Rating of speakers with Mods

[don.walker]

Just CLed a pair of Quartets. Nice. I have the titanium tweeter and xover rebuild coming from Bob. I have great hope for these speakers!

I have a few general questions.

In the big picture, an updated Forte 1 would sound how close to a Quartet or Forte II?

How do the Forte or Quartets rate with the La Scala? How do the new La Scala sound compared to the older speakers?

If you move up to the folded horns, how do the above speakers compare?

I have also looked at making some of the PI speakers. Any guess how they would compare?

Is cabinet resonance ever a problem with these speakers?

Thanks!

[WMcD]

Just CLed a pair of Quartets. Nice. I have the titanium tweeter and xover rebuild coming from Bob. I have great hope for these speakers!

Congratulations. I have Quartets and like them very much, stock.

I have a few general questions.

These are a lot of questions. The only way to accurately compare speakers with some accuracy is in a controlled environment with carefully matched inputs and a scrim so that we can't tell which speakers are the source of sound in an A - B test.. The one time I was involved in such a test was at the Klipsch headquarters. In that case the pair under test sounded different -- though not necessarily superior to one or the other. And even that contolled test is flawed because it only applies to "that" room, not your living room.

Here on the forum we can only rely on people's experience in listening to speakers in may different rooms at different times. So it is hardly scientific. Nonetheless, we try to find trends.

In the big picture, an updated Forte 1 would sound how close to a Quartet or Forte II?

Hard to say. There was one fellow here who had Forte and Forte II. He reported little difference. This seems to be contrary to the experience of Klipsch engineers who found the tractrix horn in the prototype of the Forte II to be so much better as to justify the update to Forte II.

My thought is that the Forte II tractix solves problems in rooms where there are floor and ceiling reflections.

How do the Forte or Quartets rate with the La Scala? How do the new La Scala sound compared to the older speakers?

This is deep water. Essentially, reports and some of my experience is that the bass horn in the LaScala and K-Horn really adds to realism in a way which is difficult to describe but is very evident. Some of the most glowing reports are from performing musicians who work with natural instuments -- in contast to amplifed guitars, etc. (In the latter, there is a speaker involved in the original performance.) The same goes for ordinary folks who have heard live performances of large or small orchestras or chamber groups.

This not to say that the effects of a three-way horn system are lacking with progressive rock or other forms which include synthesized insturments. It seems that the bass horn reproducer integrates better than a direct radiator with the horn mid and tweeter. This is born out by the experience of folks when they first hear a well set up pair of K-Horns. The listener's conception of what reproduced music can, and should, sound like is irrevocably altered. It is an epiphany.

LaScalas generally lack the deep bass of the K-Horn, and the deep bass of CW, Forte, and perhaps even the Quartet. Nonetheless, performing musicians note their clarity -- even the original LS.

As far as LS versus LS II: Reports are that the many modifications by the factory have resulted in a speaker superior in some ways to the original. Maybe a bit closer to the K-Horn.

WMcD

If you move up to the folded horns, how do the above speakers compare?

I have also looked at making some of the PI speakers. Any guess how they would compare?

Is cabinet resonance ever a problem with these speakers?

Thanks!

[don.walker]

I could not have imagined a better and more complete response. Thanks for your time and experience. I am going to try to save a pair of Forte 1, since they are not that far from the Quartets.

The quartets have gotten me interested in these, what I had considered “old time speakers”. I like the sound of the Quartet. Much better than a pair of $3000 modern speaker….

I will try to find some big Klipsch and take a listen. Should be fun!

[tromprof]

How do the Forte or Quartets rate with the La Scala?

The Fortes are great speakers, but suffer a lot in comparison to La Scalas. The La Scalas actually make the Fortes sound small. I owned a pair of Fortes for over twenty years, and even though I had a pair of K-horns in a different room, I was stunned when I recently brought home a pair of La Scalas a put them beside the Fortes. I have always liked the big beefy sound the Fortes produced, but sitting next to the La Scalas they sounded like a clock radio (but a good clock radio!). If you have the space, they are the way to go. [Y]

[Islander]

A pair of La Scalas and a sub make for great sound that's hard to beat. [Y]

And the black La Scalas start to looks smaller once they've been in your room for a while...

[dtel]

A pair of La Scalas and a sub make for great sound that's hard to beat.

Very true ! [Y]