Contrary to popular belief, La Scala's work best with a pretty good amount of power behind them. My guess that the "nasty" sounds that you're hearing when trying to throttle the system is coming from your amp getting dirty and the horn bodies ringing like mad. In stock form, the La Scala's aren't performing anywhere close to what they can do. If you want to stick with tubes to drive these speakers, either in stock or highly modified form, i would highly recommend at least 30 wpc minimum and preferably 50 - 60 wpc to do it right. With most low-feedback tube designs, you'll find that a 30 wpc amp is really only putting out about 10 wpc with "reasonable" distortion. Above that point, most designs will start producing higher amounts of distortion that sky-rockets. Going to an amp that is twice that rating will give you more headroom with less chance of turning it into a "distortion generator". Then again, the distortion by-products of amps designed like this are what many people attribute the "warm, smooth, round bass" and "full bodied midrange bloom" that they like so much. Obviously, this is a matter of personal preference. I know what i like and distortion ain't on the list. From what i can tell, it's not on your list of preferences either. Sean
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