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Industrial LaScala's For $500?


tlarwa

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I'm pretty sure I can talk the local seller down to $500/pair. I looked at them this summer, when he was asking $800, and when I saw them I passed. They are former band speakers, and well-used. Typical black cabinets with metal corners and handles. AA crossovers, if I remember correctly. I don't know the S/N or model year. I run modded Forte II's now, and have never owned LaScalas. These would be used in a dedicated listening room, powered by my Fisher 400. What do you think ... Is $500 a fair price? And could they be "prettied up" for home use without too much trouble? I'm not a fan of the industrial look.

Thoughts?

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I would say a good deal, since it was a band look around back and make sure it's original drivers. Don't want to find out later the originals were blown and replaced with something that might not match, or just cheap replacements. The original parts alone are worth what he is asking.

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I picked up a pair of LS, no original drivers. One cab was a clone, but you would be hard pressed to tell. Even the crossovers weren't Klipsch. I paid $100. I couldn't build the cabinets for that price. I have most of the parts to fill them up, but am doing the bass mod on them as I progress. A price of $500 still sounds good to me. Even if you just sand and repaint them. Black cabs tend to disappear in the room.

DTEL if right, if most of the parts are Klipsch, they are worth the price.

Bruce

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I emailed him, and they are indeed all original; all drivers, cabinets and AA crossovers. No mods done to them at all. I assume the crossovers would likely need a recap at some point, and the cabs definitely need refinishing (paint or veneer). I do remember them having PA-type speaker connectors (single plug .... sorry, I'm not a pro sound guy so I don't know the proper term). I assume these can be rewired easy enough to allow for use with regular 5-way binding posts?

Mods: if this is in the wrong forum, please move. In my mind, it's 2-channel audio. It is NOT an item for sale so I didn't want to put it there.

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I haven't. But I've heard good things about them, especially with a tube amp like my rebuilt Fisher 400. They'll be in a relatively small (12'x19') dedicated listening room, fully treated (sound panels/bass traps). I have a decent sub (Adire Audio Rava) so I'm not too worried about augmenting the bass, if it is indeed lacking in my room. I've run KG4.2's, Heresy's and my current Forte II's. Just moving on up the line, I guess.

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I haven't. But I've heard good things about them, especially with a tube amp like my rebuilt Fisher 400. They'll be in a relatively small (12'x19') dedicated listening room, fully treated (sound panels/bass traps). I have a decent sub (Adire Audio Rava) so I'm not too worried about augmenting the bass, if it is indeed lacking in my room. I've run KG4.2's, Heresy's and my current Forte II's. Just moving on up the line, I guess.

That is no bigger than the room I currently have (it is actually bigger), and I had 3 La Scalas, and 2 Heresy HIPs.

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I emailed him, and they are indeed all original; all drivers, cabinets and AA crossovers. No mods done to them at all. I assume the crossovers would likely need a recap at some point, and the cabs definitely need refinishing (paint or veneer). I do remember them having PA-type speaker connectors (single plug .... sorry, I'm not a pro sound guy so I don't know the proper term). I assume these can be rewired easy enough to allow for use with regular 5-way binding posts?

If they have Neutrik connectors, why not stick with them? I bought a pair of Belles from a university music department, and they came with the blue plastic Neutrik Speakon connectors. I went to a pro audio shop and bought the matching speaker lead connectors for about $5.

They're inexpensive, rated for a lot of current, can carry up to four conductors (but you only need to connect two in this case), and you only need one connector per speaker. There are no exposed conductors.

As well, they twist and lock into place. You can literally reach around behind the speaker and connect or disconnect the speaker cable without being able to see the connector. It's quite handy.

If the speakers have one of these style sockets:

http://www.neutrik.com/en/speakon/speakon-loudspeaker-connectors/speakon-chassis-connectors/

You get one of these connectors (per speaker):

http://www.neutrik.com/en/speakon/speakon-loudspeaker-connectors/speakon-cable-connectors/

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They're not Neutrik connectors, they're just 1/4" jacks. If I buy them (going there tomorrow) I'll have to remove them and wire in new 5-way binding posts. I run Kimber speaker cables with bananas. I'm guessing it won't be too big of a deal to do this.

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they came with the blue plastic Neutrik Speakon connectors.
If they were blue, they weren't SpeakON connectors but PowerCON, totally blue and meant for power only (I used some when I rewired the power supply for an audio mixer). If they only had a ring or part of them blue, they were still designed for audio.

Either would work, but using a powerCON would be like using a twist lock NEMA connector for your speakers. Not likely that someone would plug in an extension cord to your speakers, but why take the risk.

I'm guessing it won't be too big of a deal to do this.
It won't be hard and you should do it right away. There is very little contact point with the center conductor and they can pull out easily.

My wife would really object, but I would scrape together the money to get these if I had the opportunity.

Bruce

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they came with the blue plastic Neutrik Speakon connectors.
If they were blue, they weren't SpeakON connectors but PowerCON, totally blue and meant for power only (I used some when I rewired the power supply for an audio mixer). If they only had a ring or part of them blue, they were still designed for audio.

Either would work, but using a powerCON would be like using a twist lock NEMA connector for your speakers. Not likely that someone would plug in an extension cord to your speakers, but why take the risk.

This was the grey speakON socket my Belles came with:

http://www.neutrik.com/en/speakon/speakon-chassis-connectors/speakon-chassis-connectors/

And this was the blue speakON connector I attached to my speaker cables. They're not all blue, just partly blue:

http://www.neutrik.com/en/speakon/spx-series/nl4fx

The powerCON connectors are also blue, but the locking lug pattern is different (3 lugs instead of 2), presumably to avoid any chance of anyone connecting an AC power line to a speaker. It also has 3 contacts instead of 2 or 4.

They look like this: http://www.neutrik.com/en/audio/powercon/powercon-20-a/

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