turntable3 Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Good day to all the people at this nice forum, I am a new member from germany and I am looking forward to receiving my la scalas in april. My question is: is the mark levinson 431 a suitable amp for the la scalas? Does somebody have any experience in driving la scalas with a ml 431? Thanks for your answers. Best wishes to all turntable3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Turntable3, Welcome to the forum. Congrats on your La Scala's coming in April. Are these the new version? If so, super congrats. I don't know why your ML ought not to be splendid with the LS. La Scala speakers are very high efficiency, as is the Khorn and other Heritage speakers. The main issue is having a good clean first watt. It doesn't take much power to drive these to room filling sound and more. The best test is your own ears. You'll know quickly if the sound is sweet. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turntable3 Posted March 13, 2006 Author Share Posted March 13, 2006 Hi Daddy Dee, thanks for your post. The scalas are the 60th anniversary edition. Not the La scala2. I hope the ml431 has a first clean watt. I will tell you what my ears are hearing if the scalas are there. good time turntable3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 Only one real way to find out. Give it a whirl if it sounds good to you then it is good. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
126mhz Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 I agree with Craig's advice. The world in general is full of critics and the "Audiophile" world is even more so! I too have a pair of LaScalas and the beauty of them is that they are so darn effecient! This opens up a whole world of low wattage tube amplification choices. I'm a big fan of redone vintage gear because of the relative value verses new HiFi gear. Welcome to the high DB/Watt/Meter club! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 Hi Daddy Dee, thanks for your post. The scalas are the 60th anniversary edition. Not the La scala2. I hope the ml431 has a first clean watt. I will tell you what my ears are hearing if the scalas are there. good time turntable3 Major congrats on the 60th anniversary LS. Hope you can post some pics and your take on the sound when you get them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turntable3 Posted March 15, 2006 Author Share Posted March 15, 2006 Good morning to all the klipsch-aficionados, I appreciate your contributions very much. As soon as I have the scalas in my home I will provide some pics and tell you about the sound. As you may imagine I am anticipating the arrival of the scalas very much. 8 long weeks to go......it is a hard time...to wait.... but now I am glad to have sold the b&w 801/s3 matrix for the speaker which makes the real sound.....or the sound real... as you like it many thanks for the friendly welcome best wishes to all of you JACK (turntable3) my equipment: thorens td2001 with Shure V15xMR wbe phono teac vrds 25x cd-player ml 320s pre-amp ml431 power-amp ONLY THE PARANOIDS WILL SURVIVE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Hello Jack, Based on what I read on Stereophile's website about the 431, it should be an excellent amp for La Scalas. I've found mine like high damping factors and and warmish amps with a lot of Class A bias. The 431 looks to have that. The article did not state the power output at the A to AB transfer, but it sounds like it is several watts. That should make all of your listening in the Class A region. I'd think that would make it quite clean. The total power output is, of course gross overkill. Even peaks at normal levels will not exceed 1 watt. I suspect you'll be able to rock the house about the time the amp begins to transition to Class AB! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Hello Jack, Based on what I read on Stereophile's website about the 431, it should be an excellent amp for La Scalas. I've found mine like high damping factors and and warmish amps with a lot of Class A bias. The 431 looks to have that. The article did not state the power output at the A to AB transfer, but it sounds like it is several watts. That should make all of your listening in the Class A region. I'd think that would make it quite clean. The total power output is, of course gross overkill. Even peaks at normal levels will not exceed 1 watt. I suspect you'll be able to rock the house about the time the amp begins to transition to Class AB! John, Qualify normal listening levels? I find your 1 watt limit for peaks to be pretty short in the real world. Music uses more than you might think. