Review: Klipsch La Scala Speaker

Hi Purepwr
I think that you already know what you're doing, moreso than you know. I wouldn't fall for using those hot, inefficient, noisy, microphonic, unreliable, expensive, maintenance intensive tubes with horns - they just never worked well for me. I've already tried that & it was bad advice. Tubed preamps are another story, but we're not talking about that at the moment. Tube's high idle noise (tube rush) & microphonics are so easily perceived with sensitive horn transducers that I've found them unbearable. Others do prefer tubes & if that works for them then it's all good - for *them*. For me, the lack of deep bass extension + control, & the softened highs are also problems I've noted w\ tube power amplification.
I've been running a pair of vintage 1978 Belles (well over 20 years here too) with mosfet's - if you want to see the complete setup then just click on my username & scroll down below the bio to read all about it.
Mosfet based Luxman & Accuphase amps have provided the best results for me so far; 200 watts per channel is about right; when running at higher power levels 100 watts/ch seemes a bit underpowered during those power-demanding peaks. I like to have about 20dB of dynamic headroom, so at a 2watt/ch. listening level a 200 watt/ch amp is a good fit. Perreaux, Ayre, even McCormack Deluxe series amps also do a pretty good job, but generally I don't care for the sound of bipolars w\ horns. Mosfet amps w\ combined with MIT MH750-(xx) speaker cabling the synergy is very good.

Pure you had another question about possibly stuffing the top sections with polyfill; that just won't give you the needed midrange horn damping that a product like Dynamat will provide. Polyfill is a benefit up top, but not a huge one. Damping the (lower & upper) internal cabinet vibrations with other materials is a better use of time & material IMO. It's mandatory on the squawker.
Internal rewiring however is a must, & there are numerous wire alternatives available, but stick with a copper product because the horns are already so revealing that hyper-detailed silver wire isn't desirable.
The ALK crossovers: I'm undecided about them. I like some parts of them, & other parts of the AA crossover. I wish that I could combine them together somehow; I'm still experimenting with tweaks on them both. Al's onboard wire is not too good, so any noted issues may possibly be addressed right there.
I'm thinking that your use of full time Eq is indicative of a system setup issue which you're trying to mask via other means. If you're happy with that then that's cool, but there's probably a cleaner approach which would not require Eq on a full time basis, only needed occassionally for fixing those 'problem' recordings. That essentially removes the distortions of 2 pair of interconnect cables & an active filter device from your signal path, which should be a significant benefit.
I would approach the fine tuning issues by trying & applying some other tweaks instead.
Possibly a different amp (but only possibly) yours may synergise better when everything else is tweaked in.
Brass cones under your speakers.
Speaker cables.
Interconnects.
Upgrade AC cords.
AC line conditioning.
Shelving.
Cones.
Footers.

I would someday really like to hear a tube rig that's setup right for PWK's horns. Maybe it can be done & maybe it's even heavenly. I dunno, but so far tubes have just not fulfilled my preferences in so many areas.

I don't know if your shoes would fit on my feet Purepwr, but I get why you thought his statement sounded arrogant. I think he was actually making fun of himself, but you took it to be making fun of you at the same time. Sometimes humor is completely lost on the Internet with only pixels to represent people. I have that happen a lot on my posts and realize only after someone gets offended that folks who don't know me, and can't see or hear me saying some of this stuff don't realize I'm just having fun sometimes and like to laugh with people, and sometimes even at myself. Thanks for clarifying your viewpoint, and glad you are not mad the steam has beem released!

Hey Bob, wait'll you hear those horns with the Close-N'-Play turntable....talk about heaven!!

IMO, Bob's advice regarding the LaScala's themselves is excellent by the way. Obviously we have very different opinions on amplification. I can't say I've heard that many examples of SS + horns, but every one I've heard (at least half a dozen different combinations) sounded harsh and unlistenable to my ears. The only one I tried that was a mosfet solution was a B&K with Forte II's which was awful! The B&K sounded great with Spica's, and the Forte's with tubes, but together they were horrible. No air, no atmosphere, just loud, brash noise. Perhaps I need to hear Bob's setup, as the rest of his advice I'd agree with completely. Or we could just have completely different preferences. Obviously I have no such problems with dealing with tubes/tube-issues or I wouldn't use them either, but Bob's biased observations regarding tubes when combined with 104db efficiency horns are not completely out of line, and offer a counterpoint to my own preferences. Bob, I also wanted to combine the musicality of my AA's with the pinpoint imaging of Al's crossover somehow. I'm thinking that perhaps an upgrade to the AA's caps might go in that direction. After all my A/B testing I sure don't want to butcher my AA's. On my system, to my ears, they just sound much more musical than Al's. I definitely would not want to live with the ALK's as they sound in my rig. Pretty amazing to look at the two as I would NEVER have guessed that, nor by reading the many rave reviews for Al's product on the Klipsch forum site. They must work well for some folks. Al's are like works of art in more ways than one. Ultimately I'd rather look at them than listen to them. Have you tried putting better wires in there yet? I'd be curious to hear about whatever experiences you have had with tweaking either.

I am always amaized how often this forum seems to go negative, perhaps it is the male nature to be thus. I do not often contribute but I do read this forum everyday. I have learned much and only contribute when I have some personal experence to share with others. I don't care to pass on something I have just read or heard thru the grapevine. This really is about the music, not the equipment. I am a baby boomer and have learned the hard way over time that some of the best advice and help I have recieved along the way often went to waste. Looking back I have to laugh at myself quite often. If I ever offend anyone it is unintensional as I do beleve everyone is entitled to there way of life and personal preferences.
My personal qualifications to contribute aside from my love of music, HiFi and old man time are thus: Certified Speaker Tech by JBL,Former Speaker Tech for Westlake Audio along with many projects over the years.

Thanks

Tubeking

P.S. SEAN is way cool!

Hey Tubeking- Someone with your experience is a valued asset to a forum like this, so I hope that trend doesn't discourage you from contributing further. I think it is a general trend with Internet forums/mailing lists. As I said in my earlier post, pixels on a screen seldom are a good substitute for a similar conversation with flesh and blood. It is true, some of the things people say here are probably not the same things they would say if they were standing around a room having a similar conversation. I have been guilty of that myself on some threads where my hackles go up and I let my personal need to be right blind me to common courtesy. It's much easier to disrespect someone when they are not standing in front of you and you don't witness first hand how your words affect them in real time and space. I've been on BMW motorcycle forums where the same thing occurs on a regular basis. So much so that I quit subscribing to them. Happily the amount of bandwidth that trend takes up in these forums seems to be less, so I keep reading and contributing when I have time and am familiar with the subject. I also have a tendency to want to liven up the conversation with some humor and some folks don't know what to make of it, or worse, get offended that I may not be taking the subject at hand seriously enough. Oh well, that's just who I am and I'll keep contributing in that tone when it suits me and hope in entertains more folks than it offends! I agree with your sentiments and have posted the same in several threads here: It is ultimately about the music....the gear is just the tools to deliver it to our ears, but without the music all our gear is a pile of parts worth far less than the exhorbinant prices we pay for it. I am thankful for these forums in that I don't have many opportunities to stand around and converse with a bunch of folks who have similar passions for this stuff (I only have one or two Audiophile friends who I rarely see), much less those with a range of knowledge and experience that is reflected by a group as we are here (as well as on AudioAsylum). I'm getting long-winded here, but bottom line is; thanks for your input and hope to read more from you in the future. I'd be curious to hear what your experience and recommendations have been with your Klipsch horn speakers as far as tweaking and improvements go.