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La Scalas at last!


Dave MacKay

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In July I purchased up a pair of vintage La Scalas even though I’d never heard a La Scala before. I thought that a post explaining why, and what I’ve done with them could serve to introduce me to the forum.

 

I had wanted La Scalas for more than 40 years, ever since a friend and I went shopping for a sound system for our high school for dances. We went to a dealer who supplied the top clubs in town with their sound systems. He was a huge Klipsch fan and convinced me that Klipsch horns --- and particularly the La Scalas --- were the “Cadillac” of speakers. I've aspired to have a pair ever since. But life got in the way …

 

Until lately. Spending more time at home on account of the pandemic led to a rekindled interest in audio.

 

Perhaps I haven’t been looking in the right places, but my experience has been that La Scalas don’t come up for sale very often up here (near Toronto, Canada). I found a pair listed on Facebook Marketplace that were about a 3 hour drive away. The speakers were were 1986 La Scalas in Raw Birch that the owner had coated with polyurethane. They had AL networks. The cabinets had some damage: scratches, chips, stains, gouges, missing veneer, broken corners, etc. I purchased them for CAD $2800 (~ US$2250).

 

Since the speakers would feature prominently in my living room, I knew I'd have to repair and refinish the cabinets. I wasn’t keen on the look of paint and figured that I’d likely re-veneer them. Although I originally intended to keep the speakers close to stock, as I learned more about the La Scalas (mostly from this forum) I knew that I’d want to make some changes.

 

I started with the networks. I knew that the 35-year-old capacitors in the networks were likely past their “best before” date and should be replaced. I also knew that the AL networks in my speakers weren’t well regarded. The cost of replacement capacitors from JEM Performance was high enough that I opted to spend a bit more and get new AA networks from Crites.

 

I took all the components out of both speakers and gave the cabinets a thorough cleaning. Because a mouse had built a nest in one of the doghouses, at the recommendation of some forum members, I used Dettol to clean and disinfect the cabinets.

 

I thoroughly cleaned the woofers, squawkers, and tweeters, filed down rough spots in the K400 horns, replaced the gaskets in the squawkers, and treated all of the connectors to a liberal dose of DeoxIT. I sanded the squawker and tweeter horns and then sprayed them with Rustoleum Satin Black paint.

 

Then I turned my attention to repairing the cabinets.

 

Following suggestions from some forum members, I decided to laminate new panels to the cabinets. I chose to do that for two reasons:

   1) to provide a smooth surface for veneering, and

   2) to stiffen the cabinets to eliminate a reported resonance in the bass bin

 

I started by stripping the old finish. I used paint stripper, scrapers, and sandpaper. I did a pretty fair job on the exterior of the cabinet but didn’t do nearly as well stripping the doghouse.

 

I used wood fillers and wood epoxy to repair the damage to the cabinets. In the end, the damage was easier to fix than I'd anticipated. If I were to do it again, I'd use bondo (not wood epoxy). Also, some wood fillers were too grainy; I found Timbermate and Wurth wood fillers to be very good.

 

I laminated oversize 3/8" baltic birch panels (my supplier was out of 1/4") to the sides, top and bottom of my cabinets. I used about 3 quarts of Titebond III and a few hundred 5/8" brads (since I had no suitable clamps) to attach the new panels. After the glue had dried, I used a flush cutting bit in a router to trim the panels to size. I then used wood filler to fill any gaps and the indentations made by the brads. Then I sanded the cabinets smooth with 240 grit sandpaper.

 

The new 3/8” panels have increased the thickness of the cabinet sides (and top and bottom) to 1 1/8” without changing any of the interior dimensions. By my figuring, the cabinets now weigh about 80% as much as the MDF-made La Scala IIs. The cabinets are certainly stiffer so that the bass resonance problem should be dealt with.

 

It turned out that my repairs to the cabinet were good enough that I probably could have veneered them without adding the new panels. If I were to do it over, I might just add braces to the bass bin and not bother with the additional plywood panels.

 

I’ve reassembled the speakers and have been enjoying them. I’m mainly using Spotify as a music source via my Yamaha R-N803 (100W/channel, solid state) receiver. Generally speaking, I’m really pleased with how they sound. I have noticed that they seem to really shine with some songs but not so much with others.

 

 

A neighbour nicknamed the speakers “the blondes” on account of their colour and the amount of attention I was giving them. 

  

I haven't yet started to veneer the cabinets. I'm leaning towards something that will be light (blonde?) in colour: maybe quarter-sawn anigre or quarter-sawn birch. Because of the lead time to get the veneer that job will have to wait until spring when the temperatures in my garage are warm enough to work with contact cement.

 

Some forum members have suggested applying veneer with PVA (letting it dry and then applying it using an iron). My experience with PVA and veneers hasn’t been good --- the glue has tended to bubble beneath the veneer. But maybe I’ll experiment with that over the winter.

 

I haven’t decided on what finish to put on the veneered cabinets. I’m thinking of a natural-coloured Danish Oil or a clear polyurethane. Suggestions about what finish (and what veneer) to use would be welcome.

 

What’s next?

 

I have purchased plans from Bill Fitzmaurice (https://billfitzmaurice.info/) to build a THTLP subwoofer. The THTLP is a horn design that, I hope, will pair nicely with the La Scalas.

 

I should probably leave the speakers as they are. I doubt that my hearing is acute enough to be able to discern much difference from, say, improved tweeters or a different crossover.  But I do like to tinker …

Damaged corner.JPG

IMG_1925.JPG

The blondes are home.JPG

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1 hour ago, DizRotus said:

They look great.  Do you notice much difference in the sound when the drapes are closed, versus open as in the photo?

