La Scala AL5 Paired with Bryston 7BSST2 Mono's & BP26 Pre and BCD3 CD (Don't Freak out on Me)

[Mindu21]

Hey I realize that I probably will take a lot of heat for this question but this is my situation, I have the Bryston front end as mentioned in the Title and am extremely interested in the La Scala's and realize the high sensitivity but I don't want to change out my gear right away I would like to give things a chance I know the combo should probably Tubes but I'm just wondering if any one is using Solid State of this type to power the Klipsch?

Also I am trying to find a unicorn I believe as my listening room is 18ft W x 33ft L x 12ft H vaulted ceilings (Its a great room basically Kitchen, TV/ Audio Room) I am just concerned that the La Scala's will not produce enough bass for the room as my ATC SCM50PSL Classic's did I found they disappeared unless played at high listening levels.

Another thing I was wondering was how are the La Scala's at playing at low levels like late nigh or when you want to have conversation but still get some clairety out of the music but still be able to talk.             My First Post here so go easy on me!     

                                                                                                                         Thanks Paul

[Shakeydeal]

Your room is one of the absolute worst IMHO for audio. Open floor plans kill good sound. And I am no Bryston fan by any stretch. Some would say that pairing is a recipe for disaster. But I say if this is what it takes to get a pair of AL5 LaScalas into your room, go for it. And the LS does excel at low level listening if your front end is capable of such. I think the preamp and how it handles attenuation is most important for wringing the most out of the low volume experience.

 

So if you have the means for the AL5, even though your room and gear isn't a perfect match, you should do it. Just keep in mind if you aren't blown away at first, don't give up on the speakers. Find an amp/preamp combo that brings out their best and you will be happy.

 

Oh, and welcome to the forum. 👍

 

Shakey

 

 

[Mindu21]

22 hours ago, Shakeydeal said:

Your room is one of the absolute worst IMHO for audio. Open floor plans kill good sound. And I am no Bryston fan by any stretch. Some would say that pairing is a recipe for disaster. But I say if this is what it takes to get a pair of AL5 LaScalas into your room, go for it. And the LS does excel at low level listening if your front end is capable of such. I think the preamp and how it handles attenuation is most important for wringing the most out of the low volume experience.

 

So if you have the means for the AL5, even though your room and gear isn't a perfect match, you should do it. Just keep in mind if you aren't blown away at first, don't give up on the speakers. Find an amp/preamp combo that brings out their best and you will be happy.

 

Oh, and welcome to the forum. 👍

 

Shakey

 

 

Shakeydeal      Thanks for your advice that's exactly what I'm going to do give the Bryston Gear a chance and go from there, possibly a PASS INT-60 ? any thoughts on that.

                                                         Thanks Paul  

[Islander]

You won't get any heat from me.  I'm running bi-amped 2-way La Scala IIs (modded with Jubilee K402 mid/treble horns and K-691 drivers), powered by two Yamaha MX-D1 power amps.  They put out 500 Wpc, meaning there are 500 watts available to each woofer and each tweeter, with no problems.  I've had this setup since 2008, first with OG La Scalas, then with the LS2s since 2013.

 

You can run Scalas with practically any amp with any output power.  As long as the first few watts are really clean and quiet, you're good to go.  Since the La Scalas are so sensitive, hiss that's inaudible with other speakers may become noticeable.  As long as you can't hear it from your listening position, who cares about it?  You don't normally listen to your speakers with your head right up to them, right?

 

Of course, with a high power amp, you never want to turn the volume al the way up, but in a typical-sized home room, they'll be painfully loud long before you get there.  Just remember to keep the drunk away from the volume knob, and you'll be fine.  If you want really high volume and have a low-powered amp, then you can get in trouble, by driving the amp into clipping, which will kill the tweeters.

 

As for low-volume listening late at night, it's 3:15 AM as I'm typing this, and my JubScalas are sounding fine.  I live in an apartment, so I rarely use extreme volume, but at mid-to-high volumes, they do really wake up.

 

You should be fine, and welcome to the Forum!

 

 

Ps.  Keep in mind that La Scala bass doesn't go very deep, so depending on the music you like and how realistic you want it to sound, you may need to add a subwoofer or two.  After having a 400-watt sub for years, I replaced it with a pair of 850-watt units in 2020, and the system has never sounded better.

[wvu80]

Welcome to the Klipsch Forums.  Your first post was a good one so no worries.

 

I am not a tube guy so I can't be of help there.  I did own 70's era LS and Khorns. 

 

Even though the LS's don't have ultra low bass what the do have is high quality bass, especially for music.  If you listen to a string bass it has a resonance that is hard to reproduce electronically.  Most subs will give that instrument a thump or maybe sound un-natural.  The LS does such a fine job of playing acoustic instruments because of that folded horn woofer.  It's a dramatic difference, I think you'll hear it right away.

 

I have read others here comment that not all tube amps are the same sound and not all tube amps work well with LS's.  There are several guys who have figured out the right combination.  Hopefully they'll weigh in and you'll get some good advice so you don't have to go through the expensive process of re-inventing the wheel.

 

I've found this Randy Travis video Forever and Ever Amen will show off your LS's male vocals and upright bass.

https://youtu.be/sgJXbIP83A8?t=46

 

 

[ODS123]

On 2/9/2022 at 5:58 PM, Mindu21 said:

Hey I realize that I probably will take a lot of heat for this question but this is my situation, I have the Bryston front end as mentioned in the Title and am extremely interested in the La Scala's and realize the high sensitivity but I don't want to change out my gear right away I would like to give things a chance I know the combo should probably Tubes but I'm just wondering if any one is using Solid State of this type to power the Klipsch?

