La Scala’s Stereophile April 2023 review

[henry4841]

10 hours ago, carewser said:

Man your LaScala's must be pretty heavy duty if they're louder than a vacuum cleaner 🤪

Hey listen, i'm glad you guys are happy with your LaScala's I just don't think I would be happy with them given my love of deep bass but that doesn't mean they're not great speakers, I just don't think they're for me, not that I could afford them anyway

I honestly did not mean any offense on anything I posted. When young I was much as yourself trusting in published specs as to what you will hear. PWK could not say it enough that music is dynamics with frequency response important but not the tell all. Horns are efficient, low distortion, dynamic ways to reproduce sound. Nothing can match a horn system. For really low bass the folded K-horn is the speaker of reasonable choice. I have heard of really serious audiophiles building a room with a 32ft bass horn built out of concrete and steel. The problem with the K-horn is that it is perfect if the room is suited for it. Horns uses what is called compression drivers for reproduction. Mostly associated with pro equipment and not home sound reproduction. PWK used professional drivers for his Heritage line and made a compression driver out of the 15" cone bass speaker. The speaker is put in a very small chamber with a board in front of the speaker with a slot to limit the travel of the 15" cone in effect making a compression driver out of the cone speaker. The gain is produced by the attached horn. Being a bass horn has to be extremely long and large he folded the horn and used the walls of the room for further amplification of the sound wave. With a proper large enough room using K-horns and a center speaker as suggested by Paul the sound will be like most have never heard. 

 

The LaScala is a compromise cutting one fold out of the equation with part of a db loss if not a whole db of bass notes loss but is suited for more rooms and is still horn loaded bass with the bass it does make. This is not to say it does not make great bass below 100hz, just not go very much below 50hz. When I bought my speaker very few LP's had much below 50hz recorded on them anyways so it made little difference to me to sacrifice a db or so of the low notes. For a couple of decades I did not feel I was missing anything. What I had for more than 30 years was a level of sound reproduction many never hear. I mentioned I paid $1500 or possible $1595 for my speakers in '86 and that was a lot of money for a blue collar worker with a family of 6 to support. But it was worth it to me. A pair of new LaScala's is a serious investment in sound for most but they were the last main speaker system I have ever bought. Always dreamed of owning K-horns but realized I do not have the space or proper room for them to sound their best. Now with the cost of really good subs and lots of cheap class D power to drive them reasonably priced I am not missing anything. 

 

What carewser is missing is a LaScala is an ultimate speaker system for most for a lifetime of sound enjoyment that most will pass on to their heir's after they are gone. Certainly benefit from a really good sub for those low bass note lovers. I personally listen to mine without using my sub a lot of the time. Plenty of the best bass one will ever hear and you can do that with a few watt single ended triode amplifier such as the amazing SET 300B amp. Not many speakers can say that. 

 

I know you are a skeptic carewser and you will never fully understand what members here are talking about until you live with a pair of LaScala's and hear what we are trying to convey into words. Impossible really to put into words what we are hearing from a pair of LaScala's. I have no desire to listen to the newer LaScala's loving the sound my old speakers produce. Klipsch claims improvements which I do not doubt but like carewser I could not afford them being old and retired on a fixed income anyways. What you do hear from top reviewers Klipsch sends to them to is when it is time to send them back most all say "I am sure going to miss those speakers." That is the ones that do not pay and keep them! And this is from people that have heard and reviewed many of the top speakers currently being produced. 

 

Shame these day there are not places one can go and audition a pair of LaScala's as it was in my days when I purchased mine. I am still in awe remembering the first time I heard a pair in a showroom with a tube amplifier. It was if the singer was right in front of me live with music filling the large listening room with instruments everywhere. Never regretted purchasing mine. 

 

Peace and love. 

[henry4841]

Stereophile's review on low bass. 

 

"The La Scala is not without flaws, or more precisely, limitations. Surprising for a speaker of such ample proportions, it doesn't do really deep bass; its 15" woofer rolls off steeply at around 50Hz. Roy Delgado, Klipsch's chief audio engineer, told me that this is a result of a compromise that allowed Paul Klipsch to design a relatively compact bass horn. (The Cornwall, a smaller and less expensive sibling in Klipsch's Heritage line, dispenses with the bass horn and goes down to 35Hz.) Whether this deficit might be a problem for you depends on your musical diet and priorities. While I noticed bass missing on certain electronic music and hip hop recordings, I rarely missed it; some La Scala owners, though, use a subwoofer. I should add that, despite being limited, the Klipsches' bass is in no way wimpy: When called upon, the big horns emitted bass notes as stentorian and downright scary as any speakers I've lived with."

