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examining lascala's


mbajner

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I will be looking at a pair of lascala's this weekend.

my question is, what should I be looking for?

type of crossover network?

type of speakers?

I do not know the year of them yet.

also, does anyone have the chart to help identify the year according to the serial number.

thanks for any info to help me make a decission on these.

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I think it's good to go into the audition somewhat blind to what others may believe to be the best combo. I think the one's I have sound incredible, yet I have been reading about x-over mods that can make them sound even better. The LS won't go as low as your Forte's, but that's a moot point with the sub. The LS will have a lot more presence than the Forte's and I think it is a "big" upgrade. I say "big" because of the sheer size of the speakers. IMO, I wouldn't care about the year as much as the condition and price. No matter what year, if it's a good price, I would ****** them up in a heartbeat. You won't be disappointed.

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There is really nothing to it. Bring a CD that you are familiar with and use it to demo the speakers.

Listen at a normal volume level, one that you can still carry on a conversation with the seller. Put an ear up to each tweeter to make sure that they are working. It's nice or easier if you place a piece of cardboard or something similar under the tweeter to separate the tweeter and mid. horn. Then place an ear up to the mid. horn and then your head into the bass horn. Listen for strange noises.

Now check out the back of the speakers. Look at the network wiring and drivers. You can see if they are all stock Klipsch and look for rust. Now get at least 10' in front of them and crank up the volume. I do mean crank it up. This should be almost to the point that some people want to leave the room. The owners of LaScalas know that these speakers can play real loud and shouldn't object. Listen again for any strange noises. Your lower jaw should have now dropped to the floor from your amazement at how clear, dynamic, and undistorted these speakers sound at a high volume, if you never heard them before.

If everything looks and sounds good up to this point this is when I show him the color of my money and say " I'll buy them if you let me look inside the bass horn and see if they have the correct woofer".

I get my screw gun, turn the speaker up side down and unscrew the bottom cover. Take a quick peek inside and then seal it up and carry them out the door. Don't forget to let the owner take a look inside. I find that they never knew how to do this and they get a kick out of looking in the dog house for the first time.

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  • 4 months later...
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On 1/9/2004 7:15:06 PM Q-Man wrote:

If everything looks and sounds good up to this point this is when I show him the color of my money and say " I'll buy them if you let me look inside the bass horn and see if they have the correct woofer".

I get my screw gun, turn the speaker up side down and unscrew the bottom cover. Take a quick peek inside and then seal it up and carry them out the door. Don't forget to let the owner take a look inside. I find that they never knew how to do this and they get a kick out of looking in the dog house for the first time.

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Q-Man,

Great Post Q-Man

Seeing as how I am also in the process of buying LS's, it could not have come at a better time. I am buying 4 from one guy that I am driving out to see next weekend.

I was with you all the way on your suggestions up to the point of looking for the "correct woofer." What is the correct woofer in a 1990 set supposed to look like and in a 1978 set? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank,

Travis

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A 78 pair will have a square magnet K-33P, a 90 pair will have a round magnet K-33E. The later round magnet is slighter better. The important thing is that the woofers are the same for each pair of speakers and that they are K-33's no matter what the letter is.

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Q-Man a more apt description of how to demo La Scala's I have not seen. That nails it right on the head. I could not look into the doghouse as I bought mine retail (sort of). But these boys should not protest a bit when you crank them. They should take you to the point where you as the potential buyer are just, stupefied at their performance. As far as Crossovers, Type AA or Type A would the be best stock networks. The Type AL sound ok but they are the worst of the three IMO, mine have ALs and they still sound amazing but the AL is a little harsh comparatively speaking. If they do have ALs you can always get ALK series A from ALK engineering. Al sells the networks built and matched for around $500 and kits for less also you can download the parts list and designs and build them yourself. Al Klappenberger is a member forum here. If you have never heard La Scalas you will be astounded.

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mbajner,

All good advice given. I've had a pair of all of the drivers put in La Scalas in the ones I've had. While I have my favorites (and only for sentimental reasons), the only component I have a dislike for is the Type AL crossover. It can be easily changed. The different drivers used over the years make small changes in the sound along the lines of seasoning. None make a big difference in the speaker's performance.

Make sure everything works properly and buy them, if you like them.

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