klipsh scala speakers

I personally don’t care for them. You can really hear the cabinet in them and they have no bass. He would need subs for sure. 
A number of people like them so demo before you buy as they are pretty different from modern speakers. I like the Cornwall iv or even forte better due to much better bass. 

I've heard a few different La Scala. Every time I liked them they were coupled with Mac valve gear.

Every time I didn't they were powered by SS amps and Line stage preamps.. It just doesn't work.. VERY sensitive to noisy gear and cable routing.. Pay attention to the two.. You'll still be quite LOUD and have a blacker background.. Valves use of different harmonics in the voicing is the reason why.. Just a horn thing to me..
Valves and Horns. Peas and Carrots.30-75 watts.. per rail.. that plenty.

Personally I never heard a bass issue. BUT these were die hard horn guys.. they knew how to set them up. K-Horns.. too.. Good rock and roll speakers.. They were running subs in a couple of the set ups..

Regards

I had the Cornwalls and the Klipshorns in the past. Both had bass but didn't go as deep as you would think they would for their size. I ran a sub with the Khorns.

I have a pair circa ‘86. They sound great on tube gear and are very efficient so they don’t take much to get loud. Bass is super fast but not deep at all. If he wants to shake the house, they are not the speaker for him. Cornwalls have much better bass. 

Try to find your son a large vintage american speaker made before 1981 that will fit his style and volume requirement he will be much happier than any new speaker and you will really like them also.

Klipsch LaScalas are an audio classic.  They are, quite literally, the "Hemi Cuda" of the audio industry.  If he has the physical space and isn't shy with the volume control, they could be a perfect match.
Be aware, however, that the larger Klipsch speakers are unforgiving of "mid-fi" and will unapologetically delivery every wart, speed bump, and grunge in your system.  Their super high efficiency will produce sound pressure levels at approximately 1/32nd (yes, that's ONE thirty second) the power requirement of a typical "lows 90s" medium efficiency speaker.  That being said, my appreciation for Klipsch is not what they'll do a high volume levels but, on the contrary, how they sound at low volume levels.  A LaScala, played at a level just above the threshold of hearing delivers a stunning degree of dynamic range, bandwidth, and "live" presence.
On a critical note, big Klipsch speakers are guilty of the sins of "ommission" and "commission". In other worlds, their "production quality" crossovers cover up a considerable amount of musical information.  And, cabinet and horn resonances create unwanted elements that exaggerate certain frequency ranges, attenunate others, crush imaging and blur focus.  The later is "fixable" thru low tech dampening to horn bodies and cabinets and will dramatically improve musicality whlle reducting listening fatigue (especially at high volume levels).  And, upgrading the crossovers thru simple component substitutions, or replacing the entire crossover assembly with "newer thinking" (if your credit card has a little more room on it) will deliver much improved detail and focus while further increasing (already superb) dynamic range.
The performance in his room can range from C+ to A- depending on his other components, the room itself, and whether or not he has the appetite for some hands on, or professional upgrades.  
I'd get these in a hearbeat of all the stars line up and the elements are in place to get the most from them.

Well if your son likes the traditional horn sound he may like the La Scalas. I have heard a number of horn systems in my life and Klipsch were my least favorite with the most flaws. Some of these flaws can be fixed and if you buy a used pair for a reasonable amount you may be able justify the extra expense, but in stock form I find Klipsch speakers to be wanting. Waytoomuchstuff replies in any unusually balanced fashion for a Klipsch owner and makes some excellent points regarding potential with modification, but the advantages he lists are not unique to Klipsch and are more a description of the advantages of horn speakers in general. Dynamics are excellent with horns, but the low level detail is one of the most attractive advantages for me and is stunning when you compare these designs with dynamic speakers. I have not heard newer Klipsch designs. I dont own horns but I do understand the attraction.

For me stock La Scalas are good...with a few tweaks they can really sing and pound.  They are very loud.  If he is willing to tweak them (dampen, upgrade crossover) this would be a great pair.  In it's natural set-up it can fall short.  

My favorite quote: "It's not the right speaker for most people, they will not bend to your will.  You have to feed them what they want, or they will yell at you."

I have had my La Scala speakers for 35 years and am still finding ways to make them even more enjoyable than stock. (which I liked) Over the years I have built stands to angle them, built crossovers, bought crossovers, tried many different speaker cables and just messed with placement. Mine are matched with Mac gear and every little change was evident in the listening experience. Some would not want to put that kind of effort into their system but I relished it and still try different cables just to see what the effects will be. This might be a consideration for your son. Hopefully he can find as much entertainment in the quest as I have had. All the other comments about low playing levels, details and volume are true in my experience. For 30 of those years I used no sub, now I have 3 svs sb4000s and would never ever ever go back. Subs are essential in my experience but not unique to La Scalas.

A few questions to the OP:
(1) how big is his room? Do you understand how large La Scalas are?
(2) do you really want to spend $12K on speakers for your kid (assuming new)? If so, congratulations on your deep pockets and generosity.
(3) if his primary desire is loudness (assume he is going to listen primarily to rock or club music), steer him toward Klipsch Heresy, JBL L100 or vintage Cerwin Vega speakers.

"way too much stuff" hit it right on the head! you absolutely need good components ahead of any klipsch speaker. i have owned my cornwall 2s since new and would never give them up, BUT YOU NEED good high quality equipment ahead of them. that goes for cables too. with cheap recievers and cd players your ears will bleed. 

