tofu Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 i was wondering if this would be more cost effective than having a used pair shipped to nyc? i honestly don't feel like making a 5 hour drive somewhere to pick up speakers, and i don't have a truck, so i'd have to rent or make two trips. i found the plans in another thread for the cabinets. it seems doable from my perspective. the only question is how much do the parts cost? can they be bought directly from klipsch? thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Not really cost effective if you use all new parts inside the cabinets. The drivers, horns and crossovers are all available new (at least from me) but the cost would be around $1000.00 for parts to go inside a pair of Lascalas. Then you would still have to spend more on the cabinets. You can probably buy and ship a set of used Lascalas for less than that. Bob Crites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofu Posted December 31, 2004 Author Share Posted December 31, 2004 ah, a grand is a bit more than i was looking to spend on DIY la scalas. hopefully i'll be able to find someone selling them used that is also willing to ship. i really don't care much about cabinet condition, as i'd have a fun time restoring them. i figure if i sell my rf3's and other various equipment i have laying around, i should break even and be able to purchase my dream speakers. how much would shipping on a pair of these usually cost? let's assume the worst conditions... california to new york. from one side of the US to the other. what kind of la scalas could i attain for ~$800? they seem to be quite scarce on ebay. i searched completed listings and found less than five. i'm worried i won't be able to find any la scalas in perfectly working condition within the next month or so.. (i'm very impatient ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 I have seen them go for $450 and up. You MUST be patient! They weigh in over 100 lbs. each, but the size is the thing. I figured that a pair would fit in the back of my Blazer, so it isn't too bad. Figure 24x24x35 each. Build the cabinets is more labor than cost, but you need to use good wood if you go that route. I would still wait and keep looking. Marvel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q-Man Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Just keep looking for a used pair in your area. It doesn't cost much to rent a mini van or suv. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofu Posted January 1, 2005 Author Share Posted January 1, 2005 ---------------- On 1/1/2005 12:49:27 PM Marvel wrote: I have seen them go for $450 and up. You MUST be patient! They weigh in over 100 lbs. each, but the size is the thing. I figured that a pair would fit in the back of my Blazer, so it isn't too bad. Figure 24x24x35 each. Build the cabinets is more labor than cost, but you need to use good wood if you go that route. I would still wait and keep looking. Marvel ---------------- $450? wow.. that's quite a deal. well, i suppose that gave me some more incentive to wait. i just havent seen ANY la scala sales in new york (aside from that $2000 one with gold feet) thanks for the replies, guys. oh, and one more question. cornwalls... they don't seem to be too rare. are they as impressive as the la scalas, or would i be better off waiting. take into consideration that i'm an rf-3 owner, and i've heard neither la scala or cornwall. i'm just basing my ideas off comments made on these forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 I did that a couple years ago, ended up with at least $1K in them, and a lot of hours. Most of the money goes to buy drivers. Need crossovers too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 I read somewhere hereabouts that a full set of drivers, horns and crossovers (for a pair of enclosures) would run somewhere in the vicinity of $1700! That's enough to make anyone patient enough to wait for a used pair to come up... DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofu Posted January 3, 2005 Author Share Posted January 3, 2005 ---------------- On 1/3/2005 8:02:51 PM D-MAN wrote: I read somewhere hereabouts that a full set of drivers, horns and crossovers (for a pair of enclosures) would run somewhere in the vicinity of $1700! That's enough to make anyone patient enough to wait for a used pair to come up... DM ---------------- definitely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 I bought 2 new K-33 for $260 shipped, bought a box of stuff from a guy here that included two K-55-V, two K-77-M, and two K-400 horns along with a set of stock AA crossovers for $600, felt pretty good about that. Ended up selling the K-77-Ms for more than enough to buy a nice set of K-77-V, which was probably a mistake but WTH? Spent about $300 buying all the stuff to build a pair of ALK crossovers, sold the AA's for $150 (I think). All that rounds off to about $960 if I count right. I think I put new diaphragms in both tweeters too, that'll run it over the $1K. I ended up with a pretty nice set of Oak LS that sound really great and I know everything there is to know about them. The cabinets were originally built by a cabinet maker in Chicago out of cabinet grade Oak Plywood,I bought them off ebay for $200. But they were rough when they got here, I had to build new upper motorboard and install. He had particle board hatch covers on the bottom, I made nice new ones from 3/4" Oak. While I had the hatch covers off I noticed that he had left out the butterfly wings and splitter, so I ripped off the backs and installed them. That was a real PITA but came out good. I probably could have made some easier, but didn't have a table saw and no place to put one at that time. Oh yeah, bought new grills from Klipsch, that was about $100. Add in about 100 hours labor at two dollars an hour and I came out great. But, I learned a ton of stuff about working with wood, electronics, soldering and built the confidence to tackle the Belle project. Getting the nasty old yellow varnish off the wood was the most time-consuming part of the deal. It was thick and hard as a rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yaffstone Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 I had a pair of La Scalas shipped from Origon to Vermont. It cost $250.00 for the two boxes via UPS. The shipper did a really lousey job of packing. He poured peanuts in the box for some reason and it took a long time to get them all out of the base bins. I had to refinish mine because of deep scratches and some stains. The best way to get the hard yellow finish off is to use a cabinet scraper. With this technique it takes only about 10 minutes per side, then apply finish, light sand, and finish again. I've got Cornwalls on one of my systems and La Scalas on another. Get the La Scalas (or Belles if you want them to look nice). There is a very definite