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsch Employees Trey Cannon Posted March 15, 2006 Klipsch Employees Share Posted March 15, 2006 Hello Jack, Based on what I read on Stereophile's website about the 431, it should be an excellent amp for La Scalas. I've found mine like high damping factors and and warmish amps with a lot of Class A bias. The 431 looks to have that. The article did not state the power output at the A to AB transfer, but it sounds like it is several watts. That should make all of your listening in the Class A region. I'd think that would make it quite clean. The total power output is, of course gross overkill. Even peaks at normal levels will not exceed 1 watt. I suspect you'll be able to rock the house about the time the amp begins to transition to Class AB! John, Qualify normal listening levels? I find your 1 watt limit for peaks to be pretty short in the real world. Music uses more than you might think. Craig At lest its SS....... FYI: that is a kick in ol Craig's back side....just for fun. Welcome to the forum. I understand that we are building thoes products now...Not sure when we will ship your way, but the process has started. If you need any help once they land be sure to let us know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 From what I remember, Mark Levenson amps are some of the sweetest, warmest and most controlled SS amps out there that I used to sell in a previous job. We sold Mark Levenson, Krell, Meridian, McIntosh, Rotel, and Sunfire. The ML definately sounded the smothest of them all. I always thought it would be so nice to take one of those ML amps home to my CWs. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turntable3 Posted March 16, 2006 Author Share Posted March 16, 2006 Good morning to all, many thanks for your posts. I can agree the ml431 is sounding very smooth and though I hope it will be the right amp to play the scalas. Stereophile's article about the ml431 I have read. In german magazines (e.g. stereoplay) the amp is rated very good too. @Mr. Cannon: nice to hear that the production-process has begun. Have a nice day Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 The La Scala can make any good amplifier sound great. The only criticism I have of the La Scala, is that it is unforgiving of poorly designed amplifiers or those designed with an 'audiophile' sound in mind. How much money you pay for an amplifier, or one sporting a 'name' brand has little bearing on how good they sound with the La Scala. I guess it's suck and see. But that observation applies to any good quality loudspeaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 Craig, My room is 16x18x21x19 +/-. My Rat Shack meter runs 75 to 85 dB when I'm listening normally, sitting about 13 feet away. That gives me 20 to 30 dB before I hit 1 watt. OTOH, I'm sure I clipped my 140 wpc Parasound on occassion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebse2a3 Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 Hi Daddy Dee, thanks for your post. The scalas are the 60th anniversary edition. Not the La scala2. I hope the ml431 has a first clean watt. I will tell you what my ears are hearing if the scalas are there. good time turntable3 What is the 60th anniversary edition? I've seen the 60th anniversary Klipschorn but not a 60th anniversary LaScala(which was originally introduced in 1963). Is it the original LaScala for markets outside the US thats mentioned on the products page? mike[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turntable3 Posted March 19, 2006 Author Share Posted March 19, 2006 Yes it is the original La Scala for markets outside the us thats mentioned on the products page. Here in Germany they sell that La Scala for the 60th anniversary of klipsch for a cheaper price than normal. You can see this on the german page: www.klipsch-direct.de where I bought mine which are to be build and delivered yet. Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebse2a3 Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Thanks Jack Great Site in the way they are introducing Klipsch to people. I especially liked the letter to Fred from PWK saying: "Over half a century of experience building and evaluating loudspeakers has taught me to reduce the number of rules to one. Efficiency is inversely proportional to distortion and directly proportional to quality." mike[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turntable3 Posted March 19, 2006 Author Share Posted March 19, 2006 Nowadays I know I should have bought klipsch-speakers 20 years ago. In the early 70s I have heard a klipschorn very often at a friends house. I remember the sound had been very impressive to me. For me it is amzing to read how many people all over the world appreciate klipsch-speakers and own them for 20 years or more. I do not know any other brand owners are bound to for such a long time. That has very good reasons. Like me people have difficulties with so called high-end which does not follow the art of high-fidelity but is mere marketing and promotion. Efficiency of speakers can be compared to cylinder capacity of cars. The more cylinder capacity the more fun you have driving it. Because I believe in PWK's words and all the users of klipsch I ordered blind! It is like an adventure which known end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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