Mike LaScalahead Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 Purchased them in NATO Base in Italy and shipped from Hope Arkansas to my home. The specs on them were 250 watts per channel plus or minus 10 dB. The 3 best soundings speakers there were was Infinity’s Reference standard the Klipschorn and the LaScalas, at the time their prices were 10k, 3k,and1.2k respectively and I got the LaScalas. But now as I try to refurbish them I can’t seem to get replacement parts I get replacement kits from the mfgr. One would think you could get replacements from the mfgr or information where I could get a replacement it’s almost like if I want replacements I have to buy new speakers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babadono Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 In most cases replacements or better than(my opinion) standard factory parts are available. What are you trying to replace? Of course time marches on and Klipsch may not have various certain parts for a 35 year old speaker. CritesSpeakers is a good source for replacement diaphragms etc... People on the forum here will be happy to help. So what are you trying to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjimbo Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 1 hour ago, Mike LaScalahead said: Purchased them in NATO Base in Italy and shipped from Hope Arkansas to my home. The specs on them were 250 watts per channel plus or minus 10 dB. The 3 best soundings speakers there were was Infinity’s Reference standard the Klipschorn and the LaScalas, at the time their prices were 10k, 3k,and1.2k respectively and I got the LaScalas. But now as I try to refurbish them I can’t seem to get replacement parts I get replacement kits from the mfgr. One would think you could get replacements from the mfgr or information where I could get a replacement it’s almost like if I want replacements I have to buy new speakers Mike, first of all, welcome to the forum. Many members here have collected parts of one thing or another over the last many years. Just let us know what you would like to do with your speakers and we will be happy to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 5 hours ago, Mike LaScalahead said: Purchased them in NATO Base in Italy and shipped from Hope Arkansas to my home. The specs on them were 250 watts per channel plus or minus 10 dB. The 3 best soundings speakers there were was Infinity’s Reference standard the Klipschorn and the LaScalas, at the time their prices were 10k, 3k,and1.2k respectively and I got the LaScalas. But now as I try to refurbish them I can’t seem to get replacement parts I get replacement kits from the mfgr. One would think you could get replacements from the mfgr or information where I could get a replacement it’s almost like if I want replacements I have to buy new speakers I did 3 years in Vicenza 73-76, as a paratrooper....long, long time ago! The LaScala II replaced them around 20 years ago...so exactly which "parts" need replacing? Did yours come with K-33 or K-43 woofers? and what year did you purchase them? Lots of parts are available, some upgrades are also available...pics of your needs and the speakers, themselves wouild be a big help in determining what you need....and why you need it. I left Klipsch in fall of 1983, so your tweeters should have still been K77M's which may or may not have included the old "Z-kit" for front mounting....You probably have the old aluminum-alloy cast K-400 midrange horns, but you COULD opt for the K-401 replacements. Your balancing networks probably need at least a re-furbishing...depending on how bad they look...and if your woofers are not damaged or blown, then they SHOULD still be good to go! All Lascalas really NEED is a decent 5 wpc channel to rock the entire neighborhood! Just because they "can handle" 250 WPC doesn't mean they NEED anywhere near that much going into them! Lots of form members are perfectly satisfied with an old mid 1970's H/K 730 twin-powered receiver pushing them...(very conservatively) rated at 35 wpc...sometimes less is actually MORE....if you get my drift.😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 You've got your specs mixed up a bit: the 250 watts and +- 10dB aren't related. The first is the power handling of the speakers and the second is the variance in frequency output within the LaScala's range that it can produce (such as 60Hz-17kHz +- 10dB) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike LaScalahead Posted November 1, 2019 Author Share Posted November 1, 2019 My LaScalas were purchased in 1984 and I’m just trying to refurbish them back to original if possible. Thru the years they’ve taken a beating, they held their own during their stereo wars days, we’ve seen the Bose 901s go up in smoke along with the jbls the pioneers the kenwoods etc etc, I have never regretted buying Klipsch, I always thought if you ordered a part for something you got that part my crossover is a type al the woofers of course are k-33-E with the square magnet can’t seem to get new ones of them from Klipsch any more tried to order new tweeters and got diaphragm kits, why can’t I just get the tweeters or squeakers for that matter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike LaScalahead Posted November 1, 2019 Author Share Posted November 1, 2019 18 minutes ago, wuzzzer said: You've got your specs mixed up a bit: the 250 watts and +- 10dB aren't related. The first is the power handling of the speakers and the second is the variance in frequency output within the LaScala's range that it can produce (such as 60Hz-17kHz +- 10dB) You mean 38 to 17khz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 Bob Crites sells replacement goodies if Klipsch is no help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike LaScalahead Posted November 1, 2019 Author Share Posted November 1, 2019 1 hour ago, HDBRbuilder said: I did 3 years in Vicenza 73-76, as a paratrooper....long, long time ago! The LaScala II replaced them around 20 years ago...so exactly which "parts" need replacing? Did yours come with K-33 or K-43 woofers? and what year did you purchase them? Lots of parts are available, some upgrades are also available...pics of your needs and the speakers, themselves wouild be a big help in determining what you need....and why you need it. I left Klipsch in fall of 1983, so your tweeters should have still been K77M's which may or may not have included the old "Z-kit" for front mounting....You probably have the old aluminum-alloy cast K-400 midrange horns, but you COULD opt for the K-401 replacements. Your balancing networks probably need at least a re-furbishing...depending on how bad they look...and if your woofers are not damaged or blown, then they SHOULD still be good to go! All Lascalas really NEED is a decent 5 wpc channel to rock the entire neighborhood! Just because they "can handle" 250 WPC doesn't mean they NEED anywhere near that much going into them! Lots of form members are perfectly satisfied with an old mid 1970's H/K 730 twin-powered receiver pushing them...