garyrc Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 you compare the price of a new La Scala to a modern Klipsch (excluding Heritage) you will see that in today's dollars the La Scala is still a more expensive speaker. The changes over the years have not been that drastic either IMO, hence why a 20 year old speaker can sound better. Your advantage with the older ones is people decide to go more modern or whatever other reason they have for selling, and you reap the benefits of a really great sounding vintage speaker. That makes sense. I didn't think about the fact that the MSRP on the LaScala II is $7000 a pair. Yeah, that's a HUGE increase over the current RF-7ii. Never thought of it that way. Wrong on so many levels. So much of the Lascala magic is in the bass horn. I wish someone would let me hear this "magic" cause I'm not hearing it. A subwoofer will give low bass which is admittedly missing. That I totally agree with. What everyone wants to improve is the squawker horn and then the tweeters on Scalas. To my ears, that's what makes this speaker shine. It shines from 60 Hz up. The tightness of the bass, the impact of the mid/high bass, "dynamic as all get out," according to Stereophile, and the clean midrange and treble. It's all the more amazing given that the mids and highs don't measure as all that smooth, but can make ST of Stereophile (and me!) subjectively hear them as "exceptionally smooth midrange and treble." That being said, they need to work with a subwoofer coming in at 60 Hz (or above, with Audyssey or THX applications). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexg5775 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 (edited) Here is what we need for the ultimate in Home Theater speakers.... The LaScalla 7ii. Wake you need to build this now!! Wrong on so many levels. So much of the Lascala magic is in the bass horn. My thought exactly. Edited May 15, 2014 by alexg5775 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 The single biggest improvement to the sound of my La Scala (shy of building a better listening room) involved no modification what-so-ever. I thoroughly investigated the DTS-20 as a sub-bass option back in '05. Incredible sounding speaker. Great fit for your application too....which is arguably more important, because if it can't fit into the room, it won't function as designed. Horns simply do not reward improper placement. I finally settled on the DIY route subwoofer wise, but if you get those DTS-20 you've been talking about, that'll be the end of any discussion in that regard. Great thread BTY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted May 15, 2014 Moderators Share Posted May 15, 2014 I finally settled on the DIY route subwoofer wise, but if you get those DTS-20 you've been talking about, that'll be the end of any discussion in that regard. Great thread BTY. Your right on both points. Good looking finish on that sub Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Good looking finish on that sub Thanks Dtel. IIRC, that's a few coats of Minwax Polyshade, in addition to rubbing with some steel wool between applications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 (edited) Youthman, Psychoacoustically, it may be a matter of balance and loading. The bass sounds better when the mids and highs are not being reinforced (??) and the La Scala has bass loading surfaces on both sides, above, and below (a carpeted floor). The first two times I heard a La Scala I didn't hear any bass magic. They sounded thin (but dynamic!) and harsh. These were prolonged listening experiences ... I was able to walk around the speakers and hear from different angles. This was before The Age of the Subwoofer, so there were none there to help out. Then I heard La Scalas at a not-very-good audio store with unremarkable amplifiers and front ends. They were wonderful, with bass that seemed to explode (musically and very cleanly). I listened to jazz perussion, regular jazz, Copeland tympani, etc. In this particular store they had the floor carpeted, with the carpet coming up about 6 feet onto the walls behind, and to the side of, the speakers and the La Scalas were pushed pretty well into the corners. They beat out all other bass in the store, and, from memory, other stores, except those with Khorns, and one lonely pair of Bozak Concert Grands, turned way up. Once again, there were no subwoofers. In later years I heard La Scalas in many venues, and they seemed to alternate between thin and full bodied/great bass. Variables? They seemed to sound good -- and have good bass and balance -- when near reflections were prevented, in or near a corner and pushed against at least one wall, and played very loudly (but cleanly). As I said in an earlier post, I am now using a Belle as a center, with a RSW15 sub crossing over at 80 Hz. I don't know if the Belle is as close to the La Scala as it's supposed to be, but it sounds great! We have a thick rug and a fabric covered front wall, with a few absorbers near the flanking Khorns, in the manner Chris outlined in his Corner Horn thread. Elswhere in the room there are many bookshelves, and 7 diffusers. The most obvious way the system could be improved is to bring in a horn loaded sub, but that will have to wait. Edited May 15, 2014 by Garyrc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 K400 is the midrange horn in the la scala