S391 Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 I recently picked up a set of 1983-vintage La Scalas and I've been having some fun with them. However, I'm curious to find out if there are any tips to help me with the set up. I have my gear in the basement and the room is roughly 26' x 38'. However, I have a steel support pole smack in the middle. As a result my listening area is much smaller given that I really don't have to have to deal with a pole in between my listening position and a speaker. Basically my speakers are about 9' apart and my listening seat is 9' feet away. One thing I notice is that my head is higher than the speaker and I'm worried that I am not getting full dispersion sitting that close / above the speakers. I was thinking about making some risers to get the speaker a bit higher and see what that sounds like. However, before I charge off and start cutting / building I thought I would seek some advice from the members of this forum. I should add that I am willing to admit that the La Scalas maybe too large for my area... but I couldn't pass up the chance to play with a pair and learn what they are capable of. Thank you in advance. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1291 Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 😂 Gonna get gray for sure. Fire 'em up and chill. Sounds like a nice play pen for sure. 1. Add a small reefer for cold drinks. 2. Build a bar. 3. Find a poker/pool table. 4. Coffee table to put feet on for tacky pics. 5. Park in the drivers seat and listen. 6. Adjust those two boxes, flop and continue to do so until the soundstage appears. 7. Crank it up after donning helmet and buckling up. Smile A LOT! 8, NEVER worry about the hood cause they're clueless anyway. 9. Eyeball the digrams on alignment someone will prolly post or hit the search box. 10. You could cut your head off then you'd be the same height as ur LS but nah. Enjoy them right now. 11. Eyeball the crossovers for leakage cause they're old and prolly need replaced but not in all cases. Same way with the tweeters and prolly the mid-drivers so if ya got the cash have at it. Several guys here can help or point you in a direction of someone who will. 12. Worry about room acoustics later cause you could benefit from that either now or later since you're in a block hole in the ground. Build your own. Again, hit the search bar. 13, Chill and enjoy right now. 14. It ain't rocket science but you can turn it into that if you want. 15. Welcome to the Forum! 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 I think you can benefit just from some changes in location. Place them farther apart, and you a little farther away, play with toeing them in or out. Sometimes just 2" in speaker placement can make a huge difference. Some people add a subwoofer, might help depending on your source material. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S391 Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 3 minutes ago, Ceptorman said: I think you can benefit just from some changes in location. Place them farther apart, and you a little farther away, play with toeing them in or out. Sometimes just 2" in speaker placement can make a huge difference. Some people add a subwoofer, might help depending on your source material. Thank you but I'm somewhat "landlocked". If I move them further apart I'm blocking a doorway and I'm behind a pole if I move my seat back..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 Is there any way to move the whole setup to another part of that room? That's a huge room, and you're only using 1/6th of it. Those speakers are known for filling the whole room of that size. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geezin' Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 How big is the pole? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWOReilly Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 Do what I did. Embrace the pole. I mounted a tv to mine. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S391 Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 54 minutes ago, Ceptorman said: Is there any way to move the whole setup to another part of that room? That's a huge room, and you're only using 1/6th of it. Those speakers are known for filling the whole room of that size. The room is odd shaped, I just listed the size for a rough description. there is an office in the back the sticks out, etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babadono Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 Get low man 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babadono Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 I don't think you would want to un couple the bass bin from the floor. If you have subs already doing low end duty it might be ok. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave MacKay Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 6 hours ago, S391 said: I recently picked up a set of 1983-vintage La Scalas and I've been having some fun with them. One thing I notice is that my head is higher than the speaker and I'm worried that I am not getting full dispersion sitting that close / above the speakers. I was thinking about making some risers to get the speaker a bit higher and see what that sounds like. I have similar vintage La Scalas. I built risers for my La Scalas to raise the tweeters to my ear level (at my main listening position). I haven’t been able to notice — or measure — any diminishment of the low end. A popular mod is a DJK port. In addition to raising the La Scalas, it improves the low end response. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S391 Posted May 23 Author Share Posted May 23 17 hours ago, Dave MacKay said: A popular mod is a DJK port. In addition to raising the La Scalas, it improves the low end response. DJK port.... going down the rabbit hole in 3... 2..... 1..... 😁 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMurg Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 I purchased 6" riser platforms for the La Scala that I'm using as rear surrounds to get the HF cabinets to ear height. They worked out well. Just remember that if you do that, make sure they are enclosed on all sides (like the risers that come with the speakers) so as not to form open cavities under the speakers. Remember point number 5 from PWK's Eight Cardinal Point for Sound Reproduction. "5. Freedom from cavities. The space under a speaker box formed by mounting it on legs can destroy the bottom octave of response and deteriorate the next 2 octaves." 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S391 Posted May 23 Author Share Posted May 23 36 minutes ago, MMurg said: I purchased 6" riser platforms for the La Scala that I'm using as rear surrounds to get the HF cabinets to ear height. They worked out well. Just remember that if you do that, make sure they are enclosed on all sides (like the risers that come with the speakers) so as not to form open cavities under the speakers. Remember point number 5 from PWK's Eight Cardinal Point for Sound Reproduction. "5. Freedom from cavities. The space under a speaker box formed by mounting it on legs can destroy the bottom octave of response and deteriorate the next 2 octaves." I hadn't heard that before but it makes sense. Thank you very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMurg Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 2 hours ago, S391 said: I hadn't heard that before but it makes sense. Thank you very much! Here is the "short" version of the Eight Cardinal Points. If you want to read Paul's full IRE paper on them, there is a PDF of it attached in this thread: https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/46835-article-eight-cardinal-points-by-pwk/. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S391 Posted May 24 Author Share Posted May 24 17 minutes ago, MMurg said: Here is the "short" version of the Eight Cardinal Points. If you want to read Paul's full IRE paper on them, there is a PDF of it attached in this thread: https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/46835-article-eight-cardinal-points-by-pwk/. Thank you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S391 Posted May 25 Author Share Posted May 25 (edited) Since I cannot keep from tinkering... and my 2 sons are home from college, we moved / cleaned a ton of stuff in the basement and moved my entire audio system 90 degrees. I now have more space (roughly 11' apart and 11' from my listening position) so I'll continue to play and tweak. Edited June 29 by S391 spelling 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1291 Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 Seeeee, how it alllll happens and the boys said? Dad are you crazy? NOW you can air things out a bit and get ur grin goin. You're just getting your feet wet. Enjoy! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the real Duke Spinner Posted May 26 Share Posted May 26 10' away thats it 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted May 26 Share Posted May 26 On 5/24/2024 at 8:56 PM, S391 said: Since I cannot keep from tinkering... any my 2 sons are home from college, we moved / cleaned a ton of stuff in the basement and moved my entire audio system 90 degrees. I now have more space (roughly 11' apart and 11' from my listening position) so I'll continue to play and tweak. That's excellent! Far enough back that the woofer/mid/tweeter will sound more like one sound source. Imaging should be great. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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