This is a fascinating change of direction. 900 watt solid state /Planars to 2 watt SET /Horns combo. Near perfect diametrically opposed approaches.
Listening to music that you enjoy and are very familiar with, which pairing is more sonically convincing, fulfilling and involving?
Charles
I was very wary of getting a pair of Klipsch La Scalas, given the almost uniformly negative reviews they receive in places like Stereophile or TAS. However, these rags are driven by advertising dollars and Klipsch has been around longer than any audiophile rag and will likely outlast all the current ones. La Scalas have been produced for over 60 years. They are so well designed that little needs to be changed. The only speaker I would consider owning in addition now are the even larger Klipschorns, which need corners.
I found to my surprise that the La Scalas AL5 version sounded really nice, not just with a Cary 300B SET monoblock amp, but also with a Lyngdorf 2170 digital amp where the RoomPerfect correction made them sound even better. Of course, tubes is still my preferred choice for most speakers unless they can’t be driven by tubes at all. The La Scalas can be driven by one single power tube. One 45 tube producing 2 watts is plenty for each channel.
The La Scalas produce wall to wall soundstaging In my large listening room (over 6000 cubic feet), and disappear in a way that seems impossible for such large refrigerator sized behemoths. Of course, they are incredibly dynamic even at the relatively low volumes I listen at. My Quads would always distort at climaxes, but I don’t need to worry about that anymore. Choral music by Arvo Part, Madetoja, Schubert, and many other classical composers sounds magnificent. I can hear the individual singers much more clearly than ever before. Classic jazz from the 1950s-60s sounds great as well. Drum kits are explosive. Of course, rock and roll brings you to the concert. LOUD. If you want.
The lead designer at Klipsch, Roy Delgado, described the La Scala as an “acoustic amplifier”. That’s a good phrase. It’s hard to think of many speakers that have less than 0.1% distortion at 100 +dB. Audiophiles, including me, get all wrapped up in frequency response curves (e.g., see audioscience.com). But rags like Stereophile never publish distortion measurements of loudspeakers because they are all so terrible (I mean, who wants to insult a well-heeled manufacturer placing ads in your rag by showing their speaker has 10% distortion in the bass, as most do). The La Scalas were not designed for flat frequency response. They were designed for one purpose only. To act as an acoustic amplifier that reproduces the input signal with the lowest possible distortion at any volume level you would rationally or irrationally listen at.
So, if you want a pleasant tone control that has a lot of distortion in the bass and cabinet resonances, buy a Harbeth Monitor 40.XX. TAS wants you to, as does Stereophile. If you want an acoustic amplifier that reproduces the input signal with the lowest distortion, buy the La Scala. And stop reading audiophile rags! Sell your boat anchor amplifier. You need only 2 watts. Milliwatts actually.
P.S. My Harbeth Monitor 40.1 is relegated to my kitchen pantry (we have a large pantry), where it keeps company with my wine collection. My Quad 2905 are in my dining room, only used for listening to really old mono vinyl records on a Garrard 301. The Quad has a flattering sonic profile that makes 80 year old mono vinyl sound lovely!
