endover Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Need some input here.... I've pulled my La Scala's out of the back room (not being used) and have set them up next to my Chorus II's in an effort to get them ready to sell...I think. My wife has "nixed" them(La Scala's) because she says they're just too ugly and after a while...I'm sure I've lost that battle and the war. I'm now sitting here doing a side-by-side and I notice that the La Scala's have higher "highs" than the Chorus II's. Yes..yes...I know the La Scala's are a much higher quality speaker but I can't help but thinking something is not quite right with my Chorus'. I am the original owner of the Chorus' and bought them back in 1993 and have taken excellent care of them. I am the 2nd owner of the La Scala's. If you were watching a sword fight on Pirates of the Caribbean, when the two swords meet, the La Scala's give that nice crisp "schwing" when the swords slide over each other and although the Chorus' sound good, they're not quite that crisp. Any thoughts or recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 At almost 20 years old the crossover capacitors have likely drifted out of spec. Typically not in terms of capacitance but resistance. This has the effect of reducing the amount of signal going to the midrange and tweeter. Fortunately there are a few options for bring them back to "as new". If you're handy with a soldering iron you can buy the kits from critesspeakers.com (Bob Crites) and change out the capacitors. The next option would be to send the existing crossovers to Bob and have him do the upgrade. A little more expensive but if your not comfortable with the DIY aspect certainly worth the extra $$. The last option would be to purchase new crossovers from Bob. There would be a bit of work involved on your part but it's not at all difficult. Once the crossovers are back up to spec then you can look at changing the tweeter diaphragms to the titanum units again supplied by Bob. Were they mine I wouldn't even consider the new diaphragms until I had either changed out or upgraded the crossovers. The OEM capacitors that came from the Klipsch factory while not bad are not of the quality supplied by Mr. Crites. I recently sold a pair of Chorus IIs that had both the crossover upgrades and the titanium diaphragms and I can tell you that they were NOT lacking highs at all. Where in Florida are you? I'm right in the middle of the state not too far from the Lakeland / Winter Haven area. If I can be of any help with them I'd be happy to lend a hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted June 15, 2012 Moderators Share Posted June 15, 2012 Jhoak is right , and also no matter what you do the Chorus it's not going to come close to the LaScala especially in the midrange and higher. The LaScala midrange horn is what your probably hearing as the big difference, that's why people used that horn in the Cornwall, it fits perfect with the Cornwall bass and is a better midrange, well it sounds like it to me. What about nice cloth grills on your Lascala's, it does change the look completely, almost like a Belle look to me, your wife might even like them ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 The LaScala midrange horn is what your probably hearing as the big difference, that's why people used that horn in the Cornwall, it fits perfect with the Cornwall bass and is a better midrange, well it sounds like it to me.While I think that's exactly right, since it's not always easy to ID exactly EITHER what frequency range you're hearing OR which horn is responsible for it. Also, what people identify as "highs" can be produced by the LaS's BASS horn as well as the mid horn or tweeter. The lowest notes of a cymbal crash or triangle ding is easily produced by the bass horn, and may sound like it has good highs until you compare it with the full speaker range. The mid-horn, btw, crosses at 400 Hz and can reach 600. 600 Hz is the highest open string on the violin! The other thing that can be misleading is how much sound quality is added by a LARGER HORN MOUTH. So, the La Scala has a much larger mid-range horn mouth, AND has the larger mouth of the bass horn, which supplies a lot of the middle range. This is why there is a larger and more dramatic sound from the La Scala, apart from how good the highs are. You're simply going to hear more from it because it's ALL horn-loaded from top to bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted June 15, 2012 Moderators Share Posted June 15, 2012 Good point Mr Larry, also about the bass horn, I never thought about it possible going low enough to be in the bass horn. [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endover Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 As you can see from my other posts, I've got a few irons in the fire (looking for external amp, fixing my Chorus II's, selling La Scalas, etc....) Basically, the money is not there to buy or fix or buy anything...yet.... That being said, the perfect scenario is one....for my wife to approve all of these transactions and then for me to sell the La Scala's and use the money to get an external amp and also pay for new capacitors to clean up my Chorus'. All of that depends on how much I get for the La Scala's. I'm in the Melboune area in east central FL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtrmn Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Good