Klipschorn review in Stereophile?

[mikebse2a3]

I wish they had started with the klipschorn, I am not a big la scala fan, nor do I think the folks at stereophile will be, it's not their kinda speaker. let's wait and see what happens. tony

Hi Tony

Hope you get a chance to hear the new LaScala II. I use to own LaScalas and even though the specs advertised don't seem much different I did hear them at the Hope Pilgrimage and I personally felt like it had a very dramatic improvement in Tonal Balance.

No way would you mistake the LSII with the orginal LS!!! Great Job Klipsch!

mike tn[]

[Coytee]

As an owner of LaScalas for the last 27 years, I agree with Mike that there would be zero mistaking the two.

Although they said the specs were the same, "in the real world" it sounds as though they added an octave or more to the bottom end. That listening session dramatically revealed to me just how good it can be if you get the sidewall resonance fixed.

When I'm done with my basement, my sidewalls are going to get some serious attention.

[]

[garyrc]

Trey, can you give us a heads-up if Stereophile (or any other mag) borrows a pair of Klipschorns?

Also, do you know when the LS II review will be printed? I get the impression that they let the manufacturer read the review first, so that they can comment in Manufacturer's Comments.

Why would they start with the LS II? Why not start with the one that is full range, the Khorn? Do they not know that the Khorn has been upgraded in its crossover, etc., in the last few years? At least one European reviewer (can't remember the name), in a review of someone else's horn seemed to think that the Khorn has been unchanged for many decades.

[kaiser SET say]

JW, didn't you hear the pair in Hope at Mark's factory demo?!?

[ricktate]

Well its not in the oct. issue i just looked for it today.Darn waited for 2 months and nothing... i was soooo sad.Rick

[seti]

Well its not in the oct. issue i just looked for it today.Darn waited for 2 months and nothing... i was soooo sad.Rick

I like the 6moons review site where they let you know what is in the lineup to be reviewed.

I wonder who will be reviewing the LaScalas?

[Audio Flynn]

No Damon I have not. I assumed that

Klipsch had maintained the same family values when building these new

versions. I did not care for the sound of the original LS so I

assumed, compared to the other models, I would like the II version

least as well. I guess it was the lack of bass extension that

turned me off most, I liked the cornwalls better than the LS and, of

course, the k-horns as well. So...

Let's see what stereophile says. I also was not happy with the

"bookshelf" speaker they choose to review a while back, I would have

liked them to pick one with a bigger woofer.

regards, tony

I was more than miffed at the bookshelf review. RB-5 or RB-75 would have been a much better selection.

Tony;

Funny I like my Chorus IIs better than Cornwalls for mids and bass attack. Love all the opinions!

[TheEAR]

double sorry

[TheEAR]

they have the LSII now...and they won't send it back. they sent a check in stead.

That's a good sign! I wonder how often that happens?

Very good sign,it says "I loved the review pair so much I purchased them" and "When I heard the truth from the Klipsch speakers my ears told me to remove the sweet sounding pseudo audiophool gimmicks from my house,and get real speakers(Klipsch)"

[boomer9911]

I'd love to see the Klipsch headphones....swweeeetttt......[]

[Jay481985]

I'd love to see the Klipsch headphones....swweeeetttt......[]

its called my room, the rf83 are 3 feet on each side of me and about 1 feet infront toed in!

[ricktate]

Hey new Stereophile mag has LaScala in it,,,just a review no testing.Rick

[sunnysal]

I too was pissed at the bookshelf RF review, they picked the wrong one to reivew IMHO. I guess the new LS sounds much better than the previous one, I have very little chance to hear new speakers down here where I live. I DO hope Stereophile reviews the Klipschorn (either as a vintage report or the lastest iteration) since I think the Klipsch flagship should be reviewed. I was glad to hear form Trey that Klipsch will be sending the K-horn for review since JA mentioned that was at the root fo the hold up. Regards, Tony

[DrWho]

I too was a lascala "hater" until I heard them mated with some serious

subwoofage (Ultra2 subs, mmmmm). But by themselves they would just rip

your ears off (no offense to anyone that likes lascalas) [+o(]

But the Lascala II is in a whole league of its own - much better tonal

balance and it's not painful on the ears. They still need a subwoofer,

but at least it's not painful to listen to. I think I would go with

H3's over the lascalas though...but that's a whole nother can of worms.

