Jump to content

What to do with this... Type AA Xover?


HPower

Recommended Posts

A bit before Xmas I picked up a pair of VERY beat up pair of 1982 La Scalas ( almost "smurf" like 😂)

I was able to strip off all the "MacTac" vinyl and should 🤔 be able to fill and cover all the multiple imperfections.

The Xover is another story...

I so much would like to get rid of these pieces of $#!T, Type ALs.

Type AAs?...

Talking to Deang, I want AAs... but at what level/performance... ?

Jupiters... Jupiters... CopperFoil... or just VTs 🙄

 

I am also building, what I hope will be a La Scale on "Stereos / Steroids... HF-1 / K510 / Xilica active.

 

IMG_0902_50.jpg

IMG_0906_70.jpg

IMG_0908_50.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, ricktate said:

I would just put type As in them keep it simple.

Agree, especially if you are keeping the stock drivers.  You don't need anything fancy or expensive in the drivers.

 

If you do want a legit upgrade replace the XO with a Crites  A/4500  (Type A with the XO point at 4500 Hz instead of 6000 Hz) then you have to go with a better more robust tweeter.  Dropping that XO point to 4500 Hz addresses a known issue with the K-55V which was corrected with the K-55M.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Right now I am leaning to replace the ALs with a AA, but still not sure how "crazy" to go with the cap selection.

As I eluded to, I would love to put in the best Jupiter caps and be done with it, but these will probably be

my secondary speakers assuming the Peavey / K510s sound as I expect.

 

As with the FH-1 cabinets, I may laminate 1/2" Baltic Birch to at least the tops, bottoms and sides as the are pretty rough looking

now that have the vinyl crap is all removed.

Then I will decide to either Duratex them or veneer them.

 

Rick,

It looks like you re-painted you Mid horn, what paint did you use and how did you do it?

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, wvu80 said:

If you do want a legit upgrade replace the XO with a Crites  A/4500  (Type A with the XO point at 4500 Hz...

 

So, Dave... are you saying that Dean's crossovers aren't legit? 🙄

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used rustoleom liquid enamel inside and out on them. Used a brush was messy but it smooths out. I sanded the seams really good I also used an O-ring on the mid driver it doesn't stick out into horn path. I used a dowel rod with emery cloth to get down in the throat to smooth it out. The enamel also deadens the horn quite a bit if you coat the outside also. post-7905-1381971187178_thumb.jpgIMAG0304.thumb.jpg.b4a7159cd24c9c3b1ffcb74d22880d80.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I saw those listed up here a few weeks ago! Had me thinking too...

 

Like most of us on here, we aren’t afraid of a screwdriver and THEN we are inspired! And like most of us here, we are on converging paths. Horns, folded horns, and bigger horns!

 

There is nothing like a LaScala. The period in that sentence should resonate.

 

For posterity, I had ‘92 LaScalas with the AL-3 crossovers. Loved ‘em! So much so that I never even installed the A/4500 CT-125’s I bought on a whim because “the price was right”. Could not imagine them sounding any better.

 

I now own ‘86 LSI Splits. Only sold the ‘92 LaScalas because I found these, as a project, LOL! They came with the AL crossovers and K-43 woofers. At the moderate to spirited un-processed volumes I enjoy, awful would be the best way to describe them. I have been fortunate enough to stumble across some great and timely finds on THIS forum and CAM (can I say that here?) Anyway, I replaced the AL’s with the AA’s from another forum member AND the K-43’s with K-33’s and, as George Costanza says: “I’m back in business baby!”

 

I would be hard pressed to tell the difference between AA’s and AL3’s at less than concert levels. The horns are a different story though. The K-401 is the more desirable, but it was no where near as drastic, to me, as others have concluded. The K-401 just sounds “lower” to me... 

 

You will not go wrong with a pair of AA’s which come up frequently on here. (Except for the USD exchange, lol)

 

My reasoning for the switch was mobility. I wanted to be able to share the “LaScala experience” with friends, at their homes. A pristine pair of LaScalas isn’t condusive to that. A “well enjoyed” two piece speaker with handles, sweet...

 

*** As referred to in the previous post above, I wound up using a razor blade to cut out the overlap on the stock K-400 horn gaskets. O-ring is a great idea though! 

 

@HPower For the record, I have a pair of (actually TWO pairs, don’t ask... lol) A/4500 CT-125’s you may borrow at your convenience to see what it’s all about and draw your own conclusions, in your own listening environment. Don’t be shy man!

 

Tiz, if you are reading this, you are still good to go also. Like I said, the way it has unfolded, I have two pairs... sigh. Too many (or just enough, depending on how you look at it) projects lying in wait.

 

Right now I am listening to some Santana on my crude FH-1/ Kappa 15C/K-510/ Faital Pro HF200 setup. Just got a new pair of Crites passives made specificlly for the Faitals (from another great forum member here!) to replace the CS-500’s I was using. Loving the un-EQ’d highs, every now and then I can hear the noise floor - read: CLARITY! 

 

Please keep us posted on both of your projects!

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Quote

I am also building, what I hope will be a La Scale on "Stereos / Steroids... HF-1 / K510 / Xilica active.

 

 

I burst out laughing when I read this ^^^^

 

For those of you unfamiliar with the period joke reference:

 

Canada HAD a gold medal athlete in the ‘88 Olympics. He was later disqualified for steroid use. (The reality here is HE was the one that got caught... YAWN!)

 

Anyway, as the JOKE goes, when interviewed about it he responded with “I didn’t take no stereos!”

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

5 hours ago, geoff. said:

 

@HPower For the record, I have a pair of (actually TWO pairs, don’t ask... lol) A/4500 CT-125’s you may borrow at your convenience to see what it’s all about and draw your own conclusions, in your own listening environment. Don’t be shy man!

 

Wow, that's a pretty nice offer!  I used a similar combo on my Khorns and the improvement in sound was substantial.  I used a horn on top for the tweeter section so I could better time-align.  I don't think I could hear any difference but technically that time alignment was one of the areas others said need addressed.

 

SEOS 12" w/Denovo DNA-360 compression driver

 

1314365747_KhornSEOSrighttopview.thumb.JPG.d2effb3b6477f4782f252ccfdcec14f3.JPG

 

Crites A/4500

59fcd8e18fa70_CritesA-4500top01-03-17.thumb.JPG.e20ef3a0cfce7ac5e43f8bd6f7af079d.JPG

 

This is a 12" waveguide, so the compression driver is huge compared to the original K-77.  It makes for a very smooth and full mid and HF sound.

Khorn SEOS DNA-360.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, wvu80 said:
6 hours ago, Marvel said:

So, Dave... are you saying that Dean's crossovers aren't legit? 🙄

Dean said recently that he was out of the XO business.  It was my impression he built them with/for Crites, maybe I don't fully understand how that worked.

 

@Deang    I'm not trying to ruffle feathers but I don't think that is quite right.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...