Al Klappenberger Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 Guys, Is it a Belle Klipsch or is it a LaScala? IT'S NEITHER! It is a Shinall AFS-2. This particular one is a cabinet only and was built for one of my customers who had been looking for a used set of Belles in Oak and finally gave up and had these built instead. It has only a "clone" K400 squawker horn as it sits. He is getting the drivers from eBay and the crossover from me. I was told that this particular design was developed BEFORE PWK released the Belle and is basically a LaScala. It was never produced. Shinall company makes a Klipschorn clone and several other speakers similar to the Klipsch line. personally I think it's the sharpest looking LaScala I ever saw! Take a look: http://www.shinallandcompany.com/ Al K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 Yeah AL this guys work has floated around the forum before in a K-Horn knockoff thread. I beleive HDBRbuilder actually called and spoke with him. He appears to do fine work although his specs for his freq response are 35 - 17K +/- 5db. The merits of his reproduction and its "ethics" were debated and he was initially trashed pretty serverly and then the attitude moderated a bit. He is a one man shop and probably can fill a nich market for "Heritage" fans who want new but cannot pony up 7K+ for a set of Klipschorns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted June 30, 2004 Author Share Posted June 30, 2004 J.4Knee, This is the first I had heard of the guy. His name is Gary Shinall. I have some questions about his speakers too. I really don't put much faith in any frequency response specifications, but the total lack of efficiency ratings is suspicious. He also calls the woofers in most of his speakers "Acoustic suspension". I would really like to know if they really are. It doesn't seem logical to murge an acoustic suspensions woofer with horn high end! One of his speakers looks like a Cornwall. We know what the woofer is in that speaker! What has me interested is the fact that the AFS-2 will not have Klipsch drivers available for it making the entire top end a DIY type persons dream! Al K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 Yeah he makes his sqawker horns for his the units he sells like his K-Horn knock off KKS-1. Some have posted here who apparently own a set and were very impressed with them. I think as a one man operation he is benign but his specs are not very forth coming he did e-mail me a claim that he achieves over 100 db sensitivity for his KKS-1's, says he designs and build his own crossover units but offered no real detail on them other than his component selection was from the finest and uses EV drivers for the sqawker and tweeter I think is a EV 35. I tried to do a search for the thread but I think they are still having server problems. His La Belle cabinet is sweet though. For a DIY type as you stated who buys there parts from E-bay or similar and gets quality networks built its a nice way to have a very nice looking set up done. My personal take is if I want K-horns the used market is the best option if I cant buy new. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 Hmpf, LaBelle. looks pretty good to me too. I wonder if it's deep like a LS with a K-400/401 or shallow like a Belle with a K-700 or whatever they have. I tried using one of my LS for a center but it sticks out into the the room a ton. Won't work in my 25 x 13 living room. Now have a model H in there, but thinking about building a Belle knock-off. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 KhornKerry lives in Houston and has been in his shop. Thought some of his speakers sounded pretty good. That LaScala type with the dressed up cab is one of the best looking speakers on the planet. One of the things I've found fascinating is that GS fabricates his own horn flares. I'd sure like to go in his shop. The cosmetics/aesthetics on that Khorn clone are outstanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted July 1, 2004 Author Share Posted July 1, 2004 Guys, Here's an OLD spec sheet my customer sent me describing the AFS-2 and their Khorn clone. The dimensions of the AFS-2 are identical to the LaScala except taller, probably becasue of the pretty top section. He is obviously going to have trouble getting drivers for it if he decides to make it again since ElectroVoice won't supply them any more. Al K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 I like it! La Belle is a good name! I would use one for a center, it is much prettier than my current La Scala center. I could drive to Maine and have Greg do a makeover on mine to make it look like that though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 how much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shock-Late Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 Would be interesting to know what drivers, woofers and x-overs he's using. That is for sure a beautiful looking LaScala, but I think I prefer the "rough" look of the real one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted July 1, 2004 Author Share Posted July 1, 2004 Guys, So far I have had only one email exchange with Mr. Shinall. He does not know what drivers he will use. Personally, I think he might consider making just the shell for the DIY croud if he is asked. The first picture I posted is of just the woodwork done for a customer who is going to finish it himself. It has only the squawker horn and no drivers at all. If you look carefully at the picture, you will see that the nameplate is not readable. I suspect this is intentional. It IS readable on the other speakers in the background. Al K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 The build quality sure looks top-notch! I would love to hear them. Particularily his hand-made mid horns... DM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 ---------------- On 7/1/2004 8:40:17 AM Al Klappenberger wrote: Guys, So far I have had only one email exchange with Mr. Shinall. He does not know what drivers he will use. Personally, I think he might consider making just the shell for the DIY croud if he is asked. The first picture I posted is of just the woodwork done for a customer who is going to finish it himself. It has only the squawker horn and no drivers at all. If you look carefully at the picture, you will see that the nameplate is not readable. I suspect this is intentional. It IS readable on the other speakers in the background. Al K. ---------------- Al, I corresponded with GS a few weeks ago on this very question. Yes, he will build cabs for DIYer's to supply the drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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