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Suggestions to replace my Klipsch La Scalas

Before I flushed things, (did I really have to word it that way??!)

anyway, I'd drag them outdoors and give a listen outdoors. If they don't work for you outdoors, flush'em.

If they DO work for you outdoors, then it's a sign that your room is your real issue, not the speakers. I'd then keep them until my next house and just make sure I had a room large enough to make them work.

That said, another thing to try (which I already infer would be a slim chance with you) would be to take them to a TWO-way speaker. Put the huge K402 or the smaller K510 on top.

I have the 402 on top of the Jubilee's. When I had my Khorns, there was a distinct improvement in the coherency of the sound when you were 30 feet away (I measured). Once I dropped a crossover point (and went active), that spot moved to about ten feet away from the speakers.

With the 402 or 510 on top of the speaker, you go active you can adjust for the misalignment of the horns, along with dropping a crossover point will make them sound better closer.

That said.... try them outdoors first to get rid of the room, then decide.
 
I realize EV Interface D's aren't Sentry III's but I had a pair of D's for something like 35 years.... my LaScalas replaced them as my primary speakers the day I brought the LaScalas home (a year after buying the EV's)

The D's had a softer presentation and nowhere near the raw dynamics the LaScalas had/have.
 
pioneerhip said:
Ft. Worth(ish)



The description of those Tannoy XT8s sounds like something I NEED! I am going to do some checking and see if I can find them to listen to locally.
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I haven’t heard the XT8’s myself, but @GordonW is about as trustworthy an opinion you’ll find here on AK (or anywhere else for that matter) as he’s had a lot, and I mean A LOT, of exposure to and experience with a vast array of speakers of all types in his years as a speaker tech and audio enthusiast. Hopefully he’ll chime in here soon and comment, but I’ve taken note of how frequently he praises the XT8’s and every now and then...when I’m feelin a little frisky...I ALMOST let his words convince me that I really need a pair when in fact they’re like the second to the last thing I need to spend a few grand on.
 
tomlinmgt said:
@GordonW speaks very highly of Tannoy’s XT8 and the reviews are pretty strong, as well. Top end on those is supposedly pretty tame and mid range lush and warm. And though you may be thinking you’re not a horn guy, because of your room it sounds like you could benefit from a design that has somewhat more tightly controlled dispersion than what you’ll get from cones and domes...which a waveguide could provide or in the caseof the Tannoy’s a driver cone that acts as a waveguide.

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The one you should be looking at, is the Revolution XT-8F, the tower model. They retail for about $2700 a pair.

They are truly remarkable speakers. Great balance, no real sign of shrillness on anything I've heard them play, great dynamics, relatively efficient, and really good bass response.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
Can't help with the OP question, but the first time I heard LaScalas, I was expecting the shrill high end I have read so much about. Decent equipment driving them and after 3min I had enough.

All I heard was a large wooden box resonating and sounding like a cheap PA loudspeaker. Speakers were in real nice shape too.

Not natural bass, not realistic bass, disappointing. Had no desire to see if I got listening fatigue from the high end.

IIRC they were being driven by a Dynaco 70 and a Jolida pre? Maybe it was the silver and coppery something or other...hmmmm
 
Why not have some fun and build yourself some open baffles? :D

For the kind of money you have in the existing speakers you could try various configuration. I have tried 8" full range with soft dome helper tweeter and smaller (about 3" effective) full range with helper woofer. Both gave me a wonderful you are there image without harshness.

The amplification I have used included Sony V series receiver and Kegger style SEUL KT-88s. My room is about 12'x14'.
 
I had some La Scalas and sold them for pretty much the same reasons you did. I went with Focal Aria 936 and they did the trick. They are very dynamic,easy to drive and don't have any of the harshness of the La Scalas. Unfortunately, I've had to re-arrange my room and now have to sit too close to the speakers for the Focals to blend well. I still have the Focals (in hopes of someday having a larger room), but have gone with KEF LS50's for now. They work much better in my almost-near-field listening position. Depending on how far away your listening position is, I can recommend both.
 
GordonW said:
The one you should be looking at, is the Revolution XT-8F, the tower model. They retail for about $2700 a pair.

They are truly remarkable speakers. Great balance, no real sign of shrillness on anything I've heard them play, great dynamics, relatively efficient, and really good bass response.

