Large spades in tight places, La Scalas on suspended floor

[Erik Mandaville]

Thought I saw a post (was it yours, KH?) recently where the spades on speaker cables were making a decent connection, but not fitting quite properly. Easy to fix: Get a pair of side cutters and trim off about 1/16" from each rounded side as needed until they slide into the slot. Cheap and easy to do.

After a week with the La Scalas, we have enjoyed them very much -- listening has become really quite an adventure! There is a distinct completeness to the sound that was not evident with the still very capable Lowthers, especially in terms of bass response with cello, organ, string bass, etc. But I have a concern: On some material, we are getting some boominess with the speakers on our suspended, 2nd story wooden floor -- enough that the room gets a bit overloaded. Is de-coupling with spikes perhaps a solution to this? Any similar shared experiences would be very much appreciated. The La Scalas are extremely fine, but need to be custom-fit just a bit to the room they are in.

Thanks!

Erik

[mobile homeless]

What kind of boominess? Sounds like certain nodes are exciting resonances in your listening area. Or is is just a general lack of definition in the lows with some stuff? I dont think the floor is your answer here. But it doesnt hurt to try to place your speakers on six cones if you have them around. I did this with my Cornwalls as EVER single regular speaker I own is either spiked on the base or is placed on sand/shot filled spiked stands. My CW's have the optional risers with metal disc feet. I thought I would go ahead and get them "right" by placing them on cones to increase definition across the board, both low and high (actually midgrange as well on most speakers).

REsult? I did not like the sound of my CW on cones/spikes. IT was a strange find and quite the opposite of what I expected. Then I talked to a few others with other kinds of horns, namely an owner of Galante Buckinghams who found the same result. I noticed a slight hardening to the sound with a less relaxed presentation. The speakers lost a bit of their presence and magic. I didnt WANT this to be but it was the case... I removed the cones and actually ended up placing WINE CORKS of all things. This brought about an improvement.

As for your problem, have you tried moving the speakers to different locations or repositioning them and then trying some of the same material? And if you have the cones, give them a whirl. It might bring different results there.

As for the spades issue, that can be done if you want to give up that speaker wire being used on other speakers, 99.9% of which have 5-way binding posts. I ultimately think the best cure here is to install the binding posts as it will greatly improve the contact area and is a no brainer upgrade, allowing you to then try many different types of cable as well. But if you do feel like sacraficing the spades for future use then it is an definite option. Also, some spades, like the Rhodium Kimber or Cardas, do not cut like that at all (ditto for the thick spades also used in wire like transparent etc). I imagine you could grind them down but not sure if the cutting would do the trick. I was wondering, do you still use contractor ROMEX home wiring material? I remember you liked this in the past.

kh

ps - Are you getting the boominess with the Moondogs AND the ASUSA unit? Was wondering if you were going to install an extra set of speaker outs from the 2A3 amps for 16 and 8 ohms... Not much room on the WL plate really.

[HDBRbuilder]

Erik....

Do your LaScalas sit directly on a wooden floor? If so, then turn them upside down...and pry out the four gliders on the bottom of them...then run down to Walmart, and get a package of those little round neoprene thingies that you put on the bottom of furniture...wherever you took off those gliders...put one of those neoprene thingies...and also put one dead center of the bottom panel...They are called Grippers and you will find them where you find other things for the bottom of furniture in the hardware section...get the 1-1/2" diameter ones...they will help out in your problem!! Gliders should never be on the bottom of LaScalas...or for that matter, any Klipsch speakers...if they are sitting on tile or wooden floors...gliders are for carpeted floors. As matter of fact...if the Grippers tend to help out in the problem, you may be well-advised to remove them and replace them with a perimeter of stripping of the same kind of material put on the bottom perimeter of the base of the speaker...about 1/2"-3/4" in from the edge there...and, of course, a smaller square of it in the center of the bottom....it will make a better seal to the floor and will definitely show you an audible difference in the bass response!! Trust me on this!! It is a cheap fix, too!!

Kelly....

Now I see why you speak of your Cornwalls as "vintage"...with those wine corks and all...LOL! I guess that makes me a "vintage speaker builder"...huh?

[Deang]

Nice solution HD.

I was thinking that some form of decoupling is usually necessary to get a superior quality out of the bass. OTOH, since the Scalas already have a limited response on the bass end of things -- some direct contact with the floor is probably beneficial. Seems like "the grippers" are certainly the ideal solution.

Spades: I almost died when I saw Kelly's pic of his spades hanging off of the terminals by a molecule or less.

I would use some emery cloth and a small dowel rod and slowly take off the metal until they "slipped" on.

[mobile homeless]

That picture was deceptive. There is a lot more contacting the terminal then you would think! It was touching the screw and the area of metal beneath, but only on one side of the spade. And it is so tight, you cannot PULL them off...believe me...a swine 8 year old tried.

I think the 5 way binding post is one of the BEST upgrades for Klipsch. Makes perfect sense in all ways and is not that difficult to install.

I actually think the corks offer more benefit personally then the pad, which would be seriously compressed from the weight after a short time.

kh

[jnorv]

When I first started listening to my La Scalas a year so back, I too was unhappy with the low end. I traced it to sidewall resonance. I cured it by cutting some large 30 degree wedges and inserting them between the sidewalls and the doghouse. Cut right , they are a drive fit and need no glue. Resonance disappeared. I have also had luck with suspending my downward firing sub from the ceiling.

Jim N

[mike stehr]

'I think the 5 way binding post is one of the BEST upgrades for Klipsch. Makes perfect sense in all ways and is not that difficult to install.'

Have you put binders on your Cornwalls yet?

This is a good upgrade for any speaker of interest, especially older vintage.

Terminal blocks aren't that bad, but those spring clips are worthless!

[Erik Mandaville]

Thanks to all for your thoughts and suggestions. I'll give them all a try and see what works the best for this. Cork and neoprene pads are both pretty inexpensive, which is a consideration for me right now.

Have a good Sunday,

Erik

[HDBRbuilder]

Undue vibration in wooden panels has to have some way to be absorbed...so that it isn't transmitted to the air in the form of soundwaves. The neoprene pads like the grippers will not only provide a better floor contact than the gliders...on solid floors with no carpeting...but they will also provide a point of absorption for those unwanted vibrations...providing all the joints on the cabinets are also still solid. Grippers are neoprene, but a pretty stiff neoprene...not like wetsuit stuff...They are about 3/16" thick and will probably only compress to about 1/8" thick with LaScala weight on them over time. As with any base material...the more you use, the fewer lbs per square inch are applied to each one! Either way, they are "peel-n-stick" items and are a cheap fix. They also provide a better coupling to the solid floor so that the low-end response improves as the floor carries it for you...while still retaining vibration(resonances) absorption qualities.