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Keep or Upgrade? A newbie question.


dan.derby

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Careful this is a very slippery slope. If you are wanting to stay with the consumer line then I would look for some Chorus 1's or 2's next would be the Epic series either the "3" or "4" or the La Scala if you have the floor space for them. If you want to leave the lush gardens of the consumer side and jump over to the "dark side" then you should jump on either pair of KI-396's or 362's in the garage sale section and be done......at least done until you hear that sweet 402 horn on the jubs.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Paint still drying but I'm much pleased with the exterior refinish on these. Original veneer was cracking off and kinda ugly even though it look ok in a photo.  This is a pebble grain gun metal like color. Turns out that, completely by accident, the front panel color I picked almost exactly matches  the drivers.  Debating about leaving the grills off normally but the speakers are a bit overwhelming in my zen like listening room.  Was surprised to discover that they sounded much better closer to the wall than I've typically kept my LS50s.  In any case, I have a question for anyone:

 

While I love the crispness of their sound and great presence on live performances but the lower mid-range these seems a bit thin. Can that be adjusted with mods?  i.e. changes in cross over, more interior padding, weights on rear passive, anything?  I have a sub (SVS SB1000) so the bottom end works fine.

 

Thanks, Dan

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9 hours ago, parlophone1 said:

Just intetested, how would you compare LS50s with what you have now?

 

What amp did you use on LS50s? How much power?

Interesting that you should ask, I'm just now trying to establish that.  At first blush, the LS50s take more power (i.e. play louder) to open up.  Played quietly, they are pretty lacking, particularly in things like detail and sound stage. On the other hand, the KG4s play really precisely and with lots of detail quietly. A real advantage for us since I'm a stay up late guy and my wife is not.  OTOH, my (again early) impression is that the LS50s have a richer mid range and really complement well done smooth studio recordings. The KG4s, however, are really marvelous for live stuff. Lots of snap and slap...a real sense of being there.

 

I"m running a Bryston 4B SST for amplification - 400 wpc into 4 ohms.  Just got a new preamp that can run tubes or solid state so lots experimenting to do.

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Asking that since several poeple I know having LS50s reported back how these speakers need a lot of clean power.

100,150 watts minimum.

The better the amp the better they play.

One of them recently copled them with 150 watts KT150 tube amp and he is very happy. This is also his second system, for main listening he has some expensive floorstanders. Changes gear a lot.

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On November 11, 2019 at 7:44 PM, geoff. said:

Dan, my listening room is 12 x 20, my speakers have always sat along the short wall two to three feet out and form an equilateral triangle with the (prime) listening position.

 

I had gone up the food chain starting with Heresys, Forte 2s, and Cornwalls (the usual suspects) but when I finally got up the guts to chuck a weeks pay for a pair of ‘92 LaScalas my listening experience changed forever.

 

The thing that surprised me the most about such a potentially lethal speaker was how QUIETLY I could listen to the music and still become engaged.

 

In a dead quiet room the result is even more impactful.

 

If you find a good price on a pair of LaScalas you owe it to yourself, and all those you care about, lol, to give them a try. Especially with your gear. 

 

Worst case scenario, you sell them for what you paid. And half a year later after trying to convince yourself you don’t miss them you snag another pair...

I second that !! 

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  • 5 months later...

This is a great thread for a newb like myself. I've been lurking here for a while learning slowly. I also have a set of KG-4s that were a big step up from anything I'd personally had before. 

 

Thanks for the post. I look forward to watching your progression and sharing mine.

 

Thanks also to those who share their knowledge on this forum. 

 

Mike

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On 12/9/2019 at 4:55 PM, dan.derby said:

I"m running a Bryston 4B SST for amplification - 400 wpc into 4 ohms.  Just got a new preamp that can run tubes or solid state so lots experimenting to do.

 

The Brystons are nice amps.

 

I normally use some 3.5 watt 2A3 amps on my La Scalas., but at the moment have disconnected the woofers and connected so Klipsch MWM bins with two 15 inch woofers in each. While I used the tube amps with them and they are quite ok, my larger Crown amps gives some very tight bass.

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