Alk to The Rescue!

[Dave in Nashville]

Recently, I acquired a pair of very used 1977 industrial La Scalas. Although the cabinets were in sound condition, it was apparent from the mish mash of wires behind the connection panels (five quarter inch jacks) that quite a few people had left their mark over the years.

I cleared away the connection panels and the maze of wires, and then hooked up the speaker with the most intact crossover to see what it sounded like. With only the mid range and woofer working, my 17 year old son and I realized that we had to get these speakers back in shape.

What followed was a series of calls to Klipsch customer service. Jeannie A. was enormously helpful and gave me good solid advice. Trey Cannon was also very helpful and gave me some good tips and pointers.

While waiting for Klipsch to rebuild both tweeters and one midrange driver, I read in the forum about the La Scala replacement crossovers that Al Klappenberger was building. After talking with Al, I decided to place an order.

The ALK crossovers arrived a few days ago (with good documentation) and were easily installed in the recommended positions within the cabinets (I used 14 gauge Monster Cable for interior connections). Cautiously, I turned on the stereo system to see what the new crossovers sounded like. We couldnt believe our ears! At various volumes, we sampled just about everything we had. Im sure the neighbors thought we had gone nuts.

Overall, the detail and sheer magnitude of the sound is overwhelming. With only a 50 watt per channel receiver, it isnt necessary to turn the volume up above 40%. If we turn the volume any higher, our cat begins to have seizures and our vision starts to blur.

Check out the picturesIf I can install these things, anyone can!

Al, many thanks for a superior product. If you ever need me to write a recommendation, let me know.

[Al Klappenberger]

Dave,

Thanks for the offer to write a recommendation, but I think you already did! 8^)

I like the way you brought the input leads out to a second set of binding posts. That's cool!

Al K.

[Dave in Nashville]

Al:

When I got the speakers, they were equipped with casters. Since I liked being able to move the speakers around with a minimum of effort, I left the casters on. Believing in Murphys Law, I decided to install binding posts for the speaker hook-ups so that they would absorb the strain of hitting the end of the speaker wire rather than the crossovers.

Dave