La Scala II after the fix.

[deadlift]

As promised after correcting the loose connection issue and now enjoying the La Scala II’s for a period I thought I would share some of my thoughts in regard to these speakers and my old La Scala speakers circa 1989 or so.  They do look nicer and the heavier 1” MDF seems to be taming any cabinet vibrations. One negative with the old speakers when one of the grandkids trucks went flying into the speaker I just considered it part of the aging process – with the La Scala II’s well I might feel differently.   As for the sound the biggest difference I noticed right from day one is the imaging, these things can image, precise and un-boxy. The voices and instruments do not appear to cluster around the speaker.  The soundstage is spacious with performers and instruments precisely placed. The 89’s did this to a degree,  but the II’s do it so much better it really floored me – Klipsch did their homework with these things. As for dynamics the II’s like the 89’s will fill your room, your house, your block, make your ears bleed  if you choose to go down that road and do so effortlessly. These dynamics were going through my mind as I assisted with the loading of the 89’s into the truck. The gentleman who purchased my old speakers is renting an apartment in Brooklyn NY and being a Led Zeppelin fan I’m sure his neighbors are going to love him!!!

[Chris A]

As for the sound the biggest difference I noticed right from day one is the imaging, these things can image, precise and un-boxy. The voices and instruments do not appear to cluster around the speaker. The soundstage is spacious with performers and instruments precisely placed.

 

The 89’s did this to a degree, but the -IIs do it so much better it really floored me – Klipsch did their homework with these things.

 

This is good news. Glad you identified the source of the mfg. defect and were able to correct it.

 

Probably the biggest difference between the two La Scala model versions in terms of physical differences is in the midrange horn (better damped injection molded polymer, but essentially the same exponential profile as the older K-400 design) and probably better loading via crossover redesign, i.e., the amplifier probably drives a flatter FR overall due to better controlled midrange/mid-bass impedance peaks that the crossover presents to the amplifier.

 

Also, the crossover in the La Scala (both the I and II versions) is in the A440 tuning fork range, so the extra stiffness and damping of the bass bin walls really helps in this crucial midrange band to solidify vocals and male voice range instrumentation.

 

Perhaps a small part of this is tweeter improvements, but I'd guess that had little to do with it.

 

You might try an experiment by placing a fair amount of absorbent material covering the top of the cabinet--about 2 inches deep--and placing or covering with absorbent material all equipment  and furniture that reflects sound inside of a 4-foot radius from the mouth of each midrange (center between the speakers and side wall reflections).   I assume that you've got carpet on the floor directly in front of the speaker out to at least 4 feet. 

 

The overall timbre of the speakers should shift to become less strident and more natural sounding.  It may not be a subtle change, too.

 

Chris

Edited July 27, 2015 by Chris A

[deadlift]

I assume that you've got carpet on the floor directly in front of the speaker out to at least 4 feet.

 

Hmm no carpet at all - hardwood floors.

[Chris A]

Try placing a little absorption on the floor - out to 4 feet from the midrange horn mouths and about twice the width of the cabinets. 

 

This will better control floor bounce issues, which will be the strongest near-field reflection that you will likely have.

[Mariusz_]

I think that better imaging of LSII comes from the new crossover network. I also have LSII and I noticed that changing crossover for simpler one (lower order filters) deteriorated imaging.

[Chris A]

I also have LSII and I noticed that changing crossover for simpler one (lower order filters) deteriorated imaging.

I assume that you're saying that you changed out the stock La Scala II crossovers for something else?  If so, then I'm not sure that you're talking about the same thing as the OP is, in terms of the straight-up listening differences of the LS I vs. LS II. 

 

The major difference in going to a lower order crossover filter is that the time misalignment between the bass bin-midrange, and tweeter-midrange is minimized, because every "order" increase in a typical Butterworth/Linkwitz/etc. electrical filter design increases the phase shift of the low-pass to high-pass by 90 degrees.  By going to a lower order filter design, what you are actually doing is partially correcting the two time misalignments inherent in the basic La Scala design. 

 

Tom Danley writes on this subject vis-à-vis his Synergy Horn (SH) passive crossover design, where he actually devised his own passive filters to reverse the phase shift to correct for the full time misalignment of the lower frequency drivers vs. higher frequency drivers within the multiple-entry horn design that he uses.

 

Chris

Edited July 27, 2015 by Chris A

[Schu]

I bet if you had taken the time to refurbished your original LS1 XO's, you might have had a different opinion on their performance and imaging... I'm just saying.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Schu

[LarryC]

I think that better imaging of LSII comes from the new crossover network. I also have LSII and I noticed that changing crossover for simpler one (lower order filters) deteriorated imaging.

I noticed sort of the same thing when I replaced the old AK-3's with AK-4 networks in my '62-vintage K-horns .several years ago.  Much better blend and coherency, much smoother, etc.  As I understand it, similar improvements were made in all the Xovers at the time the AK-4 was released -- the AL-4 and AB-4 (LaScala and Belle, respectively), I believe.  The LaS II is a wonderful-sounding speaker IMO.

[deadlift]

I bet if you had taken the time to refurbished your original LS1 XO's, you might have had a different opinion on their performance and imaging... I'm just saying.

This was an option I had on the table and if I had not received 7 offers in less than 3 days on Craigslist I may have gone down that road and I agree with you refurbished XO's would have made a big difference.

[Budman]

 

I think that better imaging of LSII comes from the new crossover network. I also have LSII and I noticed that changing crossover for simpler one (lower order filters) deteriorated imaging.

I noticed sort of the same thing when I replaced the old AK-3's with AK-4 networks in my '62-vintage K-horns .several years ago.  Much better blend and coherency, much smoother, etc.  As I understand it, similar improvements were made in all the Xovers at the time the AK-4 was released -- the AL-4 and AB-4 (LaScala and Belle, respectively), I believe.  The LaS II is a wonderful-sounding speaker IMO.

 

 

62 k-horns with AK-3's  

Edited July 27, 2015 by Budman

[LarryC]

62 k-horns with AK-3's  

I upgraded my Xovers more than once, and was up to AK-3's when the AK-4's became available as an upgrade kit.

 

It should be noted that I made the switch because of an ongoing, puzzling, lack of blend between the bass and midrange horns, which the AK-4's eventually helped solve.  The story is complicated, if you want more info.

Edited July 27, 2015 by LarryC

[mdross1]

Our LaScalla Pro bases are sitting on top of BFM sub base cabs 40" above the floor the midrange through an active electronic crossover is explosive. We all have a different ear and finding the right speaker combo is worth all the time and effort it takes to find them.

[SkipBrannigan]

Hello. I am new to the forum (returning after a few years without ever having posted much) and have a question on the LSIIs. I currently own LSI with AL-3 xovers and am considering LSIIs. My question is: Has Klipsch made any changes to the LSII since their introduction? I ask because I want to know if I purchase older LSIIs will I be getting the current model or an older version of the current model.