new owner of more speaker than needed

pavulon · 07:48 PM

So...I bought a set of one owner (little old man...newly deceased) sequentially numbered Klipsch LaScalas and now know the following:
1. They are huge...wouldn't have brought home if had not paid ahead...in fact only one fit in my wagon so I have to go get the other later...it's a 200 mile drive

.
2. They are way more speaker than I need
3. They are in incredible shape for something made in the mid 70's...there is not a mark on them. The little old man had them professionally covered in a laminate in the '70s and they are essentially time capsules from then.
4. They require very little power for big sound.
5. They have a reputation as great speakers.
6. Did I mention they're huge?

I probably will not be able to keep them forever but would like to gently enjoy them for a while (I've no interest in abusing them). Ideally, what sort of reasonably priced tube amp should power them? They have some sort of funky/vintage wire connectors. Anything else I should know? I'm a bit out of my league here.

Embraer · Embraer's Garage

one of my college buds is an acoustical engineer for klipsch. probably the smartest guy i know. awesome speakers.

HardDrive · 06-27-2009, 07:37 PM

Photos? Dimensions?

Joeaksa · 06-27-2009, 08:38 PM

Always wanted a set of these. One of the best there is...

pavulon · 06-27-2009, 08:41 PM

Dimensions: 24"W x 35"H x 32"D. I can provide more detailed images if need be but I think these tell most of the story.

pwd72s · 06-27-2009, 08:41 PM

Paging Bell....

bell · bell's Garage

Wow those things are cool, and before my time

I'd love to get a listen, but I'm on the wrong side of the country

I really don't have much to offer here other then a tube amp would probably sound really nice, I've heard a bunch of krell and macintosh amps and none disappointed.....

The market for old school high end equipment is there, if all original they could be worth a very pretty penny, I don't know the klipsh stuff though except that they've been around for a long time......

Drive the 200 miles to get the 2nd one, if only to listen to for a year or whatever

piscator · 06-27-2009, 11:36 PM

Congratulations!

Check out: http://www.audiokarma.org/

I've read about your LaScala's in the "Speakers" section there. There are very bright folks discussing audio at that site -- enjoy!

piscator

Rot 911 · 06-28-2009, 06:46 AM

But can they do this?

ramonesfreak · ramonesfreak's Garage

Nice !!!!
what is a reasonably priced tube amp? budget?

70SATMan · 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pavulon

I probably will not be able to keep them forever but would like to gently enjoy them for a while (I've no interest in abusing them). Ideally, what sort of reasonably priced tube amp should power them? They have some sort of funky/vintage wire connectors. Anything else I should know? I'm a bit out of my league here.

Well, reasonable and tube amps don't normally go together!

There are a lot of vintage amps that really sound great powering heritage Klipsch.

Tube amps sound really great with these but, so do the vintage transistor amps. I like Sansui, Harmon Kardon, Yamaha. You can find some great buys at flea markets and Goodwill stores if you're patient.

Man, I could shoot that PO though.

The laminate cover has pretty much ruined the originality and the case as it is most assuredly affecting the resonance. I doubt you'd be able to remove it without taking off most of the top layer of the Birch. Your only other recourse would require a re-veneer. The connector you mention is actually not vintage. It is a newer type of wire connector, CE compliant. The original connector was a black thermoplastic terminal strip.

I do agree, they are big!

Take up quite a bit of floor space. The LaScalas have a great mid range because they were originally designed as an announcement PA. They are a super choice for a heritage home theater system as the center channel. (if you have the room).

If the size is an issue for you, you'd probably fall heads over heels in love with the Heresy. Has great presence for a speaker of that size. Same warm timbre as the LaScala. Bass is a bit less but, there are a few simple mods that can improve it.

I might be a little biased though. (Four pair of vintage Klipsch)

My current wall of sound. The Heresys are the smaller Walnut speakers doing double duty as my Plasma Stand and center channel

and the outside pair with the slanted risers. The big mains are the Cornwalls.

Moses · 06-28-2009, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pavulon

1. They are huge...wouldn't have brought home if had not paid ahead...in fact only one fit in my wagon so I have to go get the other later...it's a 200 mile drive

.

Two trips for a pair of speakers? You lack ingenuity.

Moses · 06-28-2009, 08:33 AM

I'm REALLY disappointed...

willtel · 06-28-2009, 09:15 AM

This is a good site to look for a used amp for them, www.audiogon.com. Once you choose a category scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and click "view all ads", the first page of each category are commercial ads.

creaturecat · 06-28-2009, 09:19 AM

My Forte 2's sound great with a vintage Luxman R 1050.

pavulon · 06-28-2009, 06:54 PM

Thanks for all the input. I couldn't make myself take a chance on hurting the second unit by straping the rear hatch. It wasn't very close to fitting and I couldn't take a chance on weather. It's 200 miles each way but the TDI Jetta "sport"wagon avg'd 43mpg and I stopped by the Milwuakee Ducati/KTM shop as well as the Appleton BMW shop on the way home (the new M3 sedan has me considering abandoning my 4 year quest for an '89 930 coupe...I have 4 little kids so that's certainly a better car for me anyway).

I'm not crazy about the laminate (appearance) but I can't imagine my novice ears will detect any difference in sound. If I did take it off, I'd have them restored to unfinished birch but be pretty worried about how the job would turn out...would hate to make it worse.

I'll look around for an amp...flea markets don't exist for about a hundred miles from my home....the internet is my only option for a flea market...but would ask for an opinion before buying. Maybe should have done that prior to buying the speakers, eh?

T77911S · 06-29-2009, 05:02 AM

NICE! i have aa set of KLF-20's. had some hereseys but they lack bottom end.

you might try heat to remove the venier. much like you would do to remove the fret board of a guitar.

how much is cheap?

Joeaksa · 06-29-2009, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T77911S

how much is cheap?

There are several sets on Ebay, and one set is only $390 but still 6 days to run.

Just checked CraigsList and you see them from time to time.

They can be had but most people want the smaller speakers in the house. That said, these massive old style speakers are very hard to beat from a sound standpoint. Wish I had my old Harmon Kardon tube amp... it would be perfect to mate with a set of speakers like this. I love my B&O stuff but tube rocks as well.

T77911S · 06-30-2009, 08:04 AM

im not in the market, just curious what they were going for. i have heard they are amazing. i have a big music room. 400 square ft. complete with full PA system, drums and amps.

flatbutt · 06-30-2009, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by srandallf

Nice !!!!
what is a reasonably priced tube amp? budget?

a GOOD McIntosh can run $5K and more