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New Owner of La Scala IIs - Couple of Q's for Other Owners?


JFHSQT

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I realize that it's probably too late to ask this now, seeing as how I just took delivery of a gorgeous new pair of walnut La Scala IIs this afternoon...

 

BUT, I am curious to hear feedback from other La Scala II owners on what it is you love about these speakers, and what do you feel makes these speakers worth the $8000 asking price?

 

I haven't done anything as far as working with position yet, running ARC for theater stuff or dialing in my subwoofer, but I am assuming from what little I've heard so far that these speakers need a bit of breaking in? 

 

I knew going in that they weren't really full range speakers with a bottom end of 52Hz, but I was kind of shocked at how lightweight the bass is for such giant speakers. At first I thought maybe I didn't connect the tops and bottoms correctly, but after cranking up the bass on my Luxman CL-40 it was clear there was something going on down there. It does seem oddly LESS bassy than my Heresy IIIs, which have about the same frequency range in the bass. It could be that it's a psychoacoustic effect, looking at such big cabs and expecting more. 

 

Anyway, these are my endgame speakers, I have wanted La Scalas ever since I got into the Heritage line with my Heresy IIIs a couple of years ago, and I was able to get full retail on a trade for my Forte IIIs and Heresy IIIs, so now I have what I've always wanted, and I want to really love these things, so I'm hoping to hear from a few of you fans that can tell me all the awesomeness in store for me, and maybe any tips to get the most out of them. 

 

I'm running an Anthem MRX 720 for my home theater and using an amp switcher to use my Luxman CL-40 preamp and PrimaLuna ProLogue 4 for two channel listening. 

 

So I am figuring, from all I've heard, that the CL-40 and PL 4 are perfect matches for the La Scala IIs, listening mostly to jazz, acoustic, and some pop. 

 

Looking forward to hearing any feedback!

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What part of the country are you located in?

 

Do you have any photos of them in your room?  That would help a lot for people to give you some advice and answers.

 

There are a lot of very happy, happy LS II owners here, with a lot of different Subs running with them.

 

Travis

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Great, I'd love to hear from them!

 

I have these in a smaller room, main listening position is 10' away. Speakers are positioned along the long wall, and unfortunately not much ability to move away or closer to the wall. I am sure it's too much speaker for this room, but we are moving next year and I hope to have these as part of a dedicated theater and listening room. For now, I have to deal with what I got. 

Also - I am located in western Virginia.

 

Here's a quick pic - again, not much has been done in terms of placement yet. 

la-scala-first-pic.jpg

Edited by JFHSQT
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I've never heard someone describe that the La Scala, specially the LSII, Isn't really a full range speaker.

I own four La Scala II's... I don't think I would pay $8000. Street price is much less than that.

 

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Depends on what you consider "full range," Schu. They miss an entire octave and a half that I have to have...but others may not. Even K'horns miss an entire octave, being good to C1. I use a horn loaded sub with mine to get to C0 for pipe organ. Full range has to include C0 as there is music down to their. PWK made it clear that the K'horn was a compromise good for 98 percent of all recorded music, and that was true at the time.  To get to C0 would have required a speaker of massive size (to meet the Six Cardinal Points), weight, and cost. 

 

Dave

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What other new manufacture speaker is a full range speaker with that criteria?

I don't think there are many, if any.

The definition of a full range speaker, as I understand it to be is, a speaker that attempts to reproduce as wide a frequency range as possible... I don't think I have ever seen exacting specification requirements to meet the definition.

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11 minutes ago, Schu said:

I've never heard someone describe that the La Scala, specially the LSII, Isn't really a full range speaker.

I own four La Scala II's... I don't think I would pay $8000. Street price is much less than that.

 

Really? It only goes down to 52Hz. The Forte IIIs go down to 38Hz. I briefly owned a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 300s that reach down to 32Hz. I think, unless you are only listening to acoustic guitar and vocals, etc you are going to be missing a lot without a subwoofer. 

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1 minute ago, Schu said:

What other new manufacture speaker is a full range speaker with that criteria?

They are there, but they never sound as good as Klipsch and cost a lot more, as they violate his basic principles which are physics. The either have greater cone excursion, and therefore distortion, or greater size and cost. As PWK said "I'll build a better speaker when they change the laws of physics." Don't hold your breath...

 

Dave

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1 minute ago, Schu said:

The use of a subwoofer isnt Germaine...

Perhaps not. Didn't review the entire thread. But if you want the full range (C0) and the best sound, Klipsch plus a horn loaded sub is the only game in town. 

Dave

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Well I must have uploaded my daily quota of MBs so I can't upload any more pics.

 

But I have had another hour and a half of critical listening and I can say, so far that they are very amazing speakers and different than anything else I've ever heard before. It's hard to describe, but the detail and dimension of every note is pretty flawless. I've always been attracted to the Heritage line for the "live music" feel but this is the first I can say I've heard speakers that actually present a live soundstage in every way, and not just a "sounds like" live experience. 

 

They are also quite different from the Heresy III and Forte IIIs I have owned previously (and sacrificed to own these). One example of something that always nagged me on those speakers was that there always seemed to be a forward glare to certain mids that didn't sound natural. Listening to the opening of "The Working Hour" by Tears for Fears, the saxophone always seemed a little harsh and grainy. 

 

Not so listening to these LSIIs... the sax is completely natural and laid back - you could still hear the reed in the instrument, but the blare and horniness of that track has just disappeared. 

 

Something else I realized was that I figured I'd work my way through my Tidal playlist and listen to 30% of every song like I always do, and skip to the next track. Not so with the LSIIs. I discovered I was listening to the entire tracks to hear how each song unfolded, tons of detail... highs seem to hang in the air. 

 

Another example, "Spain," from Chick Corea Trio's Trilogy, when the percussion instruments kick in around the 2 minute mark, the chimes and cymbals just seemed to come from nowhere and hang in the room. Pretty darn great.

 

Anyway, I haven't even listened to the Anthem yet or any home theater content. Waiting until the weekend when I can run ARC without interruption and get things dialed in further. 

 

Still very interested in hearing other owners' impressions as well.

 

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I get the same from forte II's.  I have been a long time listener of Corea and RTF, easily hearing them live more than any other name group.

 

Mallette, despite your Anglicanism, your name is French right?  So don't call you German, but don't lower yourself to English I hope.

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18 minutes ago, oldtimer said:

 

Mallette, despite your Anglicanism, your name is French right?  So don't call you German, but don't lower yourself to English I hope.

 

Right over your head. Watch a few minutes prior to that scene.

 

OP, if you are digging the LS to the point of listening to entire songs. Fire up Grant Green's Idle Moments. A match made in heaven for big Klipsch. Go pee first it is a long one...but for sure a test record

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