La Scala Splits

[CWOReilly]

When we’re these made? Crossover AA, k55-v push pin, k77 square. Haven’t opened doghouses. 
Crossover redone?
Is it just black lacquer over the fiberglass? 
 

They sound great! Carver powered!

 

Thank you kind Klipsch friends!

[CWOReilly]

I’m assuming the crossover was rebuilt using what was readily available. Those piggybacked caps are a big giveaway. 
 

[OO1]

47 minutes ago, CWOReilly said:

When we’re these made?  

 

serial nos  show 1392   and 1275   , so  1978  or very early 1979 , you can check with the Klipsch Historian @JRH   He may be able to chime in ,  I had LSI speakers with a  later serial number with Round magnet K-77  

 

-yes ,    the speakers were painted  after the speakers were fibreglassed 

[CWOReilly]

9 minutes ago, OO1 said:

serial nos  show 1392   and 1275   , so  1978  or very early 1979 , you can check with the Klipsch Historian @JRH   He may be able to chime in ,  I had LSI speakers with a  later serial number with Round magnet K-77  

 

-yes ,    the speakers were painted  after the speakers were fibreglassed 

I was thinking late 70s. Thanks!

[OO1]

2 minutes ago, CWOReilly said:

I was thinking late 70s. Thanks!

@JRH can give you  the   date  the speakers shipped from the Factory , the section  is  " Ask the Historian " 

[Islander]

8 hours ago, CWOReilly said:

I’m assuming the crossover was rebuilt using what was readily available. Those piggybacked caps are a big giveaway. 
 

 

Not at all.  It was built with what was readily available.  My 1974 La Scalas’ AA crossovers came with a triple stack of capacitors in one spot.  I can only guess that the exact value PWK wanted wasn’t available at that time.  The crossovers looked much tidier after I replaced those 32-year-old capacitors with new Sonicaps from Bob Crites (RIP).  The speakers sounded better, too.

[Islander]

The La Scala Industrials came in several models:  one-piece, split, painted, fibreglassed and painted.  The fibreglassed models have a knobbly finish that’s easy to spot.  Your speakers appear to have the smooth finish of painted plywood, i. e., non-fibreglassed.  Which looks better?  Up to you.

[geoff.]

The LSIs have K-43 woofers, yours should have the PWK dustcaps (cool) but you will never see them unless you dust out the doghouse. The K-43 really rocks in these. 

 

The re-cap is a good thing, I could hardly hear the tweeters on my AAs until after a re-cap.

 

If yours are the fibreglass version you are really blessed, less resonance, love the metal terminal plates and the big stencilled Klipsch logos on the sides.

 

 

 

 

[chassell]

I'm gonna differ with those that say they're painted. Hard to tell from the pic, but in good light it appears that it's black thread embedded in the fiberglass resin that gives them the black color.

[CWOReilly]

@Islander  @geoff.

 

What confused me with the crossover was the 4 caps rather than 3. Then I realized the neon green zip ties and hot glue. Not exactly what I would have expected from Hope, Bob (RIP), or from JEM. My 75 LS AAs didn’t have big oil cans and were surely built in Hope with what they could get. 
 

As for the cabinets they are fiberglass.  Which I really like. I’m considering some minor restoration such as painting the HF face and the tops since they show the most wear. I wanna keep the stenciled sides. Need a new stencil for the small Klipsch on the front. Also want to clean up the trim. I know it’s anodized, but its way worn and I’m not sure what route I’ll take. Probably just light sanding to make it more “even” on the faces. 
 

All in all it’s how they sound and I’m pleased. Hard to say if they sound better than my 75 LS though. Different room, different amp, etc. 
 

 

[CWOReilly]

1 minute ago, chassell said:

I'm gonna differ with those that say they're painted. Hard to tell from the pic, but in good light it appears that it's black thread embedded in the fiberglass resin that gives them the black color.

They are fiberglass. 

[chassell]

1 minute ago, CWOReilly said:

They are fiberglass. 

Scrub them really clean, then use an automotive fiberglass polish.

 

[jimjimbo]

1 hour ago, CWOReilly said:

@Islander  @geoff.

 

What confused me with the crossover was the 4 caps rather than 3. Then I realized the neon green zip ties and hot glue. Not exactly what I would have expected from Hope, Bob (RIP), or from JEM. My 75 LS AAs didn’t have big oil cans and were surely built in Hope with what they could get. 
 

As for the cabinets they are fiberglass.  Which I really like. I’m considering some minor restoration such as painting the HF face and the tops since they show the most wear. I wanna keep the stenciled sides. Need a new stencil for the small Klipsch on the front. Also want to clean up the trim. I know it’s anodized, but its way worn and I’m not sure what route I’ll take. Probably just light sanding to make it more “even” on the faces. 
 

All in all it’s how they sound and I’m pleased. Hard to say if they sound better than my 75 LS though. Different room, different amp, etc. 
 

 

Highly doubtful those crossovers were built by Hope, Bob, or that other entity.  A few better close up photos would be good.

 

Raise the top hats about the height of a milk crate and you will have a much better appreciation of how good they can sound.

[CWOReilly]

1 hour ago, jimjimbo said:

Highly doubtful those crossovers were built by Hope, Bob, or that other entity.  A few better close up photos would be good.

 

Raise the top hats about the height of a milk crate and you will have a much better appreciation of how good they can sound.

Minus the caps they are AA. Probably just a recap by some random guy. Only had them open to address immediately known issues (broken binding post and a mud dobber in the horn). When I open them again soon I’ll send out pics. 
 

In the space I have them in which is crazy small I’m not sure about raising them up. But. Once in their more permanent home I’ll be sure to experiment. Thanks for tip. 

[Marvel]

IIRC, IndyKlipschFan had his tops up on milk crates in his LSI home theater. Man, that was a long tme ago.

[nickyboy6100]

3 hours ago, CWOReilly said:

As for the cabinets they are fiberglass.  Which I really like. I’m considering some minor restoration such as painting the HF face and the tops since they show the most wear. I wanna keep the stenciled sides. Need a new stencil for the small Klipsch on the front. Also want to clean up the trim. I know it’s anodized, but its way worn and I’m not sure what route I’ll take. Probably just light sanding to make it more “even” on the faces. 

Are the two stencil’s still available?

[CWOReilly]

29 minutes ago, nickyboy6100 said:

Are the two stencil’s still available?

I don’t know. Probably not difficult to make if you have a vinyl cutter. I don’t know anyone right now. 

[nickyboy6100]

1 minute ago, CWOReilly said:

I don’t know. Probably not difficult to make if you have a vinyl cutter. I don’t know anyone right now. 

I have a pair very similar to yours. I want to paint them, but don’t want to cover up the stencil. Let me know if you find someone able to do it. I’d appreciate it. Just an FYI, if you open up the trap door on the doghouse, be ready for a fight. It took me about an hour to pry the door open without damaging anything. The gasket has turned to tar. 

[nickyboy6100]

Also, there were two gaskets. One on the perimeter and one on the cut out. You can see the outline in the above photo. Do both need replaced? I was planning on putting gasket tape on the perimeter only. 

[CWOReilly]

@nickyboy6100 That’s why I haven’t tried to open mine. I would think that as long as it seals it doesn’t matter what you use to replace the old seal(s). I’d prefer something easier to remove. Just in case. 
 

As for the stencils if we can’t find someone to make them for us I guess we’ll have to cut our own. Frisket film and an xacto knife.