Cornwall 4 vs Lascala AL-5

[Flevoman]

15 minutes ago, JefDC said:

Hello,

as you are listening very critically I hope you are aware that speakers close together will influence each other.

Some frequencies are absorbed, depending on the size of the speaker - a kind of a 'bass trap'.

 They are sitting in there own corner now 😉

[Flevoman]

12 minutes ago, Shakeydeal said:

I certainly wouldn't move them any closer together. If anything I would move them about another foot apart and toe them in so they cross about six ft behind your listening position.

 

These speakers should be more open than Cornwalls, not boxier sounding. Early Lascalas yes, AL5s, no.

 

This is a little bit how I started. 

More distance between the speakers (I think 2 feet or so?) 

But the X-line was in front of me. 

They told me this should be the best way to setup the speakers for the most bass performance and soundstage. 

Unfortunately in my situation it didn't work out that well. 

But thank you for this advise, I will give it a try this eavening with the X-line behind my position. 

[JefDC]

45 minutes ago, Flevoman said:

 They are sitting in there own corner now 😉

Eating all those delicious low and some mid frequencies 😁

You can actually check this, play some loud music and touch the cones of the not-playing speakers and feel them vbrate. Some of the vibration is absorbed and others re-emitted.

[Shakeydeal]

40 minutes ago, JefDC said:

Eating all those delicious low and some mid frequencies 😁

You can actually check this, play some loud music and touch the cones of the not-playing speakers and feel them vbrate. Some of the vibration is absorbed and others re-emitted.

 

Yeah I know it's a pain in the ***. But my motto is "one pair of speakers in the room at a time".

 

You can casually evaluate them by leaving both in the room. But for critical listening, the other pair needs to be shown the door.

[Marvel]

1 hour ago, Flevoman said:

I will give it a try this eavening with the X-line behind my position. 

I always liked this better than crossing in front.

[Flevoman]

Well, for now they stay in there corner 😄

Till I know which pair of speaker will be my keepers I'm not moving them arround. 

Besides, I also want to be able to compair the CW4 vs the Al5 in the near future. 

I'm just curious what my impression of the CW4 will be when I am used to the AL-5 sound. 

Will I still prefer the CW4 above the Al5? 

 

[Marvel]

Maybe in a few years a cut list for the UJs will make it into the wild....

[Tom05]

Cornwall vs Lascala . No one has addressed the BAF factor , ( bad a-s  factor ) the unmistakable cool quality that Lascala , Klipschorn , and Jubilee bring to the table , how much is this  worth? , one look and listen from friends  and neighbors  will instantly transform you  into a  rock star and hero . Not a bad deal in my opinion🤓

[KT88]

I have to agree with those who say there should only be one pair of speakers in the room. The CW4s work like two giant bass absorbers with their bass reflex ports. They are practically exactly like those bass traps some people put up against unwanted frequencies. Only that here desired frequencies might fall victim. If it's not too much trouble, I'd put them in another room for a day.
As for the sound of the AL5. Yes, the ear gets used to some things in a very amazing way. But there are also sound additions that you can't get used to. On the contrary, some undesirable characteristics of some speakers or rooms can even become more annoying over time. It remains to be seen...I personally have "LaScala ears" :-).

I am very curious about your experiences and impressions. Especially if you go back to the CW4 after a week or so, that would interest me the most. I feel like I find radial speakers quite obfuscated after being spoiled with a full horn for a longer period of time.

 

Another quick question. Did you put the rubber pads underneath to protect your floor from scratches or because you think it improves the sound of the AL5?

[mikebse2a3]

One of the most critical aspects of integrating my La Scala AL5-ME in this essentially square room was adjusting for the SBIR (Speaker Boundary Interference Reflections). Movements in relation to the wall boundaries of as little as a few inches can make or break the smoothness of sound reproduction below 300Hz. Listening to a good recording of an Acoustic Upright Bass I find to be a valuable tool in loudspeaker placement as it pertains to reproduction of frequencies below 300Hz.

 

As can be seen I have the La Scalas well into the room and yes it does reduce the LF extension versus corner loading but it is very smooth detailed reproduction and the soundstage/imaging is excellent with the speakers totally disappearing as the sound sources.

