My roommate in the army had a pair while I had both Heresys and Fortes. IMO, either the Heresys or the Fortes, and especially the Fortes sounded much better.
I'd imagine that you didn't hear those LaScala's at their best then. I've owned two pairs of LaScalas, a pair of Heresys and two pairs of Forte II's. Though I'd say the Forte II's are great bang-for-buck speaker, neither those nor the Heresys could touch the LaScalas for detail, refinement, speed and soundstaging (IMHO, of course) - that based upon my experience with those speakers. All of them sounded best, to my ears, with tube amplification, again, IMO. I've heard LaScalas sounding positively awful with a poorly chosen SS amp. Enough that I'd want to leave the room. I would never choose either Heresys nor Forte II's over LaScalas unless space were a consideration - and then I may look for a different speaker altogether. If budget is the #1 consideration then I don't know that you could better a nice tube setup with either Heresys for Forte II's at the price you could put that together for.
The original poster did not state a budget. One other alternative that comes to mind, which has impressed me very much at two shows is Audio Kinesis. Both Duke's larger model (Dream Maker) (heard at RMAF '07) and his smaller ones which I liked even better at THE Show '09 just recently (I'm not sure if these were Jazz Modules or Alphas (anyone)?. Either would make an excellent step (up) from having the expectations set from owning LaScalas. Lightening fast with crystaline detail, yet not at all shouty or edgy. I'd definitely strongly recommend seeking out a listen, though that may be more challenging to do without attending a show or going to Idaho.