Jump to content

Dressing up La Scala Industrials for home use


Head Lobster

Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, billybob said:

Exactly, a theme room. Meanwhile tell the wife black is in again.

 

Unless she's caucasian??  That might be misconstrued.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, jimjimbo said:

There would be a large bonfire before that ever happened......

 

One of my hobbies...

Fire.jpg

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My wife was not crazy about black industrial boxes either. I got a gallon of tintable Duratex though and had it tinted to a light brown and that was fine. It will be a bit hard and messy to get to all the visible areas but the brown does look much nicer than black.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/6/2020 at 4:46 PM, Head Lobster said:

I just inherited a pair of La Scala Industrials that are in pristine condition sonic-wise and electronics-wise; however, my wife isn't too happy about the rough black finish and big white Klipsch decals sticking out in our large living room. Any ideas on how I can dress them up?  Her idea is to but a wood veneer on them - not a bad idea but I'm worried that would alter the sound. Same with building an enclosure for them. Any ideas out there?

Did you decide what course of action to do with these speakers ----

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/7/2020 at 4:38 AM, Coytee said:

Sell them to someone that can appreciate (or use) them as designed.....  then, buy yourself a nice spanking new pair of LaScala II's and get a finish she would be proud of.

 

Unfortunately, though there are differences, you are then paying cash to simply change aesthetics as the sound will be similar (the II's would likely sound a bit better though)

 

 

Coytee, I should point out that La Scala IIs sound very noticeably better than “1st generation” models.  That stiffer 1” bass horn does produce more and better bass than the 3/4” panels of the original horn, even though the low frequency rolloff is very similar.  I feel that I can say that with authority, because I’ve got a pair of each model operating in my living room.  Both types have served as main Left and Right speakers, and both pairs have been upgraded to JubScala spec, although the original La Scalas are back to stock configuration.

 

At present, both pairs are in daily service.  The LS2s are Main Left and Right, while the original LS are in the Surround Left and Right positions.  Apart from the improved sound, the La Scala IIs are much better-looking speakers.  Their Lacquered Walnut finish dresses up the room, while the Utility Finish Black of the original La Scalas means they look best behind the sofa, where they’re less noticeable.

 

This is not just my opinion.  Quite a few other Forum members have reported the same improvements in the newer model, and I seem to recall a certain chief engineer at Klipsch saying the same thing.  So, getting a pair of LS2s might be just the ticket to increased happiness in your home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, Islander said:

I should point out that La Scala IIs sound very noticeably better than “1st generation” models.  That stiffer 1” bass horn does produce more and better bass than the 3/4” panels of the original horn, even though the low frequency rolloff is very similar.

I totally agree.

 

I was chatting with Mr. Hunter when I was at a get together in Hope...  asked him about this.  He said they are the same but the vibration of the sidewalls of the older version is destructive.  If you can stiffen them, they should/would sound the same as the newer versions (new drivers/crossovers not withstanding).

 

So if someone like me, has an old pair (1979) I could stiffen them up and noticeable improve their sound, specifically making it "sound" like there's almost another octave of bass there.  It's already there....  just hidden by the vibrations of the sides.

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Coytee said:

 

So if someone like me, has an old pair (1979) I could stiffen them up and noticeable improve their sound, specifically making it "sound" like there's almost another octave of bass there.  It's already there....  just hidden by the vibrations of the sides.

 

 

braces are the easiest mod , but they look really ugly - adding 1/2 inch BB stiffens the cab and gives the speaker a wider stance -slightly squarer look -

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, RandyH000 said:

braces are the easiest mod , but they look really ugly - adding 1/2 inch BB stiffens the cab and gives the speaker a wider stance -slightly squarer look -

 

It's already a very tight fit.  I think I have about an inch total to fit the right side speaker.  Fits between the studs fine, it's the support for the stairwell that cuts the corner making it just barely fit.

 

 

Grills 1.jpg

P2.jpg

1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"

I totally agree.

 

I was chatting with Mr. Hunter when I was at a get together in Hope...  asked him about this.  He said they are the same but the vibration of the sidewalls of the older version is destructive.  If you can stiffen them, they should/would sound the same as the newer versions (new drivers/crossovers not withstanding).

 

So if someone like me, has an old pair (1979) I could stiffen them up and noticeable improve their sound, specifically making it "sound" like there's almost another octave of bass there.  It's already there....  just hidden by the vibrations of the sides."

