La Scala ll woofer access

[NBPK402]

I have seen some high end horns that were very careful to actually round the entire horn... It was just a thought. If people have tried it and it didn't make a difference then maybe that is why Klipsch never did it.

[NBPK402]

I wondered about the square corners, but someone pointed out that it's a speaker, not an intake or exhaust manifold, so it's not about flow, it's about sound vibration and reflection. Maybe introducing 45-degree angles would add unwanted sound reflections or otherwise impair the sound.

Yes, but if you notice they did build them for the horizontal area and for splitting the vertical right in front of the horn. Maybe the other high end horns just do it for aesthetics.

Edited October 31, 2013 by ellisr63

[Islander]

Thank you all for the help, and the exploded view of the La Scala is really interesting, had no idea there were so many parts inside! Even if that is the La Scala original as the poster said, and mine are the 2's. I would have been very disappointed if there had been such a major overlook or error when the guys in Hope were building my speakers. They are huge!, but somehow they still fit into my space and look like they just belong there, even though my listening area is very small..about 15 by 15 really, can't believe they work so well.

I do have another little issue with them however. When I put the top cabinets on, they didn't *quite* line up with the bass cabinets. They are both off about an 8th inch to one side. I checked the serial numbers to be sure I had put the correct top cabinets with the bass..but both of them are still off to one side. What's funny is they are both off in the same direction, horizontal to the right, no matter how much I try and line them up. They have a little wiggle room of course when they are sitting on the rubber bumpers of the bass cab..just not enough to line up.

I think I can loosen the rubber bumpers and try to align them but I was a little sad they were that way. I don't think I did anything wrong in setting them up but just like the access door, maybe I'm an idiot

Seriously, if anyone has any comments about this I would be glad to hear it, and thanks again to the forum.

You may find that over time that your Scalas start to look smaller. With mine, in about a week, they stopped looking "oversize" and started looking "normal size". It must be some kind of psychological adjustment as they become part of the room and stop looking out of place.

As for the alignment between the LF and HF cabinets, mine are a little bit off, too. One has the HF cabinet maybe a sixteenth of an inch off to the left, and the other HF cabinet is about a thirty-second of an inch off to the left. It's not the kind of thing you notice unless you look really closely or pass your hand carefully over the gap between the bottom and top cabinets.

The rubber bumpers that support the HF cabinets are not precision-machined items, so a barely-noticeable misalignment is to be expected. The only way to have closer alignment would be to have dowel pins joining the cabinets, and then the isolation of the tweeter and squawker from woofer vibrations would be lost.

You could remove the HF cabinets, loosen the bumpers, shift them as needed, retighten them, re-install the top cabs, check your alignment and find it right on, or re-adjust as needed until it's "perfect". It could be done in an hour or so, unless it took several tries. However, if the builders at the factory went through that whole procedure, for as long as it took, there's no guarantee that nothing would be disturbed during shipping, making their work a waste of time and money.

There is no perfection in this world. If you think anything is perfect, you're not looking closely enough or measuring precisely enough. In some instances, like this one, close enough is good enough. If you have some patient buddies over one day, and you all have time on your hands, you could go for it. I'm okay with my speakers as they are.

I do like things to be really precise, and I ask for minimum camber when getting my car steering aligned, but as one alignment tech put it, no matter how precisely the alignment is done, it will be knocked askew a bit by the first bump you hit. That's why there's an acceptable range, not a single satisfactory number. I'm sure your speakers are within acceptable limits for the factory spec, but if you want a hand-built custom fit, you'll need to tweak it yourself.

[adobephoto]

Mdud,

Please post some pictures of your new LSII's. They are beautiful speakers and I can only find a handful of photos of LSII's online.

[Mdud]

Islander, thank you for the time and thought you put into replying to my post. You are correct of course that nothing made by the hand of man is perfect, if you look deep enough. I just thought it was odd that both speakers were off the same amount in the same direction, leading me to wonder if I had made an error or if it might have gotten off in assembly. I suppose Im obsessing about them because I tend to over my gear..Maybe I should rethink that and just let go and enjoy them! There sure is a lot to love about them including the visual impact in the listening area..wow. So thanks once again for the help.

