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La Scala Splits Restoration


Maximus89

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So last night I made a great deal where I came home with 4 La Scala Split Industrials.   1 of the pairs just fine and already hooked up.   The other pair are fixer uppers that he basically just threw in.  

Here's what is 100% certain according to the previous owner and what I can see.  
- 4 total Fuses +  4 Fuse Caps are needed.  

 

- 1 Tweeter diaphragm needed(paint got deep in there).

Everything else is unknown to me and unknown to the previous owner.  I've never owned any La Scalas or any industrial Klipsch speakers, so I need guidance if driver removal is beyond simply unscrewing the front of the top and sliding it out and unscrewing the bottom of the bass bin and sliding it out.   Tutorials on process of removing everything?

Not sure how I test each driver for functionality and testing the crossover other than manually swapping out with the good pair in my house(seems like there's got to be an easier way).   I'm not savvy at this stuff.  But, making sure I know what parts need to be replaced is my first priority.


From there, I obviously need to remove the white paint(Church?)  that is depressingly all over the horns and tweeter.

Tips for removal?  Just any stripper will do?  Metal or plastic scraper?

Then from there, how do I go about painting it? Spray paint?  Brush?  What type and color?  What material are these? 

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53 minutes ago, Ceptorman said:

Awesome score.

Buy one get one free!  :emotion-21:

 

The guys I know who have done recent LS restorations are @jimjimbo @Matthews and @MookieStl.  I'm not sure if the finish is MDF or fiberglass and I am not sure if the fuses can be by-passed.  For home use I wouldn't think fuses would be needed, and eliminating them might help with the clarity of the sound. 

 

What say the experts?

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21 minutes ago, wvu80 said:

For home use I wouldn't think fuses would be needed, and eliminating them might help with the clarity of the sound. 

I hope you are saying elimination of contact points that might corrode and thereby degrade the signal and you are not saying fuses (or audiofool fuses) make a difference in sound. I think I know you better than that. I do agree with fuses are not needed in home applications with sane folks.

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I can't answer to all the issues, but I will make suggestions on some.

 

Regarding the paint removal OF THE DRIVERS: You'll have to use a paint stripper. Try the "safer" strippers first; those that are environmentally friendly, such as Citristrip Safer Paint and Varnish Stripping Gel. Brush some on the hidden side of the horn as a test and see how it reacts; sometimes multiple applications are necessary to remove multiple coats of paint. They sell plastic paint scrapers that would be perfect to scrape the softened paint off the drivers without scratching the horn.

 

Try the paint stripper on an inconspicuous part of the cabinet such as the bottom, to see if it raises the grain of the wood. If not, apply the Citristrip, and after using the plastic scraper to remove the bulk of the white paint, use a pad of #1 steelwool, in the direction of the grain, to remove the paint.

 

The full strength strippers that contain methyl chloride may be too strong for the plastic.

 

If the Citristrip reacts with the backside horn plastic, then I would give up on removing the paint and just try to sand smooth the existing finish.

 

Paint on the cabinets, as you've seen, looks like crap. Use spray paint. Spray paint will preserve the look of the grain better than a rolled on finish. Don't use a brush; as you can see the results...

 

Of course, the litmus test on the drivers is to play music through them. As long as sound is coming out of the driver and there are no usual buzzes or sounds, you're good, as are the crossovers. You could put a voltmeter across the speaker terminals and measure the resistance of the driver. It should be within 1 or 2 ohms of what's stamped on the driver.

 

Oh, and you better post photos of the finished speakers!

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38 minutes ago, USNRET said:

and you are not saying fuses (or audiofool fuses) make a difference in sound.

Agree with you.

 

I am not sure how the fuses are integrated into the LSI.  Mr. @Maximus89 said all four fuse caps need replacing, at least in their current condition.  I would suggest the input be wired directly and bypass the fuse system, instead of taking time to repair or replace them.

 

As you said, for home use the LSI have power handling of 200 watts.  I would think that much power into the LSI would blow the top of your head off at home.

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5 minutes ago, Peter P. said:

I can't answer to all the issues, but I will make suggestions on some.

 

Regarding the paint removal OF THE DRIVERS: You'll have to use a paint stripper. Try the "safer" strippers first; those that are environmentally friendly, such as Citristrip Safer Paint and Varnish Stripping Gel. Brush some on the hidden side of the horn as a test and see how it reacts; sometimes multiple applications are necessary to remove multiple coats of paint. They sell plastic paint scrapers that would be perfect to scrape the softened paint off the drivers without scratching the horn.

