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Detailed as La Scalas but warmer??

pioneerhip

pioneerhip

Active Member
Is there a speaker that has detail close to the La Scala but is a warmer speaker?

I have a smaller listening room ( 12 X 12 ) and the La Scalas sound fantastic as far as detail goes. I love them for that! There are even some songs that get played and I think these are the best speakers in the world. There are others that are so glaring and in your face, it is hard to listen to them. I will rotate my Polk Monitor 7s and 10s in and love the sound. Tons of warmth and nice balance and I fall in love with the Polks all over again...for a few days. Then I miss the detail of the klipsch La Scala.

Here is what I have done to remedy the lack of warmth:
Replaced Tweeter and Crossovers with Crites A/4500 system
Used Solid State Amps
Used multiple Tube amps
Vinyl (warmest sound)
Music from Tidal through modest DAC
Different Interconnects to help clean the signal up
Added a powered subwoofer

Here is what I am planning to try:
ALK Crossovers (borrowing from a friend this week)
EQ of some kind
Turn the La Scalas into CornScalas

If none of this works I am just going to sell them.

Does anyone have a suggestion and first-hand experience with a speaker that offers the detail of the La Scala and the warmth of the Polk or similar?
 
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Perhaps try decreasing the midrange horn level a little? You can do so with some small but reversible modifications. I forget the steps exactly, but someone here should know or try the Klipsch website forums.
 
absolve2525 said:
Perhaps try decreasing the midrange horn level a little? You can do so with some small but reversible modifications. I forget the steps exactly, but someone here should know or try the Klipsch website forums.
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The ALK crossovers that I am going to try this week offer tweeter and squawker attenuation by jumpers. I am hopeful that will fix the issue and I'll just buy some from ALK. If not the EQ is next in line.
 
Drugolf said:
That's a lot of speaker for a 12 x 12. One of the smaller Klipsch might be your ticket.
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Ive thought the same but hate to give them up without trying everything before doing so. I have Fortes and KG5.5 neither has as big of a sound as the La Scalas.
 
pioneerhip said:
Ive thought the same but hate to give them up without trying everything before doing so. I have Fortes and KG5.5 neither has as big of a sound as the La Scalas.
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Always the dilemma. How do I get that big sound in a small room without it just being in your face loud?
 
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I've considered a higher end set of bookshelf speakers. I tried a set of the KEF Q100 and was really surprised but they didn't give the big sound of the La Scalas so back in they went.
 
I like the thought of the EQ. My other suggestion would be room treatments. Can you dampen the heck out of the room, all four walls, ceiling, floor? Is this like a 12x12 room with a single width door or is it open to another room? The speakers are approx 24" wide, so if they are against the back wall and 1' from each side wall they would be 6' apart with the center of the horns 8' apart, so you would want your ears no closer than 8' from the horns, which if there is a wall behind you, that's about where you'd be. Having your ears that close to the back wall is a real challenge. All those high frequencies direct from the horns and then the reflections coming from right behind you.... Here is a good link http://ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html don't let your eyes glaze over just absorb the basics and consider trying to apply to your room. With the size of your room I'd think it should be as "dead" as possible.
 
Replace the mid horn with an old EV SM-120A. IME the wider dispersion of the EV will cut the fierce flamethrower effect. It improved the imaging too, wider soundstage, better “cloud”.
 
I would just change the taps on the auto former for the mid horn. The best solution is to get a Lyngdorf room perfect processor that has a connection for PC correction for personal taste. Then you can get 1/12 octave freq response corrections that takes into account room acoustical anomalies and have 5 or 6 parametric tunable filters to tailor the sound to your own tastes.. If you are more upscale look for a Mcintosh MEN 220 pre-owned with Calibration mic , etc etc.
 
Someone else I was talking with suggested replacing the mid horn. I may look into it as a possibility.

twiiii said:
The best solution is to get a Lyngdorf room perfect processor that has a connection for PC correction for personal taste
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I'll have to look for this. Thanks for the suggestions!
 
I have this on loan from a friend. I have it hooked between preamp and amp. It gives some tone controls, and has helped some. 15434343226703458729487367868245.jpg
 
LaScalas have an immediacy about them that traditional cone speakers can't replicate. It's not for everyone but I sure do like 'em. My experience has been that a large format Altec speaker with a 511 horn can be a happy medium between detail and warmth.

Nether is perfect for every listener.
 
I really wish I just had a bigger room. If I wasn't 6-7 feet from them im sure there wouldn't be any issue.

The DSP helped some but it isn't an overly accurate DSP for this application. This DSP is really aimed more at being a Phono preamp vs a programmable DSP. It did allow me to bump up the 900 and 300 range to add some warmth.
 
I'm with @jdmccall on the Cornwall's, even a 12'x12' room will barely provide enough space and still sound good. IMO, it's difficult to stuff 10lbs of speaker in a 5lb bag, best of luck to you.
 
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