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Getting Back to Klipsch Heritage, but Which Ones?


Eulypion

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After many years of Martin Logans powered by Krell, I desire a pair of Klipsch Heritage powered by a tube amp. A good friend has Klipschhorns with a McIntosch 275 tube amp and it sounds incredible

His room is about 26 x 17 ft. with 9 ft ceilings. My room is about 19 x 15 feet with 8 ft ceilings. I'm trying to decide between the La Scala, Cornwalls, & Fortes. It must sound close to my friends system. I am a musician and would also like to use them as a PA system just for vocals at my house for rehearsals, but mostly as a great 2 channel audio system.  I'll be getting a used pair and I'll probably have to do a lot of driving because there aren't any here in New Orleans and none of the sellers want to ship. 

 

BUT which ones should I get? I don't really know. Would y'all be so kind as to give me some pros & cons of either the La Scala, Cornwall, or Fortes? Or a Pro Audio version if they sound as good. Should I even consider the Heresy? They are easy to find around here for about $400. I have also seen the Forte for about $450. The Cornwalls are harder to find and run about $800. The La Scalas are even harder to find & require a road trip to pick up and start at about $1200 & go up from there. But I want the one that will be best for me even if I have to pay more and do a bit of driving to get. 

 

But again, what do y'all think would most make me happy? Those are the ones I want. So from all your experience, which pair of Klipsch Heritage speakers should I get and why? 

And then I need to know what tube intergraded amp to get as cheap as possible.  Thank all of you in advance. 

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My belief is the La Scala will be the closest to a Khorn , all horn loaded like a Khorn but a lot less bass (tight and fast but doesn't go as low). The La Scala is my favorite all around speaker with a horn loaded sub. The Pro stuff sounds great if not better IMHO just less time and money  spent on looks. The Split Industrial La Scala's are awesome . The other speakers you mentioned are good speakers but won't come close to sounding like a Khorn IMO. Others will chime in and good luck with your endeavor :D

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Your assessment on prices and availability is right on the money.  I have seen a lot of La Scala's on the used market, but it depends on where you are located.

 

I agree with Mr. @Gnote that the La Scala would make the best fit for you as a musician needing live! sound, for all the reasons he listed.  I think you would like the LSI La Scala Industrial but they are far and few between, and as you said there aren't many LS near NO.

 

I can't help you with tube amps, but many people here can.  You might consider trying your Krell amp first and see how you like it.

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There's a pair of La Scala's on Little Rock, AR craigslist at the moment.  I'd pondered them and have emailed the guy but I really like the dimensions of the Belle better and am going to build a pair soon.  But here's the link if interested.

 

Just a tad under 7 hour drive one way from NO to LR; could be a one day round trip.

 

https://littlerock.craigslist.org/ele/d/klipsch-lascala-pair/6296494986.html

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21 hours ago, Eulypion said:

After many years of Martin Logans powered by Krell, I desire a pair of Klipsch Heritage powered by a tube amp. A good friend has Klipschhorns with a McIntosch 275 tube amp and it sounds incredible

His room is about 26 x 17 ft. with 9 ft ceilings. My room is about 19 x 15 feet with 8 ft ceilings. I'm trying to decide between the La Scala, Cornwalls, & Fortes. It must sound close to my friends system. I am a musician and would also like to use them as a PA system just for vocals at my house for rehearsals, but mostly as a great 2 channel audio system.  I'll be getting a used pair and I'll probably have to do a lot of driving because there aren't any here in New Orleans and none of the sellers want to ship. 

 

BUT which ones should I get? I don't really know. Would y'all be so kind as to give me some pros & cons of either the La Scala, Cornwall, or Fortes? Or a Pro Audio version if they sound as good. Should I even consider the Heresy? They are easy to find around here for about $400. I have also seen the Forte for about $450. The Cornwalls are harder to find and run about $800. The La Scalas are even harder to find & require a road trip to pick up and start at about $1200 & go up from there. But I want the one that will be best for me even if I have to pay more and do a bit of driving to get. 