 

Note: While I can and do enjoy the La Scala AL5 on their own in this setup with music I mostly use the KPT-1502-HLS prototype sub (Located Behind My Listening Position) with them or even my Underground Jubilee’s because of the increased realism that comes from frequencies as low as 18Hz adds to music reproduction and Soundstaging/Imaging.

 

miketn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Flevoman]

Moving the CW4 is really too much hassle. I could throw a thick rug over it if that's advisable. But I can't and don't want to drag them back and forth.

 

By now, I know myself well enough to know that I need time to adjust to any change in my system. Only later do I realize that I will come to appreciate the adjustment. Unfortunately, it seems I have a difficult musical brain 🙄. Knowing this, I don't want to say too much about my first impression, as there's a good chance it will be completely different in two weeks.

However.... 😌, with that in mind, if I can tentatively provide an initial reaction based on how I currently experience the LaScala, I prefer the CW4 for now. I hope it's due to my combination of components, still finding the right positions, etc... but I find the sound quite dark, which is contradictory to say because it does sound dynamically and detailed. However, I have this urge to pull a kind of cover off the speakers to make it sound light and open again.

The placement of vocals and instruments is currently less precise compared to the CW4. This will probably improve with some shifting and experimenting, as it took a while for everything to fall into place with the CW4.

I miss the bass less than I expected, but on some songs that I know well on the CW4, I find the LaScala sounding somewhat weak. I sincerely hope I can get it right because I can hear that the LaScala has a lot of potential.

On TIDAL, I've come across a few songs that sounded incredibly tight and dynamic. The CW4 could never achieve that.

[Flevoman]

@mikebse2a3 That's what I call a listening room.
Very impressive...
And with the speakers placed so far apart, are all the instruments and vocals still sharply defined in their proper positions?

[Flevoman]

3 hours ago, KT88 said:

 

Another quick question. Did you put the rubber pads underneath to protect your floor from scratches or because you think it improves the sound of the AL5?

I have the feeling this will improve the sound. 

But this is more based on my experience with the CW4 tbh. 

[KT88]

Mike has chosen this quasi Khorn placement, not tight in the corners but with an almost similar 40 degree angle as it looks in his photo. So I think it will work good, but I am curious what Mike will reply himself.

[KT88]

17 minutes ago, Flevoman said:

I have the feeling this will improve the sound. 

But this is more based on my experience with the CW4 tbh. 

I don't want to be too schoolmasterly in the sense of giving too much advice, sorry. After some time of acclimatization I would try it once without these rubber pads because the AL5 then has less "micro wobble", which can also benefit the high frequencies.
Regarding your CW4, if they stay in the room, would it be me, I would put them together in the way that the two front baffles "see" each other. That would make the effect as a possible bass trap much smaller. They would mutually eliminate this effect each other.

[Flevoman]

No sorry!.. Your tips are more then welcome. 

So thank you, I will give it a try without the rubber pads. 

But I have the feeling that the rubber pads give some more air in the bas.... 

[KT88]

48 minutes ago, Flevoman said:

No sorry!.. Your tips are more then welcome. 

So thank you, I will give it a try without the rubber pads. 

But I have the feeling that the rubber pads give some more air in the bas.... 

Another idea. Have your AL5s been running for a while, or do they just have this cosmetic flaw but have barely run?

[Flevoman]

The story is as follows.
An employee of my audio store had purchased these.
He didn't like them, he felt they were lacking too much bass. He tried a few things for a while, like adding a subwoofer, but ultimately he went for the Khorn, and these speakers returned to the audio store where they served as a demo model.
I don't know how many hours they have been played, but it's not a lot yet.

 

Edit:he replyed around the 250 hours 

[KT88]

Ok, thanks for info. I was just thinking about the capacitors of the network which are nowadays polyester types Klipsch uses like I used them to restore my old LaScalas. And in my experience they need some time to open up which means clearer and more spatial high frequencies. (The „burning in“ is not a privilege of boutique expensive parts:) But within 250 hours it should be done.

[Tom05]

The  Lascala bass horn offers outstanding clarity , impact ,and immediacy ,these impressive qualities are what  set Lascala bass apart from even the best  bass reflex / direct radiator speakers. Fully horn loaded is tough to beat .