day, where r u going to post ur scalas ? Hv a good wend, steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endover Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 I've taken everyone's advice and got me some caps from Mr. Crites for my 1993 Chorus II's. It's going to take me a couple of weeks to open up some time in my schedule but I'll be updating my crossovers soon to breathe some new life back into these baby's! If anyone's replaced caps on Chorus' and have any recommendations, let me know before I start digging in. Sorry wtrmn but I've got a local sale pending on the La Scala's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 As you can see from my other posts, I've got a few irons in the fire (looking for external amp, fixing my Chorus II's, selling La Scalas, etc....) Basically, the money is not there to buy or fix or buy anything...yet.... I can understand that. That being said, the perfect scenario is one....for my wife to approve all of these transactions and then for me to sell the La Scala's and use the money to get an external amp Here you go, we could work out something. I'm in the Melboune area in east central FL. Bro, you are right down the road less than an hour from me. Drive over and let me demo the amp and if we can work out a gentleman's deal, you may be taking the Acurus home with you that day. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidF Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I would not be too quick to conclude there is something wrong with the Chorus. It may be simply differences in presentation between the two. From repsonse graphs I have seen the La Scala has some peaks in the high end response, particularly around 5-7K. This will tend to add some "sting" to sibilance and mid harmonics that are more subdued in the Chorus. Try listening a while to the La Scala to allow your hearing to adjust. Then go back and listen to the Chorus for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endover Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 Thanks DavidF, That's good input! My wife has allowed me to keep both setups in my family room for a few weeks so it's easy to continue to compare and there is definitely a difference. I'm committed to upgrade these caps at this point as I received them in the mail a couple of days ago. My dad is a solder guru so he's ready to go. I just need to take the time to remove the crossovers from the cabinets. I'll post results once I get done but it may take me a few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endover Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 From those who have been inside Chorus II's... What's the best way to get inside to pull out the crossovers? One recommendation I had was to remove the tweeter and mid to be able to gain access to the wiring before I pull the terminal cap off. Has anyone done a "procedure" I could follow? I'm pretty handy with tools, I've just never done this and want to do it right. I will take pics before I go tearing things apart and I will label but I need to know the best way to get in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I think the best way in to Chorus IIs is to remove the passive radiator. This gives you good access to the backsides of all of the drivers. My Chorus IIs came to me fully upgraded but I couldn't help but open them up to check everything out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endover Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 I appreciate the info Jhoak but was also looking for a wide range of input from the group and preferably from someone who's done it before. Sorry for the bump so I'll throw it out there again. What's the best way to get into my Chorus II's to change out the crossovers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Bum Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Jhoak is right. The passive is the easiest, largest access point. You will need to remove the tweeter horn and CD to replace the diaphragm. Check the videos on Bob Crite's site if you need reassurance as to how quick and easy it will be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I appreciate the info Jhoak but was also looking for a wide range of input from the group and preferably from someone who's done it before. Sorry for the bump so I'll throw it out there again. What's the best way to get into my Chorus II's to change out the crossovers? Jeff is correct. In through the passive is the way to go. He has done this before just not to his Chorus II's. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endover Posted August 1, 2012 Author Share Posted August 1, 2012 Some good news to report.... We soldered in the new caps last night for both speakers. I had to use a shoehorn to fit them onto the board since the new caps are so big but a phone call to Mr. Crites and we were good to go! He's most helpful so thanks a bunch Bob! Anyway...yes...going in thru the passive worked great. It's all easy stuff from here. I'll reinstall the crossovers and reassemble the cabinets so I should be able to try them out over the next few days. I'll give a progress report when I get that far. It's tough to stay on schedule with young kids around! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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