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Why was the Belle discontinued?


TasDom

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This has probably been discussed here before but nothing showed up doing a search.

 

As popular as they currently are, I'm interested to know why they were dropped from production. Were they that much more costly to produce than the La Scala?

 

Also, do you think they will ever make it back into the current Klipsch offering?

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14 minutes ago, Chris A said:

My apologies - I didn't look at the forum when I posted the above.  I'll delete it.

 

Chris

I didn't see your post before you deleted it Chris but if it's relevant to my question, please feel free to re post it.

This just seemed like the right section to ask but I welcome all responses as well as the "historian"

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1) The Belle's basic performance actually duplicates or overlaps that of the La Scala.  Klipsch didn't need two loudspeakers to do one job.  The Belle was created to be a nicer looking center between two Klipschorns than the La Scala.  When sales of the Khorn and Belle (i.e., as a bought three-channel system) no longer represented a popular choice among customers, I'm sure that the Belle looked as if it was causing inventory costs without the corresponding sales volume that the La Scala had.


2) The Belle's price was apparently much higher than the La Scala's, further reducing sales volume.

 

3) The Belle's midrange horn is shorter than the La Scala, requiring a slightly higher crossover frequency between the bass bin and midrange.  The longer midrange horn and lower crossover frequency of the La Scala is considered to be an advantage sonically.  The La Scala used the same midrange horn as the Khorn, thus reducing the number of inventoried parts by one. 

 
4) The Belle's bass performance in the 100-200 Hz region is not very flat: it has a fairly serious hump in its response in this band.

 


Chris

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Belles were ALWAYS a special order item, to begin with.  They were never a regular production item...special order only.  There was usually only one dedicated Belle builder, with a second builder temporarily added if orders increased unexpectedly.  And when orders dropped enough, the Belle builder would do other things while awaiting more orders to come in.  The construction of Belles was VERY much more labor-cost intensive than that of the LaScala.  In the re-design of the LaScala resulting in the LaScala II, the decision was made to just dress it up like a Belle, and eliminate any NEED for more Belle production.  That way the price would drop a bit for a Belle replacement, while at the same time the cost of owning a LaScala could be increased.  The decision killed two birds with one stone.  It also gave people the option of having a dressed up pair of LaScalas (to include the option of having a dressed up laScala as a center channel between two flanking K-horns), which many customers highly desired since the LaScala is identically-voiced  to the Klipschorn in its tweeter and midrange horns and drivers.  Also the new LaScala re-design provided for a stiffer bass bin which improved the frequency response curve over the previous LaScala bass bin construction (thicker sides eliminated flexing issues from vibration of the side panels problems associated to the mouth of the bass horn lens, without having to brace the side panels of the bass bin in some way or another).  The new LaScala was sonically superior to the old one, and prettier but heavier.  Its labor cost is much less than the Belle would be if the Belle was still in production.  A win/win for the company...and a win/win for the listener, ESPECIALLY if any WAF is involved.

 

There is one more reason...but that is not for this public forum, and let us just forget about that one, since it has been a non-issue for awhile, now.

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2 hours ago, HDBRbuilder said:

There is one more reason...but that is not for this public forum, and let us just forget about that one, since it has been a non-issue for awhile, now.

Thanks for the info...and the tease. Would you do it in a private forum? B)

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9 hours ago, Deang said:

All three have passed on, so is it really insensitive to mention it?

 

Ms.Valerie was never too thrilled with the "Belle Klipsch" - for obvious reasons.

I didn't want to go there...in here...but the real giveaway on this situation was the "official" biography of PWK...and its total lack of mention of Belle in it...like she never even existed.  I had a step-mother with that type of situation at home in my high school years...so very familiar with it.  It is what it....was!

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  • 2 months later...

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