn't get deleted. This message has been edited by HDBRbuilder on 04-29-2002 at 05:01 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemPharma Posted May 1, 2002 Author Share Posted May 1, 2002 HDBRbuider The bottom maple cross piece, which is approx. 3/4-7/8", and is flush with the stock floor. I was lucky to get the "doghouse" with some nice pattern and cut. Chempharma This message has been edited by ChemPharma on 05-01-2002 at 12:07 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 ChemPharma, It looks from one of the pictures like you have been trying different plug settings on my network. What setting have you decided on? I am considering taking a survey to see what setting most people have decided on. By the way, The extra woodwork on your LaScalas has not only made it look good it has probably improved it's bass response too. I would bet it serves to stiffen the bass horn. Al K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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