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K-33 or Eminence Kappa 15C woofer in La Scalas?


jimjimbo

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I am in the process of refurbing a pair of La Scala's I acquired recently.  My dilemma is as follows....I have a pair of K-33's that came out of this pair, and that are dated 1995 (round magnet) and a pair of new Eminence Kappa 15C's.  The K33's are in great shape and measure very closely.  I also have a new pair of Crites A4500 crossovers and Crites tweeters.  I also have a pair of AA crossovers that have been updated with Sonicaps with stock values, and another pair of AA's that I could mod by replacing the 13uf cap with a 6.8uf, and move the tap on one of the autoformers down to slightly reduce the mid range.  The mids are nice heavy K-400's that I plan on damping a bit, and dual phase plug K55V's.

 

I don't have all the time in the world to continuously swap parts in and out, and am just wondering what the collective might think would make the best combination of the above?

 

Thanks for any and all input, except for the crapping....

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I would stay with what Klipsch uses.

The Kappa has not much of an Xmax. Maybe guitar players like the distortion and that is why it is recommended for guitar applications.

It is my understanding that some 15 inch drivers have too large a basket diameter to fit in the LS. You might check that.

WMcD

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There have been several threads on this forum that ask this same question and no one seems to give a definitive answer. I think the best option at this point is for you to take one for the team and put the Kappa 15C's in and settle the debate for us all. I believe you have a pair of Belles that have K33s so you can do a side by side comparison for us. I have a strong feeling your answer will be "It depends"!

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There have been several threads on this forum that ask this same question and no one seems to give a definitive answer. I think the best option at this point is for you to take one for the team and put the Kappa 15C's in and settle the debate for us all. I believe you have a pair of Belles that have K33s so you can do a side by side comparison for us. I have a strong feeling your answer will be "It depends"!

I will tell you that I (and I believe a few others) have put the 15C's in Cornwalls, and found them to be tighter and punchier, but they don't go as low as the K33's.  Now, that could obviously be due to their construction, and lack of age.  They never will go as low, but with some "breaking in" might smooth out a bit....

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but they don't go as low as the K33's

 

For some that might may not matter, if they are running sub.  You might find the same, I push for better mid range as I use a sub and can cross either 80 or 120hz.  If you can do that, than I would think the 15cs are a better choice.

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Any 15" with a cast frame most probably will not fit without modification. I grind down two sides of the frame with a 60 grit belt on belt sander, being careful to vacuum away all loose bits of aluminum from the process. Make certain to ascertain which sides to grind on prior to grinding. Klipsch stamped steel baskets should fit without modification. 
 

You run into same issue with MWM cabinets, both original and single woofer styles. 

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What Gil said, stay with what Klipsch uses.

Dump the Sonicaps. If you're on a tight budget, buy some of the Russian paper in oil capacitors off of eBay -- it'll sound perfect without feeling the need to adjust the tap setting.

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  • 1 month later...

Just replaced K33 with Kappa15C in LaScalas (one of k33 was broken). Kappas fit doghouse perfectly. No need to to scrap metal or drill wood (but I guess colterphoto1 wrote about cast frame and those are stamped steel).

Kappas have much stiffer suspension than K33 (at least new Kappas).

 

So far I like the sound of it.

 

Lack of bass should not be a problem with La Scala like cabinet because it's forced by horn itself, not by the woofer.

Edited by Bacek
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