 

Try the paint stripper on an inconspicuous part of the cabinet such as the bottom, to see if it raises the grain of the wood. If not, apply the Citristrip, and after using the plastic scraper to remove the bulk of the white paint, use a pad of #1 steelwool, in the direction of the grain, to remove the paint.

 

The full strength strippers that contain methyl chloride may be too strong for the plastic.

 

If the Citristrip reacts with the backside horn plastic, then I would give up on removing the paint and just try to sand smooth the existing finish.

 

Paint on the cabinets, as you've seen, looks like crap. Use spray paint. Spray paint will preserve the look of the grain better than a rolled on finish. Don't use a brush; as you can see the results...

 

Of course, the litmus test on the drivers is to play music through them. As long as sound is coming out of the driver and there are no usual buzzes or sounds, you're good, as are the crossovers. You could put a voltmeter across the speaker terminals and measure the resistance of the driver. It should be within 1 or 2 ohms of what's stamped on the driver.

 

Oh, and you better post photos of the finished speakers!


How am i supposed to see the grain of the wood? It's a black ..duratex i guess?

I was already looking at the Citristrip stripper so i'll go with that one.  

Any recommended spray paints?  Different one for the cabinets and a different one for the horns?

 

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1 minute ago, wvu80 said:

Agree with you.

 

I am not sure how the fuses are integrated into the LSI.  Mr. @Maximus89 said all four fuse caps need replacing, at least in their current condition.  I would suggest the input be wired directly and bypass the fuse system, instead of taking time to repair or replace them.

 

As you said, for home use the LSI have power handling of 200 watts.  I would think that much power into the LSI would blow the top of your head off at home.


I'm not quite sure what's going on with the fuses....are they not necesarry?  I can basically connect the positive and negative to a receiver and they will start playing? I was under the impression that i cant get any sound unless i get those fuses.  Is this correct? If so, i can go plug them in and listen to see if all the drivers are working.

I guess if that's the case, i'd still like to know what the purpose of the fuses are.

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6 minutes ago, Maximus89 said:


How am i supposed to see the grain of the wood? It's a black ..duratex i guess?
Any recommended spray paints?  Different one for the cabinets and a different one for the horns?

 

I assumed from the photos that they were black stained wood, even though the photos don't show grain- my bad. If you can't see the grain then they must have some other finish.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Schu said:

That's nice... even the pair with the paint don't look that bad.

Both of those photos are from the painted pair that needs work.

These are the ones i already got set up, not too bad but they did get some paint splatter as if they were sitting next to the ones that were being painted.  I imagine it was like a scene out of Deer Hunter but with La Scalas.  These guys had to watch their brothers be destroyed.
(excuse the messy wires all over the floor and yes these guys beg to be in a bigger space.)
 

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4 minutes ago, Peter P. said:

 

Yeah so basically i think its mdf/plywood with a duratex paint over it.   Not sure what i'd use for re-paint the horns though.
The horns are plastic right?  Serial says 89 and they do feel like plastic but i just took a closer look and they have like waves that almost look like wood grain.

 

5 minutes ago, USNRET said:

to protect the tweeters against insane wattage input during live shows

sweet, so i can just plug and play! I need to go do that test right now!

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Ok so I just plugged everything in and there's no sound at all. Maybe it's something I'm doing wrong. Let me double check.

 

nope. I just plugged my little JBL 2600 and it works. 

 

No soubd at all from Fein these La Scalas.

like I said, all I know is thee fuses and fuse caps are missing and the tweeter got paint in there. As far as I'm aware, the woofer should work

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11 minutes ago, Maximus89 said:

Ok so I just plugged everything in and there's no sound at all. Maybe it's something I'm doing wrong. Let me double check.

The black LS works, and the white LS does not?

 

I would try a multi-meter and try to see what has continuity and what doesn't.

 

 

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1 minute ago, wvu80 said:

The black LS works, and the white LS does not?

 

 

Yes I'm testing the white painted ones right now and no signal. 

 

The black ones are in my room connected and they have the fuses and they work fine. 

 

These white ore ones are dead silent

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1 minute ago, wvu80 said:

It would be unlikely for all the drivers in two separate speakers to all blow at the same time.

 

Those fuses are where I would start looking.

Ok let me take the fuses from the good ones and put them i these to test

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