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New to La Scala Wow what a sound stage


JMeader

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3 hours ago, tidmack said:

When I had La Scalas without subwoofers, I often demo'd them with Sarah McLachlan, Fleetwood Mac, or anything with acoustic guitar. The punch of a La Scala is spectacular and they're a BIG soundstage kind of speaker that shines with vocal-heavy songs. Toss on some jazz, something with upright bass, or let's say '80s-'90s rap, and they're awful. If I hadn't owned 5 pair over the years, I would probably think there was something wrong with the speaker. Their bass response trails off pretty darn quickly. As years went on, I picked up a pair of Klipsch THX subs and ended up with speakers that would rival, or even possibly exceed my Klipschorns. The difference in a La Scala when paired with a capable sub is night and day to me.

 

As far as speakers in that size range to compare with La Scalas...Within the Klipsch line, the Klipschorn, even when poorly placed, equals the sound of the La Scala, AND has a smaller footprint. Please keep in mind, I am only talking about the original La Scala, not the La Scala II, which I think is a far improved design. Outside the Klipsch line, I immediately think about the JBL C38 or Altec 19, both of which I owned. I felt like the JBLs and Altecs "sounded like they should" consider the large size of their cabinets. Deep bass, detailed, and big, big volume when needed. The lack of bass with the La Scala has always been its downfall to my ears. It has big sound, but always sounded like it was missing an entire octave. But again, I don't think the criticism is necessarily fair, because the speaker was never really designed to shine outside of the punchy rock, or vocal-heavy acoustic realm.   

 

Mostly what I like are the vocals and acoustic, don't know if its because of the LaScalas or the reverse ?

 

I did pair it up with a Klipsch RW12 front firing sub, and definitely more bass at the lower range. Mostly leave it off for what I listen to.

 

Both JBL and Altec made some great products. Haven't heard the ones you mentioned.

 

A lot of the Guys in the Mac forum AK were worked up over the 4350s, some managed to score some

 

Altec 820C was very impressive when I auditioned a pair, if I had room I would have the cabinets made and install some drivers. 811 horns. I thought they were a little shrill, might have been the amp, but was unable to swap amps.  Great tight bass.

maxresdefault.jpg

 

820C fully horn loaded, drivers aligned. 2x15 all Alnico magnets.

820C_010.jpg

1446431549759732603.jpg

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5 hours ago, jimjimbo said:

I have been using multiple pairs of La Scalas without subs for years, and don't miss them at all.  With the right driver upgrades, updated networks with excellent quality capacitors, proper placement and room treatments they are the best live sounding speakers in the entire line.

Of the old PWK Heritage line perhaps, but the Jubilee simply trounces them.

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4 hours ago, Bubo said:

Both JBL and Altec made some great products. Haven't heard the ones you mentioned.

This may be true, but don't those belong on a Lansing/JBL forum? Drifting a little away from the OP Involving LaScalas and their components, room placement, etc. is one thing, but don't you think it's not cool to show so many photos of non-Klipsch product where they don't belong on top of being irrelevant to all the points made before?

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13 hours ago, ClaudeJ1 said:

As a LaScala owner for many decades (not currently), I read your post as more of an "Ode to Sub Woofers." I have found the LaScala to be more phase coherent than the Khorn, since it's driver differential distance from woofer to midrange means that drivers are within a quarter wave near the crossover points. Not perfect, but way better than the Khorn. It could be why the OP stated they image so well.

I don't disagree that with the right music (a pretty limited range), my La Scalas were terrific. I've only used subwoofers (crossed way into "woofer" range) with two speakers: Heresys and La Scalas. I think the point I was trying to make is that most folks would understand why Heresys would need subs, but be terribly disappointed to learn that La Scalas tremendously benefit from them them, too. This is all just my opinion, based on the music I listen to, but the vast number of people who modify La Scalas tells me they aren't a great design for a wide range of frequencies. 

 

Jeff

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19 hours ago, babadono said:

Next time someone is astounded by how good my 2 channel basement system sounds I'll make sure to tell them they're certainly not Klipsch speakers.:)

 

18 hours ago, Chief bonehead said:

Absolutely. Thanks!!

Yea but .......they are.

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3 hours ago, tidmack said:

I think the point I was trying to make is that most folks would understand why Heresys would need subs, but be terribly disappointed to learn that La Scalas tremendously benefit from them them, too.

I have Heresy IIIs, and I was surprised. You see a fairly large box (by today's standards) with a 12" woofer and it *looks* like it should rock the house with bass, given there are small bookshelf speakers with long-throw woofers of half the diameter that rock the house. Then I learned a little about sealed-box designs and ported designs and learned a bit how complex it is. 

