Chief Bonehead Class Fall 2024 - La Scala Reborn - My Report

[dtel]

Very good review MMurg, also accurate, thanks for the pictures. 

 

Also thanks JWC for the pictures and it was nice to see you and Mark. It was nice to see everyone else also, a big part of what makes these things fun for me.

 

And of course Chief Bonehead or even Chef Bonehead at times did  great job as usual with another new design, well done. Much more bass to the LaScala, just what it needed + new horns/drivers for a total improvement in a big way, PWK would definitely approve.                                     ps, I like the active

[Mikecan]

Can you please explain in layman terms what a triamp DSP is?

More importantly, what would I need to purchase to get this great sound? 

We watch a lot of movies as well as listen to music so ideally I want something straightforward to use

The pictures look like he has something he made himself which is way above my ability

[MMurg]

3 hours ago, Mikecan said:

Can you please explain in layman terms what a triamp DSP is?

More importantly, what would I need to purchase to get this great sound? 

We watch a lot of movies as well as listen to music so ideally I want something straightforward to use

The pictures look like he has something he made himself which is way above my ability

 

The new La Scala will ship with a traditional passive crossover network like the current version.  An available option will be an active DSP crossover.  This will split the signals for the tweeter, squawker (midrange), and woofer at line level, before amplification.  Therefore, you will need three channels of amplification (triamp) for each speaker.  This configuration sounds far superior to the using the passive crossovers.

[The Dude]

I am curious as to how the sound of the new active AL6 compares to the Frankenstein referred to as the "Jubescala".  I know this isn't an apples-to-apples comparison, but I would interest in hearing what your impression/comparison between the 2. 

 

This may be the all the explanation I needed. 

 

"The sound was as close to the Heritage Jubilee sound as I’ve heard from any other Heritage speaker"

 

[Flevoman]

16 hours ago, MMurg said:

The new La Scala will ship with a traditional passive crossover network like the current version. 

 

Ohw really??. 

I thought that the AL6 was active only. 

[MMurg]

1 hour ago, Flevoman said:

 

Ohw really??. 

I thought that the AL6 was active only. 

 

Roy's original intention was DSP only.  However, others thought it might hurt sales to require tramping.  So, Roy did passive networks as well.

 

However, in my opinion, using the new La Scala with the passive networks would be a colossal mistake.  The passive and active configurations don't even sound like the same speakers.  The triamp DSP configuration is far better sounding.  It's not even close.  I imagine this will be the same with the new Klipschorn. 

[Flevoman]

And do you have heard both type of speakers? 

Active and the passive version? 

[MMurg]

1 hour ago, Flevoman said:

And do you have heard both type of speakers? 

Active and the passive version? 

 

Yes, Roy demoed both configurations at the recent class.  Go back to the first post in this thread. 

[jwc]

I was there too and I agree with everything Murg said. The active and the passive are notably different.  I like the active.

 

Many many years ago when the underground jube became available, in the same room I've heard many renditions of passives versus the active. There were some times there where I like the passive better and they were very similar to the active. However with this demonstration, the differences were obvious.

 

 

[mark1101]

No matter..........GET THE SUB.

[Schu]

Were there ANY filters/treatment being applied with the dsp vesus the passives?

Or did everyone forget to ask...

[MMurg]

3 minutes ago, Schu said:

Were there ANY filters/treatment being applied with the dsp vesus the passives?

Or did everyone forget to ask...

 

Roy said there are various PEQs, etc. being applied in the DSP to get very flat frequency response and good phase response.  What those are and how many there are were not revealed at the class.  (This was also never revealed for the Heritage Jubilee.  I assume they consider this trade secret information.)  Roy attempted to implement as many of these in as he could in the passive network as was practical within the size and cost considerations.  The new passive network is so large it had to be split into two boards whereas the AL5 network is only one.  However, he could only do part of that was done in the DSP, and he also could not do the driver time alignment that's possible with the DSP.

[Vik22]

On 11/19/2024 at 12:21 AM, MMurg said:

As usual, the latest Chief Bonehead class, La Scala Reborn, was a fun and informative event.  We spent the day learning about and listening to the upcoming La Scala AL6 with Klipsch Principal Engineer Roy Delgado.  We also learned about what changes are coming for the Klipschorn AK7, but the prototypes were not fully assembled and there wasn’t time for additional listening.  If you have a chance to attend any of these classes, you really should.  They are fun and help fund the Klipsch Museum of Audio History (https://www.klipschmuseum.org/).  Even if you can’t attend, consider donating to the Museum or even becoming a member to help them continue preserving Paul’s legacy and promoting STEM education.  Commercial over, now onto the class information.

 

Here are the upcoming changes to the La Scala and Klipschorn.  Remember that this is preliminary information subject to change.

 

• New midrange horn and driver (La Scala and Klipschorn)
  The reason that the La Scala and Klipschorn are being updated at this time is because the tooling for the K-401 midrange horn is finally wearing out.  Instead of making new tooling for that old exponential horn design, it was decided that it would finally be replaced with a modern modified Tractrix horn, designated the K-406.  This new horn is much shorter and features a 2” throat and “mumps”.  The next change is the midrange driver to go with this new horn. This is the large diaphragm, 2” exit KT-1133-HP compression driver used in the Klipsch Professional line.
   
• New tweeter wide dispersion phase plug (La Scala and Klipschorn)
  All compression drivers will start to beam at a certain frequency as the frequency increases.  The frequency at which this happens depends on the driver’s exit diameter.  Once this happens the horn no longer controls the coverage pattern.  A phase plug is then needed to control the coverage past this point.  That is why wide dispersion phase plugs were added to the high frequency assemblies when the Heresy, Forte, and Cornwall were last updated and why the Heritage Jubilee has always had one.  The La Scala and Klipsch will now join the rest of the Heritage line with the addition of a wide dispersion phase plug to the tweeters.
   
