Will Gabbard Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Well, after long wait I have finally acquired a vintage pair of Lascalas. Date code looks to be 1974. One cabnet was a little beaten up in shipping but overall they look pretty good. As I am new to Klipsch speakers (albiet not horns) I have a few questions. With 15 inch bass drivers I was expecting deeper and more authoritative bass. The bass is not bad, just light. Could this be a factor of origional crossovers with dryed out oil caps or tired orgional drivers? Also, one of the tweeters does not work. Do they blow easily or could this also be a problem with the crossover? Over all I am very impressed with the speakers. It is amazing how good they sound with my little flea powered Darling 1626 amp (about 1 watt). Eventually I am planning to go back to a Wavelength Duetto 300b. I have owned 2, probably the best SET amp that I have ever heard. Any info would be much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Well, after long wait I have finally acquired a vintage pair of Lascalas. Date code looks to be 1974. One cabnet was a little beaten up in shipping but overall they look pretty good. As I am new to Klipsch speakers (albiet not horns) I have a few questions. With 15 inch bass drivers I was expecting deeper and more authoritative bass. The bass is not bad, just light. Could this be a factor of origional crossovers with dryed out oil caps or tired orgional drivers? Also, one of the tweeters does not work. Do they blow easily or could this also be a problem with the crossover? Over all I am very impressed with the speakers. It is amazing how good they sound with my little flea powered Darling 1626 amp (about 1 watt). Eventually I am planning to go back to a Wavelength Duetto 300b. I have owned 2, probably the best SET amp that I have ever heard. Any info would be much appreciated. there are no capacitors in the woofer path way on 74 models...recapping or going to third party AA's won't get you more bass...moving to AL-3 or better xovers does a better job of seperating the drivers. Tweeters blow easy....you can buy diaphragms and solder in or buy a diaphragm pre-loaded on the magnet cap that only needs to be screwed in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrestonTom Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Congratulations on your La Scalas. Re: the bass As mentioned, the woofer will not have a cap (the low pass is made by an inductor in series). Try placing the cabinet closer to the wall and the corner and definitely do not elevate off the floor. The La Scalas do not have a deep bass when compared to some other horn loaded cabinets. This is a design issue and will not be augmented by new or different crossovers. Personally, I do not favor trying to EQ the bass by swapping amplifiers (assuming the present amp is supplying sufficient wattage and current). Others will disagree on this issue. Re: the tweeter Before replacing the diaphragm, I would verify that this is the problem. Check the leads from the crossover to the tweeter. Better yet test the suspect tweeter with the crossover output from the "other" crossover. If you have a meter, test the resistance between the two sides of the tweeter (unhooked from the rest of the circuit). Is there some resistance or is it "open"? If you do need to replace the diaphragm, you should consider doing this to both cabinets. Re: the crossover If the crossovers are original, I would certainly consider re-freshing the caps. Simply note their values and get some replacements from Parts Express. These do not need to be expensive. For about $20 you can get a set of Solen metal polyprops. If the old ones are original, this will give an improvement and the swap is easy and not expensive. The most noticeable difference is that the highs will be augmented. After the caps are refreshed and you have experimented with the speaker location (and this can be a long and tedious process), I would simply do nothing for the next few months other then, listen, listen, listen. Good Luck, -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 La Scalas have good bass, it just doesn't go all that deep. Although it has a 15 inch woofer, the size and shape of the bass horn has a very large effect on the sound. To get really deep bass, you'd need a really big horn, much larger than the Scala horn. The Klipschorn gets its deep bass by using the room's walls as part of its bass horn, which is why Klipschorns absolutely have to be in the corner, with no gaps between the wall and the speaker. Many La Scala users, including myself, add a subwoofer to fill in the bottom end, since the Scala doesn't go much below 50 Hz. The Scala/sub combo can give really good full-range sound. As Tom suggested, a different location is worth trying. Can you get them into the corners of the room? As for the tweeter, first check for loose or broken connections. If the tweeter is actually out of order, they are repairable, or you can upgrade to a pair of BEC's CT125 units, which do sound quite a bit better. Replacing those old caps is a good idea. The bass will be unchanged, but the midrange clarity will be improved. Have you tried the speakers with a more powerful amp? Your amp may be very clear and La Scalas have very high sensitivity, but it takes a certain amount of power to get solid bass, and 1 watt doesn't allow much headroom. Do you have an amp with 5 watts or more that you could try? