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La Scala Horn Alternatives?


Robbie010

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I have been surfing the web this afternoon looking for horns for my DIY La Scala project.

 

As I understand it, the original 400hz horns are available from Klipsch, however, a fellow forum member suggested an alternative that is available locally:

 

http://www.paudiothailand.com/uploads/pdf/products/PH-4220.pdf

 

Other than having a cut off frequency of 400Hz, are there any other specifications for the horn that should be met?

 

Thanks.

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If you are starting from the ground up, I would suggest looking at a constant dispersion (CD) horn and maybe going for a two way design. Such horns are made by Klipsch (difficult to buy) and JBL ( little easier to obtain) and Electrovoice etc. 

 

If you do go this route, it would be easier if you got a DSP crossover also (one thing leads to another). You will need to do some reading before you start collecting parts. 

 

Part of the problem you will face is that the La Scala does not go up very high in frequency so the high frequency horn has to cover a sizable chunk of the spectrum. 

 

My suggestion is only for the dedicated, since you will need to study up on things and also get comfortable with measurement equipment ...... However the combination of a horn loaded bass bin and a CD horn can be incredible (if it is designed as a system and not just tossing parts around). 

 

Good Luck,

-Tom

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4 hours ago, PrestonTom said:

If you are starting from the ground up, I would suggest looking at a constant dispersion (CD) horn and maybe going for a two way design. Such horns are made by Klipsch (difficult to buy) and JBL ( little easier to obtain) and Electrovoice etc. 

 

If you do go this route, it would be easier if you got a DSP crossover also (one thing leads to another). You will need to do some reading before you start collecting parts. 

 

Part of the problem you will face is that the La Scala does not go up very high in frequency so the high frequency horn has to cover a sizable chunk of the spectrum. 

 

My suggestion is only for the dedicated, since you will need to study up on things and also get comfortable with measurement equipment ...... However the combination of a horn loaded bass bin and a CD horn can be incredible (if it is designed as a system and not just tossing parts around). 

 

Good Luck,

-Tom


 

 

3 hours ago, HPower said:

But, as Tom stated, deviating from the standard will require sorting out your crossover.

My 2 set-ups above, both utilize an active xover (Xilica, XP4080) with DSP to make them shine.

 

Thank you both. 
 

This will be my first build and I was hoping to stay fairly faithful to the original la scala. There are a number of reasons for that, one being that the speakers will take a front and centre position in out living space, so I need them not to be too outlandish. Second, the reason I’m building my own horns is for sensitivity, as I plan to drive them with low power 300B amps, so active crossovers are a no. 
 

Surely Klipsch can’t be the only company that makes a 400hz horn that fits the bill?

 

I was looking to build my own Type AA crossovers, so any tweaks needed to accommodate for a different horn should not be too difficult. 
 

 

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5 hours ago, Randyh said:

,  maybe not , but the k400/K401 have been  used  in the Khorn  and the LaScala since  1963 ---------2020  -

 

 

I tried emailing Klipsch about the modern K401 horn to find out costs etc but that was 4 or 5 days ago and I've had no response as yet.

 

The fact that these horns have been in use for so long must be testement to the love that people have for their Klipsch products, as there has only been one pair of used K400 horns for sale on ebay in the last 6 months and they sold for over $270 in the US. I can't wait another 6 months for a pair of K400's to come along, so I need to find an alternative........ or have a go at building my own. 

 

 

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If you are going to build your own you are way above my paygrade. On the other hand, I know lots of people were experimenting with Altec 511B horns. I bought a pair for a project that never developed. They use a 2" driver IIRC, that can be a big help. I believe it could be a two step process. Start off with 511 horns and adaptors for 1" to 2" drivers. See if you like it with the stock Klipsch mid driver, adaptor and K-55. If so find an even better 2" driver you like. Fun to see how different things sound and maybe learn a thing or two along the way. Sorry if this has no application to your project. I have the horns and adaptors.

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As a point of reference to the above, The 511B is not a 2 inch throat (it is smaller). There was a 2 inch version called the 511E, but those are fairly obscure. 

There used to be a good deal of K-400's available from folks building Cornscalas and then  substituting more modern horns. Has that market dried up?

 

Good Luck,

-Tom

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19 minutes ago, PrestonTom said:

As a point of reference to the above, The 511B is not a 2 inch throat (it is smaller).

 

Thanks for clearing that up. It has been a while since I embarked on that project. Perhaps it was just that you needed an adaptor to make the Klipsch mid-driver mate to the horn. At any rate, thought that might be a way to get a well regarded mid horn and not stray too far from his LS roots. Horns and adaptors available if that makes the OPs life any easier.

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3 hours ago, hanksjim1 said:

I've seen mention on the forum about the Electro Voice HP 640 and 940 horns...might be worth a search...lots out there for a reasonable price

The HP 640 is a good horn. You can find them on eBay. It has a two inch throat and will control directivity in the horizontal down to 500Hz, and in the vertical down to 2kHz

 

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The crossover frequency should be about an octave above cut-off so the horn is still working in the overlap between woofer and squawker.  The K-400s cut-off is about 260 Hz when mounted on a baffle. 

 

Klipsch was selling K-401s for about $US40 each not long ago. 

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You could go the JubScala route, replacing the stock K400 and K-77 with a 510 (small) or 402 (huge) horn with a K-69-A or K-691 (preferred) compression driver and go 2-way.

 

However, this requires bi-amping, so you'll need two compatible power amps, as well as a digital processor, like an E-V Dx38, a Yamaha 2060, or one of the new Xilica units.  It's not cheap, but the results sound great!

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21 minutes ago, JohnA said:

The crossover frequency should be about an octave above cut-off so the horn is still working in the overlap between woofer and squawker.  The K-400s cut-off is about 260 Hz when mounted on a baffle. 

 

Klipsch was selling K-401s for about $US40 each not long ago. 


previous posts suggest Klipsch will not sell parts?? 

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