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La Scala Purchase


Rrutledg83

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Hi guys, long time klipsch owner first time poster.  Recently came across a set of 1988 La Scalas for sale.  The cabinets appear to be about a 7/10. Typical minor scratches, chips, etc.  I have a cabinet builder by me who could reasonably restore them. So my questions are this...first of all,  is $2200 a good deal for a set this old? According to the owner, the drivers are in perfect condition.  The other question is,  what should I be looking for prior to the purchase. I've never owned a heritage speaker so I'm relatively clueless.  Any advice is appreciated. 

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On 11/30/2021 at 1:30 PM, Rrutledg83 said:

Hi guys, long time klipsch owner first time poster.  Recently came across a set of 1988 La Scalas for sale.  The cabinets appear to be about a 7/10. Typical minor scratches, chips, etc.  I have a cabinet builder by me who could reasonably restore them. So my questions are this...first of all,  is $2200 a good deal for a set this old? According to the owner, the drivers are in perfect condition.  The other question is,  what should I be looking for prior to the purchase. I've never owned a heritage speaker so I'm relatively clueless.  Any advice is appreciated. 

I guess it depends on how badly you want them to be "restored" and the cost?  If it's going to cost $800 to $1000 to restore the cabinets, then $2200 is not a good deal.  Also depends on the finish, black, raw birch, stained?  Pictures here would help.

 

What you should be looking for is evidence of water damage, insect damage (you never know)  evidence of a smoking environment.  Has there been any previous work done to them?  Crossover model and any changes?  Since the owner says the drivers are perfect, well then, I'd still confirm that.

 

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On 11/30/2021 at 1:30 PM, Rrutledg83 said:

Hi guys, long time klipsch owner first time poster.  Recently came across a set of 1988 La Scalas for sale.  The cabinets appear to be about a 7/10. Typical minor scratches, chips, etc.  I have a cabinet builder by me who could reasonably restore them. So my questions are this...first of all,  is $2200 a good deal for a set this old? According to the owner, the drivers are in perfect condition.  The other question is,  what should I be looking for prior to the purchase. I've never owned a heritage speaker so I'm relatively clueless.  Any advice is appreciated. 

Another consideration is your location.

 

I'm in Canada where used La Scalas come to market very infequently. Because of that scarcity, I paid about US$2200 for a pair of 1988 La Scalas in the summer. 

 

I replaced the old AL networks (crossovers), with new AAs from Crites. That was about US$500. Simply re-capping the old networks would have been about half the cost.

 

I figure that the materials to repair and refinish my cabinets will end up costing about US$700 by the time I'm finished. I'm doing the work myself, so that there's no cost for labour.

 

All told, my ~US$2200 La Scalas will end up costing about US$3400. 

 

I look with some envy at what I see in the "Alerts" and "Garage Sale" sections of the forum. Better speakers than mine come up frequently, and at quite attractive prices.

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  • 1 year later...
On 12/3/2021 at 1:11 PM, Dave MacKay said:

All told, my ~US$2200 La Scalas will end up costing about US$3400. 

Actually, I ended up spending about 40% more than that.

 

After all was said and done (new crossovers, replacement tweeters, laminating plywood to cabinets, making risers, veneering and finishing), I ended up spending about US$4700 to purchase and refurbish my La Scalas.

La-Scala.thumb.jpg.726171c2b2fa7e3f732ce9e25810ce93.jpg

I don't regret a penny of it.

Speakers-and-THTLP.jpg

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2 hours ago, Dave MacKay said:

Actually, I ended up spending about 40% more than that.

 

After all was said and done (new crossovers, replacement tweeters, laminating plywood to cabinets, making risers, veneering and finishing), I ended up spending about US$4700 to purchase and refurbish my La Scalas.

La-Scala.thumb.jpg.726171c2b2fa7e3f732ce9e25810ce93.jpg

I don't regret a penny of it.

Speakers-and-THTLP.jpg

What's that thing in the corner; is that a subwoofer?

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34 minutes ago, Peter P. said:

What's that thing in the corner; is that a subwoofer?

In the corner to the right is a DIY bass trap. In the corner to the left is a THTLP subwoofer.

 

I have 2 THTLP subwoofers in the room. The second THTLP is in the corner diagonal to the one in the photo.

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16 hours ago, nickyboy6100 said:

Dave, how much do the THTLP’s bring to the table when paired with the La Scala’s? Ive considered pairing a horn loaded sub with mine for years. I’ve just never pulled the trigger. I’ve had larger Klipsch pro speakers in the past and miss the low end they provide. 

 

@nickyboy6100, I've been quite pleased with the THTLPs and how they fill out my La Scalas.

 

Prior to making the THTLPs, I had an inexpensive Klipsch subwoofer (repurposed from a Klipsch Synergy home theatre). It did nothing. I replaced it with an SVS SB-1000 Pro subwoofer, which I liked quite well. However, I'd read comments from @ClaudeJ1 that, in his opinion, a THTLP was a great sub for La Scalas. Because I was looking for a COVID project, I decided to make one. 

 

My listening room suffers from a number of acoustic deficiencies such that I couldn't get consistent good sound from a single subwoofer --- neither the SB-1000 Pro nor the THTLP. Since I'd enjoyed building the first THTLP, I built a second. Adding the second subwoofer (in the corner diagonal to the first THTLP) helped tame the room quite a bit.