 

But again, what do y'all think would most make me happy? Those are the ones I want. So from all your experience, which pair of Klipsch Heritage speakers should I get and why? 

And then I need to know what tube intergraded amp to get as cheap as possible.  Thank all of you in advance. 

it's a no brainer....it's called 

la scala la scala la scala la scala

la scala la scala la scala la scala

 

 

 

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If stock, the LaScala and Khorn have the same mid horn/driver and tweeter /horn driver. Only the bass is different. Many LS owners feel the mid is a little too hot, and adjust it down approx. 3db. Turning the gain up brings the bass up without havings the mids drill into your head. Still not the same as the khorn, but amazingly clean and articulate bass.

 

... and welcome to the forums.

 

Bruce

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8 hours ago, Marvel said:

If stock, the LaScala and Khorn have the same mid horn/driver and tweeter /horn driver. Only the bass is different. Many LS owners feel the mid is a little too hot, and adjust it down approx. 3db. Turning the gain up brings the bass up without havings the mids drill into your head. Still not the same as the khorn, but amazingly clean and articulate bass.

 

... and welcome to the forums.

 

Bruce

Good suggestion if going with the La Scala.  If you desire deeper bass, get a set of Cornwalls.

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First,  THANKS - YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!!!   VERY HELPFUL - Even helping me find the speakers!

 

Well it's unanimous - La Scala, La Scala, La Scala!!!   That was easy.  I was hoping that would be the one. Now I know what I want and it's just a matter finding a good deal within about 7 hours drive from New Orleans.  I already found a pair in Florida that is priced low enough that I can afford to ship them. I waiting to see if they will be willing to ship them.  I told him to just strap a moving blanket over them & put them on a truck heading my way. Just like you would to any large furniture one would need to move. 

 

The only issue is that a giant hurricane (biggest ever recorded) is heading right at him and he is a little busy getting the hell out of Dodge.  And I know how that feels. I lost my house & everything in it when the levee broke after Katrina in 2005.  "Mean ol' levee taught me to weep & moan".  

Let's all pray for him & not because I want his speakers. 

 

Keep the post coming. I'm learning lots of stuff.  You guys are GREAT!!!

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Well I my mind was made up. I was going to get the La Scala speakers. Then last night I read the forum on "La Scala: King of imaging in the Heritage Line?" and a bunch of other subjects. It seems that most of y'all own the Khorns and feel they are the best of all. Many of you guys seem to feel the La Scala are a little lacking in the bass response and I like a good bass response.   So maybe I should save a little longer and get the Khorns??? 

 

Is a room that is 19 x 15  w/ 8 ft ceiling big enough for khorns?  I do have two good corners I could put them in. I would hate to go 85% of the way to a dream I had since I was about 14 yrs old (to own khorns & a Marantz receiver w/ the silver face & blue lights - only now I want a tube amp) and then stop short and regret it.  I thought the La Scala would sound very close to the thorns with the added benefit of placement freedom (to a certain degree).  What to do? 

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@EulypionWhen I raced motocross the expression was "if you want more horsepower get a bigger horse."  The Khorn is the bigger horse.

 

Round numbers, the Khorns will cost about double the La Scalas.  The LS is probably more available on the used market.

 

I have bad corners and I couldn't get the Khorns to integrate with my mis-matched center and surrounds in a 5.1 setup.  I just set the Khorns in the middle of my room in a terrible configuration in 2.0, no corners, nearfield, probably 6-7 feet.  They sound phenomenal.  

 

BTW I am running them with a newer Marantz SR-6001 AVR.  Not the old school Marantz like the one you referenced, but the sound is still good.

 

Really, really good.  B)

 

 

 

IMG_0060.JPG

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46 minutes ago, Eulypion said:

Many of you guys seem to feel the La Scala are a little lacking in the bass response and I like a good bass response.

I forgot to address your comment.