• Revised bass bin with horn-loaded vented system and different woofer (La Scala only)
  In order to get additional bass extension from the La Scala, Roy decided to experiment with using a horn-loaded vented system design like the Jubilee bass bin.  After experimenting with various port numbers, he settled on two ports.  These are the same ports used on the Cornwall, Heresy and RF-7 III.  Since there is only so much space on the woofer baffle, the woofer size had to be decreased from 15 inches to 12 inches.  However, this is no ordinary 12-inch woofer.  It is the same woofer used on the Forte IV.  It has a larger voice coil (3”) than the 15.  Since the ports contribute to the effective radiating area, this combination actually has lower distortion than the sealed 15.  Doing this netted an extra 10 Hz of bass extension.
   
• New crossover network and optional DSP (La Scala and Klipschorn)
  The original intent Roy had was to forgo a passive crossover and only do an active DSP like the Jubilee.  However, some people thought that sales might suffer if buyers were forced to buy six channels of amplification for stereo when only two are required for the current La Scala.  So, now the La Scala AL6 and Klipschorn AK7 will ship stock with a passive network and the DSP will be a separately purchased option.  The new passive network will be fairly complicated since Roy tried to accommodate as many of the PEQs, etc. used in the DSP as possible.  It’s so big that the production network had to be put on two circuit boards.  However, the real magic comes with the optional DSP.  This allows time/phase alignment of all drivers.  This also allowed the response to be really flattened out.  However, this also means that the new La Scala and Klipschorn will require three channels of amplification per speaker when using the DSP.
   
• Upgrade kits (La Scala and Klipschorn)
  The plan is to have upgrade kits for both the La Scala and Klipschorn.  Any upgrade kits that might be offered would probably only be for the La Scala AL5 and the Klipschorn AK6, since only those versions have the Celestion tweeter with the front-mounted horn that will be carried over to the new versions.  The kits would include the passive networks and the DSP would still be an optional purchase.  The La Scala may have two versions of the kit.  Since the woofer baffle has been changed, to do a full upgrade would require replacing the entire “doghouse” in the bass bin.  So, there may be a kit with the doghouse and one without.  If you pick the one without the doghouse, you will miss out on the additional bass extension but still get all the other improvements.

 

How do all these changes sound?  Well, we began the listening session with the La Scala and the passive networks.  These sounded good.  You could definitely hear the extended bass and the smoother midrange.  You could be happy with these without a sub, depending on your musical tastes.  The hint of shoutiness from the K-401 mid-horn is completely gone.  However, there was little of the magic I heard back in March when we only heard the ones with the DSP.

 

Once Roy switched the setup to the tri-amp DSP configuration, the improvement was astounding.  The bottom end sounded even fuller, the speakers sounded smoother, better integrated, and more like single sources.  The improvement is as dramatic as when I head the comparison of the Underground Jubilee and the Heritage Jubilee.  The sound was as close to the Heritage Jubilee sound as I’ve heard from any other Heritage speaker, just at a smaller scale and without the ridiculously deep bass of the Jubilee.  These are not your grandfather’s La Scala.  I imagine the improvement will be similarly dramatic with the Klipschorn as well.  Purchasing the new La Scala or Klipschorn without doing the tri-amp DSP setup would be a monumental mistake in my opinion.  The sound with the DSP is so much better.  I can’t wait for these new versions to be released.

 

The event was capped off by an evening at the Klipsch Museum Visitor Center of enjoying Roy’s famous grilled fajitas and chicken and live music with the Dusty Rose Band.

 

Edit:  I forgot to mention that Klipsch is currently planning to launch the new La Scala and Klipschorn at the end of February of next year (2025).

 

                                                                        La Scala’s revival is impressive, combining tradition with modern improvements. This leads me to ask how do the montague and capulet families contribute to the catastrophe in romeo and juliet? For example, in Romeo and Juliet, the long-standing feud between the Montagues and Capulets shapes every tragic event. A deeper dive into how these family dynamics fuel the disaster can be found on specialized academic sites. Likewise, Klipsch’s approach to honoring its heritage while innovating reflects how even timeless projects can evolve without losing their essence.

Cool! Thanks for sharing.

Edited December 2 by Vik22

[ccs]

With the dsp, does it take the analogue signal from the preamp, then convert it to digital, and after processing, then use a dac to convert it back to analogue to send the signal to the amps?  If that is the case, will that essentially remove or dilute any tube warmth and expanded soundstage that asystem might be getting from a tube preamplifier?

[Alfredo Prada]

Yes, I does convert the analog to Digital (Digital Signal Processor) to handle delay, EQ, polarity, level, etc. so  it is a ADC and DAC converter. I must have good converters. And yes adding another conversion is the subject of discussion here. There is the option of passive crossover of course.

[boxie]

Will the DSP Crossover Kit have an option for a digital input?

[MMurg]

2 hours ago, boxie said:

Will the DSP Crossover Kit have an option for a digital input?

 

I don't know.  The question didn't come up at the class.

[boxie]

So glad Klipsch is doing this.   Some simple DSP work would really help the AK6s reach their full potential (which I believe to be significant).  I was going to venture off and build a dsp kit myself before finding this thread.   Can't wait until its available!

[babadono]

1 hour ago, boxie said:

build a dsp kit myself before finding this thread

If you want one YOU can adjust you must DIY. Plenty of good DSP units avail. for around $500 to 600

[Trey Cannon]

That mid horn is getting smaller and Roy's mid is getting bigger...