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 The LS Bassbin is a 100hz horn and it acts as a sealed enclosure to extend your bass down to about 60'ish hz, boundary gain by corner placement can yeild a boost in fr a few hz lower, some claim as low as 45 hz but you'd be eeking every hz out of em at 50 hz IMO. Just add a sub n smile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 The last two posts have nailed it. The size and shape of the horn determines the LF cutoff of the LS. They might not go as low as the CW's, but there is a very authoritative punch to the kick of a LS that is not matched by other speakers. I personally find the larger 400 Hz horn more open and detailed that the smaller 600 of the CW. The new LS gains a bit of LF because the cabinet walls do not flex. This horn flex doesn't necessarily swallow up low bass, but there is a sympathetic vibration in the walls that causes a bump in the original LS response. I find it warm and natural. Give it time, if you're using them for HT, you should have a sub anyway. I cross mine over at 90 Hz into our THX sub system. Talk about BASS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Gabbard Posted August 9, 2007 Author Share Posted August 9, 2007 Thanks for all of the advice. I find the bass response very musical, certainly not objectionable, just not the impact that I thought. I may add a Rel Strata III or Storm some time later. A more powerful amp is in the works but not for a few months. I sold off my high powered amp and hybrib ribbon speakers in favor of the LaScalas. The LS are much more engaging and musical at a fraction of the cost. It looks like new caps are a must. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klewless Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 Will, I was using a REL Strata with my LaScalas until I got my Khorns. Now I use it with the Khorns as well. A good sub really does make a difference with the benefit of removing power hungry bass from the main speakers (which reduces distortion). I personally believe a high powered amp with LaScalas/Khorns is not necessary (go for quality, not power) if a powered sub is in the system. I am using a home theater receiver (Rotel) and love my system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB Slammin Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 With all due respect, and as I understand it, ......The "third party" woofers mentioned, have the spec's of the ORIGNINAL K-33 (and a heavier cast basket to boot) as opposed to the current ones sold by Klipsch. ?????????????????/ tc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB Slammin Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 The last two posts have nailed it. The size and shape of the horn determines the LF cutoff of the LS. They might not go as low as the CW's, but there is a very authoritative punch to the kick of a LS that is not matched by other speakers. I personally find the larger 400 Hz horn more open and detailed that the smaller 600 of the CW. The new LS gains a bit of LF because the cabinet walls do not flex. This horn flex doesn't necessarily swallow up low bass, but there is a sympathetic vibration in the walls that causes a bump in the original LS response. I find it warm and natural. Give it time, if you're using them for HT, you should have a sub anyway. I cross mine over at 90 Hz into our THX sub system. Talk about BASS! ..........They might not go as low as the CW's,.............. Well yah!............. .......... I personally find the larger 400 Hz horn more open and detailed than the K600.......No sh*t Michael. Are you kidding me? ..........The new LS gains a bit of LF because the cabinet walls do not flex................... If that is half the reason that reoprts are so positive as to the improved LF in the new LaS, then brace the box and remove cabinet deflections in a CW bin. Sorry, no sub needed. (for two channel) They simply dig deeper than LaS. Always have, always will. It's all about the math. Regards, tc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB Slammin Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 Will, I was using a REL Strata with my LaScalas until I got my Khorns. Now I use it with the Khorns as well. A good sub really does make a difference with the benefit of removing power hungry bass from the main speakers (which reduces distortion). I personally believe a high powered amp with LaScalas/Khorns is not necessary (go for quality, not power) if a powered sub is in the system. I am using a home theater receiver (Rotel) and love my system. ? Are you guys kidding me? If your mains need a sub for two channel, then you should be looking for new mains. tc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoudnClear Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 Well, I use my Velodyne DD-12 with my Cornwall II's to handle the 17-38 Hz work. Does that make me some kind of loser fooo? I hope not, because I absolutely love my setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB Slammin Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 Well, I use my Velodyne DD-12 with my Cornwall II's to handle the 17-38 Hz work. Does that make me some kind of loser fooo? I hope not, because I absolutely love my setup. No, no. Just being a wise guy. I forgot the wink at the end.[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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