I have only heard Maggies in stores but I owned a pair of La Scalas for a couple of years. They are extremely dynamic speakers that can give a feeling of listening to live music. The bass doesn't go extremely low but it is very quick and realistic sounding. Depending on the room, you can probably get usable bass response into the mid to upper 40's. I put Bob Crites crossovers and tweeters in mine and it really opened up the sound, but the crossovers had 30 year old capacitors in them, so it was time for replacement of those parts. They really like a big room, the bigger the better, although I thought they worked well in my 21 x 12 foot room. The downside, other than the shear size of the suckers, is they are bright in the upper midrange/lower treble region. Some folks seem more sensitive to this than others. Also, they don't do detail as well as many modern designs. I never heard them with tubes, but many say they really shine with low power tube amps. Oh, and if you like to tinker, there are a million things you can do to them to tailor the sound to your liking. Kind of reminds me of the muscle cars of my youth -- no one ran them stock. Definitely a different experience than your Maggies.
LaScalla "horn" sound compared to "maggie" sound
I am quite satisfied with the sound I have with my current system, but am looking for a little spice and variety in my life. There is a set of circa 1977 LaScalas available in my part of the country and I wonder how the sound might be as compared to my current Magnepan 1.7 set up? I know it is apples and oranges, but I like both. Chocolate is my favorite ice cream, but I also like strawberry sometimes.
My general understanding, or perhaps misunderstanding, is that the Lascala/horn type of speaker has the wonderful life-like midrange, are quite dynamic, won't go real low in the bass region, and may be sweet or ragged on the top end depending on who you talk to, set up, and what you feed them.
I could go listen to these, but the sources are inferior and the room would be different from mine. I really can't get a good grip on a different sound until I can sit back in the Hefty-Boy and assimilate it slowly.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
My current system is:
TT- VPI Classic 1 with Soundsmith Zephyr cart.
Phono stage- Herron Audio VTPH2
Digital/CD- Simaudio Moon Supernova
Preamp- Herron Audio VTSP3A
Power Amp- Bryston 4BSST2
Subs- Rel T5's
My general understanding, or perhaps misunderstanding, is that the Lascala/horn type of speaker has the wonderful life-like midrange, are quite dynamic, won't go real low in the bass region, and may be sweet or ragged on the top end depending on who you talk to, set up, and what you feed them.
I could go listen to these, but the sources are inferior and the room would be different from mine. I really can't get a good grip on a different sound until I can sit back in the Hefty-Boy and assimilate it slowly.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
My current system is:
TT- VPI Classic 1 with Soundsmith Zephyr cart.
Phono stage- Herron Audio VTPH2
Digital/CD- Simaudio Moon Supernova
Preamp- Herron Audio VTSP3A
Power Amp- Bryston 4BSST2
Subs- Rel T5's