difference in sound. The Cornwalls while good, sound muddy compared to La Scalas. BTW good luck finding a pair for under 1000.00. I've seen these go closer to 1.5 and as high as 2k recently. You could have mine for what I paid including shipping, $1600.00. I'm 4 hours or so from NYC. Come to Vermont for a ski weekend and go home with La Scalas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 ---------------- On 1/4/2005 7:28:43 PM yaffstone wrote: I had a pair of La Scalas shipped from Origon to Vermont. ---------------- That's OrEgon. <;> I know, I live here..... WHY ARE THESE HERITAGE PARTS SOOOOOO DAMN EXPENSIVE? I mean CMon... It would seem to me that parts designed in the last few years would have to be superior to the stuff they used 20 years ago, thus making the stuff in the heritage speakers kind of low priced items... It would seem anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yaffstone Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Yes, it's OREGON. My appologies for any unintended slander. I have been under the impression that spelling mistakes and/or typos were generally forgiven on forums. I'd hate to word process each response and carefully check for grammar and spelling... As to the cost of the Heritige series. Take a listen then you'll know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 ---------------- On 1/5/2005 7:00:21 AM yaffstone wrote: Yes, it's OREGON. My appologies for any unintended slander. I have been under the impression that spelling mistakes and/or typos were generally forgiven on forums. I'd hate to word process each response and carefully check for grammar and spelling... As to the cost of the Heritige series. Take a listen then you'll know. ---------------- Na... It's ok... for some reason my winkie smilie face didn't come through. I must have typed it in wrong myself. I was only playing with you. Sorry if you thought I was being serious. Oh and you will find that I'm one of the absolute worst spellers on this board. As far as listening to heritage, I did have a set of belles. While I think they are a fantastic speaker, I still have a hard time digesting the prices of the hardware. I just can't believe that the drivers used in these are any better than a majority of the newer stuff these days. I mean think about it. The PC I paid $2,500.00 for 10 years ago sure as hell aint gonna sell for that now. I know that may be a bit of an extreme analagy, but you get my point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yaffstone Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Another way to look at it is that Heretige series is a great investment. Look how they hold value! I do hear a significant difference between La Scala or Belle (true heretige) and my Fortes (1st generation new?) I haven't had the chance to listen to the new reference series but they get great reviews. It'd be interesting to do a side by side with focus on the base now that they have given up on the folded horn. Perhaps this is due to the fact that newer systems have subwoofers.. About the computer analogy that is a bit of a stretch given the pace they grow. I've now got some 3 GHz Xeon machines; never seen the blue screen of death come up so fast! I have to say I've never met a computer that I couldn't learn to hate Audio is so much more relaxing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 ---------------- On 1/5/2005 1:23:09 PM yaffstone wrote: Another way to look at it is that Heretige series is a great investment. Look how they hold value! ---------------- Yes, exactly... But why? I suspect it's all the engeneering in the cabinet design that makes them sound as good as they do not the hardware. Seems to me that the drivers used 20 or 30 years ago would not be as good as the drivers now. I know I know... I'm just spinning like a wheel here. Don't get me wrong, I have all the respect in the world for Klipsch and what not, but I can't help but suspect, they charge an arm and a leg for their hardware simply because they can and know you will pay for it. As mentioned, I had a set of belles. I had to replace one of the drivers, when I opened up the bass bin and took out the old driver and put in the new, there was nothing exceptional in it's design. Just a plain ol fiber cone, magnit and what not. I'm willing to bet that you could find another driver that matched the same specs for a lot less price that didn't have the klipch stamp on it and it would perform just as well and you'd never know the difference. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 mOOn, Let me see if I can help. Does your 10 year old $2500 PC still work like it did when you bought it, or does it still meet your needs today? Why would someone pay for $30K+ for a vintage 63 Corvettte when it cost no where near that much when it was made? I guess what I am trying to say is these things are timeless and generally owned by a very dedicated group of people. The used Heritage stuff is quite a bit cheaper when you compare them to the new stuff today...around $1200'ish for used La Scala's vs. about $3000+ for new ones. They hold their value because they can directly compete with if not outperform the newer designs of today. EDIT: Well I think Klipsch does choose their drivers, and other associated components very deliberately to match performance to cost. Try pricing replacements spec for spec on their drivers, it aint cheap. Plus these things are pretty labor intensive as well. The Heritage biggest competitor is its used siblings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 ---------------- On 1/5/2005 2:25:28 PM J.4knee wrote: They hold their value because they can directly compete with if not outperform the newer designs of today. EDIT: Well I think Klipsch does choose their drivers, and other associated components very deliberately to match performance to cost. Try pricing replacements spec for spec on their drivers, it ain't cheap. Plus these things are pretty labor intensive as well. The Heritage biggest competitor is its used siblings. ---------------- Ain't it the truth?! Well said. DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 m00n, The K33 is made by Eminence, and costs about $130 from Klipsch. Made to Klipsch spec's. It is a stamped steel frame. Thing is, the paper cone with cloth surround will hold together far better than the foam and rubber versions on other speakers. It can live a long and very useful life. It has a very large xmax. Given the rest of the specs for that speaker, you can't get anything similar for near the same price. The compression drivers don't go cheap, not if they are any good. It would be very easy to spend far more (as folks here have done). Marvel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Well... Maybe I'm wrong. Shows how much I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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