Also I am trying to find a unicorn I believe as my listening room is 18ft W x 33ft L x 12ft H vaulted ceilings (Its a great room basically Kitchen, TV/ Audio Room) I am just concerned that the La Scala's will not produce enough bass for the room as my ATC SCM50PSL Classic's did I found they disappeared unless played at high listening levels.

Another thing I was wondering was how are the La Scala's at playing at low levels like late nigh or when you want to have conversation but still get some clairety out of the music but still be able to talk.             My First Post here so go easy on me!     

                                                                                                                         Thanks Paul

 

If the La Scalas don't produce enough bass for you it's likely because they are, well......La Scalas.    They're great speakers but a bit rolled off while still in the musical frequency range.

 

Your room is not that different from mine and my CW III's sound terrific.  I suggest keeping your speakers in your great room!  ..It's better to have that awesome system located where its heard and shared by all in the house then to have it tucked away in some dedicated hifi room where you go into social isolation every time you enjoy your music.  .I'll live with less than ideal hifi before I'd turn my music enjoyment into a solitary experience.  ..But that's me.

 

As for your Bryston gear.  ..Keep it!  It's beautifully made, will last a lifetime and has F/R, THD, channel separation, S/N ratio, etc..  that vastly exceeds the threshold of our hearing. Plus, a 20yr warranty.  I had a 3BSST/BP25 power/pre combo for years and loved it.  I only parted w/it because I wanted tone controls and a mono-switch.  ..Pay no attention to claims that Bryston is "bright" sounding and therefore should be paired w/ warmish speakers.  These notions are not rooted in science.  I'm strongly suspect Paul W Klipsch would have said so himself.  

 

Bottomline:  I'd recommend some room-treatments, a room-correction processor, and/or speakers w/ lower bass response.  

 

 

[tigerwoodKhorns]

On 2/9/2022 at 2:58 PM, Mindu21 said:

Hey I realize that I probably will take a lot of heat for this question but this is my situation, I have the Bryston front end as mentioned in the Title and am extremely interested in the La Scala's and realize the high sensitivity but I don't want to change out my gear right away I would like to give things a chance I know the combo should probably Tubes but I'm just wondering if any one is using Solid State of this type to power the Klipsch?

Also I am trying to find a unicorn I believe as my listening room is 18ft W x 33ft L x 12ft H vaulted ceilings (Its a great room basically Kitchen, TV/ Audio Room) I am just concerned that the La Scala's will not produce enough bass for the room as my ATC SCM50PSL Classic's did I found they disappeared unless played at high listening levels.

Another thing I was wondering was how are the La Scala's at playing at low levels like late nigh or when you want to have conversation but still get some clairety out of the music but still be able to talk.             My First Post here so go easy on me!     

                                                                                                                         Thanks Paul

 

I never tried Bryston with Klipsch but had 7B ST amps in the past with B&Ws and they were great amps. 

 

Switched to Classe amps and not as big of a difference as you may think from online remarks.  Slight more rolled off with Classe amps.  Not that much and I might not have been able to tell the difference in a blind test. 

 

Here is something interesting, QSC PLX amps sound great with Klipsch.  I used these with K Horns and this was recommended by Klipsch (Roy Delgato) if I recall. I find it hard to believe that QSC pro amps are less bright or harsh than the extremely high quality amps made by Bryston. 

 

 

[ODS123]

1 hour ago, tigerwoodKhorns said:

I never tried Bryston with Klipsch but had 7B ST amps in the past with B&Ws and they were great amps. 

 

The only problem w/ Bryston 7's and Klipsch is that they amount to gross overkill power-wise   When powered w/ very efficient speakers that could mean lots of noise and hum.  But Bryston's stuff is superbly engineered so I'm sure they'll be very quiet.  On the other hand, you could elect to sell them and buy something w/ 100w or so, and pocket the difference (which is apt to be lots $$$).  ..You won't need more than 20w to drive those LaScallas  My McIntosh wattage amps RARELY crest 5 watts.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

2 minutes ago, ODS123 said:

 

The only problem w/ Bryston 7's and Klipsch is that they amount to gross overkill power-wise   When powered w/ very efficient speakers that could mean lots of noise and hum.  But Bryston's stuff is superbly engineered so I'm sure they'll be very quiet.  On the other hand, you could elect to sell them and buy something w/ 100w or so, and pocket the difference (which is apt to be lots $$$).  ..You won't need more than 20w to drive those LaScallas  My McIntosh wattage amps RARELY crest 5 watts.

Agreed, but the PLX amps also have huge wattage.  I think that 200 WPC is the least powerful.

 

I now remember, Trey Cannon told Dean that Klipsch used QSC PLX amps in their lab about 15 years ago.  They work very well with Klipsch.  Cheap too. 

 

I'd just keep the Brystons if he already has them. 

[Mindu21]

Please keep the information rolling in as I have never owned a speaker this easy to drive, my ATC's have extremely tight and fast bass when I have them in the small room but disappeared in my main room and couldn't stand listening at low levels, I do agree with ODS123 that I was becoming a Covid Hermit in the small dedicated room. Room Treatment has been my top priority as I have removed over 50% of echo and most of the first reflections with heavy drapery.

The La Scala In my mind must have considerably more all a round presence than the ATC's 

 

                                                               Thank you everyone      The research continues!!!      Paul

[Mindu21]

How does the idea of matching up the La Scala's with a PASS INT 60 ?       Seems Pass is commonly paired with other Klipsch products.

 

                                                                               Thank's Paul