Jump to content

New to me LaScalas


Guest Steven1963

Recommended Posts

Guest Steven1963

Hello everyone,

First time posting, short time lurking. I just picked up my 2nd set of Klipsch Heritage speakers. My first pair were in 1981 when I bought a couple of Heresy's in Italy while in the military. I had to sell them shortly thereafter but for the life of me can't remember why now. I loved the sound and clarity and I guess you could say I've been a Klipsch fanatic ever since.

Well, life happened (wife and kids) and always short on cash along with a change in priorities I kind of forgot about my love for high end audio. Until now (30 years later), for someone unknown reason (sort of like having a virus lurking dormant in your body and then suddenly awakening to create havoc - in this case, not a bad thing).

I started searching Craigslist and talking to my wife and kids about how they've never heard music like music was meant to sound. I was having trouble locating anything that would suit my desire (newer, in good condition, and reasonably priced). I found a pair of 1994 Klipschorns in Las Vegas for $2,000 that looked to be in excellent condition and took a few days vacation and planned on driving down to pick them up (17 hour drive straight through, one way), but the wife nixed that idea :( .

So, feeling kinda blue I decided to settle on some new Heresy III's and I bought them through Amazon :) . The day they arrived I happened to look at Craigslist again and found a pair of LaScalas locally for $1,000. But how was I supposed to convince the wife to buy them when I just got the Heresy's unboxed? So, coming up with the only excuse I could muster, I told her that the Heresy's didn't sound as good as I remember (not a lie, but they weren't broke in yet, either) so I wanted to send them back and keep looking.

Anyway, to skip the boring stuff (if I haven't bored you to tears already), I landed those Lascalas, which are 1982's. The guy who I bought them from was a wood worker, so he had completely sanded them down to their original birch plywood finish (about 6 hours of sanding, he said). The cabinets are wonderful with very few defects on the edges, and sound wonderful - but my ear is out of tune after so long so don't take my word for it ;) .

The bug has bitten again. I dusted off an old DBX range expander and subharmonic sythesizer that I had kept from my military days (but shelved them again as they apparently have developed electrical issues afters 30 years). I immediately upgraded my subwoofer, since the Velodyne couldn't keep up at higher volumes. Now (unbeknownst to the wife) I am considering an amp upgrade (currently running a 10 year old HK AVR 510...anyone have thoughts on the quality of this unit?) I am also considering new crossovers or at least re-capping the LaScalas.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I've attached a pic of my new babys. And I do have another question: since my ear really is out of tune will I notice a huge improvement if I swap out the capacitors for new ones or, is there more bang for the buck with completely new crossovers?

And just for added flavor, while sitting here listening to my new speakers yesterday I was searching CL for giggles and wouldn't ya know it a local was selling a pair of Klipschorns for $1,400.... :( . They are gone today, of course.

Thanks for reading!

Steve

post-58311-0-76340000-1397317339_thumb.j

Edited by Steven1963
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the forum!

Yes, you have caught the bug for sure! It's all uphill from here. :)

My LaScalas seem to like tubes best, but they sound great with solid state too. Recapping will change the sound, but there isn't any way of telling if you will like what you hear. Most people here agree that you should enjoy them for a while, and then see if there seems to be anything missing. This is subjective. Enjoy those speakers, and by the way, I see no pictures...

Craig

Edited by mustang guy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Steve,

Welcome to the forums... really...

Your journey sounds familiar, and you will hear similar stories if you hang around here for very long.

If all the drivers are working, just listen for a little while to get used to how they sound. Still, considering their age, the crossovers could use new caps (capacitors). That is the ONLY part in them that actually deteriorates over time, and those are getting pretty old.

Be forwarned, there are a lot of ways to spend money on these to make them "better", and it's easy for us to spend your money. Still, if the drivers are working and the crossovers are working as they should, you should be able to enjoy them for a long time and be very happy with them at that purchase price.

Other things to consider, the room plays a huge role in how they sound to you, and the source (turntable, cd player, quality of CDs...) all play a role and the amp/receiver all play into the final sound.

Bruce

ps Too bad you couldn't have kept the HIIIs...

Edited by Marvel
Link to comment
Share on other sites

those are in great condition... congratulations.

welcome to the fold.

dont worry to much about missing the Klipschorns, the las scalas are well worth the price of admission and if you dont have a corner to stick the speaker in, they are a better choice IMHO.

best bang for buck is cap swap, best sound for your buck is a newly designed XO.

Edited by Schu
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

Welcome and congratulations on the LaScalas.

Enjoy them and let your ears get use to the sound, there's plenty of time to improve them as you have read. For me when your ready later on, first would be capacitors, easy choice for a nice improvement.

You have plenty ways to change the finish if you want, stain, just oil and natural color or some kind of sealer whatever you like. He said 6 hours of sanding, that sounds like his experience as a woodworker cut some time off of what it could take to get them stripped down, it's nice for you he did the crappie part, sanding.

Have fun

Edited by dtel
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest David H

Very nice, sit back and enjoy them for a bit. Form an opinion of the sound.

There is always time for upgrades, and plenty to choose from.

Enjoy, and welcome to the forums.

Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Steven1963

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone.

Regarding replacing the capacitors, what should I be listening for to make me think they need replacement? Right now, after listening to them for about a week, I feel the high end clarity isn't what it should be. They are clearer than any other speaker I've heard (since maybe the Heresy's I had back in '81, or the HIII's I just returned before break-in) but my spidey senses (those old memories of when I had better tuned ears) are telling me they are a confused at the squaker/tweeter, if that description makes sense. And the tweeters seem a bit dull.

And yeah, room conditions are not ideal. Dimensions are roughly 22 X 13 with the speakers on the long axis but because of a fireplace, about 15 feet apart; angle inwards...but my sitting position is about 18" off-center (so I dropped the output on the right channel so it didn't overpower the left), and about 8 or 9 feet away.

Edited by Steven1963
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's about the same size room I had mine in at my former house. I ended up with them on the shorter wall, which worked better for me. In the new house they are in a little smaller room, about 11 x 20. Have to have them on the shorter wal here, too, but they work well. We have a larger room that has become our tv/music room, a former two car garage. There are built in lower cabinets or I would move my LS there. If/when we remove the built in cabinets, I'll move them to the larger room.

New caps would bring back more of the high end sparkle. There are many options if you start considering the crossover. A straight cap upgrade/replace would bring them back more to spec. Newer design crossovers would allow more control and higher fidelity, but the prices go from I can handle that to a you've go to be kidding me price.

There are some wonderful folks on here who sell after market parts and crossovers.

Bruce

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd listen for clarity in all ranges... that klipsch high frequency sparkle... any granularity that is creeping in... anything that sounds like drivers that sound like they are complaining... imaging... and perhaps timing issues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All good sources and advice. I simply go by ear and if the tracks you have listed to for years are not perfect to your liking then an upgrade or update will bring so much more satisfaction. Like was mentioned by Got Hover(Dave) relax and give them a listen with time. There really are some amazing network builders around here that will make them better than new if you so make that choice now or years from now. Best of times to you and your new ls's. So glorious the noise will be!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Steven1963

Welcome to the Klipsch Forums & Congratulations!

Did you get grills with these?

I did not get the grills :( . But that's ok! I plan on having them re-finished with new grills and nameplates. I've got some ideas in mind though :) .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...