Lascala - what's the point?

[JohnA]

DimaK,

Tell us more about your La Scalas; serial number, squawker, tweeter and

crossover. I'll argue, as I listen to "And You and I" on

satellite, they don't really need that many mods.

I haven't braced my bass horns. I have the original tweeters and

other drivers (sort of). I have made a few mods, though.

La Scalas were a dream of mine. I thought I'd never afford

K-horns, so I picked the ones I could. I found my set in

Nashville. They were mismatched, somehow, at the PX where they

were purchased. One had the coveted solder-terminal K-55-V and

the other had a K-55-M and Type AL network. My first contact with

Klipsch was K-horn with -Vs and Type AA networks. As dumb luck

had it I found a matching -V at a sound shop in Nashville, so the die

was cast.

I was forced into capacitor changes through a series of misadventures

obtaining a second Type AA. I'm an engineer and both HAD to

match! I bought UKP15 woofer inductors, but have never installed

them. Maybe they'd sound better, but not enough to change,

yet. All of the capacitor changes were not audible, either.

I did improve them bu adding DynaMat to the squawker horns. Rope

caulk (or modelling clay?) would work as well for less money, though

the DynaMat wasn't that expensive. I also bought "Z" brackets

from Klipsch that push the tweeters out flush with the front of the

cabinet, after you cut a larger hole, that is. That helped the

tweeter quite a lot.

Your electronic gear is excellent. The mods you list are not at

all necessary. Mr. Paul Klipsch was the consumate engineer.

He didn't spend money on something that didn't provide more benefit

than it cost. You can spend another UKP500 on your La Scalas and

I'm sure you'll improve them; maybe not 500 pounds worth, though.

Try flush-mounting your tweeters (get them out of that hole) and adding

damping to your squawker horns and see if that isn't enough. If

it isn't, I'd recommend building a new set of crossovers with modern

components. Solen caps and inductors should be easy to get over

there. I'd build a set of ALKs or DHA2s. I can supply the

DHA schematics. Al Klappenberger will build you a set of ALKs if

you don't want to do it. DeanG will build you a set of

DHAs.

[Audio Flynn]

Yes, they are addictive. Pay no attention to the naysayers. Cornwalls my eye!

Put

some ALK crossovers in them with some 511B horns sitting on top, and

they will floor you! With a nice amp/preamp combo that can provide some

serious bottom end (VRD's/BlueBerry) you will never be wanting again.

Ask me how I know...

Mike

All respect to Colter; loud is a small attribute of the LaScala.

Midrange immaging is impressive.

You need to have a very sound amp; tubes always prefferred.

With SS amps you will miss much of the soundstage and realism.

[colterphoto1]

AF, I was simply picking on the most easily recognizable trait as the first poster. I knew you guys could come up with the other reasons.

M

[maxg]

Comments in Bold.

I've got this pair of Lascalas recently and they really sound different from anything modern i had untill today.

And you like them? It is not clear from what you have written.

but they're not perfect and require some work and mods.

What dont you like about the sound?

after i've read this forum i discovered that replacement/moding of following things provide significant improvement:

- tweeters

- xovers

- midrange horn

- midrange driver

- bass bin bracing

- porting for lower bass extension

This is all true - however, depending on what you like or dislike with the sound you are currently getting you may not need to do all, or any of them.

I noticed in your later post that you have a REL subwoofer. If you run this in your 2 channel setup there is no need for the porting, is there?

after i add to this LS's kinda ugly look and bulky size plus renovation of the cabinets it makes me think - why to go this way?

You tell us - you bought them - why?

i mean - if somebody wants the best bang for a buck (brithish pound in my case :-)) than i guess nothing can come close to 800$ or so Lascalas.

So that's why.

But if someone wants the best if that great, big, neutral, imidiate sound of vintage speakers - then Lascalas require a lot of mods which easily can add onther 1,000$ on top of their cost - so why not go directly to old JBL's, Altecs, Tannoys etc.?

As others have said this is not a fair comparison as you are assuming that the models listed as alternatives won't need mods - not a safe assumption.

in any case i have to thank to PWK and to Lascalas as i think they really got me into this bug.

I personaly don't really like Tannoys (although they're the easiest thing to get here in UK) and never heard good Altecs or JBL's...........

anyway, speaking financially, i'm at the crossroad where to go and any input will be greatly appreciate.

This is entirely up to you. Try to decide what you do and do not like about the sound you are getting and then we can look at methods to address those issues - rather than merely shotgun blasting and trying to fix everything including those things that are not a problem.

[DimaK]

as i said earlier - what i don;t like is a tweeter which is "closed" and grainy without "air".

bass bin resonates way too much IMO.

overaly my LS is not very transparant.

also i wouldn't call it very "natural" - i mean i think it's quite colored - but i'm not sure that it's so bad.

what i do like is their dinamycs, huge sound, big midrange, nice "body" (as in most 15").

my subwoofer fills this sub-50hz region very well.