(very conservatively) rated at 35 wpc...sometimes less is actually MORE....if you get my drift.😉 I have been perfectly content with my Kenwood Basic M-2 Amp and pre-amp set up Nakamichi Cassette Teac R2R Denon TT DBXType 2NR I had it going on 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 36 minutes ago, Mike LaScalahead said: You mean 38 to 17khz Well...the extreme bottom-end roll-off for LaScalas like yours begins to drastically happen at around 55-60 hz...that's why so many people feel a need to add subwoofers to cover what the design parameters of the LaScala bass horn lens does NOT cover. K-horns go further down than that before low end begins an extreme rolling off...close to what you state as 38hz...depending on how they are installed and room issues. First thing I would do if I was you is to get rid of that AL network and go back to an AA network, which preceded the AL network...which will "even out" the overall performance of the LaScala much better. The AL network is extremely bright in the mids...actually TOO BRIGHT for my tastes....and the tastes of many others. AA network performance will be an improvement which you will notice immediately!! The K-77M tweeters have not been available for many years now...EV sold the tooling, for them about 20? years or more ago...and for a time they were still built by the tooling purchasers, but that ended not too long afterwards...it really is a pity, too! Klipsch can't make available what is now "unobtainium"! Your mid-drivers should still be fine...but the original versions of the K-33E like yours will force you to go to ebay or a vendor who is selling a "direct replacement" most likely. Eminence is the maker of your K33E woofers...they are now one of if not THE largest woofer maker on the planet! They will have something you can use as an almost or exact replacement for your K-33E's, though....if you cannot get them from Klipsch anymore. If you intend to push piles of wattage into the LaScalas, you may want to opt for the K-43 woofers instead (also made by Eminence!)...which were standard fare for the industrial pro-versions of the LaScala...and hold up better under heavy wattage input! BTW, when I left active duty in mid-June 1976, I went to work building Klipsch speakers about two or three weeks afterwards...for the next 7.5 years....leaving the company in October of 1983. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 43 minutes ago, Mike LaScalahead said: I have been perfectly content with my Kenwood Basic M-2 Amp and pre-amp set up Nakamichi Cassette Teac R2R Denon TT DBXType 2NR I had it going on Yeah, I understand...I kinda had it "going on" with my equipment when I left Italy, too! I still have it all, except the JBL's were the first to go in 1976 right after I started working at Klipsch! Teac A2340-R reel deck, DBX II model 124 NR unit, yadda, yadda, yadda...LOL! But my quad receiver (H/K 900+) only pushes 32 wpc in quad mode, four channels driven...which is MORE than enough for bigtime street parties with LaScalas! You'll find a wealth of REAL GOOD info on this forum...so welcome! My best suggestion is to read everything you can on the forum about what you have as a problem during your LaScala restorations...and maybe add 1/2 " of Baltic birch to each side of them...to stiffen up the sides to eliminate some of the audible resonance issues at certain frequencies....or just add into the bass bin some "wings reinforcements"...which CAN accomplish the same thing...if done correctly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 3 hours ago, Mike LaScalahead said: You mean 38 to 17khz I was just using my figures as an example. Power rating and a speakers linear (or as close to linear as possible) output over a frequency range are not in any way related. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwc Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 I used to have 84 la scalas. The 1st thing to consider to replace is the AL network. I changed that out and I did nothing else after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 Welcome, Mike! Unless greatly overdriven, the drivers (K-33, K-55, K-77) are probably fine. That's not to say they are indestructable, but good chance they are fine. The crossover will need some checking, though, as the old oil filled capacitors are quite possibly way out of spec. Do you any tools to check values, i.e., a digital multimeter? It won't need to be an expensive one. You can loosen, remove connection one driver at a time at measure the DCR (DC Resistance) on each driver for a basic check to see if they are ok. This also helps clean the terminal connex as you retighten the screws. I'll be back later... time to get ready for work. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudeJ1 Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 8 hours ago, HDBRbuilder said: If you intend to push piles of wattage into the LaScalas, you may want to opt for the K-43 woofers instead (also made by Eminence!)...which were standard fare for the industrial pro-versions of the LaScala...and hold up better under heavy wattage input! You forgot to mention the most important aspect of a K-43...............the MIDRANGE performance is up by about 3 db for greater clarity because of the higher BL product. I discovered this in my LaScalas about 12 years ago. Because of this, I found the Eminence Kappa 15C to be the best replacement woofer you can get with improved sonics, and at about $100 each from Parts Espress, they are a true bargain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 5 hours ago, ClaudeJ1 said: You forgot to mention the most important aspect of a K-43...............the MIDRANGE performance is up by about 3 db for greater clarity because of the higher BL product. I discovered this in my LaScalas about 12 years ago. Because of this, I found the Eminence Kappa 15C to be the best replacement woofer you can get with improved sonics, and at about $100 each from Parts Espress, they are a true bargain! And that is with the AA type network, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudeJ1 Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 3 hours ago, HDBRbuilder said: And that is with the AA type network, right? yes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emile Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 18 hours ago, Mike LaScalahead said: Kenwood Basic M-2 Amp and pre-amp Yeah ... got the same set and LOVE them Use them with CF-3's. BTW, welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 Klipsch has no service department. Please email bobcrites@gmail.com. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 Bruce, I don't think I said anything wrong. People tell people to call Klipsch, who then find out they have to go elsewhere to get what they need. No one wants to talk about the elephant in the room. If I need my old chevy fixed, I don't take it to GM or to a dealer, I take it somewhere where I know I can get it fixed at a reasonable cost -- and I sure don't see GM having a meltdown over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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