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LaScalla's -vs- Reference


PhilMays

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There is no comparison, nada no go what ever you what to say. La Scala's are so much more detailed and live then the reference series could ever be. First off the La Scala's are a 3 way system and the RF7's are a 2 way. Yeah the bass is a bit deeper then the La Scala's but much slower in response. Don't get me wrong, I have listened to the RF7 and find them to be an excellent sounding speaker but comparing the two is like comparing a mac truck and a pickup in an accident, who will survive. Plus lets see where the RF series stand in 30 years from now. We know where the La Scala stands.

Of course this is MHO

La Scala owner for 23 years 1.gif

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I thought this may be the case as the Heritage stuff gets really good press. I'm not so sure I'm convinced on the three way arguement yet. I have a set of KLF-20's (I know no comparison to the LaScalas) that are three way that do not seem as detailed as my RF-7's. Are the LaScalas horns and crossovers a better quality that would make them sound better in a three way configuration?

Thanks for the reply's.

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I've never made the A/B comparison either but I owned LaScalas back until the early '90s. I loved their detailed output but was a bit dismayed at the lack of bass. I sold them before the HT craze and realize now that I had held onto them and added an SVS sub that I would have had a dynamite system.

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1) La Scalas, being fully horn loaded, and with the exponential midrange rather than the Tractrix of the RF series, sound so much different it's sort of hard to compare them to each other.

2) Bass on La Scalas will sound like it is not there at all if you're used to using RF7s with a couple of subs. KSW-15 is not going to fill in sufficiently if you crank the system.

You really should try and find some way to hear them before you spend a lot of time agonizing over whether to get them. If you like them, you'll like them a lot. If you prefer the sound of the RF series, then you would probably be *VERY* disappointed with the La Scalas.

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Thanks for the help. I see Khorns and Lascalas all the time on Ebay and I have always been tempted to purchase "sound unheard". With your reccomendations I do believe I should listen for myself.

The other question I have is that they are rated at 100W maximum continous. My amp is 130 watts per channel and I love top listen at loud ranges. Any concerns there?

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130 watts is no problem as long as they are clean and undistorted watts. I have 400 Watts available to my front three, and 250 each to the rears. They never ever will see that much but the times that I have cranked it up my ears and the fixtures on the walls will give out before the Khorns or La Scala's will for sure. The louder it got the cleaner and more dynamic it got and they handled it effortlessly. The db's in the room were probably over 130db as my SPL meter was pegged solidly at 119db.

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I don't know about bass not going low enough, but I can tell you the bass is "bigger" room filling if you will, in comparison to the RF3's I own.

La Scala's are very unforgiving of equipment and room acoustics. The high sensitivety and fully horn loaded system, DEMAND that equipment & room meet there standards.

Comparing sound, RF's are detailed they do alot of things correctly, but sound bright & thin and a bit forward when compared to Scalas.

Scalas have a big sound from top to bottom, dynamics as close to live as you can get. They can load up a room and move air with ease.

I don't buy the bass is lacking statement, thats BULLSH*t, people conclude to this due to specs, which don't hold water when your sitting there and the bass is knocking you in the chest like your there live!

One thing about Scalas if buying used, the AL networks out of the 80's SUCK big time. ALK's or the simple AA networks are a must.

Tom

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Paul,

I can't speak for any other networks other than the AL & ALK. These I've have heard and compared. I've read from other forum members that the AA is very compareable to the ALK, for alot of people.

My suspicion would be the AB is in the same boat as the AL. Let me explain, in the eighties Klipsch put alot of safe gaurds, sort to speak, in there networks to protect the drivers, especially the tweeters from those high wattage distortion machines that were being produced back then. These safety features hinder the performance that the drivers are capable of with good amplification.

If your handy with a soldering iron you can build your own ALK's for about 250 bones, the AA are more affordable. Go to the search, type in ALK, search two channel and you'll find the info.

Tom

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Sorry for the delayed reply on this but I have been just a tad busy over the last few days.

I A/B'd these about a year ago. I bought the full RF series. To replace my La scala set-up...space requirement.

When out of the blue I built a new HT room.

I auditioned both of them several times...

NO COMPARISON

The La Scala's will knock you on your A$$....Quiet, loud, every which way. Much fuller spectrum, cleaner, crisper...

They may not be as pretty as the RF's, but sorry, no comparison.

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