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Need advice on La Scala I'm considering


Rotobadger

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Hello All...

 

I've been a member for a bit but have mostly lurked and read (and learned) here.

 

So, I have a post on this on AK where I'm mostly active but thought I might get some more in depth knowledge and advice here.

 

I currently have a pair of very nice Klipsch Forte III and had a pair of Heresy I which I actually adored.  The Forte's are great but now, like a junkie, am looking at moving up again (although I'm keeping my Forte's for now as well).  I have my eye on a pair of La Scala that were restored by Klipsch Restorations in Texas.  I live in Phoenix and there's a guy selling them.  The price is steep for these but they're beautiful.  Although though they are listed as 1985 I determined, by calling Greg at Klipsch Restorations and some detective work and have found that, since they have the original AL-3 crossovers (recapped I think) they have to be, at the earliest, 1989 or 1990.  Also, the cabinets were modified to resemble the La Scala II.  Again, the work appears to be top notch professional.  It's a father son business and the dad is 80 and has been doing furniture resto for over 50 years.  They're also Klipsch nuts.

 

Here's the other kink.  Greg said they started life as industrials which means they have the K43 vs the K33.

 

I'm not sure if price talk is permitted in this forum but, if it is, I can talk a little about that as well.  They are pricey but the seller has some wiggle room.

 

So, here's my question: Price aside for the moment, are these a good purchase for someone who wants LS?  I'm a little hesitant because of the k43 being a little more bass shy from what I've read.  I really loved the forward open sound with great mids and highs on the Heresy and have read the La Scala share many of the same attributes, only much bigger and immersive.

 

Here are some pics and thanks for reading my long post.  I'd really love some feedback.  I'm traveling for work so I have a bit of time to mull and research but I'd love some advice from the pros here.

 

Also, as a side note, there are a BEAUTIFUL and mint pair of Belle from the year 2000 or so for sale about a 6 hour drive from me.  However, they are just out of my price range and the seller seems pretty set on sticking to his price.  $4500 on those.

 

Thanks much!

 

 

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Great, thanks for the warm welcome and advice so far.  I'm a bit encourage to hear you don't mind the K43.  The good news is I will be able to put both speakers in corners.

 

So, pricing...

 

I know for a fact that the current seller paid $5200(!!!0 for these.  His current asking price is $4000.  I spoke to him and he's a very nice guy and had encouraged me to come take a listen when I return home.  He's even gone as far as saying that he hopes I pick up some La Scala even if they're not his.  I'm GUESSING I might be able to work with him to get them to $3500 range.  Maybe a hair less butt he's pretty firm as he's going to take a bath on price as it is so I really can't blame him.

 

I also have a line on pair of 1999 La Scala in the $2000 range (with a bit of wiggle as well) but I haven't seen the condition and unfortunately they're black.  I REALLY don't want black.  And having them veneered by a true pro would likely push them right back into the price range of the LS I'm already interested in.

 

Also, the Greg at K Restorations confirmed that they cut the top off and re-attached to resemble the LS-2.  I actually love this look but wanted to know if that may affect acoustics in any way.  The consensus from people I've asked is no, it should still walk and talk exactly like a LS.  And the job was done beautifully.

 

So, $3500-ish for these or $4500 plus a roughly 12 hour drive in a truck for the mint Belles?  If the Belles were $3500 I'd be WAY more likely to seriously take the drive.  But that's not the case.

 

So, what do you think about those AL-3 crossovers too?  They seem to be recapped.  I know I can upgrade from Crites or elsewhere fairly inexpensively and easily but that's a bridge I haven't even gotten to yet.  Would love to hear what your thoughts overall are on this deal/condition/sound with these starting life as industrials.

 

Also, side note, Greg did mention that the edges were beat to hell and he had to putty/bondo them.  The structure was otherwise sound.

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39 minutes ago, Rotobadger said:

So, here's my question: Price aside for the moment, are these a good purchase for someone who wants LS?  I'm a little hesitant because of the k43 being a little more bass shy from what I've read.  I really loved the forward open sound with great mids and highs on the Heresy and have read the La Scala share many of the same attributes, only much bigger and immersive.

It was Roy Delgado, who told me and others in the room, back in 2007 that the K-43, with it's higher BL product, had a "tipped" response curve towards the high end of it's bandwidth. a few months later, I had sold my Khorns to a Canadian friend, and during the same trip to Toronto to deliver the Khorns, I went on to Ottawa to pick up Klipsch MWMs bins. When I took out the K33's and put K43's from the MWM into my LaScalas, I went WOW. Much greater midrange detail which is more important by PWK standards.

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1 hour ago, jimjimbo said:

Discussion on pricing is fine in this section of the forum.

 

And, don't be put off by the K43.  I certainly prefer it, or the Eminence Kappa 15C to the K33 in my La Scalas, and have for several years after some great info from @ClaudeJ1.

 

Don't think those crossovers have been recapped.

 

 

 

Oops, I missed your comment regarding the (not) recapped crossovers.  So that's an added task I'd need to address.  Also, would it be a good idea to simply recap the AL-3 (cheap and easy) or just go all in and pick up a Crites or ALK pair of crossovers?

 

Also, I have a Schiit Loki+ that I picked up recently and have been very surprised and impressed.  Could this be a help in boosting a bit of low end on those beefy K43s?

 

I guess I should mention what I'd be driving them with too.  I have my system set up with a switcher because I love the different personalities of each of my amps.

 

Pilot 240 EL84 tube amp (fully recapped) at ~15wpc.  Sansui AU777 (fully recapped as well) at around 25wpc, Magnavox Gillespie modded single ended EL84 at ~4 WPC and an Onkyo TX4500 (a very surprisingly good amp/tuner.  Really impressed with it).  Also, I'm mostly a vinyl guy with my main TT a Kenwood KP990.

