coffeeman Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Hi. I may be able to purchase a pair of circa 1990's La Scala speakers. I'm NOT an audiophile. I've just heard their sound blows you away. Can you help by outlining the steps you would take to determine their condition? Any special tools needed, any particular music that should be used to evaluate the sound? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 2 hours ago, coffeeman said: Hi. I may be able to purchase a pair of circa 1990's La Scala speakers. I'm NOT an audiophile. I've just heard their sound blows you away. Can you help by outlining the steps you would take to determine their condition? Any special tools needed, any particular music that should be used to evaluate the sound? Thanks! The biggest step is coming right here to these forums. The folks here are extremely willing to help a budding new Heritage hopeful. Finish is very important but not everything. They are worth refinishing and there are many methods from easy and durable to difficult and gorgeous. Any music should sound good as long as you don't expect subwoofer frequencies to come from them. Look at the crossovers. AL crossovers are not very well liked, so you would be better off with AA or AL-3 crossovers. Look for the original Klipsch sheet on the back with the serial numbers etc. What price is the seller asking, and do you have a picture you can post? PS: Welcome to the forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 The most important tool is the cardboard tube from a roll of paper towels. Listen to one unit at a time, assuming the amp has a balance control. Actually, panning from one to the other might show deficiencies in one of them. A failure of the bass driver or mid driver should be obvious when one unit is playing. Use the tube as an improvised stethoscope putting the end at the tweeter to make sure it is working. The sound will be scratchy - tinny when it is working. You might as try the mid while your at it. Granted, this is an embarrassing position but necessary. Edit: The tweeter is by far the most delicate of the drivers and if anything in an LS fails, it is most likely the tweeter. Another common problem is the screw-down terminals on the crossover board, which you can see from the back of the unit. It is the black thing with eight (8) screws in a row. If a driver is not working, backing off the screws on the barrier strip and retightening them often cures the problem. WMcD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswhotakesphotos Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 When I bought my Heresies, I used "Soul Bossa Nova" from Quincy Jones to test for blown drivers. The opening orchestral section is just calm enough that you'd be able to hear anything conspicuous. I didn't use a paper towel tube, instead electing to hold my head up to each horn, but that would have been a great idea. I also used Burning Down The House by The Talking Heads to test a bit louder after. I picked those two songs because I thought they'd do well to show any flaws. Once you get them, set them up with a decent amp and enjoy. Klipsch speakers will let you know if your amplifier is no good! You absolutely don't have to break the bank, focus more on finding good watts than a lot of watts. The best thing about Klipsch is that you almost never have to worry about amp power inadequacy. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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