Pete C Posted April 23, 2001 Share Posted April 23, 2001 Did you ever slowly drive or climb up a mountain? The pressure on your ears only gradually increases so you don't notice the hearing loss. Suddenly, POP, and you hear what you had been missing from the sound of the vehicle, wind in the trees, birds, etc. That is what happened to my 1979 LaScalas recently. I bought them in 1984 and listened to them a lot. I had to move in 1993 and put them into semi-retirement in a small room not really set up for then. During the time I was there, my Marantz 2270 gave up and wasn't worth fixing, so I purchased a decent 100W Pioneer. I moved to a new home with a room big enough to hold them. I set them up, but they didn't sound right. Had my Marantz blown my tweeters or had the diaphragms worn out? Did my capacitors dry out or my inductors lose some insulation in their windings? Was this receiver really the "piece of junk" the tube lovers keep reporting? What step would I take to begin helping the situation? Well, I had just purchased a set of RF-3s for HT using the Klipsch website for information (my ears were my recommendation.) I registered them online and noticed there was a message forum. I found the Updating Old Speakers section just in time to see the post by johns02 and how impressed he was by these ALK Crossovers. I had suspected my crossovers may had grown old, like my ears had. I contacted Al and he told me I could try them and send them back for a refund. That was good enough for me. I patiently waited a few weeks for Al to build them (just like I did for my Cornwall in 1972.) I got them Friday, but had to wait to try them. I connected only one temporarily to see if there would be a noticeable difference. WOW! I had to adjust the balance due to the efficiency of the new components, as expected. I was listening to one ear full of wax and the other just cleaned by Doctor Al. The difference is profound. The money was well spent. I could have bought replacement x-overs from Klipsch, but I'm a believer in keeping up with new technology and I took a chance that paid off. I'll have to get my Cornwall refinished to match the LaScalas so it will meet the WAF. And buy an ALK -CW1 x-over for it. The picture is one I sent to Al, because the design meant to fit K-horns, Belle & LaScala didn't quite fit in my version. It wasn't a complaint, just to visualize how the mounting board could fit better for other LaScala owners. Thanks for the design, Al! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted April 23, 2001 Share Posted April 23, 2001 Pete, Thanks for the good report and for the feedback about the monting. Has any other LaScala users had problems mounting them? They were actually designed to fit in the Belle Klipsch, which has the network mounted on the other side of the squawker and there is gobs of room. Feedback requested! ??? Al K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted April 24, 2001 Share Posted April 24, 2001 Al, My (1974) La Scalas had the crossover board mounted on the right side of the squawker brace. The boards your crossovers were mounted on were about a zillionth of an inch wider that the stock boards. I had to expertly manipulate (er, shove hard) them in there to fit. The predrilled mounting holes lined up perfectly. I haven't got my digital camera hooked up to the new laptop yet, will try to take a picture in the next couple of days and post to this thread. I'm forced to report that as I've used your crossovers over the past few months, my impression of them compared to the stock AA crossovers has not remained the same. I used to think they were a significant improvement. Over time, as I've listened to more music of more types in more moods for long periods, I have come to the realization that that's not true. They are not a significant improvement over the stock crossovers any more than replacing a black velvet Elvis painting with an original Fransisco Goya is a significant improvement. Improving something implies a comparison is possible. Your crossovers are so much better than the original stock crossovers, and let so much more of the music out, that no comparison is possible. Thank you again. Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted April 24, 2001 Share Posted April 24, 2001 Thanks Ray! You have me worried for a minute there. I though the novelty had worn off! It looks like Klipsch has changed the LaScala dimensions somewhere along the way. I thought getting the mounting holes the right distance apart would be all that's needed, but it looks like there's some more things to consider! Groan AL K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted April 24, 2001 Share Posted April 24, 2001 Hey Al! Are there any plans to delve into the Legend line for crossovers? Are they even worth it? I have a pair of KLF-20's that I'm upgrading from a Carver Receiver (MXR-150) to a Carver C-1 pre-amp and a Rotel RB-1080 (most likely) amp. I suppose the cost/value scale would depend on the person with the ears and the $$$$. ------------------ Tom KLF-20 Mahogany Carver Receiver MXR-150 Yamaha PF-800 Turntable/ Sure V15 Type V Cartridge Carver TL-3100 CD Yamaha K-1020 Cassette dbx 1231 EQ dbx 3bx Series Two (mothballed) H.H. Scott 830z Analyzer Monster Interlink 300 mk II Original 12ga. Monster Cable dbx 200 (mothballed) dbx nx-40 (can't believe I still own this thing! Mothballed) Technics R&B Series SB-7 (mothballed) Technics R&B Series SB-3 (mothballed) Yamaha NS-W2 (mothballed) SAE 5000A (mothballed but perfect shape) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted April 24, 2001 Share Posted April 24, 2001 Tom, Nope! I need to actualy have a set of the speakers I am designing netwroks for here to test. All I have is Belles and a Cornwall. You see the problems I am having just getting a network to mount inside a La Scala even though it's vertually the same as the Belle! Al K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted April 24, 2001 Share Posted April 24, 2001 Hi guys, Here's a roughly scale drawing (I hope!) of my network in a La Scala. It looks to me like this is the best way to mount it. The way Pete has his munted puts the woofer inductor right under the squawker horn. I think the older metal horns might cause eddy-current losses in the horn itself when mounted this way. Has anybody tried mounting it like this? I know it will be a little harder to connect up the cable to the amp, but how much harder would it actually be? Comments? Al K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted April 24, 2001 Share Posted April 24, 2001 I mounted my ALKs to the left of the squawker brace, like the factory crossovers. The clipped corner is close to the brace and the whole thing is a little deeper that the original. I had to make new holes in the cabinet for the screws, but that was no big deal. Wow! is clearly applicable here. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete C Posted April 25, 2001 Author Share Posted April 25, 2001 Let me post an earlier drawing Al made based on my description. It's pretty close to the way it fit. I was just suggesting a mod to make it fit where the old one was. Let me try this inline... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete C Posted April 25, 2001 Author Share Posted April 25, 2001 Sigh. It lost a little when I squished it. It fit, like the photo I posted showed. It's just a little further back. I kept it on the left side for the notch Al uses for the K-horn. I'm happy with it. I just messed up Al by suggesting he might shave that 5/8" on the left side to help it fit in other LaScalas. I saw wasted space, but it's valuable real estate Ray, When you get a chance, it's measuring time. Are yours different from the specs on the Klipsch Heritage page? Just curious. There's a pair like mine on eBay within driving distance of me, New Mexico. I already have a pair, and now they're better than his. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete C Posted April 25, 2001 Author Share Posted April 25, 2001 Ray, I'll bet you have a horn like Al's, but with the mounting bracket bolted to the left side of the horn (Al's is on the right,) giving you the 1/2" I needed. My horn is different from Al's and is bolted in the center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted April 26, 2001 Share Posted April 26, 2001 Hi guys, After a long series of email exchanges with Pete, I think we have come up with two possible ways to mount the networks in the La Scala. Either will do, but I think the best way is with it turned sideways and positioned very lose to, but not touching the side. This has the added benefit of keeping the woofer inductor away from the metal horn. I could cut off about half and inch from the side of the networks to make it fit closer to the edge but I resist doing that because it makes them harder to build and puts the Belle mounting holes closer to the edge. It would also require drilling the additional mounting hole Pete added near the woofer inductor. Al K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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