Regards,
Gordon.
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These are on the radar. Reviews look great on these but there isn't a local place to buy them. So its buying sight unseen. Not a huge deal with a return option of 30 days from upscale audio, but would still like to hear them before buying.
 
pioneerhip said:
These are on the radar. Reviews look great on these but there isn't a local place to buy them. So its buying sight unseen. Not a huge deal with a return option of 30 days from upscale audio, but would still like to hear them before buying.
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It’s tricky for us DFW audio enthusiasts to audition modern, hi-end (or “affordable” hi-end) audio gear. Audio Concepts in Dallas has some really nice stuff, but their offerings are very slim in the grand scheme of things. Besides them it’s a Magnolia store and selection is even more slim there. As far as high efficiency designs...pretty much stuck with home theater oriented Klipsch if you want an in person audition. But if you haven’t been to Audio Concepts, is worth the trip to listen to what they do have (PSB, Golden Ear, Magnepan, Devore, Wilson, Linn, Proac, Rega and a few others that escape me).
 
@tomlinmgt I had someone suggest Martin Logan Motion 40, and they can be auditioned at Magnolia. I need to get to Audio Concepts and listen for a bit. Admittedly I know zero about the Martin Logan Motion series. Does anyone have thoughts on those? what do you think of them @tomlinmgt ?
 
pioneerhip said:
@tomlinmgt I had someone suggest Martin Logan Motion 40, and they can be auditioned at Magnolia. I need to get to Audio Concepts and listen for a bit. Admittedly I know zero about the Martin Logan Motion series. Does anyone have thoughts on those? what do you think of them @tomlinmgt ?
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I’ve never associated Martin Logan with high efficiency...but then again I don’t stay on top of the specs for all of their offerings. What’s the sensitivity rating for that model? Also, it being a dipole design, you’re going to need a good theee feet of space between the panel and the wall behind it to get the full benefits of the dipole design. And for the models they offer that integrate a cone subwoofer into the unit, this means you lose any wall loading that helps reinforce the low frequency response. As a matter of fact, for some rooms that position will put the sub driver in a location that creates the weakest LF response.
 
In Michigan we had a very active audio club and I listed to many many systems before I built my speakers. They are absolutely perfect for my ears. Ps, I had each of the speakers in the klipsch classic line and found the same issues you listed.

Where in Texas do you live?
 
I had a pair of LaScala...

Couldn't see the point of having something the size of a washer and dryer that promptly rolled off at 50Hz. The bass could do some bass really well, but really bad on other bass in my experience.
They can really growl wide open with pipe organ, but played heavy metal like a Skil-saw.
 
tomlinmgt said:
I’ve never associated Martin Logan with high efficiency...but then again I don’t stay on top of the specs for all of their offerings. What’s the sensitivity rating for that model? Also, it being a dipole design, you’re going to need a good theee feet of space between the panel and the wall behind it to get the full benefits of the dipole design. And for the models they offer that integrate a cone subwoofer into the unit, this means you lose any wall loading that helps reinforce the low frequency response. As a matter of fact, for some rooms that position will put the sub driver in a location that creates the weakest LF response.
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The Motion line are ML's budget box speaker offering with a "folded motion" monopole tweeter.

They're not bad, and there are several regulars here quite fond of them, but they aren't "real" Martin Logans, as far as I'm concerned.

That said, dipoles in a cube room probably wouldn't work too well anyway, so planars are unlikely to solve the OP's problem.
 
Silentnet said:
The Motion line are ML's budget box speaker offering with a "folded motion" monopole tweeter.

They're not bad, and there are several regulars here quite fond of them, but they aren't "real" Martin Logans, as far as I'm concerned.

That said, dipoles in a cube room probably wouldn't work too well anyway, so planars are unlikely to solve the OP's problem.
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Ahh...ok. I didn’t realize that was one of the ML box designs. I’ve not paid much attention to any of the boxed designs as I heard them once when helping a friend shop for mains for his HT (he ultimately chose Golden Ear Triton 7’s) and didn’t find them particularly noteworthy. The demo room was far from optimum, however...so I’ll note that some folks have found something about them to appreciate.

And I think the OP said his room is 21 x 12...but he sets up on the long wall and that wouldn’t work for a dipole. Setting up on the short wall sure would, though. But I doubt he wants to do that and he doesn’t really have the amp for most all panel speakers anyway, so....
 
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