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Should I fulfull my lifelong dream to own Klipsch speakers?


elee532

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4 hours ago, JohnKuthe said:


 $800-$1200 a pair? I paid $3000 for my pair of 1977 (I was told) La Scalas, and no I have NOT had the crossovers worked on, I just listen to them.

John Kuthe...

I had a single center LaScala in 1977. I paid a little over $600 for it with Michigan tax. You are describing the relative price of inflation.

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Guest wdecho
10 hours ago, JohnKuthe said:


 $800-$1200 a pair? I paid $3000 for my pair of 1977 (I was told) La Scalas, and no I have NOT had the crossovers worked on, I just listen to them.

John Kuthe...

What price can you put on a good time?  Supply and demand, you had a demand and found a price you were satisfied with. For better deals one has to be very patient and do a lot of searching but there are great deals to be found occasionally. Over the price of new LaScala's you saved a lot of money buying the ones you have. 

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19 hours ago, garyrc said:

People sitting off to the side may get poor imaging, without a center. 

 

I really don't care about anyone else. LOL! 🙂 Seriously though, aside from family movie night, I'm the only one that listens to the system.

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21 hours ago, wdecho said:

Cornscala's may just be the right fit for your budget. Bass may not be as tight but will go deeper anyways I often think bass is way over rated. Midrange is where music lives. You will have to finish them yourself but when you finished you will even more proud of them. If I wanted a big pair of speakers and did not have LaScala's I would seriously consider them or at least being a diy'er build a pair. https://critesspeakers.com/cornscala.html  Especially the 2 way pair with the big 2" driver. 

 

https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/178567-cornscalas/&tab=comments#comment-2298627

 

 

I'm not too concerned about "deep bass." I have two subs that can handle that. 

 

How would these Cornscala's mate with a pair of Rythmik sealed subs?

 

Do you happen to know the dimensions of the Cornscala?

 

Any other observations about the Cornscala sounds compared to the LaScala?

 

Thanks!!

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So, I thought I was sold on the idea of finding a pair of used LaScalas. However, when I approximated their size, I realized that if I toe them in at all, they end up blocking a fair amount of my screen. See images below. 

 

From all I've, read it's pretty important to toe them in. Correct?

 

I suppose for movie watching I could point them straight and toe them in for serious music listening. A bit of a hassle, but maybe worth it?!

 

Thoughts?

Corner-1.jpg

Corner-2.jpg

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I dont think LaScalas will fit your room with that big screen.....toeing them in will make it sound much better but they do not need a lot of toe in. LaScala Is are 24wide and 25 deep is your model that size??? They take up a lot of floor space for sure. I have mine currently toed in very little but its a small room.

IMAG0374.jpg

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3 hours ago, elee532 said:

So, I thought I was sold on the idea of finding a pair of used LaScalas. However, when I approximated their size, I realized that if I toe them in at all, they end up blocking a fair amount of my screen. See images below. 

 

From all I've, read it's pretty important to toe them in. Correct?

 

I suppose for movie watching I could point them straight and toe them in for serious music listening. A bit of a hassle, but maybe worth it?!

 

 

You said it perfectly, "maybe worth it?!"

 

But my best guess is it will be worth it to get that tight bass above 80 Hz.  Your movies and music will come alive with La Scalas or Khorns + some good subs (I don't know yours).

 

Your journey has begun, the game's afoot, and you are doing well.  You might want to contemplate that Harry Truman said he wanted a one armed economist, so he couldn't say, "On the other hand ..."

 

You may not have to pivot your La Scalas when changing from music to movies.  I believe your Denon AVR, being used as a pre-pro (AVP), has Audyssey XT32 (the really good one).  It may be the solution.  After running Audyssey, without toeing in the La Scalas more than a slight amount, if at all (if you can do it, do it; if you can't, don't), you can try using Audyssey FLAT.  The Audyssey people recommend Audyssey REFERENCE (plain old Audyssey) for most rooms.   Aud. Ref. provides two things you probably won't need: "midrange compensation" which provides a cut of about 2 dB at about 2K Hz, and a gradual roll-off in the high treble, -2 dB at 10 K, to -6 dB at 20 K.  Chris K, the CTO and one of the founders of Audyssey said he hasn't heard a speaker/room combination that hasn't been improved by it.  For those who disagree, like me, there is Audyssey FLAT.  In my case, it may be because we are seated slightly off axis, as you will be.  My Khorns' sound beams (a line perpendicular to the front of the speaker, starting at the center of the tweeter, and ending at the listening couch) cross a few feet in front of the couch, so we sit somewhat off-axis, like you would if you don't -- or hardly -- toe in La Scalas.  So, I use Audyssey FlAT,  which, in my room, is a dB or two above the 0 line at 10K Hz to 12K Hz, where it crosses the line, and continues to 16K Hz, at -2 dB on one Khorn and about -4 dB on the other.   Audyssey is doing its job, because not only does it sound better, it measures better.  O.K., that isn't flat, right?  Yes, but the slight roll-off it provides in my situation is less of a roll-off than Audyssey (and some others) advocate, e.g., with Audyssey REFERENCE doing the rolling off.

 

For music, I use whichever -- Reference or Flat -- sounds better on a given disk.  Unlike some speakers that veil the sound, Klipsch reveals the difference between music disks, and they can be quite different!

