seeking ‘HORN’ ideas apart from Klipshc Lascalla


hello all!

Horns, and just now, the Klipsch Lascalla interests me and as a new purchased items, ala, $12K MSRP, are doable.

to gain a wider perspective what other avenues, choices, or options in competing brands could be suggested as alternative selections in the $8K to $15K new or used arena?

i’m aware adding sub (s) is a likely necessity with the Lascallas, and possibly many other such speakers..

power is up in the air and nothing yet is set to stone, but any speaker candidates will be used with tube or SS amps. Tubes predominately of course. albeit, not necessarily SET Flea wattage amps, e.g., 2a3, 300B, etc., though I’d not wish to rule out these types as a later down the road application .

I’ve heard only at shows sevewral brands and have not been thrilled by Avante gard Duos or uno’s especialy.

I have enjoyed immensely the Classic audio T1s but am having issues justifying their near $40K entry fee.

overall, i do enjoy the idea of the sheer impact and presence horns produce but feel from my brief listening experiences in show venues imaging often lacked yet contributed this attribute to room conditions and or the LP itself being perhaps too close.

truth be told, even cone speakers are not totally off the table as considerations, as some ‘hybrid’ bass powered systems appear to be quite easily driven;.

predominately, my main caveats here are size of units and the room dims. they will be set.

for a bit , room size will be 13.5ft x 21ft x 8.5ft and using the short wall.

albeit the current room dims will increase, it is not yet known to what extent, though the desire is to land in a larger, but not huge dedicated listening room. likely a tad wider one in any event

secondly, given present room dims, it seems to me placing speakers in there which are taller than about 4ft or so, is going to be excessive…. ?

lastly, imaging is usually a pet peve of mine. the better the imaging the more involved the presentation seems to be IMO. certainly imaging is not the whole shooting match and orgainics, speed, leading edge def, decay, lower register deliniation, and presence all play quite significant roles.

as I’m at the onset of putting together this outfit any suggestions are definitely appreciated in terms of speaker ideas other than the Lascalla per se.

alas, DIY, or kit options are off the table as assenbly is no longer something I’m comfortable doing..

as for power, consider what ever amps are involved, I’d probagbly use what ever quality amps whose outputs are 25wpc or greater, be it one chassis or two. the plan is to acquire more than one sort of power amp in topology and or output along the way.

huge thanks, .
blindjim
I'd like to weigh in on the need for sub addition to the Klipsch LaScala. Everyone says the Lascala needs a sub, and looking at the specs and roll off under 50db it SEEMS to be a absolute necessity. However, my experience has been pretty standard by following the status quo by adding one sub, two subs, bigger, better, watts up... quality up... etc. Sunfire, Velodyne, Monitor Audio, Polk...(Nothing helped).Then I switched two things which changed everything....first a transition to tube amplifier (Raven Nighthawk), and replaced speaker cables and interconnects with all Tellurium Q  Black II. Just before this upgrade my Sunfire HR12 sub died so I pulled it out for repair. HOWEVER, after those enhancements (tubes and cables) the bass has been shocking and deep and natural and sufficient. I sincerely believe MOST of the opinion that LaScalas are bass weak can be largely overcome by these improvements. (Also, I highly recommend the Tellurium Q systems disk. It really wakes up the LaScalas. I have a theory that an extremely long break in for LaScalas explains rabid user loyality after years of use while new LaScalas often leave reviewers wondering what gives with
accolades by the Klipsch fan base. I get it.)  
DIY is not as daunting as it sounds most large commercial horns will need some set anyway. A dual 15" bass- large formate compression midrange with a matching tweeter. Best if dual 15" are horn-loaded but ported is OK. Simple network or DSP  if you must. I just set up a friend with a dual community leviathan with extensions and one of the best made multicell systems all new drivers shipped for only $11k I used some of the best transducers and electrical parts known to man, it's not so hard and what you get in the end far exceeds any audiophile offering and its cheap parts and poor hamstrung designs. Join horn forums why not learn while you get your next speaker? buying teaches you and gets you very little. If you can turn a screw you can build a horn.

@blindjim  Didn't I meet you this last February in our room at the Tampa audio show? We were playing the Classic Audio Loudspeakers, one of two models- the Hartsfield reproduction, which is 16 ohms and about 105dB, or the T-1 which is 16 ohms but goes down to 20Hz. Seems to me we had a brief conversation after your listening session there. I hope you are well!
@allears4u. All good ! The bass quality on the Lascala is superb. But, " for me ", they need that last bit of bottom, and it depends on the music listened to. I run mine full range ( many tweaks and mods ), and run my subs starting at just below 50 hz, with as fine adjustment as possible, and to me, it is a smooth transition, which again, is quite coherent. John K...I have no doubts about what you say, but I have seen and heard many DIY horns ( likely not yours ) that are just too big...not in size, although large, but, in presentation.