 

I'm not a big bass person and I use the Heresy with no subwoofer. For me, when the bass is really there and it's recorded well it surprises me, like when there's an fff in a bass drum in a big symphony, for example. Yes, it would be nice to have a bit more in a jazz trio string bass, but what is there is so tight and controlled...

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25 minutes ago, fmalloy said:

I have Heresy IIIs, and I was surprised. You see a fairly large box (by today's standards) with a 12" woofer and it *looks* like it should rock the house with bass, given there are small bookshelf speakers with long-throw woofers of half the diameter that rock the house. Then I learned a little about sealed-box designs and ported designs and learned a bit how complex it is. 

 

I'm not a big bass person and I use the Heresy with no subwoofer. For me, when the bass is really there and it's recorded well it surprises me, like when there's an fff in a bass drum in a big symphony, for example. Yes, it would be nice to have a bit more in a jazz trio string bass, but what is there is so tight and controlled...

The answer is fortes.  Oh the glory of a  Stanley Clarke acoustic solo on them...

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On 1/12/2021 at 12:49 AM, ClaudeJ1 said:

This may be true, but don't those belong on a Lansing/JBL forum? Drifting a little away from the OP Involving LaScalas and their components, room placement, etc. is one thing, but don't you think it's not cool to show so many photos of non-Klipsch product where they don't belong on top of being irrelevant to all the points made before?

Claude

Are you the same guy that has an entire thread on a product you designed and built ?

Your horn is certainly not a Klipsch product.

If you delete your horn thread and all of the comments

I will delete the photos of the non Klipsch speakers you don't like

 

Let me know when you have finished deleting your thread

 

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On 1/11/2021 at 9:29 PM, Bubo said:

 

Mostly what I like are the vocals and acoustic, don't know if its because of the LaScalas or the reverse ?

 

I did pair it up with a Klipsch RW12 front firing sub, and definitely more bass at the lower range. Mostly leave it off for what I listen to.

 

Both JBL and Altec made some great products. Haven't heard the ones you mentioned.

 

A lot of the Guys in the Mac forum AK were worked up over the 4350s, some managed to score some

 

Altec 820C was very impressive when I auditioned a pair, if I had room I would have the cabinets made and install some drivers. 811 horns. I thought they were a little shrill, might have been the amp, but was unable to swap amps.  Great tight bass.

maxresdefault.jpg

 

820C fully horn loaded, drivers aligned. 2x15 all Alnico magnets.

820C_010.jpg

1446431549759732603.jpg

Love these photos of the Altec and JBLs.

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2 hours ago, Bubo said:

Claude

Are you the same guy that has an entire thread on a product you designed and built ?

Your horn is certainly not a Klipsch product.

If you delete your horn thread and all of the comments

I will delete the photos of the non Klipsch speakers you don't like

 

Let me know when you have finished deleting your thread

 

Correct, but I did use the Klipsch MWM core and a Klipch K33 woofer after a conversation with the Klipsch MWM co-patent holder Gary Gillum, former Klipsch Chief Engineer, so your DEGREE of "violation" is certainly more severe than mine EVER was being that it's all Altec/JBL photos you posted, with zero technical data, measurements, to be helpful in anyone wanting to improve their sound (even if you had posted same on the JBL forum). So the answer is NO. No apologies required.

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6 minutes ago, jimjimbo said:

Cmon, really Claude?  Have you ever posted pics of the Danleys?

 

No harm at all.

No harm either way, just mild principal violation and way off course from the OP. I purposefully never posted pics of the Danleys on this forum AFAICR (unless I perhaps had too much wine at the time). LOL. But I did recently post a photo of an old servo drive BT-7 I just got, mostly to show the drywall damage it caused when I brought it down, by myself,  backwards from how it should have been (not one of my better moves). Lesson learned: never move a 300 lb horn by yourself!

 

 

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1 hour ago, ClaudeJ1 said:

with zero technical data, measurements, .

Since you asked

 

820C

produced in 1956

30 HZ - 22 KHZ

16 Ohm

30W RMS

230 lbs

1956 Price $ 525 / $35 Oz gold = 15 OZ 

2021 Price is $1900 x 15 = $28,500

http://www.cieri.net/Documenti/Cataloghi/Altri marchi/Altec - Catalog 1964.pdf

 

Driver specs on brochure

Curves for the drivers are easy to find with a search

820c_corner_speaker_system_1303761.jpg

 

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