New Klipsch Klipschorn AK7 & La Scala AL6 will be active DSP Crossover

They look nice. I would like to hear them. I wonder about the woofer quality as it always seems questionable with Klispch but I am just guessing. 

@devinplombier wrote:

I (largely) agree with you on this subject. I’ve auditioned high-end active setups and found that they sounded wonderful.

A conundrum and bottleneck of sorts is the DSP unit. As you pointed out, quality is important. Relatively few choices exist, and most come from the pro world (which I don’t consider a disqualifier in and of itself; indeed, folks who do audio for a living have long since solved problems that leave seasoned Audiophiles drowning in a glass of water - especially in the digital realm. But I digress).

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, a DSP unit of lesser quality can be a bottleneck itself, but putting it into perspective you could argue whether it’s an issue of equal, relative importance next to passive crossovers and them being a bottleneck both due to their placement in the chain, as well as the quality (or lack thereof) and complexity of the passive crossovers themselves.

It’s not only about passive vs. active crossover (electronic/analogue or DSP) in an isolated sense, but also what the latter facilitates with multiple, independently loaded amps that are freed of running a full-range signal, and which gives active a further advantage. Not to mention making better use of a given amp’s potential in an active context when it’s presented with an oftentimes significantly easier load. Speaking of which: I suspect many of the larger, ultra expensive and passively configured speakers (like Wilson Audio and others) require overbuilt amps costing a downright fortune not so much due to added speaker transparency, but in particular because they’re an extremely difficult load that’s in need of monster amps to have them come alive and maintain decent control. Actively you could "get away" with much less, and still come out better in the end.

And yes, not many quality DSP units are readily available, at least not that I’m aware of, and the ones I’d recommend are mostly from the pro sector. It’s makes for fewer choices, but if they’re to be had locally then many more options mayn’t be necessary insofar they can accommodate the requirements.

A DSP / crossover unit does add an AD/DA conversion, usually whether it’s needed or not. In fairness, the benefits of DSP largely outweigh whatever sound degradation may happen as a result of that conversion.

It’s certainly a matter of seeing the forest for trees here, yes.

A DSP unit needs to have the appropriate IO combination for your project. For instance, a dbx venu360, which is a 3x6 unit, works well controlling a pair of 3-way speakers, but has no additional outputs in case you wish to add subs later.

True. Although DSP’s with 8 output channels are fairly common and which should accommodate most speaker designs, but 5-way designs might face issues with DSP availability.

Also, most DSP units support rates up to 24/96 or 48/96, so if DSD is your thing the DSP unit will convert and resample it.

Correct, and then it’s up to each to decide whether that’s an acceptable compromise or not - not least given the potential gains more broadly speaking with active config. I’m amazed by the potential of a lossless PCM 16/44.1kHz signal with a quality recording and excellent front-end + active speaker setup, not least seeing the outcome of remastered high-res versions very often leaving a lot to be desired. Truth be told I don’t really care that much about high-res, certainly not as a necessary quality marker in itself in every case, but I’m aware many may disagree on this.

Notwithstanding the above, active / DSP speakers sound wonderful. I would definitely recommend anyone serious about gear audition them.

Indeed, but it’s not easy to persuade people into giving outboard active a fair shot, and I can see why in many cases. It’s tempting to tell them instead go experimenting with a secondary setup with more limited means, but really it’s the more all-out approach over an existing main system that will show the true mettle of outboard active config., and the positive experiences that need to be exposed here.

Found an old video about the Tractrix technology from Klipsch but in the comments down in that video , there was a concerning post says that Tractrix horn sound like regular speakers , i hope Klipsch didn’t ruin there flagship speaker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3Ch_tthLOc

The Klipschorn uses an exponential horn. Tractrix "De-Balls" the horn sound making the horn speaker sound more like a conventional speaker. People who like more of an "in your face" horn sound prefer exponential horns and people who prefer more of a "wave guide" type horn like tractrix. I have owned countless Klipsch speaker lines over the years both professional Klipsch speakers, Reference lines, Heritage lines including LaScalla, Klipschorns and I prefer exponential. If you like a horn to sound like a horn then exponential does the job best and if you prefer a more conventional sound you may as well get away from horns altogether and go with a Kef speaker in my opinion.

@saeed79 Its not only the horn design that affects sound quality. My early 1980's Klipschorns came with the K401 horn, a cast iron exponential horn. That thing rang like a bell when you knocked on it, damping these horns was the common 'fix'. So I tried various materials, amounts and placement of those materials, nothing worked to my satisfaction, nothing close to natural timbre. Point is the material horn made of also important, I'll posit any metal or plastic horn ain't gonna do it.  And yes, the original design with that horn and placement of drivers made for an in your face listening experience, so much so that I couldn't live with them in stock configuration. It took all new drivers, placement of those drivers (at least physical time alignment) , Volti tracktrix horn, reworking of crossover to get these speakers to generate a proper sound field with natural timbre. Haven't heard the latest Klipschorns but what I observe they seem to be on the right path. As for outboard dsp unit, obviously you can get the speaker to measure better with dsp, but there has to be an inherent cost in that the dsp unit will color/voice the speaker to some extent. I only like SET tube amps with my Klipschorns, and the rest of system is specifically chosen for my preferred presentation, any dsp unit will upset that equation. And this will remain true for present iteration of these speakers, some may continue to prefer to alter presentation via rest of system, others may not care or notice the voicing/coloration/presentation of this dsp unit.

Klipsch has not used metal horns in these models for many years now, but proper damping of these horns could be easily accomplished eliminating the "ringing" that they were known for. This new Lascala has a somewhat newly designed doghouse, now using a 12 inch driver. Always, MrD.