With the amps you have and room size, Tannoy may be what your looking for. It would be great if you could demo a pair 1st.
Tim
Tim
Lets replace my Klipsch La Scala Speakers
So after 2 years of trying to make them work, they just aren't the speaker for me. Here is some detail so you can help me decide what to move to next.
My room is untreated and 12X13X12
Sources: Vinyl and Dac both tube driven
Preamp and amps are all Tube Driven
Amps are: SET 7 watt and 2 different push pulls 20 watts from one and 60ish from the other
Music : Blues,Classic Rock, Indie, Some modern, some heavier rock ,and just discovering how good Jazz can be
I have tried:
solid state amps,crites crossovers, ALK corn-scal-wall crossovers, svs subs added,horn loaded subs added, Schiit Loki in line, toed in toed out. Corner loaded, pushed together, I even moved my room 90 degres to try and get a better sound out of them. Trust me I have tried it all.
Here is what I liked:
Huge soundstage
You are there live at times when listening
Love being able to hear the detail they offer
Love the bass when present
Here is what I disliked:
They can get shrill quick
They are so revealing music can sound just bad (I realize that should be a positive, but it isn't)
Very bass shy
They aren't "warm" at all. There is no real thickness to the mids. Detail, but not thick.
We are going to sell this house eventually so I do not want to invest a bunch on treatments for the room. I have 2 other speakers that can be run. Some older Polk Monitor 7A that are actually pretty impressive, and could have the crossovers updated and a few other things to really make them shine if I wanted to. I realize they aren't a Hi-Fi speaker but they are balanced and warm/musical. The other option is the Decware DM947 speaker system. It's good and fairly new to me so I haven't decided to keep or move them down the road. So far they are laid back with some nice sparkle. They image really well and are very forgiving of the room and the recording I am listening to.
So let's hear it! What did you replace your Klipsch speakers with, or what are you using that matches what I am after.
My room is untreated and 12X13X12
Sources: Vinyl and Dac both tube driven
Preamp and amps are all Tube Driven
Amps are: SET 7 watt and 2 different push pulls 20 watts from one and 60ish from the other
Music : Blues,Classic Rock, Indie, Some modern, some heavier rock ,and just discovering how good Jazz can be
I have tried:
solid state amps,crites crossovers, ALK corn-scal-wall crossovers, svs subs added,horn loaded subs added, Schiit Loki in line, toed in toed out. Corner loaded, pushed together, I even moved my room 90 degres to try and get a better sound out of them. Trust me I have tried it all.
Here is what I liked:
Huge soundstage
You are there live at times when listening
Love being able to hear the detail they offer
Love the bass when present
Here is what I disliked:
They can get shrill quick
They are so revealing music can sound just bad (I realize that should be a positive, but it isn't)
Very bass shy
They aren't "warm" at all. There is no real thickness to the mids. Detail, but not thick.
We are going to sell this house eventually so I do not want to invest a bunch on treatments for the room. I have 2 other speakers that can be run. Some older Polk Monitor 7A that are actually pretty impressive, and could have the crossovers updated and a few other things to really make them shine if I wanted to. I realize they aren't a Hi-Fi speaker but they are balanced and warm/musical. The other option is the Decware DM947 speaker system. It's good and fairly new to me so I haven't decided to keep or move them down the road. So far they are laid back with some nice sparkle. They image really well and are very forgiving of the room and the recording I am listening to.
So let's hear it! What did you replace your Klipsch speakers with, or what are you using that matches what I am after.
80 responses Add your response
"You are there live at times when listening" That is quite an achievement for any loudspeaker. I'm guessing you'll have to give up a fair bit of sonic immediacy and life when making this change. No loudspeaker does it all. But if greater midrange density is what you want I'd also suggest trying a large Tannoy DC (a 12/15 incher to stay in the same ballpark as your La Scala's). Your listening room is almost exactly the same as mine and I would never accuse the Tannoy's with their lovely fat midbass of sounding thin. If you're able to find a used pair of DeVore 0/96s or 0/93s within your budget, that might be another option. |
Gosh, you are going to cause people who add to this thread some serious head scratching with your budget and with the amps you have. I would try and listen to a pair of heresy III as suggested by the wolf man. Instead of a Rel, you could try a sealed Rhymic sub to as an alternative. Would you be ok with used gear? might open up a few more avenues for you. |
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With that budget, you'd be very hard pressed to do better than the $2K Spatial Audio M4 Turbo S. I own Heresy IIIs and the Spatials beat them in nearly every regard. I was afraid they'd be excessively bright, being that they use a metal-dome compression driver to cover everything beyond 800Hz, but was pleasantly surprised by their neutrality. If anything, they lean just to the warm side of neutral. You'll still get the "you are there" moments with none of the harshness that occasionally plagues Klipsch speakers. The soundstage is massive but not so much that it smears the imaging as is the case with some speakers. They do need at least couple feet of wall distance but that shouldn't be much of a problem since you're already living with LaScalas. This reviewer owns/owned Cornwalls: https://www.google.com/amp/s/hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/speaker/floor-standing/spatial-audio-m4-triode-master-speaker-review/amp/ That review is for the triode master version, but I've heard both trim levels and the review is fairly accurate for both. Over the last couple years, I've owned over half a dozen pairs of speakers priced between $1.5 and $6K and the Spatials are the best value by a long shot - easily compete with the $4 to $6K range of models sold through a traditional dealer network. |
