Klipsch La Scala diagnostics/repairs


I bought a pair of Klipsch La Scala speakers brand new back in 1978 (yeah I'm an old guy now).  They've been wonderful, but in recent years they don't sound like their old selves.  It could be a factor that several years ago, during a corporate relocation, they spent a long hot summer in a non air conditioned storage down south.  Whether it's the crossovers or the speakers themselves, something ain't right.  Do any of you folks have recommendations for how I might go about getting these old friends checked out and brought back up to standard?  I now live in Wilmington, NC, and am expecting that I'll likely have to take them out of town to get them in the right hands.

Thanks for your help 
skink
You could contact [email protected]. I think they started out upgrading Klipsch Classic models but are now selling their own creations. They may be able to help you or you might decide its time for something new (Volti's speakers very similar to Klipsch).
Throw your questions over to the Klipsch Forum, specifically this section of the forum.
https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/forum/28-technicalmodifications/

Sign up, create a profile, and ask away.  Some great folks that will be eager to help you and maybe suggest someone in your geographic area.

Bill



Crites, Bob
look him up
has all the parts you need which are probably just the crossover caps and the midrange gaskets
he can rebuild your crossovers for you if you don’t sileeall the Klipsch factory connections are drop dead easy
i mixed sound for a rock band in University and we used a utility pair of La Scala for our PA
rockers for sure !!!
Bob can help you out he worked at Klipsch

Thank you guys - very much. I'll follow your leads at Klipsch and Bob Crites.  This is my first time on this forum - you guys are great.

I've enjoyed reading some of the different opinions on the Speaker forum, for and against horns, etc.  Way back when my buddies and I were making money for the first time out of college, we all went out and bought high-end sound systems.  My route was Klipsch with Crown 150 amp and pre-amp.  Paul Klipsch was my hero back then.  Others went the way of Dahlquist, Magnaplaner, JBL. . . . with McIntosh, Phase Linear, and some kits for amps.  I've long contended that at low to medium volumes, some of those systems might have had more balanced sound than mine -- seeing how mid rangy the La Scalas are.  But dial up a little Rick Wakeman, or a song like School by Supertramp, or Tank by ELP, and crank it up, and nothing could touch my system for kick ass distortion-free rocking.

It's upsetting to hear the recent deterioration in sound but this system is now 40 years old and I suppose it's not surprising that the speakers and/or crossovers may need some parts replaced.

Thanks again guys.

Well your hero ( a true American Audio legend for sure ) was famous for saying “ what the world really needs is a great 8 wpc amplifier”....
so as you ( might ) cede the demands of youth for hyper quality of tone, consider a smallish tube amp now...
Also if you are running 40 year old Crown ( or any other gear ) it may also need recapping and a tuner upper !!!!
enjoy

Got with Bob Crites and he's been very helpful.  Ready to buy a pair of crossovers from him, seeing how mine are 40 years old.  Question for the board:

Bob gave me the resistance that each of the speakers is supposed to have -- I checked mine and they're all consistently 1 or 2 Ohms lower than the spec, but both sides match.  When speakers go bad, do they tend to go up or down in resistance?

Also, if I pull the bottom panels to visually inspect the woofers, am I able to see anything without physically removing the big 15" speakers?

Thanks for the advice.
Talk to al klappenberger as well. Alk engineering is his company and I bought some new crossovers for my lascalas and they sounded great. You can also adjust the mid and high with his crossover. 
you should be OK with lower resistance, open or very high is bad, IF you are not hearing a physical rub you should be good.
when you are in there do those gaskets !
Gaskets - that's what Bob suggested as well.  For the midrange horns.  What do they do, just deteriorate over time?