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Will La Scalas get "concert" loud? (review)


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You betch'ya!!!!!

I brought my SPL meter with me to Milwaukee Summerfest 2011 the other night to see what some of the big line array rigs were putting out at FOH. Today, I crunched some numbers and looked over my system's specs. The math said it "should" be possible to put 110-115dB SPL across my couch with the La Scalas and my horn sub. How would it sound? I'd never listened to my home system that loud before. It would be a maximum effort run for the XR57. Curiousity got the best of me.

So I placed the SPL meter, dropped in some Black Eyed Peas, covered my nuts, and gave the volume button a nice long push.

Holy F****!

That-was-loud!

What an experience!! I was scared, giddy, surprised, assured, laughing, crying, nauseous, bouncing off the sofa, thanking the maker, looking for cops, and crapping my pants all at once. My heart was skipping beats. WOW!

So yep, if I ever want a no-kidding concert level test run of a particular song at my home...it IS possible. Who needs 911? LaScalas at WOT will get the fuzz to your 20 much faster.

When provoked, these things will rip your guts out.

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Hate to be the old killjoy here, but, do be careful with your hearing. You are well into the permanent damage range with this.

Mr. Klipsch used to take an spl meter with him to symphony concerts, which can get into same the spl regions, and take measurements. He liked to prove that his speakers could easily match that level, while other brands - specifically AR-3s - could not.

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Yes, they will rock quit easily! :)

I am addicted to concert blurays at concert volumes! It's like crack. Is it harmful, yes. But no more so than folks that go to concerts.

I also often watch my movies at reference level or beyond. Peaks up above 115db. Something to understand though, is that during a movie, your total exposure to sound pressures that high may be under 10 seconds of the total movie. Most of the movie will be around 85db and much below that even.

Enjoy, but do it responsibly! :)

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The story is that Lascalas were designed to be used as PA speakers, and as you found out, can reasily eproduce concert level SPLs in the home. Few speakers except Klipsch can do that.

If you want to enlighten yourself as to how good Klipsch speakers really are , listen to some inefficient loudspeakers trying to reproduce the dynamic range of an orchestra or an amplified rock concert. It is mathematically impossible for a loudspeaker with an 85 dB/watt sensitivity or less to output a 90 dB average SPL with 20 dB allowed for peaks at a normal listening distance. Full range planar speakers and electrostats are especially bad in that regard.

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Because of their high Sound Pressure Level (SPL) capability, I zeroed in on LaScalas & Klipschorns. I feel that SPL almost every consumer speaker of today have traded off size for SPL. Can you post a Photo of your setup & comment on what you've had in the past (speakers) to compare to?

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I've listened to my JubScalas a few times at concert performance volume levels. On one occasion, it was time for a bathroom break, so I paused the music and headed to the can, my ears ringing. Halfway there, I was suddenly reminded of times in Toronto in the '70s and '80s at big concerts at Maple Leaf Gardens, heading for the washroom with my ears ringing. Yes, they can definitely give you the rock concert experience.

Another time, I was listening with the volume pretty high and my ears were getting uncomfortable. My first thought was that I should put in earplugs and crank the volume higher and really get the front row feeling, but quckly realized that would be rude to the downstairs neighbours, so I just dialed it down a bit.

In each case, the pre-amp had at least 15dB to spare and not all of the green input and output lights on the Dx38 were on. It's nice to have power to spare, and clean sound at all volume levels. Several visitors have commented on the lack of distortion at high volume levels.

In comparison, my previous speakers, Audio Logic AL-750s, could not come near performance levels, even with two 10" woofers per side in bass reflex cabinets. In 1994, after seeing Pink Floyd at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, I put on some Pink Floyd at home and cranked the volume as high as I deemed safe for the system. Hmm, nowhere near what I had in mind. I even took off the speaker grilles and put my head near one the speakers. Nope, still a long way from what I'd heard the night before.

Conclusion? La Scala, it's the real thing! [:D] [H] [Y]

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I played Dark Side of the moon at a party my sister had using my LaScala and the party stopped and everyone just listened. At the end they all wanted to hear it again and I said sorry I only play a record once in 24 hours so it has time to recover form the stylus pressure so I played the cassette for them. Sounds so retro now, lol. Everyone then went into a conversation about how they had never heard the album before with all the detail and space between the notes. Before I went to sound mix live bands on huge double or quad 4 ways, and that's fully hornloaded like 4 MCM 4's on each side. I would always plug my ears and sit infront of my LaScala and turn them up so I could reference my ears before the gig. The plugs would then stay in until the gig was finished. This stops your ears from ringing and is very good for when you really have the need to fully experience the feeling of a fair dinkum LOUD speaker. BTW if I ever modified my LaScala, I would Jub them so they become JubScalas. The original now cherished components would remain in original positions. I'm considering Jubing both my LaScala and Heresy using the 2 amps as Biamps since both amps have speakers A & B. The B2x for the Highs and the 1200B for the woofers. The A&H iDR8 can then manage both my soon to be built brand new Jubilees, the Juberseys and JubScalas. That's a lot of Jubing for one house, lol. Oooh and also I'm just a bit excited at the moment, it's 1:00am in Sydney and maybe since I don't feel like sleeping I will just listen to my LaScala all night again while relaxing on my bed, lol.

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I know Heresy Is with a sub can approach concert levels.

Guests often have to remove their jaw from the floor.

They just can't believe a "little ugly speaker" can sound like that.

Someday..... LaScalas may be in my future...... Till then..... Long live Heresy!

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That's weird, so cranking your system up to 115db is not the norm? Sometimes I just need to feel the music! I tend to crank mine up quite a bit. I won't listen to a whole song at that level but I will get in it for a bit and admire the power of these speakers. The best part is doing it for your guests, it's impressive. Not sure what the max db is on RF-7s but I know it's over 115.

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The ability to play at concert volume levels without breaking up is the reason I purchased Klipsch speakers. My RF-7 system can do 110dB while giving you that "crap your pants" feeling. It's not that often I listen that loud but it is good to know you can take your Klipsch speakers for a drive on the autobahn without fear that the engine will explode.

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The ability to play at concert volume levels without breaking up is the reason I purchased Klipsch speakers.

Yes, my buddy has Paradigm Studio 100's and while they sound really nice, they break apart at high volume and can't even think about playing like Klipsch at concert levels.
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The ability to play at concert volume levels without breaking up is the reason I purchased Klipsch speakers.

Yes, my buddy has Paradigm Studio 100's and while they sound really nice, they break apart at high volume and can't even think about playing like Klipsch at concert levels.

So True! I've got a friend with some nice Polk Audio floor standers and he said to me one day..." I just can't get mine to sound like yours"!

I laughed and said, until they look like mine (La Scalas) they will never sound like mine! He looked like I just kicked his dog or something! LOL


Dennie

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