 

1000% agree and every set of La Scalas I get leaves here now with either braces or like a set I am working on right now with 25mm BB sides motorboard and top. The difference is huge and you would swear you picked up lower hz. What has happened is you ended side wall resonance which makes the bass you do have much clearer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Coytee said:

 

It's already a very tight fit.  I think I have about an inch total to fit the right side speaker.  Fits between the studs fine, it's the support for the stairwell that cuts the corner making it just barely fit.

 

 

 

 scala's are not small speakers --------hiding them is a great idea

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Dave A said:

I was chatting with Mr. Hunter when I was at a get together in Hope...  asked him about this.  He said they are the same but the vibration of the sidewalls of the older version is destructive.  If you can stiffen them, they should/would sound the same as the newer versions (new drivers/crossovers not withstanding).

 

So if someone like me, has an old pair (1979) I could stiffen them up and noticeable improve their sound, specifically making it "sound" like there's almost another octave of bass there.  It's already there....  just hidden by the vibrations of the sides."

 

1000% agree and every set of La Scalas I get leaves here now with either braces or like a set I am working on right now with 25mm BB sides motorboard and top. The difference is huge and you would swear you picked up lower hz. What has happened is you ended side wall resonance which makes the bass you do have much clearer.

 

There may be more difference between the original LS and the LS2 than the thicker horn and cabinet panels.  If the extra stiffness of the 1” MDF was the only difference, then there would be little audible improvement in the bass at low volume, because the woofer’s not producing enough energy to excite any resonance in the side panels.  And yet the improved bass of the LS2 is obvious from the first minute they start to work.  If the woofer is the same, the difference must be in the crossover, and I can tell you that the AL4 crossover is a much more complex piece than the AA crossovers in my older La Scalas.

 

Also, I would point out that 1” BB is not as stiff as 1” MDF, so you’d need to go to at least 1-1/4” BB to get the equivalent stiffness.  Also, Klipsch built two prototypes of the LS2, one of MDF and one of plywood.  After testing, they went with the MDF, because they found it sounded better.  Both prototypes were sold later, to happy customers in both cases.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Islander said:

 

There may be more difference between the original LS and the LS2 than the thicker horn and cabinet panels.  If the extra stiffness of the 1” MDF was the only difference, then there would be little audible improvement in the bass at low volume, because the woofer’s not producing enough energy to excite any resonance in the side panels.  And yet the improved bass of the LS2 is obvious from the first minute they start to work.  If the woofer is the same, the difference must be in the crossover, and I can tell you that the AL4 crossover is a much more complex piece than the AA crossovers in my older La Scalas.

 

Also, I would point out that 1” BB is not as stiff as 1” MDF, so you’d need to go to at least 1-1/4” BB to get the equivalent stiffness.  Also, Klipsch built two prototypes of the LS2, one of MDF and one of plywood.  After testing, they went with the MDF, because they found it sounded better.  Both prototypes were sold later, to happy customers in both cases.

I disagree. 25MM BB is super stiff and very resistant to shock and water damage. I assume the latest La Scala has improvements beyond just thicker  (UGH!!) MDF but according to the spec sheet only goes down to 51hz which is not as low as earlier ones which went to 45hz. Eliminating side wall resonance does give the impression of lower bass but all it is is the elimination of the resonance that masked the bass that was there to begin with.

 

  Baltic Birch will survive considerable abuse and MDF will not survive one potted plant or drop of moderate severity. I have handled hundreds of sets of speakers now and the survivability of plywood over MDF has been proven to me time and time again. Yes I know these things are not supposed to happen but they do.

La-Scala-2018-Spec-Sheet-v01.pdf Heresy-II-La-Scala-Belle-Klipsch-brochure-and-specs.pdf

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you’ve worked with both materials and found an equal thickness of plywood to be stiffer than MDF, I won’t argue with you.  I haven’t done that test myself.  I also prefer BB over MDF, for the reasons you stated.  I like my speakers, especially my most expensive speakers, to be at least kind of tough, but these LS2s are not.  However, they’re tough enough for living room service, and I’d never put a potted plant on any speaker, anyway.