youth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted May 15, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted May 15, 2014 K400 is the midrange horn in the la scala youth. Thanks Steven. I assumed it was a crossover. BillyBob, just curious, how does the K400 compare to the horn that is in mine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted May 16, 2014 Moderators Share Posted May 16, 2014 It's the same thing Youthman. The 400 is the normal horn, older models had a metal horn, later it's plastic or resin or whatever it is ? Have you ever looked to see what crossovers you have in those ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted May 16, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted May 16, 2014 Thx Dtel. I have the AA Crossovers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted May 16, 2014 Moderators Share Posted May 16, 2014 have the AA Crossovers That's what I have in my yard Frankenstein speakers, except the were leaking but still working. A very generous forum member kg4guy had parts left over from his projects and offered to update them for me, for free He did great and the difference was not small, this is before and after. Thank you kg4guy they will sound great for years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Thx Dtel. I have the AA Crossovers. Yours are the same as mine were...I think you have the K400 horns already i believe. I know mine were metal and had the AA crossovers too. If you tap them you should be able to tell if they are metal or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted May 16, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted May 16, 2014 Yours are the same as mine were...I think you have the K400 horns already i believe. I know mine were metal and had the AA crossovers too. If you tap them you should be able to tell if they are metal or not. You are correct. I looked inside the rear of the speaker and the top of the Horn says K400 and it is made of metal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 have the AA Crossovers That's what I have in my yard Frankenstein speakers, except the were leaking but still working. A very generous forum member kg4guy had parts left over from his projects and offered to update them for me, for free He did great and the difference was not small, this is before and after. Thank you kg4guy they will sound great for years. When I replaced my xo in my corns with bobs. It wasn't huge imo. But about 5 mo later I put the old ones back in to compar again and wow. They sounded like I had blown drivers. It was really a huge change for the worse. It's like it had a small layer of distortion that I did not hear before. I put the new ones back in and it was back to sounding good. But my mistake was doing the xo right away. And I think that's why it was as big as it was the 2nd time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted May 16, 2014 Moderators Share Posted May 16, 2014 It's like it had a small layer of distortion that I did not hear before. Exactly, it more about what your not hearing anymore. Everything was clearer, cleaner and more detailed with nothing extra, like you said it's like a layer of distortion that you don't notice until it's gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 (edited) It's like it had a small layer of distortion that I did not hear before. Exactly, it more about what your not hearing anymore. Everything was clearer, cleaner and more detailed with nothing extra, like you said it's like a layer of distortion that you don't notice until it's gone. Or as the Audiophiles would say... A veil was lifted from the music presentation. Edited May 16, 2014 by ellisr63 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 It's the same thing Youthman. The 400 is the normal horn, older models had a metal horn, later it's plastic or resin or whatever it is ? Have you ever looked to see what crossovers you have in those ? The older metal horn was designated K400, and the newer (braced fiberglass?) was designated as the K401. I believe the change occured in 1987. Klipsch claims that the newer horn has slightly less distortion. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 (edited) PWK criticized Speakerlab's fiberglass squawker horn. Speakerlab disparaged Klipschorn's aluminum squawker horn. Soon, thereafter, Speakerlab replaced its fiberglass horn with an aluminum one. Eventually, Klipsch replaced the aluminum K400 with the non-metal K401. It makes you wonder about the intersect of marketing and science. Edited May 16, 2014 by DizRotus 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted May 16, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted May 16, 2014 PWK criticized Speakerlab's fiberglass squawker horn. Speakerlab criticized Klipschon's aluminum squawker horn. Soon Speakerlab replaced it's fiberglass horn with an aluminum one. Eventually Klipsch replaced the aluminum K400 with the non-metal K401. It makes you wonder about the intersect of marketing and science. That's too funny! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatever55 Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Michael, nice setup... I have a couple of questions how far apart are the lascalas and how far from the screen are you sitting please. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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