 

IMO, you shouldn't listen to people who say Audyssey doesn't help.  There are good arguments in favor of other options (e.g., Dirac Live -- expensive).  Audyssey requires maybe three or four careful tries to get it to work optimally in a given person's situation, defining the listening area, deciding whether you will favor certain seats, deciding which 8 mic positions are the best to use for you,  empirically testing that, dealing with the shock of the absence of your favorite room or speaker peaks, etc.  Some people just don't have the patience.  I think you do, given all of the thinking and comparing you have done to select speakers.  The best source for help (the Denon manual is terrible, unless they have improved it) is:  "Audyssey FAQ Linked Here"

 

One thing almost everyone does after running Audyssey is to crank up the bass.  As Paul Klipsch said, you can't have a "flat curve," but he meant it in the same spirit that he said that even with pontoons, "You can't land a plane on water."  To most people, flat doesn't sound right.  Harmon and others found that most people they tested not only thought that a curve with the bass about 9 dB above the highest treble was "flat," instead of the sloping curve they were hearing, and they preferred this sloped curve.  So most people turn their subwoofer up, some quite a bit.  If they have a means to turn up the bass in the front speakers (above 80), they also do that.  I don't turn down treble, for all the reasons given above re: off axis.  This all must be done AFTER running Audyssey; if it is done before, Audyssey will just turn the bass back down.  What's the point of going to all the trouble to use Audyssey for room/speaker correction, if you are then going to monkey around with the bass EQ?  Because, by running Audyssey first you have a relatively smooth curve to start with, instead of a kinky one and your boost will be a relatively smooth climb to the lowest bass.  Unless you like kinky.  Here are two versions of Harman-like curves:

image.png.af9d8e535ee18899a8cbb0275e43feed.png

image.png.b53700382473f27c85d59461d8b3c609.png

They both have too much treble cut for me.

 

Klipsch speakers [especially La Scalas and Khorns] are so efficient, that Audyssey may set them at a trim of -12 dB, the limit, and you won't know whether it would have set them even lower, if it could.  There are a couple of ways around that, so let me know if that happens to you, and I'll help.

 

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I think with that set up you’re a prime candidate for KLF-30s(lots of mods for these) or if you want new- Rf-7 IIIs which sound incredibly smooth. Something tall and skinny. Matching center on a short stand on the floor angled up.



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Janus image.docx

 

Unlike this fellow, @elee532is looking in many directions at once, as he should.

 

I think he has an acoustically transparent projection screen, so a sufficiently thin speaker would fit behind it, rather than being on the floor angled up.  The center speaker could be ear height, the best place for it, IMO.

 

 

 

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On 8/12/2018 at 7:45 PM, garyrc said:

Your journey has begun, the game's afoot, and you are doing well.  You might want to contemplate that Harry Truman said he wanted a one armed economist, so he couldn't say, "On the other hand ..."

 

 

@garyrc, I just wanted to say a quick "thank you" for this post. It gave me A LOT to think about. 🙂

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I want to thank everyone that has weighed in with feedback. You all have given me so much (too much, really! 😁) to think about! Some things I have learned...

 

If I am willing to buy used, there are a lot of Klipsch heritage speakers in my price range. 

 

Used KHorns would be an option for me if I were willing and able to either shrink OR expand my projector screen, and build a fake corner. Unfortunately, unless I want to be a single guy, I think this option is at least a few years in the future. 😁

 

I could afford brand new Forte III and still be within budget based on the amazing prices that @MetropolisLakeOutfittershas to offer. 

 

LaScala are the next best thing - or maybe even better according to some - than the KHorn. They don't quite fit my space, but I could either (1) toe them in and out depending on how serious I plan to be in my listening OR (2) get creative with Audyssey XT32 per @garyrc

 

There is a Cornscala speaker option that is within my budget, and maybe sits somewhere between a Forte and a LaScala - both in size and sound? It kind of feels like I'm "cheating" if I go this route though. 😁

 

There is an awesome community of Klipsch fans that I will join once I pull the trigger on one of these options!! 🙂

 

 

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Well, I did it. Found a pair of La Scala II 15 miles away, owner gave me a good deal, so I pulled the trigger tonight. Unfortunately I leave on vacation first thing tomorrow so it will be a week before I can play with them. 

 

BTW, my wife was a trooper in helping me carry them down to the media room. Though she was certainly not pleased by the size of these beasts. 😁

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So, to the original topic post, a resounding yes.  Found LS II's for a bargain??  Bonus.  @elee532  Do tell what your impression of them is overall.  Us discerning minds want to know, or live vicariously, either way.  The WAF will come in to play when you set them up right.  She'll be asking for you to play her fav's.  My dream world anyway.  Congrats on the purchase.

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On 8/13/2018 at 9:37 PM, Emile said:

OK ... try some ElectroVoice Interface D's :D  Some of us think they are better than KHorns

 

As someone who owned some D's for around 35 years, and as awesome as they are (and they are), I've never come across anyone who felt they bested Khorns at all.

 

In fact, when I bought my LaScalas the following year (D's in 1978, LaScalas in 1979) the LaScalas became my primary speaker and the D's became my "B" channel speaker.

 

Today, with the Jubilee's, the LaScalas are rear channels....

 

The EV's would shake your foundation with appropriate material.  Though I miss them, I gave them to my wife's nephew so they're still around.

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On 8/8/2018 at 9:52 PM, elee532 said:

Thanks much for taking the time to read my long-winded post!!

Lifelong dream, eh? What kept you? You should be buying Jubilees today, since you have been saving all your life for this. I got my Khorns when I was 23. I didn't wait my whole life for it. Not a good move on your part but there's still time...............

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