Subwoofer options for Klipsch La Scala

hi howard,ive heard lascalas called alot of different things but bass shy isnt one of them.

have you tried a different amp with a little more power,my khorns didnt come alive till around 10 watts from my mcintosh mc2102 amp.

Hi Joe,

In comparison with your Khorns (36Hz), the La Scala's (53Hz) are downright timid in the bass department. Honestly, they aren't bad, but I think a sub would help for certain types of music. I may just stay patient and wait for a pair of Khorns to show up locally, but patience has never been MY particular virtue of choice.

Thanks for the input, Joe.
Howard

There are mods that one can do to the La Scala's to REALLY bring up the bottom end. Depending on which driver you have in your La Scala's and whether or not you want to keep it sealed or go vented, you can pick up another +6 - +10 dB's of additional output at appr 30 Hz. This brings the speakers MUCH closer to being flat although it is still shy in the bottom octave. Properly placed with room boundary reinforcement coming into play, the end results can be very satisfying with no need for a subwoofer. The fact that you can place the modified La Scala's more optimally than you can the K-Horn's makes the La Scala a "no brainer". Sean
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Boa, I have a 7 watt SET amp driving a pair of speakers somewhat similar to Cornwalls. The bass response was much improved after I fitted my speakers with the brass cons instead of the original feet. Also, I found that placing a speaker a 1/2 foot closer or farther from the wall can make a big difference in the bass response.
Just my $.02

Sean, these mods can be found on the Klipsch forum, I presume?

And Zoya, what are brass cons, please?
Thank you both very much.

Howard

Please excuse misspelling, I meant cones:
http://www.audiopoints.com/audiopoints.html
or
http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&DID=7&WebPage_ID=3

Thank you for the info, Zoya. My speakers have no feet, but I suppose I could prop them up on cones. Do you have any recommendations as to which ones I might use?

Boa, I got mine at PartsExpress:
http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&Webpage_ID=3&DID=7&CAT_ID=48&ObjectGroup_ID=139&SO=2

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=240-715

I picked them because they are hight adjustable. However, I had to do some drilling to install them. If you are not comfortable with drilling some holes in the bottom of your speakers, you can try the one bellow:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=240-720 - these are also height adjustable, but don't require drilling.

I hope this help. Good luck.

I've owned several pairs of klipsch. The amp of choice makes a huge difference. A different 7 watt amp even. Personally, I preferred class A rated solid state the most for bass (threshold) even though I am a tube person.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I will definitely give the brass cones a try.
All the best,
Howard

Boa2: I don't know if the specific mods i'm referring to can be can be found on the Klipsch website or in their forums. If you like, email me directly and i'll see what i can do about digging them up and forwarding them to you. Sean
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30hz Sean?! Damnation man, that's spectacular for a Scala! Can you share those mods, or point to a URL? My Scalas drop off very sharply after 50hz (using a ratshack SPL meter in a fairly large space with no sidewalls) in their slightly modified form. I'd love to pick up +10db down at 30hz! I've had mine on Audiopoints, but I found that it seemed to actually drain the bass energy more directly into the (wood) floor (points down). The imaging improved, but I did not find it improved the bass. Results might differ in a carpeted room. I've also been experimenting with putting a granite slab beneath the speakers, as well as using cones and slab. I liked the combination of slab and audiopoints best, but any improvements in bass were subtle. I would think reinforcing the cabinet/baffle might help tighten up the bass significantly. There's a guy doing wonderful looking rebuilds on Scalas back east who has designed an interesting reinforcement piece that he inserts into the front of the baffle like a large flat V-wedge. The effect is that it couples the V of the baffle to the walls and vice versa. Seems like a mod like that may be a good way to go for improving bass. As far as a sub, I've been using a friend's ACI Titan which can be had occasionally for around $700. It works quite well with my Scala's and is very musical indeed. There's currently a nice maple one for $1k which is kind of high. They're a small company putting out solid products IMO.

Marco

Thanks a lot, Sean. I think my wife may be bent on getting a pair of Khorns. If I opt for the La Scala mod, I'll write you directly. I really appreciate your help.
Frankly, I'm just in a lousy mood today with this terrible situation with Lugnut (Patrick), as well as some friends who live in Thailand and who have not responded to attempts to contact them. Don't mean to toss anchor on the conversation, but I just don't have any motivation for the effort--today, anyways. Perhaps in a couple of days I'll be more inclined to consider the La Scala mod.
Thank you again, Sean. You're such a force in this community!
Howard

I forgot to ask. When connecting a sub to an amp that has no line out, and the sub has only line in (no binding posts, in other words), do I use a speaker line converter? For example, my SET integrated has no line out for a sub, and the ACI Titan has only an RCA line in.

And what about if I had monoblocks with attenuator knobs? Without a preamp, can I run additional speaker cables from the monoblocks through a speaker level converter and into the sub with RCA IC's? I may end up going this route, so I want to get all the info in advance.
Thanks again, everyone.
Howard

According to ACI, this speaker level converter is included with the sub. So there's the answer to my question.