gullahisland Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Hey guys, I have been fortunate enough to have been babysitting HornEd's Belles that he bought from me (my in-laws, actually) awhile back. Problem is that my wife and I are BOTH totally hooked on the Heritage sound. I just bought a pair of Wave 8 monos (replaced the Chinese tubes with Svetlanas) and am using my Counterpoint SA-1000 preamp. I'm in tube heaven. But I digress... So now I've been thinking about picking up a pair of Heritage Klipsch. Belles are almost impossible to find, so I was thinking about LaScalas. Unfortunately, though, I've never seen LaScalas in anything besides Birch or Black/Birch. I know that people "stain" them to make them look like they're finished, but it doesn't quite look right - especially with the exposed ends of the plywood seen from the front of the speakers. K-horns are out of my budget and my corners are not "approved" for them anyway - too many windows and too short of a wall in one corner. So...Now I'm thinking Cornwalls. I've located a pair in Walnut that I can pickup for $500-600. Seems like a damn good deal to me. But will they sound as magical as the Belles? My concern is that the woofer will not blend as coherently as the bass horn on the truly full-range horns (like Belle, LaScala and K-horn). Finally, I'm also looking at picking up a 300B amplifier. I have no question that it would work well with the Belles or LaScalas, but what about the Cornwalls? Sorry for all the questions. I know that you guys are a WEALTH of information, so I figured I'd get it all out at once. Thanks guys! -Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 What you will lose is the dynamic fast accurate bass response, the high end should be relatively close since the mid horns are only slightly larger on the Belle, you will lose some efficiency as well 104db vs. 98.5db. What you will gain is more low end bass response though due to the bass reflex design, some people prefer this. At $500-$600 it is a no brainer, if you don't like them you'll easily get your $$$ back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 They'll be fine. You will always be able to sell them for $800-1000 if you don't like them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 And if it turns out you really prefer the Belles, you can keep the Cornwalls so you have something to listen to while waiting for a pair to show up. I'm guessing you mean Belles don't show up locally all that often? I'd be surprised if you couldn't find a good pair within a year, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Is there a difference between Corns and their bigger brothers? Sure, but it is a different difference that John Atkinson of Stereophile magazine describes. A distinction, Henry Fielding (17071754) said, without a difference. For a tweaking audiophile who loves the sound of horns with tubes, I dont think there are so many significant differences between top of the Heritage line models. Sure the folded bass is better on the classic Klipsch corner Khorns, but that comes with larger size, cost and unique placement. Sure the mid-range is wider and clearer on the Belles and the LaScalas than Cornwalls, but I would certainly rather have a big ole horn speaker with tubes than most anything else I can afford on a modest budget. I think $500-600 is a BARGAIN in any speaker than can do what horns can do. If it werent for their size and demands on different front-end equipment, I think horns would be selling for a lot more than conventional cone loudspeakers. Besides, the Cornwall has a nice 80-100Hz boost that gives a solid mid-bass response, compared to its bigger brothers. This boost is especially nice when used with tubes, it is almost as if you have solid-state support for the low end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 You may like the corns every bit as much as the belles. I love mine and actually prefer them over the belle for some music. Bass is deeper and not as boomy as folks claim. If you don't like them, I'll buy them from you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny TN Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 ---------------- On 4/7/2004 9:57:46 AM paulparrot wrote: And if it turns out you really prefer the Belles, you can keep the Cornwalls so you have something to listen to while waiting for a pair to show up. I'm guessing you mean Belles don't show up locally all that often? I'd be surprised if you couldn't find a good pair within a year, though. ---------------- That is definately what I would do...I have a factory walnut stained birch with full cover in the front pair of Lascala's...they are absolutely beautiful..(but big) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gullahisland Posted April 7, 2004 Author Share Posted April 7, 2004 Is there such thing as LaScalas in WO or WL? You've all touched on the thing that concerns me the most and that is the vented bass-reflex woofer. I'm very sensitive to loose, boomy bass and I think that part of what's captivated me the most about the Belles is how incredibly taut and fast the low frequency response is. Won't a 300B amp just exacerbate the tendency for ill-defined bass? Anyone in the Bay Area care to part with their LaScalas or Belles??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gullahisland Posted April 7, 2004 Author Share Posted April 7, 2004 Hey Johnny TN - Do you have any pictures of your LaScalas? I called Klipsch a while back regarding grills for LaScalas and they only have them for the top portion - to cover the horns. Did you have to fabricate your grills? Will BLO look as good on stained birch as it does on walnut? Will it at least look similar? I've seen the pics of fini's walnut cornwalls and it looked fabulous. I also saw another pair while looking through the archives (I think his name was Mark something who refurbished a pair of '68 Corns) and they really looked sweet with a reddish hue. That's the kind of look I'd like to achieve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcb Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 ---------------- On 4/7/2004 10:22:34 AM gullahisland wrote: Anyone in the Bay Area care to part with their LaScalas or Belles??? ---------------- How about my mint Lascala ?? Check my ad on Agon for $1400.I'm in Toronto,Canada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I'd chime in that your price on the Cornwalls is a no-brainer to get them. Even if you should decide that you prefer the LaScala or Belle bass bin sound, you can get your money out of the Cornwalls with no