@kosst_amojan --
I can imagine a Meyer Setup sounding better than a JBL ditto. At live (amplified) concerts the acoustics and mixing has a huge influence on the perceived sound, but there’s still an imprinting that falls back on the specific gear used - speakers in particular, and also how they’re arranged (never been fond of the large PA-arrays that is typically used nowadays, but there are exceptions of satisfying implementations here). A local cinema uses Meyer Sound (EXP) speakers, and they’re fuller and more relaxed sounding compared to other cinemas in the area that use QSC or JBL.
Re: Klipsch La Scala II: great that you found the opportunity and not least took the initiative to audition them. I haven’t heard them myself, in any iteration, but my own speakers are based on the Klipsch Belle - a "belle," close sibling to the La Scala - that is, in the case of my speakers: the bass horn is more or less the same, and the rest is different and, dare I say, of better quality; be that the cabinet construction, crossovers, drivers, etc. I find they image beautifully (and are very coherent), the only real mild downside here being a restricted image height, but once you place yourself low enough in the seating position in front of them I find it to be a non-issue. The two other areas of either coloration or deficiency is a resonant character in the upper bass and lower midrange and, as you pointed to with your impressions of the La Scala’s, that they roll off quickly below some 55-60Hz. I use a sub with my speakers, so lack of extension isn’t an issue any longer (in fact I’ll replace my current sub with a pair of tapped horn subs in about a month time - should be interesting). And the upper bass/lower mids coloration (depending on the material can give the impression of a slightly hollow and resonant character that obscures details) might be alleviated once a high quality DSP will be implemented within shortly. The outlook for a true all-horn speaker setup (from 20Hz on up), which is quite rare, has me excited.
It seems to me there are inherent traits if you will with horn speakers - like that of (macro-) dynamics and perhaps their sonic presence - that won’t appeal to you in whatever form these will be (and that you find objectionable at live gigs as well), and that’s totally cool. I do believe however that you have even better sonic experiences of horn speakers to look forward to, or certainly be presented with in the future. That the La Scala’s brought you closer to this realization, not least in light of your formerly expressed hatred almost of horn sound, I find very promising. Please let us know of any future horn-speaker expositions, should they occur. Not least be aware of whether these are all-horns or hybrids..