 

The Khorn is so strong in the bottom end with its horn loaded 15" driver it plays like it has a sub woofer.  When used for movies it will rattle the pictures on the walls just like my 15" sealed sub does.  The La Scala will definitely not do that, I owned both. (pic below)

 

I am getting great bass in the 2.0 setup in the picture I posted just upstream ^^^.  I think that's because the two closest bass drivers are reinforcing each other.  I know my setup in not technically correct.  I am also very sure that my setup sounds great and has solid bass as pictured.

 

I would also point out the Khorn doesn't just have "bass" it has accurate bass.  Most subs are a little sloppy with an upright bass, but the Khorn is super accurate in playing acoustic string bass vs the very different sound of an electric bass guitar.

 

IMG_4604.JPG

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IMO, from a price point, you can't beat the LaScala's when paired with a decent sub. You can spend $2500 on a set of used LS's and a new PB12 plus and best a set of K-horns across the scale.  No worries of corner tucking the K's or having to enclose them and the ability to toe the LaScalas to whatever angle you want for perfect imaging.  The only miss I would have is the additional height of the K-horn, but it won't be a factor with your room size.   

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Not an easy question to answer.  Probably lots of Klipsch fans won't agree with me, but this is my personal experience:

 

1) Khorns: placement is crucial.  You should be able to seal them in a corner, and once they stand in their corners there are no more toe-in options 

2) La Scala's: more versatile as placement is concerned, with Khorn-like performance, but have the disadvantage of digging not so deep as the Khorn.  Anyway if you want bass extension down to 20 you 'll need a sub with both.  Keep in mind that you 'll need very potent subs to keep up.  So if placement options are limited La Scala's combined with powerful subs will do an outstanding job. Also both models do not need lots of power to drive them, they need amp power of very high quality.  Your friend drives his Khorns with an MC 275.  I believe you when you say they sound amazing!

3) Putting large horn loaded cabinets in a rather small room won't do them justice.  So my vote would lean towards a smaller cabinet like a Cornwall or a Forte.

 

Hope this helps ....

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I've enjoyed Heresy, Cornwall, La Scala and Klipschorns, since the mid 70s in various spaces.  As a die-hard DIYer, I kidded myself for years that my DIY single driver (Fostex 103) system (L, R, C and surrounds) supplemented by four Anarchy Exodus TH subs could do double duty as HT and 2-channel in my small basement "man cave."

 

My older son recently moved back temporarily -- that's a long story -- and brought the Heresys I refurbished for him.  Rather than put them into storage with the rest of his stuff, I brought them to the cave.  It didn't take long to realize I've been kidding myself.  While the Onkyo AVR powers the five single drivers, and an iNuke powers the four TH subs, to meet HT demands, 2-channel deserves better.

 

The Heresys, with or without the subs, sound so much better.  I'm in the process of building @ClaudeJ1's "Super Heresys" for 2-channel.  Since very little music has bass content below 32hz, I suspect the SHs will be used without the TH subs most of the time.  Since my son just started a great job -- utilizing his military and police experience -- with Olympia Entertainment, working at and for the new Little Caesar's arena, he'll be looking for a place of his own and the retro-mod Faux-Pro Heresys will go with him; motivation for me to complete the SHs.

 

As you can see from the photo, there isn't enough space -- or need -- for anything larger than Heresys.  In a perfect, world I'd opt for Jubilles with K402s and supplement those with multiple TH subs.  Failing that, I'd use the largest Heritage space permitted, supplemented by multiple TH subs.

 

PS: Is that cave cluttered enough?

 

IMG_0223.JPG

IMG_0224.JPG

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Dizrotus, how are things back in motor city? I'm from windsor but wife & family are from eastpointe. we moved west to alberta 5 years ago but still miss the D (eastern market, fox theatre, national coney island, michigan vs michigan state battles) saddened to hear about

mr. I passing, he was a true champion of Detroit, a huge loss. 

stay cool in those muggy temps & sparty on!

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