jpm Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 As of yesterday afternoon, I'm the proud new owner of a brand new Carver Professional ZR1600 amp. 400 watts per side now in my RF7s. It is unbelievable. Everything about the speakers sound better. The bass is phenomenal. As good as they are, I'm ready to trade them in for full refund plus $2000 for a new set of LaScallas. I'm doing it for sure. I'm calling Klipsch Monday morning to see if the new 06 LaScallas (supposedly with some new changes) are worth waiting a few extra months for... if not, or if the changes are just cosmetic like nicer looking wood, the standard LaScallas my dealer has in stock are mine by the end of the week. I could care less how pretty they are. BTW, we ran a set of LaScallas with the Carver ZR1600 and they were unreal. What's all this crap about no bass? Half you guys must be tone deaf. Power! Buy a ton of power. Buy 10 times more power than you need. It makes your system SING! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travisc Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 carver zr a tripath chip or ss? I cant remember Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpm Posted August 13, 2005 Author Share Posted August 13, 2005 Tripath http://www.carverpro.com/zramps.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 Lascallas will definately have cleaner bass than a DR, but does roll off fourth order pretty high... in other words, the bottom octaves are lacking. I like the sound of a lascala mated to a high quality subwoofer, rather than without. You can never have too much power, as long as you exercise restraint. Additional headroom and output capability does wonders for dynamic range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbsl Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 Some subs sound boomy to me instead of that fast tight bass he is talking about. If you listen to a lot of music that has bass below say 45 hz then find a sub and your in bidness. Back in the eightes my friend had La Scalas with a Luxman preamp and one day a guy brought over 2 Mac 250 watt amps and your right power really brought out the bass!! Xman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 I can relate...for a time I drove my vintage Cornwalls with a Carver M-400t, TFM-35x, and a McIntosh MC7200; 250 WPC being the most power I ever used with 'em (and I wasn't disappointed). Who knows, if I can ever relocate my entire audio system back to a much larger room so I can use my Cornwalls again in a more proper setting, maybe I'll go back to high-power tube or SS (or digital) power amps again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfandbark Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 You can never have too much power, as long as you exercise restraint. Can I quote your words, Michael Hurd? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpm Posted August 14, 2005 Author Share Posted August 14, 2005 Well as far as restraint goes, my ears can only take so much. And they give out long before my speakers or amp now. Man, when I push 'em now they just get throaty and roar. It's like a V8 rather than a 4 banger driving them. You know, even when I owned cornwalls and ran them with a Denon 80 watt int amp, I kept telling myself they were Klipsch and didn't need lots of power. I was so wrong. Same thing with my cheaper cdp before I sprung for a $1000 Rega cdp. There is a difference in sound as the power/quality/money values go up. Where that peaks I'm not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 So you are firmly out of the SET camp then? I am running 50wpc into my Corns and am using less than 1 wpc most of the time, yes there is wonderfull bass to be had with more than 5 watts! Congrats on the new addition to your system and your future plans for L.S.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbsl Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 JPM how big is your listening area? The most expensive upgrade I still need to do is by a new house with a BIG living room!!!!!! When I got my 2004 La Scalas in my 15 x 15 x 8 living room and CRANKED EM UP WHOA taling about being overpowered. Don't get me wrong they sound great up to a point but at a certain volume level they stop sounding incredible and no longer have bass, midrange, and treble. Just one massive wall of sound that throughs me back. But if your lucky and have a good size listening area then your going to be in Heaven!! Enjoy your new toys I have and I have barely taped their potential!! When you get em try this simple mod. One thing I noticed about the La Scalas is that the bass bin is aiming at your legs and lower belly, the midrange horn is aiming at your chest, and the treble horn at your uper chest neck. Without the risers the La Scalas seemed bright and harsh like some people say because everything is too low. So some people angle the speaker up a few inches so the bass, midrange, and treble are aiming more at your ears. I went ahead and made some 6 1/2 inch risers for mine. This helped the bass blend better with the midrange and treble. Now my bass bin is aiming at my knees up to my upper chest, midrange horn level with my face and the tweeter horn just above earlevel. I think another reason the KHorn bass is so good is that the bass bin is almost taller than people sitting on a couch or chair. So the bass is hitting your entire body and you feel it more. I just took some 2 x 4s and plywood and made the risers. I've thought about raising them higher but when I move the couch back and sit on the floor the soundstage is too high. With the height I have them now the soundstage is in front of me. Now if you are sitting 15 or 20 feet back it may not make as much a difference since the horns would be aiming more at your whole body. I sit about 9 feet back so it helps mine sound better. Give it a try and see if it helps. Xman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 ---------------- On 8/14/2005 9:34:56 AM jbsl wrote: "JPM how big is your listening area? The most expensive upgrade I still need to do is by a new house with a BIG living room!!!!!! When I got my 2004 La Scalas in my 15 x 15 x 8 living room and CRANKED EM UP WHOA taling about being overpowered. Don't get me wrong they sound great up to a point