Ihave a lot of experienc3 with these, if you put a high quality crossover in there ,problem solved, crites is not even average from my build standards the Duelunds , Jupiter Copper JensenCopper Foil ,paper I oil , Jantzens newer Aluma Z capacitors , good 1% resistors, I usea Jantzen Foil waxed paper inductor for the teeeterJantzen open coil for the rest just as aexample , rewire it with a qualitywire and Gold over a Copper Connectors , it would for sure clear that mess up .i have done severalklipsch andowned the latest Heresy Which my brother now owns. Check that out, also replace the stock woofer with amuch better one. |
I'm a former La Scala (and Heresy) owner, among many others. The searching and spending ended when I build my first pair of Linkwitz Lab speakers. The LXmini's surpass the box speakers in my other systems by a considerable margin. And at a price that's easy to live with. www.linkwitzlab.com |
I have a bunch of stuff but my all day deal in my office is a Bryson 14b hooked to a pair of nautilus 802’s powered by a that I scored cheap $2500 cosmetically a little beat up but they keep up with my “all over the map” sonic brew- they can crank rock and sound good with lighter stuff - once in blue moon I’ll hook up my KLF 30’s to See if I can blow the roof off but it’s similar as they too get real “shrill” real fast- |
Am I the only one thinking that your room is way too small for the LaScalas. The speakers are 2 1/2 ft X 2ft X 2ft. Placed side by side the speakers are 1/3 the size of your wall. I would recommend @$1000 or so level, to try a pair of the Zu Audio Dirty Weekenders https://www.zuaudio.com/loudspeakers/omen-dirty-weekend-2 Or as suggested above, Omega Loudspeakers, though you may need stands. https://omegaloudspeakers.com/collections/monitor-speakers/products/super-7-monitor-speaker?variant=... Rich |
The SOUND you are looking for comes only from a Magnepan speaker. Unfortunately, your amp may not drive them. Try some of the less-expensive ones with a sub since you like big rather than accurate bass. (I know, in live concerts, rock bands kick-up the bass so everyone in the stadium can feel it. That ain't music, but you may like it. Get the sub and see.) BET you like them if you want "live soundstage" sound. Cheers! |
Wharfedale.....good speakers at reasonable prices, what's not to like. Warm sounding, never shrill....inexpensive, in this case, does not mean inferior sound. All imo. I own both the diamond 10.1 and the 225's and both are just fantastic. They both do well in an a budget system as well as an expensive one. I also agree that the tannoys would be a great choice...at a significant increase in cost however.... |
Those are huge speakers for that room. I’ve listened to La Scalas in a large sound treated dealer showroom and they hurt my ears. I like and own a lot of klipsch speakers, but don’t care for the La Scalas. I think the recommendations to downsize to Heresy are good or look at some small monitors and a small sub. I just picked up a pair of used Focal Electra 1008 BE speakers for my similarly sized computer room and they are the best monitors I’ve owned. I’m sure there are a lot of other great choices in that price range. I did have my Heresy I speakers in this room and they were a little too much for that space. They're in my office now which is a bit larger and sound great there. The Focals replaced Canton Vento Reference 9.2 DC speakers. Those are great also but the Focals beat them. The Cantons are currently on sale at accessories 4 less. |
Long term Klipsch lover here and owned the La Scalas and I can agree with your assessment. I never though I'd be ok with a non-horned speaker but, to my surprise, I bought a pair of KEF R900s and have loved every second of them. They're so pleasant to listen to compared to the Klipsches which required beer. I would also look very strongly at the JBL Studio line. I just got a pair of their bookshelves and I'm absolutely floored by them. In fact, I unhooked the kefs to listen to the JBLs for the past few weeks. Constantly impressed. You'll want to look at the JBL Studio 590s for big floorstandings with solid bass extension. |
Its been mentioned a few times. Yes the La Scalas are too big for the room. That is part of the reason they sound so bad and must go. There are some really good speakers that have been suggested. I have a friend down the road with some Heresy II that I am going to try with a sub and see. I do like the Klipsch sound but it needs to be scaled down to the room. I am also going to compile a list and start listing / looking at reviews of speakers. Thanks to everyone so far for the suggestions! |
It sounds to me like you just don't love the Klipsch Heritage sound anymore. I dont think you'll like the Hereseys either. But, I'm just telling you my experience. As much as I love my KEFs I have never been so surprised by a speaker as the JBL Studio series. They're very hard to find now and people are paying over original MSRP in my circumstances for a reason. |
When it comes to efficiency most Tannoy Dual Concentrics will fit the bill as a replacement for the Scala's. Whether you can find something from the current Prestige or Legacy ranges or even pick up a vintage Arden or Berkeley you cannot go far wrong. Placement is fairly straightforward as long as you get the tweeter level with ear height. There are many things wrong with the Tannoy sound, but I find there is something gloriously right about it. Difficult to describe, but it just sounds familiar and correct in the mids. Probably not as ambitious a sound as the Klipsch's but generations of Tannoy lovers don't seem to mind. |
I am hoping the OP follows some of my Dynamat mods, because after he does, he will be hearing the Lascalas for the 1st time. After this, if he does not like them, I will drive down from Central Florida and pick them up ( if the price is right ). I plan on stacking them. Of course, I likely have more mods done to mine, but I just listened to some Keb"Mo, and he and his band members shared the front half of my room with me. Enjoy ! MrD. |
And for the record, I would not switch to anything mentioned above. I would need to spend much more, to give me more. As far as a rock speaker, there is not a type of music that my system cannot handle, from low level late night listening to...….whatever. I say this. I immerse myself in the music, not thinking of what change to make next. This is an amazing, and grateful place to be, in this audio journey of ours. For " what I want ", in my current listening environment, there is nothing that can do, " for me ", what my Lascalas can do ( except for the new Lascala AL5s, with my Dynamat mods ). I hope others can feel the same way about their listening rooms. |