 

Phono pre amps are Project Tubebox S2 and a Project Tubebox DS.

 

 

37 minutes ago, billybob said:

All figures seem abit rich in my book but, let's hear from the others. Thanks!

 

Agreed.  However, I do feel like the work done was expensive.  They were incredibly thorough and are true artists and pros.  But, the question is, do I want to pay a premium for that.

Edited by Rotobadger
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4 minutes ago, Rotobadger said:

Also, I have a Schiit Loki+ that I picked up recently and have been very surprised and impressed.  Could this be a help in boosting a bit of low end on those beefy K43s?

You can built Lil' Mike's Anarchy subs to go UNDER you LaScalas, raising the tweeters and mids to a more perfect height, and extent the bass flat to 30 Hz. and useable down to 25 hz.

 

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1 hour ago, ClaudeJ1 said:

You can built Lil' Mike's Anarchy subs to go UNDER you LaScalas, raising the tweeters and mids to a more perfect height, and extent the bass flat to 30 Hz. and useable down to 25 hz.

 

I like this idea as it seems to address the bass issue AND raises the speaker.  However, I am nowhere near being capable of building something like that.  And, I would be difficult to match the wood of the La Scala I'm interested in.

 

With that said, I'm going to read up on Lil' Mikes Anarchy subs.  Thing is, the Heresy didn't dig down under 50Hz and it didn't bother me a whole lot.  I had some subs for them for awhile but hated them.  I was constantly adjusting them and they sounded separate from the Heresy.  Ditched them after a month.

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1 hour ago, Rotobadger said:

I like this idea as it seems to address the bass issue AND raises the speaker.  However, I am nowhere near being capable of building something like that.  And, I would be difficult to match the wood of the La Scala I'm interested in.

 

With that said, I'm going to read up on Lil' Mikes Anarchy subs.  Thing is, the Heresy didn't dig down under 50Hz and it didn't bother me a whole lot.  I had some subs for them for awhile but hated them.  I was constantly adjusting them and they sounded separate from the Heresy.  Ditched them after a month.

Other than the Top and Bottom pieces, it's ALL Rip Cuts. I can teach a First Grader to glue it together. You can buy 5x5 foot sheets of Baltic Birch at a Plywood specialty store near you, and pay them to cut the raw lumber for you. The rest is pretty easy. Anarchy drivers, AFAIK, are sold in pair. The 30" depth will allow the mouth of the tapped horn to fire into the corner for an additional 6 db boost to the low end. 

 

All you have to do is draw the layout with pencil on the bottom 20x30 piece as a guide and glue it together.

 

I included a measured curve for the one I built for a friend. You can see that as you got from 1/2 meter to 1 meter into a room, you get peaks and troughs in the curve while the reading at the Mouth is, essentially, ruler flat from 30-100 Hz. where the La Scala ceases to be a Horn at 104 Hz. Perfect match.

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Exodus Anarchy 25hz TH.pdf

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6 hours ago, Rotobadger said:

Hello All... $4500 on those.

 4500$ would get you a used set of Original  Klipsch Lascala II  ,  or even klipsch Lascala II  70th Anniversary - rather than a Modified pair of LS  -

The LS II is night and day in comparison to an LS -

@Schu  can be reached in Las Vegas /4500$ OBO for a pair of klipsch Lascala II  70th Anniversary-

https://www.klipsch.com/products/la-scala-70th-anniversary-edition

 

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A second forum Member could be reached for a pair of LSII  @wstrickland1

 

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At least I would start to listen to the Lascalas without a sub. I am not really missing one with my Lascala. You can of course add one to any point of time. BTW the caps in the pic do not look as they must urgently be replaced. No oil in tin types which could leak. On the contrary, with these original caps which will have a long life you can be sure that they fit exactly to your xover. Other caps, even if they are praised as "great" can cause the impedance of your crossover is no longer correct and the squaker and tweeter start to sound harsh or tinny. I personally hear this clearly as a negative influence. Look here what captainbeefheart has to say regarding caps on both pages of the thread. I fully agree with him on this topic.

 

 

 


 

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19 minutes ago, RandyH said:

I'm not sure where you live , but 4500$ would get you a used set of Original  Klipsch Lascala II  ,  or even klipsch Lascala II  70th Anniversary - rather than a Modified pair of LS  -

@Schu  can be reached -  he is in Las Vegas   he was asking 4500$ OBO for a pair of klipsch Lascala II  70th Anniversary-

 

A second forum Member could be reached for a pair of LSII  for 4500$ @wstrickland1

 

I would seriously think about that! And you get an Alnico Quaker driver, the Atlas K55V (today it is another name) which I would prefer to the EV ferrite driver that is seen in your picture on the LS from the 80s. BTW this Atlas driver is the very same driver in new which you like so much with your Heresy 1.

The value is much safer in the sense that you could resell this LS2 much easier should the time come. The sound will be very good.

And unless you're a tinkerer who likes to tinker, there's absolutely no need to question the drivers, the xovers, the tweeters, or anything else. everything is relatively new and doing its job well so you can enjoy your music.

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14 minutes ago, RandyH said:

 4500$ would get you a used set of Original  Klipsch Lascala II  ,  or even klipsch Lascala II  70th Anniversary - rather than a Modified pair of LS  -

The LS II is night and day in comparison to an LS -

@Schu  can be reached in Las Vegas /4500$ OBO for a pair of klipsch Lascala II  70th Anniversary-

https://www.klipsch.com/products/la-scala-70th-anniversary-edition

 

 

 

A second forum Member could be reached for a pair of LSII  @wstrickland1

 

Yep, I saw those and already reached out.  5 hour drive from me.  Thanks!

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