 

Despite having the two large THTLP subwoofers, I still wasn't entirely happy with the sound. I knew that most of my dissatisfaction stemmed from the room itself, and WAF limited what I could do in terms of room treatment. I added a MiniDSP 2x4HD to drive the subwoofers. The MiniDSP 2x4HD has been fantastic. I would recommend a MiniDSP for any multi-sub configuration.

 

I used REW to measure the effect that the THTLPs have on my system. This graph (with 1/3 smoothing applied) shows both:

  • a 20-20KHz sweep of my La Scalas only (in brown), and
  • a 20-20KHz sweep of the La Scalas with the THTLPs (in blue)

Comparison.thumb.jpg.f943d3140b9e0c9f4b6b1d673b4a1ac2.jpg

I've tinkered with placement, room treatment, and MiniDSP settings since taking those measurements so that my system now performs a little better. This graph (no smoothing) shows a 20-200Hz sweep (i.e., the frequencies affected by the subs) before and after making those changes:

596739515_recentversusprevious.thumb.jpg.4f8589a33f9b135e2b3fa9618d24070a.jpg

@wuzzzer has a similar configuration (i.e., La Scalas with THTLP subwoofers). From what he's posted, I think he has achieved results superior to mine.

 

With respect to how much the horn-loaded subs bring to the La Scalas ... I don't know how to answer. In truth, the little SVS SB-1000 Pro is a dandy little sub. However, I didn't take any measurements to quantify how it performed with the La Scalas. I might well have been happy with a pair of them (or their larger siblings). Certainly the THTLPs have brought loads and loads of low-end to my system. They are efficient (which I hope brings low distortion), quick, and clean sounding. 

 

I tend to listen at modest volumes (typically < 85 dB). Even though my THTLPs are the smallest size (15" x 18" x 72" with 12" drivers) and are driven by small (250W) plate amps, I've never come close to their limits. Even when showing off, I doubt I've ever pushed 50W through them.

 

Perhaps @ClaudeJ1 or @wuzzzer might be able to provide you with more informed perspectives. 

 

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1 hour ago, Dave MacKay said:

Perhaps @ClaudeJ1 or @wuzzzer might be able to provide you with more informed perspectives. 

 

I can see your biggest problem is your ROOM, like it is for all of us below about 200 Hz. I read the White Paper by JBL's Todd Welti, and it provided all the answers I needed.

 

Now since my speakers are smaller than LaScalas and actually have too much bass in corners, even EQ's down they go to 40 Hz. which is where I cross my subs.

 

I had a pair of THTLP's also and they were superb, while representing the "best bang for buck" as a price/performance ratio.

 

If you can't have 4 subs in mid wall location, the next best thing is middle front and rear walls with only Two. I believe opposite corners is 4th best, but can be improved by simply Moving your Couch!

 

Do an REW room simulation and see where you get the flattest response. In my case it's smack in the room center, but your mileage may vary a bit from that. 

 

Try and see.

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21 hours ago, nickyboy6100 said:

Dave, how much do the THTLP’s bring to the table when paired with the La Scala’s? Ive considered pairing a horn loaded sub with mine for years. I’ve just never pulled the trigger. I’ve had larger Klipsch pro speakers in the past and miss the low end they provide. 


In my experience after having about a dozen different subwoofers over the years (most recently dual SVS PB-12 NSDs), horn subs may underwhelm you at first.  I think one reason for that is their lack of distortion.  Most people are used to hearing the woofer distortion and the bloated mid-bass of cheaper subwoofers.  Once you really sit down and listen, though, you can both hear and feel the different tones of instruments and things that they reproduce very faithfully.

Then when you really open them up, they’ll punch you in the gut in a good way.

I’m in a basement with thin carpet on a concrete floor so I don’t get any tactile feedback through the floor.  But, there’s been times I’ve felt as though my couch is levitating off the floor because of the output of my THTs.

They obviously take more work since you have to build them (although I got lucky and bought mine already built) but the return on investment is miles ahead of any commercial subwoofer you can buy.  They’re also gigantic compared to other subwoofers so make sure you have a lot of room and aren’t going to upset any members of your household.  😄

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14 hours ago, wuzzzer said:


In my experience after having about a dozen different subwoofers over the years (most recently dual SVS PB-12 NSDs), horn subs may underwhelm you at first.  I think one reason for that is their lack of distortion.  Most people are used to hearing the woofer distortion and the bloated mid-bass of cheaper subwoofers.  Once you really sit down and listen, though, you can both hear and feel the different tones of instruments and things that they reproduce very faithfully.

Then when you really open them up, they’ll punch you in the gut in a good way.

I’m in a basement with thin carpet on a concrete floor so I don’t get any tactile feedback through the floor.  But, there’s been times I’ve felt as though my couch is levitating off the floor because of the output of my THTs.

They obviously take more work since you have to build them (although I got lucky and bought mine already built) but the return on investment is miles ahead of any commercial subwoofer you can buy.  They’re also gigantic compared to other subwoofers so make sure you have a lot of room and aren’t going to upset any members of your household.  😄

I agree totally. I’m only interested in horn loaded subs to pair with my La Scala’s. Thanks to you and Dave for all the first-hand experience. I just need to quit being lazy and start building. Merry Christmas guys!

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