Speaking as one who is no fan of Klipsch products, but who has sold them professionally, the latest Forte should be the ticket for your son...quite sensitive, and much fuller range and better balanced than La Scalas, and therefore more forgiving.  Driven by a Rogue Pharaoh tube/ class D hybrid integrated they should do their best.  Consider reminding him too of the long term damaging effect of overly loud playback on one's hearing.  It shows up decades later...believe it!

They look more impressive than they sound. Not to mention the size.
He might be a Tekton buyer. 

If the OPs son can stretch his budget, the current Forte or Cornwall will put many a modern day conventional speaker to shame. The Cornwall IV has been around long enough that they are hitting the used market. This speaker need make no apologies for any aspect of its performance. Quite a heavy hitter.

Oz

As per above posters, I wouldn't have kept my Klipschorns if kept in stock form, crossover and driver limitations. Some have no problems with Klipsch Heritage series running solid state, no way for me. Tube pre and amp are absolutes for me, the lower the power the better. My 300B SET monoblocks best followed by 845 SET, and then EL34 push pull. They'll get far louder than I need with any of these amps. I agree Klipsch's can sound very nice at lower volumes as well, really incredible micro and macro dynamics, loud or quiet volume settings. And yes, the larger Klipsch heritage will give more bass. Finally, yes, Klipsch heritage needs absolute first rate total system to sound best, they are quite revealing!

I auditioned LaScalas and found the total absence of sub- bass unforgivable in a speaker at this price. They are just incapable of playing modern music- electronica, trip hop, rap, dance music all depend on a foundation of sub bass. Your son's friends will laugh at him.
Also the cuppiness would have been a deal breaker.

The list of apologies made by all Klipsch speakers should be fairly long but no speaker ever made neednt make at least a few. 

And please quit talking about the importance of upstream components with Klipsch speakers. This is true of any good speaker design and other than noise, I would think Klipsch would be more forgiving than many. Are you guys referring to the incompatibility with most S.S.? 

Again havent heard the new line, but I doubt they would change the sound significantly as they have a pretty dedicated following. 

Understood. Not everyone wants rich tone, whipcrack dynamics, a 3 dimensional soundstage, realistic images and dense vocal reproduction. So this is you, no shame in that. This type of sound is not for everyone.

And a good thing too. Eric can barely build em fast enough as it is.

Highly doubt the Ozz was talking Tekton….

Very astute @earlflynn

Cerwin Vega's IS THE LOUD speaker for teens.!!!!  I still have mine.
405 WATT'S dual protection=Fuse and Breaker, I5" inch Monster woofers, dual midranges and horn tweeter, very high sensitivity, CLS215 is the one and you don't have to pay 10k for a system. I listen to my Khorn for a good jazz session, but when i want to BANG out the walls Vega's is the ones. Yeah Baby!!!

Got you @ozzy62 once a horn guy always a horn guy.

@audition__audio you can whine and cry all you want about how you hate Klipsch, face the fact they have a following like no other speaker manufacturer.

Seems two camps of Klipsch heritage fans, purists and the diy crowd, obviously I'm in latter. How some can like with ss and stock form is beyond me, exponential horns, metal in some models, talk about timbre liabilities!

Fortunately, stock Klipsch heritage has many positive attributes diy crowd can build upon. My one of a kind Klipschorns builds on all those positive attributes and delivers wonderfully natural timbre and tonal balance. I've been through numerous box and open baffle speakers over the years, some extreme modifications, heard mega buck systems at shows and other's homes, nothing compares to sense of real performers in room these Klipschorns deliver.

My take is Klipsch gets bad name from listeners who hear the same speaker liabilities I hear from stock units, may also be unsympathetic partnering system. Being an inveterate modder, I saw those liabilities as fertile ground for mods, this allowed me to listen past those flaws and hear the positive attributes.

I dont think I was whining or crying about Klipsch. Inevitably, some Klipsch fan comes on and responds inappropriately if another enthusiast doesnt give them a glowing review. Listen the degree of radicalism of a fan base says nothing about the quality of the speaker. And it is pretty common for people to get tribal about what they like audio or otherwise. So your response was expected.

Read the post by sns and I think his take pretty much mirrors mine thoughts on older Klipsch products. I think he perhaps gives the speaker too much credit as a basic platform, but he actually owns the product and I do not. Fact is that no attribute of Klipsch is unique to Klipsch (except on the K-horn) and I dont see the need to modify in many of the other speakers, albeit more expensive horns, that I see with the Klipsch line. 

When you look at the older Klipsch line you have: horn geometry that isnt correct, horn material that isnt correct, horrible quality of crossover parts and incorrect crossover values on some of the line and from what I have heard from others drivers which are/were cheap. Now this is all information given me by other horn enthusiasts and tube amp/preamp manufacturers, but much of what they say is verified by the high number of owners who modify to make the speaker palatable. 

So if I bought a performance car which required modification to get it to run with other performance cars it would give me serious pause and cause me to question the entire designs current viability.

If you like the line more power to you, but I think that nostalgia plays a big part in the attraction to the older Klipsch speakers as does the coziness of the tribe. They sound great to you and not me...what is the big deal? I dont know of any other speaker fan base that gets as defensive as do the Klipsch guys. 

Get him a pair of JBL 100s and watch the joy in his eyes.