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LaScalla "horn" sound compared to "maggie" sound

I am quite satisfied with the sound I have with my current system, but am looking for a little spice and variety in my life.  There is a set of circa 1977  LaScalas available in my part of the country and I wonder how the sound might be as compared to my current Magnepan 1.7 set up?  I know it is apples and oranges, but I like both.  Chocolate is my favorite ice cream, but I also like strawberry sometimes.

My general understanding, or perhaps misunderstanding, is that the Lascala/horn type of speaker has the wonderful life-like midrange, are quite dynamic, won't go real low in the bass region, and may be sweet or ragged on the top end depending on who you talk to, set up, and what you feed them.

I could go listen to these, but the sources are inferior and the room would be different from mine.  I really can't get a good grip on a different sound until I can sit back in the Hefty-Boy and assimilate it slowly.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

My current system is:

TT- VPI Classic 1 with Soundsmith Zephyr cart.
Phono stage- Herron Audio VTPH2
Digital/CD- Simaudio Moon Supernova
Preamp- Herron Audio VTSP3A
Power Amp- Bryston 4BSST2
Subs- Rel T5's
abnerjack
cedargrover
302 posts
 
I wonder how the Bryston is going to play with LaScala.  I have heard various vintage LaScalas and Klipschorns, but always with tubes.  

We are talking about different animals, but in my home theater I have Klipsch KLF-20s.  I had them with a NAD amp for a very short while, but quickly hooked back up my super liquidy (i.e., colored!) sounding 90s-era Denon monoblocks.  Accounting for one coloration with another probably isn't the best approach, but my theater sounds great.  :)


abnerjack OP
208 posts
 
cedargrover,

I had read that lots of people like tubes with the Heritage Klipsch speakers.  I would be willing to go with a little tuber if it came to it. The LaScallas are super efficient and can be powered, I have read, with low power amps like a SET.   I would be curious to hear what the sound would be like with the Bryston and the Herron, which is a tube pre.
cedargrover
302 posts
 
Please keep us updated if you end up taking the plunge.
effischer
565 posts
 
You are talking about radically different sound qualities from what you have now.  I suspect you would find the La Scalas very bright in your rig, perhaps to the point of being unlistenable.  300W is far too much for that design, IMO.  The stories you've heard about the old school Klipsch speakers liking tubes is true; having heard Klipschorns, La Scalas in both home and pro versions, home Cornwalls and both home and pro Heresys in several different environments, every time I heard them with tubes, they just sounded more natural.  Solid state amps tended to make them bright to the point of brash.  Bass never seemed to be lacking to me; all of them were fitted with comparatively large woofers.

If you can get a good deal on the La Scalas, you might find it fun to experiment with tube power.  That would be for your budget to decide.  Being totally objective however, unless you really, really want a completely different sound, you should probably pass.  La Scalas are very large, heavy and don't take kindly to cramped spaces, low ceilings or hard floors.  They were designed at a time when amplifiers didn't have much power, so Paul Klipsch designed them to be hyper-efficient and handle up to 100W continuous.  I believe he was quoted as saying "Now if only someone would make a decent 100W amp..."

Your call either way.  Good luck & happy listening!
randy-11
1,913 posts
 
Magneplanar wants you to avoid using subs with their speakers (tho many people do).

If you like the 1.7, you might want to try the 3.7i (which is acoustically smaller than the 1.7s).  You can reinforce the bass with their DWM panels also (these can be disguised as coffee tables too as long as they are as far away as the speakers).

Then there are the 20s....

How large is your room?
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