Full Range to K-43 LSI bottom ok for test purposes?

[gearfreak]

Howdy all,

I'm in the midst of mods (crossover, squeaker, etc) - but that aside, I am wondering where the 'authoritative male vocals' on my La Scala industrial bins are.

Overall, things seem just a bit muddy bass-line wise...

So... without getting into the other mods, and particularly to remove the other mods and xover(s) from the equation, the question is:

Is it ok to send a full range signal right to the LSI K-43?

assumption is yes, but it is worth asking.

(if 'yes', up to how many watts - 200 ? - though I won't approach that)

Hypotheses are that:

If something changes 'dramatically' WRT that range, I can concentrate on the other components...

If nothing changes 'dramatically', I can play more with bin placement or look for more troubleshooting on the woofer itself.

[Macho Nacho]

So in other words are you asking if K-43 is a power bottom?

[gearfreak]

Thanks Nacho,

um, no, I don't think so.

To state it differently:

"Can I take the output of my amplifier, and send it's full range signal to the K-43 in the LSI bin without damaging the K-43?"

or

"Can you run the LSI Bass bin without a crossover network between it and the amp (and with no particular attempt to attenuate frequencies above it's design parameters) - will it just shed the HF without damage?"

This of course we do 'all the time' with e.g. 15" bass guitar cabs, but I am unsure of any deleterious effect specifically on the horn loaded woofer design(s).

[Guest " "]

The LaScala bass bin has a natural roll off that prevents the bass bin to be used as a full range horn.

You can send full range power to the woofer...but full range sound won't make it out of the cabinet.

Your best bet is to investigate either modifiing your existing xovers to AA or obtaining AA xovers from the used market, klipsch, or an indpendent craftsman.

I'm assuming you have an AL series xover which was common on latter LSI's.

[gearfreak]

Thanks speakerfrits. Yes I understand that that it has a roll off etc. Just want to make sure I do not damage it.

I realize as well that that rolloff point (700+hz?) may be above where whichever crossover limits it and sends it to the squaker etc.

(Which makes my test less ideal, though hopefully still informative).

The stock Xovers are ~30yo AA's, w/the zener diodes.

thanks!

[colterphoto1]

Sure the K43 would take full range, but I don't why you'd want to.

[gearfreak]

It is for testing purposes.

Sorry all. I guess my first post was not clear enough.

(note that I know that it is not a bass monster of sub-woofer proportions etc.)

My goal is to determine where the (oft-lauded) 'tight' and 'precise' bass of the La Scala is going in my setup, or perhaps if I have a woofer problem. This I decided on after reading another post or few, that mentioned 'authoritative male vocals' in conjunction with the bass component... and I said, 'hey, my male vocals sound kind of weak actually... maybe I should look into this more'.

Combining that thought with the thought of somewhat muddy (or at least not 'wow that's a super clear and funky bass-line') bass end...

...I figured that if I run (only) the K-43 in the bin with the full range signal, that if some other component were an issue, that I'd be able to hear the true colors of the bin in thier abscence. Then, better decide for myself if the other components were having any deleterious effect - or if I should concentrate my energies on moving the bin around the room or actually testing the woofer for a problem.

thanks!

[djk]

The bass by itself will sound like a barrel of sludge.

The 'slam' comes largely from how well the midrange integrates with the bass.

If the performance has gone down (and the drivers work) , the first thing I would do was replace the caps in the crossover.

[gearfreak]

Hah. Good way to put it.

I was thinking that since the scala bin goes up to 700 or 800hz (right?), that running it alone would reveal it's abilities 'true colors' without said midrange integration being a factor. Perhaps that ~800hz point is still lower than where the mid provides benefit though.

Maybe I just need to play an actual bass guitar through it as well.

I'll don some protective gear and see what happens. :-)

[djk]

The LSI bass bin by itself works fine for bass guitar as long as you have some EQ.