[Tom05]

A few years ago the wife’s best friend got a three carat diamond ring from her husband (dirty bastard) . Of course my wife now thinks  she needs one , except she likes  the ones that are just a little bigger than what her friend  has  🤷. Ive been telling her that three carat diamonds are actually too big , very likely to get in her way , more apt to get stolen, don’t sparkle as much as the smaller ones 😉,and could theoretically hurt her finger🤫 . So far as luck would have it, this B.S seems to be working , I think she’s afraid of hurting her finger 🤓. Klipsch Jubilee, Khorn and Lascala , are like big  diamond rings , most everyone wants one , but it’s very very convenient , to deny these awesome big speakers , after all , their expensive, hard to place into a room , difficult to get approval from the little lady, and besides ,in theory they could hurt your finger . I think most of us know what’s going on here .🤓

[geoff.]

…cognitive bias, minimize and rationalize 

[richieb]

We’re not the only ones to understand what’s going on here. Great bit of rationalizing - when is she getting the 3.5 carat diamond?

[Tom05]

40 minutes ago, richieb said:

We’re not the only ones to understand what’s going on here. Great bit of rationalizing - when is she getting the 3.5 carat diamond?

Lately she’s been quiet on the diamond, but  has  been  talking about a new car , I like this idea a lot better , she’ll look good in a new car , she deserves one  , she’s been a good  sport with my endless Klipschorn / theater talk , hardly even rolls her eyes anymore.🤓

[rmlowz]

31 minutes ago, carewser said:

I think I do, Paul Klipsch successfully duped a bunch of people into spending mucho dineros on an inferior speaker when for similar money they could have had a much better sounding (albeit not as loud) speaker. Ironic given how Paul used to have a "bullshit" button he wore

There are other forums you can be a troll on. I think you have exhausted your welcome here. Move on kid

[mikebse2a3]

1 hour ago, carewser said:

I think I do, Paul Klipsch successfully duped a bunch of people into spending mucho dineros on an inferior speaker when for similar money they could have had a much better sounding (albeit not as loud) speaker. Ironic given how Paul used to have a "bullshit" button he wore

 

Why are you even posting here except to TROLL

 

@Travis In Austin and @Chief bonehead check the BS from this “Fool” 

[opnly bafld]

 

Some are just naturally good at it.

 

Stereophile comments section:

 

lack of bass

Submitted by carewser on March 17, 2023 - 10:04pm

In fairness to Klipsch I mean how much bass can one expect when you only spend $13,000 for a pair of speakers?

 

 

[Shakeydeal]

Methinks his time here is drawing to a close….

[mikebse2a3]

11 minutes ago, Shakeydeal said:

Methinks his time here is drawing to a close….

 

To disrespect PWK on the Klipsch Forum is about the most stupid action I’ve ever seen here….!!!

 

miketn

[YK Thom]

It must be a form of entertainment. I don't have enough free time to join a specific forum with the purpose of denigrating its products.

[Deang]

@carewser Bye. 

[henry4841]

Not exactly what I would call trying to make friends. 

[OO1]

 

 sad 

[richieb]

Meh - let him, maybe her, have their fun, ain’t really hurtin’ nuthin’. I quote a Mr. Gump - “ stupid is as stupid does”.  I wouldn’t be surprised if a certain PWK wasn’t busy preparing a rather large sack of Klipsch approved bullshite to be deposited in close proximity to our naysayer. Bombs away - 💩

[Deang]

3 hours ago, richieb said:

 … have their fun, ain’t really hurtin’ nuthin’.

I would warn a troll once and then ban them. These people can have their “fun” somewhere else. 
 

I have no idea why anyone would want to listen to somebody pontificate about a Klipsch product they have zero experience with. 
 

Calling PWK a charlatan was pretty much it for me. 

[henry4841]

Make a inappropriate personal attack on a member and and you will get a warning if not a time out. Same should hold for PWK is the way I see it. Someone allowed to post as previously done usually will not get better but worse. Not the place or time for comments of such on a Klipsch forum. Another comment from a fictional Hollywood production called Andy Griffin was Barney's, "Nip it in the bud." Warning is appropriate IMHO. There are plenty of other sites to freely express his opinions where they are more appropriate. That  one post about PWK, who was and is still a giant in audio reproduction, was totally unacceptable on this site. 

 

I thought at first he was interested in learning about how the LaScala came into being and why it has endured for decades and is still very popular among serious audiophiles. Convinced now he is, perhaps was, just a troll.