but at a certain volume level they stop sounding incredible and no longer have bass, midrange, and treble. Just one massive wall of sound that throughs me back. But if your lucky and have a good size listening area then your going to be in Heaven!! Enjoy your new toys I have and I have barely taped their potential!!" ---------------- I know this exact feeling all too well. If my Cornwalls were still in our huge formal living room where they can breath and speak freely, then I'd still be using mine in my audio system! Since I'm confined to the tiny room my system's in now, I had no choice but to put them in protective storage; their harshness at high levels was just too unbearable! Size does matter, and the only way for large horn speakers to sound their absolute best IMO is to install them in a huge room! I know just how my Cornwalls sounded when my dad owned them and had his 2-channel system in an extremely large room...that's what sold me on Cornwalls in the first place (and also a few of his friends as well; my dad's boss bought a pair of Cornwalls after hearing his setup, and even a doctor friend bought four Klipschorns after hearing dad's Cornwalls)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpm Posted August 14, 2005 Author Share Posted August 14, 2005 Interesting thoughts on room size. My room is 20x13x8. Maybe I should stay with the RF7s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 I wouldn't want to discourage you from getting La Scallas...they're what you want, just like I always wanted Cornwalls. And I'm glad I've got them too, for when that joyous day comes when I can finally move my system back to our large living room, the Cornwalls are coming out of storage and they will sing once again! Get the La Scalas and try them out. You'll never know how they will sound in your room unless you try them out. If they don't sound their best, store them away until such time as you can relocate them to a larger room worthy of their exquisite sonic characteristics! It's purely up to you at this point...do what you feel is best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbsl Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 I agree go ahead and get them!! I knew the size of my living room would not give me the absolute best sound but they still give me excellent sound. Later when I move into a bigger living room they will match better. Don't misunderstand me about the quality of sound I get from my La SCalas they sound great! The good thing about La Scalas is that they are not corner dependent like the KHorns so you can move them around to get the best sound in your living room. With the amp you have the bass will sound great anywhere you put the speakers. I have mine about 13 feet apart and I sit about 9 or 10 feet back. For you 16-18 apart and 11-12 feet from the couch should work but you will have to experiment with it all. Again I was not trying to talk you out of buy the La SCalas. I just want to make sure before you understand there are many things that can affect the way Heritage speakers sound. I've had mine a year and a half and have not regretted getting them. Tofu has La Scalas in a 11 x 11 x 8 and did not think they were much of an improvement until he made the risers I mentioned, put some ruggs up on the walls and a few other things. Your living room is bigger than mine so I don't think it will be a problem. Xman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 20x13 is plenty big for lascalas!!! Try to place them on the long wall, about 13ft apart, toed in slightly. You'll be amazed at the soundstage. I assume you'll be sitting about 12ft from the speakers in a triangle. That's what works best with my cornwalls. It's nice to have space on either side for imaging but you give up a little bass not having them stuck in the corners. I'm sure you'll play around with placement but don't think your room is too small cause it ain't! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 I agree on getting the La Scalas , and the room size you have is fine . I would caution you on one of the ideas that JBSL threw out at you . While the hanging of rugs and other things may improve your room acoustics , do relize that hanging anything flamable verticaly can be potentialy hazerdous . I have Belles in a 16' x 20' room . My walls are concrete and other than a large sectional couch , a couple of oil paintings and carpet there is nothing else to help diffuse the obviously very live room . I was planning on making some panels using plywood covered in foam and then wraped in some sort of heavy fabric , and then hung on the walls in different areas to dampen the sound . But I read elsewhere on this forum about the dangers of vertical flamables , and have since changed my mind . Just know the risks . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlipsDude Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 Better you than me! Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 Crazy KlipsDude , " He Think Totem Pole Alive " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyMason Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 Now be nice sunburnwilly, we are nice and respectable people here. What is it with you and KlipsDude anyway? I saw your other post about the RF-7's with him. I agree with him about the RF-7's. They are stunning speakers with the right gear, I have them too and love them. The Klipschorn and La Scalas are fine speakers too. Lets respect each other for our "personal choices" after all we all have in common that they are "Klipsch" speakers. You both just need to respect each other in that regard. Both great, both just different. The RF-7's are more refined and not as in your face as what you prefer. I'm running my RF-7 with almost 400 watts per channel and the sound is very outstanding, I'm very impressed and very happy with them. I've read great reviews over the internet of users using the Carver Pro ZR1600, enjoy your new purchase! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyMason Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 sunburnwilly, thanks for the kind words about my picture, very sweet of you, I meant to thank you sooner! Thanks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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