philipbarrett Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 An upcoming move may necessitate a serious evaluation of my speaker system. Although I'm a Klipschorn die-hard the new house has literally zero placement opportunities (it happened to PWK too). I am familiar with the false wall approach but the WAF in a period home would be lower than a...well it would be very low. So I'm interested in opinions on the Belles. I have owned La Scalas before trading up to the KHorns so I am familiar with their sound. Are the Belles closer to the K's or more La Scala like? Alternatively I am interested in the Volti Vittorias (the wife gets the house, she's feeling my sacrifice on the Ks but the time window may be short) and would be interested in any experiences regarding them too. They certainly are a gorgeous piece of furniture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbox Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Is it just the placement issue or is it a size issue as well? I've had both la scala's and Belles, I'd say the Belles are a little smoother than the La Scala's, but not quite Khorns. Assuming size is not an issue, have you thought about Jubilee bottoms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipbarrett Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 I can get away with size but placement is a problem. What was your opinion on the low end of the Belles compared to to the Ks? I have thought about Jubilee bottoms but not sure what I would mate them with for the high end. I'm not interested in this becoming too much of a DIY project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I just went thru this again for like the third time.....trying them all out in a relatively small room (14X16). My take is that the belle is closer to a khorn sound than a lascala sound. I think the lascala is a longer throw bass section than a belle (belle was intended as center channel), so for a small room, the belle opens up nicely. WAF with belle's is always a win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Just a side note.... Does this mean that a nice pair of Khorn's may come up for sale in the near future? lol.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebse2a3 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 My experience with Belles(with flush mounted K77m) was smoother than my La Scalas and doesn't suffer from the audible side wall flexing emphasis of the La Scala. The La Scala II sounded surprisingly better than the La Scala when I heard them. Any of these with a good sub gives you some options in dealing with room issues and would be a good option to Khorns IMO. miketn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbox Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Jubilee bottoms with a K402 or K510 horn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipbarrett Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Any of these with a good sub... Recommendations? Bearing in mind that I like most here (I imagine) hate what passes for a "sub" in most people's HT systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnBob Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 The Belles will work better in most domestic situations. I tried LaScalas, but the midrange was really "beamy." The Belles didn't have the hot spots. Odds are, you won't miss the bottom octave on 95% of the music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 The Belles and LaScalas are more alike than they are like the Khorns. IMO. A sub is needed to approach the performance of the Khorns. Your experience moving from LaScalas to Khorns is instructive. I agree that lots of the time the LaScala or Belle is fine w/o a sub. The sub doesn't have to really work hard, imo, to do a nice job of rounding out the bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Belles more like 'scalas than Khorns BUT to my ears the Belles win hands down over the LaScalas and that's just grading the sound; wanna add prettiness to the equation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebse2a3 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Any of these with a good sub... Recommendations? Bearing in mind that I like most here (I imagine) hate what passes for a "sub" in most people's HT systems. I fully understand philipbarrett. Sorry but I haven't spent enough time around most current subs to give a recomendation. It's been many years since I spent much time with subs but in years past the large Velodyne were a pretty good match without the boom..boom bumped up response of alot of so-called subs around at that time. One reason I mention a sub was because you have been used to the Khorns so doing without that solid performance down to 35Hz of the Khorn might be missed and in that case a sub "might solve that issue. I also see you had La Scalas before so maybe you wouldn't miss the Khorns extension but once you've had it then it might be hard to go back. The truth is, how well the Khorn or Belle or La Scala or any speaker sounds in any given room of course really depends on the acoustics of the room and if concerns for WAF means no acoustical treatments will be an option then a person really has no choice but to find the loudspeaker that will respond the best in an individual's unique room. Good Luck whatever direction you go for. miketn[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipbarrett Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Thanks Mike, and you're right. I traded the La Scalas for the KHorns mostly because I was unhappy with the low end. I even tried the passive bass radiators underneath but they didn't really help much. As you say, I'm not looking for the "check out my copy of Top Gun" boom boom and am quite satisfied with K's low end. But I would very much miss it if it were gone. These popped up somewhat locally - http://killeen.craigslist.org/ele/3426173638.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudeJ1 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Thanks Mike, and you're right. I traded the La Scalas for the KHorns mostly because I was unhappy with the low end. I even tried the passive bass radiators underneath but they didn't really help much. As you say, I'm not looking for the "check out my copy of Top Gun" boom boom and am quite satisfied with K's low end. But I would very much miss it if it were gone. These popped up somewhat locally - http://killeen.craigslist.org/ele/3426173638.html you can build a tapped horn sub that will take you from 15-70Hz. for about $300. Mine was a coffee table before I put it in a corner upright after a move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 These popped up somewhat locally - http://killeen.craigslist.org/ele/3426173638.html Beautiful, but I think too high a price.Can I ask what you meant by 'passive radiators' with your La Scalas? Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipbarrett Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 Can I ask what you meant by 'passive radiators' with your La Scalas? Bruce Original build thread is here - http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/104516.aspx?PageIndex=1 and my build & measurement thread is here - http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/p/116730/1177197.aspx#1177197 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudeJ1 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Belles take up more floor space than a corner horn, so they work best against a front wall less than 10 ft apart since you can't toe them in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Can I ask what you meant by 'passive radiators' with your La Scalas? Bruce Original build thread is here - http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/104516.aspx?PageIndex=1 and my build & measurement thread is here - http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/p/116730/1177197.aspx#1177197 Sheesh... I posted a lot of comments on those threads... I guess I'm getting old.I STILL haven't added the bottoms to mine. How did you seal the bottoms to the LS? I assume you put some gasket tape or something around the additions. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipbarrett Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 Foam weather strip. I re-read through all the threads and honestly if I had to do it again...I wouldn't! Subtle is a word I used often with good reason. Nice touches on the low end of acoustic instruments such as bass and kick drum but not anything the D&B crowd would care about. While we're talking Scalas, what is the difference between the originals & the IIs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I've not heard the LSII. Everyone who has says they are a marked improvemet. Obviously, with the thincker cabinet, the resonance is gone, making the bass tighter and seem a lower bottom end response. Looks are greatly improved, but that alone wouldn't make me spend the money. Regarding the addition, I have a 2nd pair of LS that are in the process of rebuilding (didn't have all the drivers, etc.), and while empty, I will route out the top of the doghouse and do this, since it's always reversible... Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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