And for what it's worth, I would not like to see an article written

based on the performance of the listening room in Hope. Them acoustics

were awful times ten plus two. I don't read these magazines much (does

anyone really find them interesting?), but it would be nice if they

could sit down and quantify that the room they're listening in has good

acoustics for the particular speaker. You really need to adjust

acoustical treatment based on the directivity of the speaker - horns

have a huge advantage in this regard, but would also probably find

treatment suited for direct-radiators to be a hinderance in performance.

But alas, I have to keep reminding myself that the driving force of the

audio industry is selling an image, not performance. *sigh*

[damonrpayne]

...

But the Lascala II is in a whole league of its own - much better tonal balance and it's not painful on the ears. They still need a subwoofer, but at least it's not painful to listen to. I think I would go with H3's over the lascalas though...but that's a whole nother can of worms.

...

What's wrong with you? DrWhat !!! []

The H3s are nice but the LaScala II is absolutely my dream speaker right now. I would pick them over k-horns.

[garyrc]

I wonder if the somewhat new sound of the LaScala II (haven't heard it) is the continuation of a trend that started in about 1988, when (I think) PWK was still at the helm?

Brief chronology of my impressions of La Scala, Belle, Khorn

1) Always liked Klipschorns (from late 1950s, as a teen), and noticed that some of the improvements actually were considerable improvements.

2) Mid 60s to mid 80s: I was, like Who, a LaScala hater.[]...Too harsh with most program material .... . exceptionally good for solo flute, solo brass, etc., but lacked not only deep bass, but seemed to lack some of the mid bass that balances and moderates the sound of orchestral climaxes, preventing them from sounding too shrill, even with vinyl and tubes. My local art house (Berkeley) replaced Altec 604 Es with LaScalas, on the advice of John Curl (later Parasound), according to the Berkeley scuttlebutt (like all scuttlebutt, not always reliable). The La Scalas reproduced the movie soundtracks more clearly, but with less warmth than the Altecs.

3) 1988 walked into my favorite store to hear a Lexicon, and heard a Belle Klipsch, advertised to have sound "identical" to a La Scala. The Belle sounded much kinder and gentler, much better balanced, but was dynamic as hell. "He recently toned it down," said the Klipsch knowledgeable sales person, who had been corresponding and chatting with PWK since the late 50s. I wonder if he toned down the La Scala at the same time (for the first time?)?

4) 1988 - 2003: heard a few more Belles, and liked them.

5) 2005: Bought a new Belle as a center channel to go between Klipschorns ... It sounds fine alone, with adequate bass and balance, and is much more articulate and "there" than my Heresy II surrounds, but is not as startlingly clear and "open" as the Klipschorns. There may be a little of the treble reticence that Sam Tellig wrote about in the Stereophile review of the LaScala IIs. The treble sounds a little soft, compared to my Klipschorns, but it doesn't show up in measurements.

.....WHY?

6) 2006: Everyone is saying that the LaScala II is much improved, has better bass, but doesn't measure all that different. I believe all of this.

I hope Stereophile does review new Klipschorns (AK4 or 5), and I hope they let Sam hear them, to report on the subjective difference between them and La Scala IIs.

[DrWho]

lol Damon, I was talking about as a standalone speaker...throw in a sub and it's hands down the LaScala II.

Are the new lascala and khorn using the new tractrix tweeter? Or is that only in the H3 and C3? I personally would like to see a slightly modified lascala with tractrix squaker and tweeter with better directivity and more high frequency extension on the bass bin...maybe even throw a port in the throat to extend that low-end a notch or two. But how dare I suggest improvements to an already great speaker [A]