You know ... I've never closed the drapes in that room 🙂 The hot water radiator is in the way so that the drapes would have to be pulled way out to clear it. The drapes are really just decorative.

 

I'll close them tonight (my wife is on Zoom calls for work all day) and see if I can hear any difference in the sound. I'll report back if I notice any difference.

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1 hour ago, Shakeydeal said:

Nice looking room, bet that sounds nice. BTW, where are you crossing your sub?
 

Shakey

From posts on this forum, I've picked up that the La Scala's low-end performance starts dropping off just above 100 Hz (104 Hz, IIRC) and is pretty much gone by about 50 Hz. Because of that, pairing a subwoofer with La Scalas is seen as a good thing.

 

The subwoofer I'm using now is just temporary. It's a 10" Klipsch Synergy (https://www.klipsch.ca/products/sub-10-subwoofer). It really can't keep up with the La Scalas; when I set the gain too high all I get is "boom boom boom". I'm planning to get a better sub --- hopefully a Bill Fitzmaurice designed THTLP.

 

The accepted wisdom seems to be to set crossover to the subs at 80 Hz. I've been playing with the settings on mine trying between 80 Hz and 110 Hz. I think I get fuller sound with the sub set at 100 Hz (but any differences are slight).

 

I'll know have a better sense of what works best in my setting when I replace the existing sub with a more suitable one.

 

 

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I have tried many different sub settings with my LS II and I've settled on 40 Hz. My room has always supported low bass very well with any speaker I've had here and the LS is no exception. I'm pretty sure I'm getting a solid 50 Hz from the lascalas and on a lot of music the subs never even make their presence known. But when needed, the low end is ample and accurate.

 

Good luck with your table tuba, I'm sure that will do the trick.

 

 

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55 minutes ago, Dave MacKay said:

You know ... I've never closed the drapes in that room 🙂 The hot water radiator is in the way so that the drapes would have to be pulled way out to clear it. The drapes are really just decorative.

 

I'll close them tonight (my wife is on Zoom calls for work all day) and see if I can hear any difference in the sound. I'll report back if I notice any difference.

You likely will.

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36 minutes ago, Dave MacKay said:

I'm planning to get a better sub --- hopefully a Bill Fitzmaurice designed THTLP.

 

I had a pair of those. If you stand them up, with the mouth firing to the ceiling, you will be very happy as they are a terrific match to LaScalas.

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11 hours ago, DizRotus said:

They look great.  Do you notice much difference in the sound when the drapes are closed, versus open as in the photo?

I was quite surprised at the difference closing the drapes made in the sound in the room. The change was substantial and positive. The music seemed both closer and warmer.

 

Thanks for asking about it. I wouldn't have thought to try that without being prompted by your question.

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I was quite surprised at the difference closing the drapes made in the sound in the room. The change was substantial and positive. The music seemed both closer and warmer.
 
Thanks for asking about it. I wouldn't have thought to try that without being prompted by your question.

Try some toe in. Better imaging


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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13 hours ago, ClaudeJ1 said:

I had a pair of those. If you stand them up, with the mouth firing to the ceiling, you will be very happy as they are a terrific match to LaScalas.

Oh, and one more thing (Steve Jobs)..........................I forgot to mention the footprint is like a very tall Cornwall. LOL.

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On 10/7/2021 at 3:00 AM, Westcoastdrums said:

Looks like left is toed in more than the right.  Both look like they could be toed in more if the center window is aby indication of the listening position. 

In the photo, the Lascalas are angled in similarly to how my Lascalas are angled in my home. I have made the experience that the Lascala reacts very sensitively to a few degrees of angulation. Too little and it has no spatiality. But too much and it loses stage width. The best case is when I have a wide stage, 3 dimensionality and a defined center. I achieve that with a similar angle as in the photo...so not too much...maybe a very tiny bit more, depending on the listening distance.
Just looking at the front of my two Lascalas it's too much angulation for my taste, I see enough of the inside walls. It's worth finetuning within a smaller angle range.

It may be that in the photo both Lascalas are angled evenly. The photo was not taken exactly from the center and camera lenses of an iPhone, for example, can produce such illusions.
But I agree, the secret of a three-dimensional sound experience is an exactly equal angulation of both LS.

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On 10/5/2021 at 3:36 PM, Dave MacKay said:

The new 3/8” panels have increased the thickness of the cabinet sides (and top and bottom) to 1 1/8” without changing any of the interior dimensions. By my figuring, the cabinets now weigh about 80% as much as the MDF-made La Scala IIs. The cabinets are certainly stiffer so that the bass resonance problem should be dealt with.

 

While thicker, stiffer cabinets are certainly better (the large 3/4" side panels vibrate freely at the mouth), the rising bass response 6 to 7 db centered around 120 hz is not really a resonance but a feature / glitch of the woofer horn dimensions that can really only be dealt with by corrective equalization.  Some may like this defining characteristic of the LaScala sound.

 

Congratulations on finally acquiring a great speaker system and nice work on restoring.

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The behavior in the bass of the Lascala reminds me of the behavior of my LS3/5a (regardless of manufacturer). I love both speakers. Both have no low bass but both have this hump at 120 or 130 Hz. Some don't like it but to my ears it creates the warmth of sound even in the midrange that makes both speakers so irresistible.

Here who likes it people talk about their LS 3/5a. There are really parallels of the sound. 

 

https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/getting-to-know-ls3-5as.249810/

 

The big difference is of course that a LS 3/5a sounds perfect in small rooms. The Lascala likes larger rooms. 
It is also to differentiate whether I hear the "hump" in the bass at 120Hz or whether unsightly room modes overlay this additionally.

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