EDR Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 I am going to buy a used pair of la scala speakers and would like to have them hooked up to a reciever and a cd player. Do I have to have an amplifirer for them to sound good and if so what kind? I have not bought the reciever yet but almost all are like 100watt per channel. Does that take away the need for an amp? Is there anything els I need to play them off the reciver and cd player? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_Shomaker Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 A reciever eliminates the need for an amp because it is built in. What kind of reciever were you looking at? What is the most you would like to spend on amplification? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDR Posted June 18, 2004 Author Share Posted June 18, 2004 I have been looking at some yamaha recievers. To show you how cheap I am,I dont want to spend any more then I have to. Pretty bad huh?I have a 50 by 70 foot shop Im putting them in and I would like to be able to hear them pretty good but I dont want to blow them up either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 Just get a HK430 off e-bay,,,clean the controls with contact cleaner from radio shack per HDBR posts awhile back,,,,,then if your Scalas are on hard smooth floor.. get some grippers from wal-mart and pull off metal sliders off bottom of the Scalas and put the grippers on,,,,then sit back an njoy,,,,rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDR Posted June 18, 2004 Author Share Posted June 18, 2004 That sounds pretty easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDR Posted June 18, 2004 Author Share Posted June 18, 2004 Will the HK430 put enough power to the speakers that I would need to be careful with the volum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 It only has 24-25 watts...but you wont use more than 10 oclock on the volume,,,im sure,,,lol,,,just keep the bass control straight up or less....that HK430 kicks some big you know what believe me,,,lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDR Posted June 18, 2004 Author Share Posted June 18, 2004 Thanks I will take your advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q-Man Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 In that size room find yourself at least an 100 watt per channel receiver. I would hate to see you clip the amp and fry the drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDR Posted June 18, 2004 Author Share Posted June 18, 2004 Q-MAN please explain. I dont want to fry anything and what do I need for speaker wire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne taste beer budget Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 Say you have an amp capable of putting out 10 watts. Once you exceed that, it clips, which means the electrical flow going to the speakers is no longer an accurate reproduction of the musical signal, otherwise known as distortion. The distortion is what hurts the drivers in the speakers, not the wattage, basically. You could more easily hurt your speakers by trying to get 20 watts out of a 10 watt amp than you would using 20 watts out of a 100 watt amp. I've never tried it, but I've heard one of the easiest ways to burn up a speaker is to hook it up to a cheap clock radio and crank up the volume. Might be hearsay, but who knows. As far as speaker wires, you'd be fine with 12-14 gauge speaker wire from Home Depot. The longer the runs, the lower the number. (Lower number means bigger wire.) Others may disagree with the choice of wire, but it doesn't sound like you need to get into any esoteric stuff for your needs at the moment. Enjoy your new speaks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 Q-Man is absolutely correct if you are going SS then you need a good 100 WPC to avoid clipping. You won't use that much power but the power you use will be in the cleanest range of the receivers amplifier circuits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 I have clipped 300 watts from a MC300 into my horns with (apparently) no permanent damage. I'm not saying that I do this regularily, but occassionally, it happens. I can't say for sure, but having had many BAD amps in my lifetime, I have never fried any speakers by clipping... And frankly if the speakers in question can't take a clipped 10 watts, then get different speakers, kids. I think that MOST of the clipping SS amps frying speakers is possibly a hold-over horror story from the 50's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 I have clipped 300 watts from a MC300 into my horns with (apparently) no permanent damage. I'm not saying that I do this regularily, but occassionally, it happens. I can't say for sure, but having had many BAD amps in my lifetime, I have never fried any speakers by clipping... And frankly if the speakers in question can't take a clipped 10 watts, then get different speakers, kids. I think that MOST of the clipping SS amps frying speakers is possibly a hold-over horror story from the 50's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 I have heard this since I was a kid. It would be very doubtfull that a clipping 100 watts would hurt La Scalas, unless its a particularily crappy amp. 2 reasons, the overall wattage rating is approx. twice the wattage available 100w per from the amp. Second, the horns employed are all well-used in the PA market and have been for years. That market is notorious for stressing speakers and amps, for that matter. I have clipped 300 watts from a MC300 into my horns with (apparently) no permanent damage. I'm not saying that I do this regularily, but occassionally, it happens. Sounds bad, but nothing "blown"... I can't say for sure, but having had many BAD amps in my lifetime, and certainly clipped each one more than once, I have never fried any "good" speakers by clipping... And frankly if the speakers in question can't take a clipped 10 watts, then get different speakers, kids. DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 Wow. Re-iterating a double post from myself. How lame is that?! DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDR Posted June 18, 2004 Author Share Posted June 18, 2004 Thanks for the input everyone. The la scala's are on the way and I will get the wire recomended above. I sure dont want to start no pissing match here on what reciver to buy but it looks like I would be ok buying the yamaha 100 watt per channel reciver also? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDR Posted June 18, 2004 Author Share Posted June 18, 2004 The reciever does not have to be a yamaha, thats just what I was looking at the store. I dont want to spend more then $300.00 or so. Any suggestions ? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 I read or heard a story a while back about Paul Klipsch one uping the AR live vs recorded demos of jazz quartets back in the 60s by using Klipschorns driven by a 5 watt amp in a live vs recorded demo of a symphony orchestra in a symphony hall. If true, a 100 watt amp is not needed to drive the LaScalas to defening levels in the size room mentioned without clipping. That has been my experience with my Heritage speakers although I am not playing htem in rooms bigger than 12 x 24. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale A B Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 It seems to me that EDR does not want to spend any more money that is required. I also surmise he won't need any fancy wire or receiver if all he wants is "regular" plain sound in the shop. Therefore, I suggest any receiver made in the last half-century should do just fine. Hook up the CD player into the AUX or CD input, use 16 or 18 gauge wire, whatever you got laying around. How far will it be from the receiver to the speakers? If it's only 25 feet or less, I'd go with 16 guage speaker wire. You can usually find a used receiver locally if you want to go that route to start with. Of course, if you have prefect hearing and plan to do serious music listening in the shop, you can follow previous advice and you'd be fine and not out too much more money. Are there any tags or imprints on the speaker backs that'll tell us how old the La Scalas are? You gonna keep 'em on the floor or hang 'em off the ceiling? Lots of questions, but I think you'll have a good time with them in any case! Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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