To the poster that asked for some pics, let me see if I can figure this out. I'd be glad to post a few if I can

[Marvel]

Thanks for the pics... Really, really nice looking! Makes my original LS look like something I made in my garage, lol.

Bruce

[NBPK402]

Those LSIIs look beautiful!

[Shakeydeal]

They certainly are beautiful. But why do so many insist on butting them up against the wall? They sound so much better positioned into the room.

Shakey

[adobephoto]

Thanks for posting pics of your new LSII's. They are some of the most beautiful speakers Klipsch makes.

[Islander]

Yes, thanks for posting the pix. They certainly are good-looking speakers.

Not to be a pester, but here are a couple of cautions: first, lacquer never truly hardens, so it's important to be careful when placing things on a lacquered surface, since they can leave dents in the lacquer. I was told this by Steve Phillips at Klipsch customer service. The tweeters on my LS2s are sitting on large cardboard sheets, since I didn't want any dents from the small rubber feet of the tweeter stands.

Some La Scala and Belle owners have even had sheets of plate glass custom cut to fit their cabinet tops to protect the speakers from leaky planters, former friends who put drinks on them, and so on.

Second, the baseboard heater beside the right speaker could damage the veneer of the cabinet, or at the very least dry it out. If it's not practical to move the speaker, maybe consider making some sort of heat shield to protect it. Something as simple as a piece of something stiff (wood, cardboard, plastic) wrapped in aluminum foil would keep the heat away from the speaker.

I used something similar when I wanted to use a woodstove that was a bit too close to a speaker. In the case of baseboard heaters, I just keep the speakers well away from them.

The main thing is to enjoy the music. Have you gone through your whole collection yet, to see how it sounds through your LS2s? When I first got my La Scalas, some tunes sounded like different pieces of music, compared with how they'd sounded with my previous gear.

[Mdud]

Islander, thanks for your reply again, and the thought you put into it. Yes, I had the Scala's for about 3 days when I began to feel that "old" excitement about having a real good stereo, and wondering what music would sound like what through it! Like waiting to get home from work so I can sit down and "test" my music collection through them. Been a long time since I felt that way about my stereo..but these can create that excitement again for sure~

As for the heater, your right again. I will put something in front of that space to deflect the heat up or at least block it right there. I am hoping to move before too long but for this winter it will have to be there. I had also read here about people getting the glass tops made for their speakers, perhaps I will but also I am just testing a few things on top. I would really like to leave them without decor added but it is difficult. I have moved some different fake plants on top, and added the felt protectors on the bottom of everything. Nothing weighs much at all but I see that it could leave marks and I would rather not.

So it is still a work in progress, but I am starting to settle down with them. As I said before, its surprising how well they fit into the very small listening area I have without looking or sounding overblown. Maybe thats subjective but..that's how I see it.

My current setup, all MiniMax gear except the Marantz turntable:

[etc6849]

Awesome La Scala II's. I have a 2007 pair I picked up from craigslist. They sound great.

A lot of the HD recordings from AIX records sound great. I love Guitar Noir on my LS II's. You need a DVD-audio player though (not a DVD video player). However, I think AIX sells Blu-ray versions now.

http://www.aixrecords.com/

PS: Anyone know what year Klipsch changed the grills of the LS II's? Mine don't have the metal trim all the way around. I hope they can still make the older style since at some point I want to custom order a matching center. Picking up 2006 LS II's this weekend for my rears.

Edited November 28, 2013 by etc6849

[Daan]

I read about the same issue when looking at the University Classic design. These horns also have such a turn where you'd expect a deflector BUT I think the designers have seen that spot as well and had their reasons NOT to add a extra panel under a specific angle there.

From what I read, it's not as simple as it looks, I resisted trying it when I was rebuilding the Classics.

Not sure if you are talking about the bassreflex mod for La Scala's in your first post ?