CushXR Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 Hi Folks, I hope everybody's holiday season is going well. I'm a new member to the forum but have been a casual/occasional reader for probably a couple of years now. I just haven't been able to get serious about my home audio stuff until recently. So...I'm about to start a major tear-up of my currently awful HT setup & could use some feedback from the forum. Specifically, I'm close to pulling the trigger on new front speakers. My goal is for a system that provides great home theater performance but also great 2-channel rock-n-roll performance, including high volume. And it needs to be flexible relative to room size because I'm renting my house but intend to buy if/when the market settles down a little. That said, I'm leaning toward 2 scenarios: A. (3) La Scala II's LCR + (2) KG 5.2 Rears or B. (3) Cornwall III's LCR + 2 KG5.2 Rears I'm using a Yamaha HTR-6090, (120W/ch, 0.04% THD) which I also plan on updating later this year if necessary. The current room size is ~15x18, plus a few feet on the length for fireplace and bookshelf/window seat on opposite short ends. It has roughly 20' of full length curtains in the room that should help deaden it a little too. Seating & presentation are on the long walls. Anybody have a similar setup today? If so, do you find that you still need a sub? Also, has anybody had succes with mixing the CWIII & LSII speakers in their LCR package, like (2) CwIII Fronts + 1 LSII Center? I'd really like a center with a form factor more like the RC-64 but I really don't think it would match well unless KLipsch would be willing to build something custom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o0O Bill O0o Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 Hi Folks, I hope everybody's holiday season is going well. I'm a new member to the forum but have been a casual/occasional reader for probably a couple of years now. I just haven't been able to get serious about my home audio stuff until recently. So...I'm about to start a major tear-up of my currently awful HT setup & could use some feedback from the forum. Specifically, I'm close to pulling the trigger on new front speakers. My goal is for a system that provides great home theater performance but also great 2-channel rock-n-roll performance, including high volume. And it needs to be flexible relative to room size because I'm renting my house but intend to buy if/when the market settles down a little. That said, I'm leaning toward 2 scenarios: A. (3) La Scala II's LCR + (2) KG 5.2 Rears or B. (3) Cornwall III's LCR + 2 KG5.2 Rears I'm using a Yamaha HTR-6090, (120W/ch, 0.04% THD) which I also plan on updating later this year if necessary. The current room size is ~15x18, plus a few feet on the length for fireplace and bookshelf/window seat on opposite short ends. It has roughly 20' of full length curtains in the room that should help deaden it a little too. Seating & presentation are on the long walls. Anybody have a similar setup today? If so, do you find that you still need a sub? Also, has anybody had succes with mixing the CWIII & LSII speakers in their LCR package, like (2) CwIII Fronts + 1 LSII Center? I'd really like a center with a form factor more like the RC-64 but I really don't think it would match well unless KLipsch would be willing to build something custom. yes, I have a similar setup. Lascalas have about 2 ft of depth, so they take up more space than the Cornwall. & You save money vs Lascalas. Lascalas are truly a "Premiun" speaker. Don't sweat the amplifier since everything works great with all Klipsch speakers. My preference is to get a pair of Klipschorns with a Cornwall or Lascala center. For surrounds stick with a few Heresy speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CushXR Posted December 29, 2010 Author Share Posted December 29, 2010 Thanks for the feedback Bill. I noticed you have a couple of JL Audio subs listed. How do they blend with the La Scalas? Did the optimizer on your Yamaha receiver help? (YPAO right?) I was assuming I might need a sub with the La Scalas, based on their not so low freq reach but hadn't really considered two. How did you set them up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tragusa3 Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 Welcome CushXR! I'm using 3 LaScala across my front with Heresy rears. I haven't heard anything better, but I'm puposefullly staying away from anything better. They are really the top of the food chain WHEN PAIRED WITH GOOD SUBS. To my ear, the LaScala are anemic without the subs. With the subs, they have no limits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o0O Bill O0o Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 Thanks for the feedback Bill. I noticed you have a couple of JL Audio subs listed. How do they blend with the La Scalas? Did the optimizer on your Yamaha receiver help? (YPAO right?) I was assuming I might need a sub with the La Scalas, based on their not so low freq reach but hadn't really considered two. How did you set them up? Yes, Have them set to "Small" which is crossovered at 80 hz. The JL Audio f113 is a "World class" subwoofer. I went function over design ( sealed ), since that's my opinion on all things audio. I also think that I need 2 subwoofers for better bass. Google "pair of subwoofers" and read all the JBL and Harman white papers in the the subject. I love music and movies- what I have really delivers in mid to large rooms. for small I would say Heresy all around and dual Klipsch THX subs or JL Audio Subs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ave Bona Cornwall Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 I would agree that you definitely need a sub, especially for HT. The cornwall setup would probably be OK for music, but for any HT, you really need a sub that can dig deep, and do it well. Even cornwalls can't give you the bass that movie soundtracks have. Out of the 2 choices you listed, I would probably go with the 3 La Scala's over the cornwalls. Surrounds aren't *as* important for HT, since less comes through them, but for music, you want well-matched surrounds. I have never heard any of the KG line, so I can't comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 First, welcome to the forum! Either the Cornwall or La Scala system will rock, but they will sound different. It would be great if you could hear other forum members' systems before you choose. You will need a sub for HT to get the low frequency effects and high dynamics from action movies. Yours is a smamler room, so it should be quite easy to pressurize adequately without going broke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CushXR Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 Right PSG, auditioning is a bit of a challenge since I have yet to find a dealer that stocks Heritage speakers, except maybe a coupe of Heresys. Everybody wants to sell me whatever else they have on hand. At this point, I'm really relying on my own previous experience and input from this forum. Hence the subwoofer discussion. That said, I AM leaning towards using dual subs. I have some savings opportunities if I buy JBL, Jamo, Infinity, or Klipsch. But none of these appear to really have any particularly good subs. The Klipsch THX package looks nice but is clearly optimized for movies. So, I'm not sure how well it would keep up with LSII's for loud rock & roll. Anybody out there used these with LaScalas for music? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spurdarren Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 HSU makes some good subs. http://www.hsuresearch.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 The Klipsch THX package looks nice but is clearly optimized for movies. So, I'm not sure how well it would keep up with LSII's for loud rock & roll. Anybody out there used these with LaScalas for music? Sure! La Scala do music very well! Just about any decent sub can keep up if you don't crank the music all the way up to the limits of the La Scala and if the music content doesn't have ultra low frequencies and if the sub isn't rated for ultra low frequencies. What I mean is that it takes a lot of power to do 15 Hz and not as much to do 30 Hz. I had a Hsu STF-3 and it's tuning to 25 Hz did very well to keep up with La Scala as long as I wasn't trying to play 15 Hz or 20 hz on it. My current sub is much better at it though, and blends in quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtrp Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Bill, Do you have any links to the 'pair of subs' papers you mentioned? My room isn't really optimized for a HT system as we have a big open living room that connects to the kitchen. But when we build our next house I am going to design a HT room. I only have one JL f113 and can't wait to get another one. It is seriously a world class sub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o0O Bill O0o Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Bill, Do you have any links to the 'pair of subs' papers you mentioned? My room isn't really optimized for a HT system as we have a big open living room that connects to the kitchen. But when we build our next house I am going to design a HT room. I only have one JL f113 and can't wait to get another one. It is seriously a world class sub. http://www.harman.com/EN-US/OurCompany/Technologyleadership/Pages/WhitePapers.aspx?CategoryID=White%20papers the sub article is from 2002, the is a good amount of information on the link. JBL is my second favorite speaker company.. too bad their Project Everest are $$$$$! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtrp Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Interesting read, thanks. So from what I gathered 4 subs either in the corners or midway on the walls in the middle of the room are marginally better than 2 subs in the corners or midway on the wells in the middle of the room. I moved my subs out of the corners just to the inside of the mains because they provide plenty of bass and my towers benefited from the wider placement. But now this begs the question, what to do if you are designing a room from scratch? If, for example you had a pair a Khorns in the corners, you have to place the subs midway in the room along the walls. Can you place a center channel in front of it? Or would you go with two centers split flanking the sub up front? Or if you decided to place your subs in the corners for maximum low frequency, could you place your towers (lets say LaScalias) toed in in front of the subs in the corners? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o0O Bill O0o Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Many Questions. I went with what I could fit in the room and what looks best. Then I used the Automatic Room Optimizer (ARO) to "band-aid" my placement. I got the Book that those guys at Harman put out ( http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Reproduction-Acoustics-Psychoacoustics-Loudspeakers/dp/0240520092/ ) It might help answer your questions. I went back and forth about mashing my Khorns and Lascalas together for a "Mega" home theater. In the end I am sticking with Left Center and Right Lascalas because placement is easier AND I can use one crossover frequnecy of 80hz. Maybe someone else will chime in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted January 8, 2011 Moderators Share Posted January 8, 2011 Welcome I would vote 3 Lascalas across the front and subbage ( like doc would say ). Heritage with subs..................... = YES Sounds like a great setup your building ! [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtrp Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Again, thanks for the info. I am brainstorming on a 'fantasy system' for our new house that we may or may not end up building. I was thinking 3 RLC La Scala's (Center La Scala laid on it's side?) 4 JL f113's in the corners and 4 Heresy or Cornwalls for the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o0O Bill O0o Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Don't lay Lascala on the side. My opinion, get 7 Heresy speakers. Build them flush in the wall and have a large (107" or more) acoustically transparent screen. 4 JL Subs will do the trick. OR my other fantasy system is 7 JBL LSR 6332 (passive pro monitors) and 4 JL Audio F113s. of course with a massive Acoustically transparent screen. The thing is when watching news or other "talking head" shows large projection screens is less than ideal. okay I am all over the place because I am excited watching football.. I say go with 3 Lascalas. Put a TV on one and then have a projection screen that drops down for movies. That is what I plan to do in my up coming new place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 If you are really thinking about a 'fantasy' system, I would recommend getting the real deal for side and rear effects speakers. I previously used 4 cornwalls for rear and side effects. I finally broke down and purchased the KPT-12-VB and KPT-1201. Best move I ever made for true effects. You don't have to go with the 12" drivers, they have an 8" version if you wish. Those are worth every penny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted January 8, 2011 Moderators Share Posted January 8, 2011 Awesome room Rudy. I was curious about the KPT-12-VB. Klipsch.com doesn't show any pricing for the Cinema Series. Roughly how much do they run? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtrp Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 If you are really thinking about a 'fantasy' system, I would recommend getting the real deal for side and rear effects speakers. I previously used 4 cornwalls for rear and side effects. I finally broke down and purchased the KPT-12-VB and KPT-1201. Best move I ever made for true effects. You don't have to go with the 12" drivers, they have an 8" version if you wish. Those are worth every penny. Wow. That is a pretty serious set up. How much did those set you back if you don't mind me asking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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