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Lascalas with AL Crossovers


mingham

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I know I said I wanted to live with these awhile, but I have already decided from reading here and elsewhere that I don't want to stick with the ALs and rather than rebuilding them, I want to consider other options.   I want to stay original Klipsch, even if they are not the crossovers that came with the speakers.  It makes sense to me to trust in PWK et al.  So I am looking for a set of donor or good condition AL2s or AL3s, correct?  Any other options?  Anyone got a pair they want to part with?

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, mingham said:

I know I said I wanted to live with these awhile, but I have already decided from reading here and elsewhere that I don't want to stick with the ALs and rather than rebuilding them, I want to consider other options.

 

  @JEM Performance   sell  klipsch OEM capacitors kits for the AL  , there is nothing wrong with the klipsch  AL  .

 

these AL crossover  capacitors  kits are tested /Approved by  klipsch Engineering ,  the klipsch OEM capacitors alike all other klipsch Products offer the Best sound quality -

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Hello @mingham, first of all let me say I have owned several pairs of LaScalas over the years, and still own two pairs. I made the mistake of listening to what some on here have said and discounted the AL crossover before even listening to it. Bought a pair of A/4500s and requisite tweeters before even owning LaScalas in anticipation.

 

First pair of LaScalas came with AL-3 crossovers. NEVER felt the need to change anything about them. Sold them a couple years later to fund my first pair of Chorus 2s... another story.

 

Several years and a couple of pairs of LaScalas later I found a stock pair with AL crossovers for the right price and gave them a listen. I found nothing abhorrently wrong with the presentation compared to the speakers I OWNED that had the AL-3, AA, and A/4500 crossovers in them.

 

In short, I regret trashing a functioning pair of AL crossovers. They were stock on at least three pairs of LS I have owned and both pairs of LSI Splits I still own.

 

One of the problems with the AL crossover was traced to issues with T3A autoformer. But whether that affected all of them is not clear. I have owned at least two different versions(components) of the AL crossover and think there were three iterations. Others are not fond of the “elliptical filter” in the AL crossover, but that issue would be inherent in any version of the AL, AL-2, or AL-3. They all have it.

 

Others on here have owned stock AL equipped LaScalas and took no exceptions to them. From my experience, I am in that camp.

 

Having said all that, one restored pair of LSI Splits now has the Crites version of the AL-3 in them and the other pair has Crites A/4500s. I quite enjoy either. It should be noted that both pairs have some version of a DE-120 replacement tweeter in them. The SMAHL tweeter is what I would choose.

 

Whatever you do, don’t trash the ALs. 

 

 

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Hmmm. I found tons of posts and other pages trashing the AL, so I figured it was just accepted practice to switch them out. Now, whether I I’ll hear the difference is probably worth considering. I am 54 and have tested my range at about 20-14khz. It could be all for naught.

If I’m not going to hear it, I will probably just rebuild the stock crossovers and keep them original. (I will probably send the to JEM, bc I don’t do electrickery).


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@mingham, there are some other fine points about the AL crossover that only come to light with a bit of time in the soup.

 

The midrange is more attenuated in the AL (and AL-2, which is a/an unicorn) than on any other crossover. It is -6db, for comparison the AL-3 is -4db, and the AA that many like to knock down in the mids comes in stock at -3db.

 

I am 56, if I remember correctly, and the single greatest change (modification) I have found with any pair so far has been to replace the K-77 tweeter. Now this is another issue of contention with many, and like I said earlier, the stock AL-3 LaScalas I owned first warranted NO changes. But having already owned a pair of  CT-120s I wound up TRYING them in subsequent pairs of LaScalas and immediately preferred them. Givin the choice new, I would, once again choose a pair of SMAHL tweeters.

 

As always, your mileage MAY vary, but most of us on here are on the same journey. We just take a different path before we wind up there.

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from what i have learned on here JEM PERFORMANCE does not rebuild crossovers. they will sell you the correct caps for your speakers for you to do yourself.

i'm an AA crossover guy ( i have 3 sets from Deang - Crankysoldermeister ) so thats the route i would go along with DaveA's V2 lenses with 120 tweeters and Crites A-55g/2 mids

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3 hours ago, mingham said:

Dave - they are 1988 models.

@JEM Performance   can rebuild your crossovers if you ship the units over to his shop , or , he can send you the Capacitors and a tech who is capable of using   a Soldering iron can  do the work , You can PM  Jim anytime -

theaudioroom@verizon.net

JEM Performance Audio

3319 Piedmont Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15216, United States

(412) 401-6915

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I had ALs in my first pair of LS. Didn't like them at all. They could have surely used some new caps, but I built some designed by a forum member. They worked very, very well. I'll would build them again.

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