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LaScala woes


tfee

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I've been a Klipsch fan since 1990 which is the year I bought a pair of KG5.2's at Alma's Hi-Fi in Dearborn, Michigan. I believe they were $900 then which was a small fortune to me on my machinists salary. I've lugging those speakers around for years and up until a couple of days ago they were my main speakers. They still sound as good as they day I bought them and I have done no work to them in 28 years. The finish on the oiled oak has gotten pretty nasty though so I decided I'd step up my Klipsch game and found a pair of LaScalas on eBay that needed some love. I bought them as-is without knowing if they even worked. I dragged them back to the Detroit area on Sunday and hooked them up and as I suspected, they are working. I have heard a lot of great things about these speakers over the years and I was expecting beautiful noises from them however they don't sound nearly as nice as my KG's. The bass is muddy, the squakers are weak and the tweeters are shrill. They are a whole lot louder than the KG's but the sound quality is not so nice. Surely there is something wrong with them otherwise they wouldn't have such a strong following. I believe they are mid eighties vintage and as far as I can tell are unmolested because they still have the K33, K55 and K77 speakers and "AL" crossovers in them. I'm now wondering if I should just let someone else fix them up or if I should start replacing cones and crossovers? I don't mind spending some more money on them if I can get them up to the same level as my KG's. Where should I start testing these speakers and what should I be looking for that may cause these these less than soulful sounds? Any Lascala experts in this forum?

 

I'd really like to fix these up and maybe even relaminate them but I want to be sure they sound amazing before I start sinking money in to them.

 

 

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Hello @tfee and welcome to the forum!

 

There will be more informed individuals along shortly, I hope...lol

 

I currently have a pair of LaScalas with the same drivers and crossovers as yours, I think mine are 88’s. Despite the AL crossovers (which are considered the least desireable) I am quite pleased with their sound. I have owned the AL-3 and AA models as well.

 

It would be best to set some time aside to dismantle them and physically check each component. If you have not matter-of-factly tightened each screw on the crossovers, it should be done.

 

I have vacuumed mice and spider nests out of all but one pair of LaScalas to cross my doorstep. Lets just say the wire mesh “bug screen” in the squakers and tweeters have sereved thier purpose nicely.A little windex on a q-tip eradicated the remnants of something else mice leave behind...

 

This is the fourth pair of LaScalas to bless my living room. Without exception, the woofer screws have needed tightening in every pair. Some could be loosened by hand! Start there for the bass. While in there shine a flashlight through all the joints. If you can see light, some PL construction adhesive is in order as caulking along the seams. I HAD to do it in one pair, and chose to in another. Without an AIR-TIGHT doghouse bass is lost. To date I have never had to replace the rubber “weather-stripping” that seals the bass bin, but you might.

 

The squakers should be ANYTHING but weak, something is up with that. Under-performing mids would make the tweeters sound hot.

 

If you have an ohm-meter, some simple checks can be done while you are doing your hands-on assessment.

 

Ask away!

 

 

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All of the above is good advice, hope you find the culprit.

Bottom line is you will never know how good they can sound while still using the AL crossover. I usually recommend rebuilding the x over, but the general consensus is that ALs are not worth the effort. I would look for A or AA. Bob Crites has both and will give you great bang for the buck. There are better ones out there but get pretty costly.

Once you have eliminated that weak link you can more readily track down any additional problems (if there are any)

Good luck, it should be fun. You will love the LS sound once you get them up to speed.

 

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Welcome to the forum.

 

Yes sir, agree with almost all of the above,  especially dump the AL's.  And yes, check all the connectors, the driver screws, etc.  You should also move the chairs or anything else directly in front of them, and it looks like you've got a big expanse of windows as well.  Reflection from those could definitely be causing you issues.  Sorry, don't mean to be a negative Nelly, just trying to be helpful.

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Thanks all, I bit the bullet and ordered a new AA crossover and will let you know if it makes a difference. I reached in to the back of one of the cabinets and pulled out a pile of lint as well so the next step is to take these out to the garage and completely pull them apart and remove all dirt and debris. I'll then stick them back together with the new crossovers and see if it makes a difference. The room set up was perfect for the old KG's but the LS's take up so much space that I can't toe them in properly. I'll redesign the cabinetry if the speakers are worth it. As for black beauty, that's a rebuilt Philips 7871 which actually sounds pretty nice. I've got a nice Sansui and a Marantz as well and the Philips is in the same league I think even though they sell for less than either.

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Nice looking receiver. 

 

I'll guess they can be made to sound similar to other LS. One thought is that speakers, like other stuff, get put on the market because they have a problem. Hopefully a repairable problem. And like I pointed out, it looks like someone has been messing with the crossovers. 

 

Let me suggest that you place them next to each other and use that nice balance control to pan back and forth.  This is just to see if one has a problem and the other doesn't.  Its a start.   Then, use a paper towel roller as an improvised stethoscope to determine whether all the horns are sounding (balance over to that side of course). 

 

WMcD

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Yesterday I fully disassembled both speakers and have been cleaning everything and looking for faults. Both the woofers were covered in lint and so were the backs of the dog houses. I am in the process of lightly sanding down the cabinets and respraying them in satin poly. There were a lot of scuffs and even some pen writing on them. There are some chips in the laminate as well and just as a precaution I reglued all the loose bits back down. The interior of the dog houses were very clean and the joints look good and sound but I caulked them all anyhow just to make sure there are no air leaks. New crossovers came in the mail on Friday thanks to Mr. Crites and I can't wait to get them in there. Even if they do sound great I'm not convinced these are keepers for me. They clearly do not fit in my living room and I don't have a basement. We shall see.

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1 hour ago, tfee said:

I did briefly consider that but the garage is at capacity or perhaps even beyond capacity. In addition to collecting vintage stereo junk I also collect vintage car junk.

Where are you located these days?  I am always interested in La Scala's in need of TLC.

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