 

Even so, things happen.  Years ago, my dad placed a half-full pop can on the top of my Left original La Scala, in the black utility finish.  It left a ring, but with about half an hour of buffing, I was able to get rid of the ring.  I don’t want to think about what would have happened, had he happened to put it on one of the LS2s.  Luckily, those two main speakers have 402 horns sitting on them now, with homemade stands that cover the whole tops of the speakers, so the veneer is no longer at risk.

 

Klipsch’s decision to go with MDF (I don’t like the stuff, either) likely had to do with consistency, in part at least.  BB comes with voids, and the thicker it is, the more voids you get.  This means that some plywood will be rejected, especially if the design or production engineer is really trying to produce top quality speakers.  Maybe the rejection rate got to be too high.  As well, in a factory setting, cutting MDF instead of BB can produce more accurate sizes and shapes of panels, which is a really good thing.

 

As for the bass resonance issue, it may be splitting hairs, but I see it as a situation where the bass horn has a designed and tested frequency response, but when the volume comes up, the side panel resonance is excited, changing some of the woofer’s acoustic energy into kinetic and heat energy.  Eliminating, or at least greatly reducing, the effects of that resonance allows all of the energy being put out by the woofer to appear as acoustic energy, allowing us to hear all the bass power that PWK meant the La Scala bass horn to produce.

 

In a way, it’s like building a race engine.  You want all the power to go to the wheels, of course, but if the engine is not well-balanced, some of its power will instead be wasted in shaking the engine and the car or bike it’s sitting in.  By eliminating, or at least greatly reducing, that vibration,  you can actually let the engine produce more power that goes to the wheels, where it belongs.

 

Hmm, that just kind of rephrases what you were saying.  Anyway, that’s how it looks and sounds to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Islander said:

If you’ve worked with both materials and found an equal thickness of plywood to be stiffer than MDF, I won’t argue with you.  I haven’t done that test myself.  I also prefer BB over MDF, for the reasons you stated.  I like my speakers, especially my most expensive speakers, to be at least kind of tough, but these LS2s are not.  However, they’re tough enough for living room service, and I’d never put a potted plant on any speaker, anyway.

 

Even so, things happen.  Years ago, my dad placed a half-full pop can on the top of my Left original La Scala, in the black utility finish.  It left a ring, but with about half an hour of buffing, I was able to get rid of the ring.  I don’t want to think about what would have happened, had he happened to put it on one of the LS2s.  Luckily, those two main speakers have 402 horns sitting on them now, with homemade stands that cover the whole tops of the speakers, so the veneer is no longer at risk.

 

Klipsch’s decision to go with MDF (I don’t like the stuff, either) likely had to do with consistency, in part at least.  BB comes with voids, and the thicker it is, the more voids you get.  This means that some plywood will be rejected, especially if the design or production engineer is really trying to produce top quality speakers.  Maybe the rejection rate got to be too high.  As well, in a factory setting, cutting MDF instead of BB can produce more accurate sizes and shapes of panels, which is a really good thing.

 

As for the bass resonance issue, it may be splitting hairs, but I see it as a situation where the bass horn has a designed and tested frequency response, but when the volume comes up, the side panel resonance is excited, changing some of the woofer’s acoustic energy into kinetic and heat energy.  Eliminating, or at least greatly reducing, the effects of that resonance allows all of the energy being put out by the woofer to appear as acoustic energy, allowing us to hear all the bass power that PWK meant the La Scala bass horn to produce.

 

In a way, it’s like building a race engine.  You want all the power to go to the wheels, of course, but if the engine is not well-balanced, some of its power will instead be wasted in shaking the engine and the car or bike it’s sitting in.  By eliminating, or at least greatly reducing, that vibration,  you can actually let the engine produce more power that goes to the wheels, where it belongs.

 

Hmm, that just kind of rephrases what you were saying.  Anyway, that’s how it looks and sounds to me.

 

  One day I was sanding down an LS and when I got to the middle front of the sides the noise from the orbital sander was ridiculous. That's what started me thinking about braces and heavier material.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I braced my LSI's when I rebuilt them but the ones in my bedroom are un-braced stock.  I never gave bracing much thought till one day I was playing around with some bass heavy music on the bedroom pair.  I sat down in front of the speaker and grabbed mid way down the sides of the doghouse.  There was a noticeable difference in sound.  Less "fuzz".  I grabbed and let go several times and the difference was obvious.

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...