[Chris Robinson]

overaly my LS is not very transparant.

also i wouldn't call it very "natural" - i mean i think it's quite colored - but i'm not sure that it's so bad.

For transparency, make sure that they're out from the wall and corners a few feet and then start moving them a little at a time (1"). There will be a place where they're really happy.

For one important mod, get a fresh pair of networks from BEC, DeanG or Al K. I modded my 1976 Klipschorns and the difference was not subtle. Old networks were OK in their time, but the ALK's really took them up to a new level. All five of my Heritage speakers (Khorns, Belle and CW's) have ALK networks in them. I'm sure Bobby Crites' networks, or Dean's, would yield similar results.

Coloring? Wow, hadn't heard that complaint from LAS' before. They're hugely revealing of the limitations of the source and amplification chain.

Again, try a new pair of networks. Then listen to music in the dark and you won't worry about how ugly they may look []

[Al Klappenberger]

Guys,

All of you have been talking about what mods to make to a LaScala. I suggest that the speaker to have is the Belle. To mod a LaScala takes a lot of sawing and hacking! A Belle has a top section that comes apart in pieces that allows it to accept virtually anything to be bolted on top the woofer and still let you back down to a completely "stock" configuration later. A La Scala is disfigured for life once you have replaced the squawker horn, and that's the main thing you need to do! If you are going to do mods, GET A SET OF BELLES INSTEAD!

Al K.

[DimaK]

For transparency, make sure that they're out from the wall and corners a few feet and then start moving them a little at a time (1"). There will be a place where they're really happy.

Chris,

my room is big but not that big []

[colterphoto1]

For transparency, make sure that they're out from the wall and corners a few feet and then start moving them a little at a time (1"). There will be a place where they're really happy.

Chris,

my room is big but not that big []

uh, get a bigger room? Oh sorry you're in UK, I'm in USA land of conspicuous consumption. Sorry.

I agree with your 'coloration' comments though. If anyone has ever seen a real frequency plot of the LS, it's ALL OVER the place. Really rough. What do you expect for PA though. But that 400 horn is nice.

Now Al has me wanting to contact Hope to see if they'll still make a Belle for me.....

Michael

[jacksonbart]

They make a nice bed side table.

[Mike Lindsey]

You guys make me laugh... you wanna hear what a pair of La Scala's should sound like you come to my house... I'll be happy to oblige.

Mike

[oldtimer]

"after i add to this LS's kinda ugly look and bulky size plus renovation of the cabinets it makes me think - why to go this way?

i mean - if somebody wants the best bang for a buck (brithish pound in my case :-)) than i guess nothing can come close to 800$ or so Lascalas."

Well, for best bang for the buck (bpd) at the price mentioned, try Cornwalls or Forte II's. That is if you don't want to mod the LaScalas.

[jpm]

gawd, you guys are full of bs

this forum is better than Sunday comics

[colterphoto1]

Don't throw your LaScalas away-

Send them to me and let me

Throw them away for you!

Michael []

[oldtimer]

gawd, you guys are full of bs this forum is better than Sunday comics

Not much of a comparison these days. You know what I mean if you have looked at Sunday comics lately. For the record I like the sound of LaScalas.

[ancientdude]

So is it possible to stack la-scals without damaging them? Id love to stack them...mostly because of the limited space I have. Any objections to stacking them?

[colterphoto1]

Use some type of soft padding between them to cushion cabinets and prevent rattles. FLIP THE TOP PAIR upside down so the horns are together. Trust me on this.

But the sound field isn't so good unless you have another pair stacked somewhere nearby.

Michael

[Croc]

i made a temporary bracement for the bass bin a week ago - coted me less than 10$ and works wery well.

also i borowed from a friennd of mine some Fostex 95db or so horn tweeters (100$ pair) which i connected in parallel to my LS and they work from 12-14khz up to 50khz [] - it made a nice difference but not night and day - so for my surprise it seems that tweeter is not thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat important.

my point is that you can try cheap and simple tweeks first before you finaly decide which path to take.
in addition those tweeks will reveal to you LS's potential.

[Def Leper]

But if someone wants the best if that great, big, neutral, imidiate sound of vintage speakers - then Lascalas require a lot of mods which easily can add onther 1,000$ on top of their cost - so why not go directly to old JBL's, Altecs, Tannoys etc.?

I used to use them for club speakers for several reasons-- They are of a size and weight which was about the largest that could be suspended, they are tremendously efficient, they were available unfinished, and they have excellent projection. In my installations, they were almost always never used as full-range speakers, and L48 or earthquake bins were used on the floor for low bass.

I did use my mobile LaScallas at home (those are the ones I caught on fire) and they were not my idea of an ideal hifi speaker. I own a pair of Cornwalls and Heresys now, and much prefer the cornwall as a home speaker. Why? Good efficiency and projection like the LaScalla but much better low bass response.

[easyeyes]

DimaK,

Last I checked, the pound to the dollar is 1.80; assuming you're purchasing the mod bits from the states, you are paying about half as much as someone spending dollars. I know, I live here in the UK and I get paid in dollars.

EE