problem. Also, you'll have the interesting experience of living with the cornwalls for a season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gullahisland Posted April 7, 2004 Author Share Posted April 7, 2004 LaScalas in "Black" would probably not please the wife. I'll need a natural wood finish, but thank you anyway. I you're all right about the price of the Cornwalls. I can consider it a "down payment" on a nice pair of LaScalas or Belles - whichever becomes available first. Johnny TN - Lemme' know about those grills. I'm thinking that if I can pull off something like that, maybe I can pick up the pair of LaScalas that are also available locally. They're in pretty rough condition, but if all I have to do is veneer three sides and cover the fronts with grill cloth - maybe it wouldn't be so bad. I just think that trying to veneer the "mouth" of the LaScalas is definitely NOT for beginners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB Slammin Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 ---------------- On 4/7/2004 9:53:25 AM Frzninvt wrote: What you will lose is the dynamic fast accurate bass response, the high end should be relatively close since the mid horns are only slightly larger on the Belle, you will lose some efficiency as well 104db vs. 98.5db. What you will gain is more low end bass response though due to the bass reflex design, some people prefer this. At $500-$600 it is a no brainer, if you don't like them you'll easily get your $$$ back. ---------------- ......and what you will gain is "the Slam Factor".....bass like a boot in the chest.... Regards, Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Somewhat refreshing to see good posts... The Cornwalls will be terrific in your set up. Some actually, as stated here, prefer Cornwalls to Bells. Only people who like maybe a little larger midrange possibly in the La Scala and or the mighty Klipschorn (with the right placement I might add) could you possibly find a better speaker. And yes the Bass is better. E.G.(It is lower and clearity wise some say tighter than the La Scala or Belle too.) Last, but not least, if you in fact found a very nice set of Cornwalls for your price...Be assured most would drive several hours to get your deal at 200-600 more than your getting them for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q-Man Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I would get a pair of LaScalas, they can be made to look real nice. What you say about the LaScala is true, but it all can be hidden, and fixed. If you can't do it yourself, you can take them to a cabinet shop. If you do it yourself, I'll give you some advice on how and what to do,if you want it. That is also a good price for Cornwalls like the others have said. You can at least get your money back if and when you re-sell them. They could also be your first pair of surround, or center channel speakers when you decide to leave 2 channel behind. Eventually you will want more LaScalas for that too. Stay away from Horn Ed, you can see that he is already making your life more complicated . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Although I only had a brief listen to Mike Lindsays un-modified LaScalas, in my home, with the same equipment and the same music, and I lived with CWOS for 15 years (good roommates, big, a little loud sometimes, but clean and no trouble whatsoever); I would say the LaScala have no low frequency response compared to the Corns. LaScala roll off below 50Hz, giving them nice, lean and clean mid-bass response, but little of the deep, first octave. Corns go down to 40Hz, deep enough for newbies to think that you might NOT need a sub-woofer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 since so many have responded to this topic, i thought i could 'pop-in' with a ? i picked up a pair of '82 cornwalls a few months ago,but haven't had alot of time w/them as i have my legend theater room to listen to and the corns were in the living room which we have been painting/renovating. the 'problem' i am having w/them is very LITTLE bass. naturally i checked my speaker wire polarity.also both woofers are working. any suggestions as to where to go from here? what is the procedure to make sure they are in-phase? could it be the KLF-30's with rsw-15 have got me 'bass-spoiled'? thanks, avman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Well my first recommendation would be get the La Scala's, you can re-finish them, as Q-Man said he will provide some info on this. I have a set and am going to veneer the to make a more finished look. I am sure it will be a task and a half but worth in IMO at least at this point. Your deal on the Cornwalls looks pretty good. Myself I prefer the La Scalas but I have heard the Cornwalls and they sound great too albeit a different sound at least to me anyway. I like the tightness of the bass on the La Scalas over the Cornwalls but other prefer eth Cornwalls. Actually looking at this I am leaving you with your original dilemmagee what a guy. But your choice is a tough onewhich Heritage to buy. We should all be faced with such trials and tribulations. Good luck enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny TN Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 ---------------- On 4/7/2004 10:51:22 AM gullahisland wrote: LaScalas in "Black" would probably not please the wife. I'll need a natural wood finish, but thank you anyway. I you're all right about the price of the Cornwalls. I can consider it a "down payment" on a nice pair of LaScalas or Belles - whichever becomes available first. Johnny TN - Lemme' know about those grills. I'm thinking that if I can pull off something like that, maybe I can pick up the pair of LaScalas that are also available locally. They're in pretty rough condition, but if all I have to do is veneer three sides and cover the fronts with grill cloth - maybe it wouldn't be so bad. I just think that trying to veneer the "mouth" of the LaScalas is definitely NOT for beginners. ---------------- @work... have to wait till I get home for pics.. I know a few are floating around in a couple threads, but I dont remember the name of the threads. I put BLO on my WO Heresy's..looks nice, doesn't really change the color. I also use BLO on my walnut stained Lascala's as well..since they are not clearcoated.Just gives them a "fresher" look. -J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 serial numbers on the back will tell us exactly what you are looking at.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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