Belle Klipsch review

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by SKATTERBRANE, Mar 18, 2018.

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  1. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    Are you including the modern floorstanders in that statement as well ?
     
  2. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    I like rock music foremost. However on my Fortes jazz and classical sound great. And even Led Zeppelin sounds great at moderate to low levels. "Klipsch, not just for troglodytes anymore."
     
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  3. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    My only experience with Klipsch speakers is the Heresys that I have had for 30 years. They are great Rock speakers. Would love a pair of Cornwalls.
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2018
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  4. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    Modern Klipsch floorstanders are rock-oriented too but are versatile speakers. Glad you enjoy your Heresys. I don't doubt they rock, for they're Klipsch !:righton:
     
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  5. libertycaps

    libertycaps Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR, USA
    That's too bad. I guess there's a good reason why Belles don't get a lot of talk or universal accolades like K-Horns & Cornies always do. You live. You learn. Next toy! :)

    And you can pry my Crites hot-rodded Chorus IIs and Cornwall IIs outta my cold, dead hands. I'm done and done looking for new loudspeakers.
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2018
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  6. searing75

    searing75 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western NY
    I am blown away by my Cornwalls every damn time I listen to them!
     
  7. dmckean

    dmckean Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Diego, CA, USA
    I went from an upgraded KLF-20 pair to KI-396-SMA-II and it was a huge jump.
     
  8. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    I have heard Cornwalls and they sound great. I have owned Belle Klipsch(brand new...1996...$3500) and they were the worst speakers that I have ever heard. I hated them. I owned 2 pairs of KG4's which I enjoyed. I bought my brother a pair of new Forte's for his 60th birthday and he loves them. The Belles were made for center channel use originally. They were never meant to have strong bass and may have very well been 'voiced' for center channel use.
     
  9. Khorn

    Khorn Dynagrunt Obversarian

    I felt similar when I bought the LaScalas, they had a “thin” sound to them. I exchanged them and purchased new Klipschorns and was amazed how much smoother and better they sounded across the frequency band with a far superior bottom end. I wouldn’t change them unless I had to.
     
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  10. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    It is worthy of noting that the horns and drivers are exactly the same components as are in the larger K-horns.

    But, as you say, the sound is completely different.
     
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  11. Khorn

    Khorn Dynagrunt Obversarian

    Sum product of great design and application I guess.
     
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  12. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    True, but all the components that are used in the La Scala's were originally designed for the K-horns.

    Putting them in the La Scala cabinet was an afterthought for a portable P.A. application. NOT home stereo use!
     
  13. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    The bass horns of the Belles and LaScala's are much shorter than those of the Klipschorns which with corner placement use the walls as extensions of the bass horn. Also, the Belles have a shorter midrange horn than the other two models.
     
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  14. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Well I solved my problem. I now have ProAc Response D2 speakers which mate quite well with my ENTEC SW-1 subwoofers. Oh what a relief it is. Sound is so holographic one could virtually walk among the individual performers in the recording. There is detail without fatigue, or should I say without PAIN.

    And what is even better, I don't have to try a long list of amps, preamps, cables, sources, or fiddle and fret about placement and endure all the apologetics. They just sound AWESOME with just simple setup and a variety of electronics that I have lying around.
     
    Last edited: Jun 10, 2018
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  15. Rattlin' Bones

    Rattlin' Bones Grumpy Old Deaf Drummer

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    If OP recapped crossovers and put in new mid and tweeter drivers, then they're not really the same speakers as original model, are they? They'd be completely different than an original Belle. They're not really Belles anymore, right? Is that way they didn't sound very good?
     
  16. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Well the mods slightly improved the Belles, but NOTHING could get rid of the resonance problem. It is the bass bin that is the culprit.
     
  17. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Yes and no. Crites mods aren’t making them fundamentally different.
     
  18. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    I have read that the new La Scala II speakers address the bass bin resonance inherent in the older La Scala, Belle and K-Horn. I wish I could audition a pair.
     
  19. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    I think you are still better off with the Cornwall's or the Forte's.

    La Scalla's are just not the right design for home speakers, the Cornwall's and Forte's are.
     
    Garthb likes this.
  20. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    I have been running Forte Is. But I wanted to experiment with bi-amping so I put my Heresy IIIs in the system just today:

    [​IMG]
     
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  21. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Here are my Forte I:
    [​IMG]
     
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  22. garyrc

    garyrc Active Member

    They share some characteristics of theater speakers, but are not theater speakers themselves, except for the professional cinema line. The Klipsch Jubilee is in both lines, and gets high praise from owners (it is fully horn loaded, and was originally meant as a successor to the Klipschorn, but ran into the WAF problems).

    The La Scala was pitted against the A7 (by Klipsch), and tested better (smoother). Nowadays, almost everyone would want to add a good subwoofer for below 60Hz, preferably a huge horn loaded subwoofer. DIY versions can be put in the basement, and speak up through a grating in the floor..

    In the 4,500 cu ft room we use for both music listening and Home Theater, we have Klipschorns (AK4) for front right and front left, a modified Belle Klipsch center with extra bracing and the same large K401 mid horn used in the Khorns mounted in a new deeper hi hat, and buried (flush mounted) in the wall, covered with acoustically transparent wall fabric that is actually grille cloth, so it is out of sight. We use Audyssey which has the net effect of making the whole array about 7 dB smoother (7 dB less extreme peak/trough, with a bit of bass boost added after the Audyssey calibration, adjusting the room curve to taste). The response (with the subwoofer OFF and Audyssey ON) is 30 to 15KHz ~~~ +/- 2.5 dB above the crossover to the sub (80Hz) measured with a calibrated microphone and REW. This was an averaged curve over several mic positions. The results do vary with mic position.

    Rating the sensitivity of Khorns and Belle conservatively at 101 dB @ 2.83V @ 1m (it's advertised at 105 dB/2.83V/1m, but that counts probable room gain and probable boundary gain) our NADs could push out 116 dB through each speaker at our ~~~13 foot distance from the speakers, using only 128 of the 150 watts per channel, continuous, the NADs could provide. We don't deliberately get up to 116 dB, though; our peaks are usually 5 dB below the THX peak level recommended for a room our size, i.e., 100 dB from each regular speaker, and 110 dB through the subwoofer.

    We use this system with all kinds of music, soft, loud, classical-jazz-rock-films. It is not "shouty." It is not "honky." We hear no ringing and no resonance. Voices are natural. Even when the music is soft, the system conveys a sense of power and gravitas. And, it certainly does ROCK!

    So, we're getting ready for the new Blu-ray restoration of the Russian version of War and Peace. Although it is 7 hours long, I predict the sound and music will keep us fully awake.
     
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  23. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    Sounds Excellent!

    While the La Scala's have a beautiful clarity about them, I certainly do not agree with Klipsch on the "smoother" part. I consider the Altec A7's to be a lot smoother than the La Scala's and the A7's do not get harsh when you turn up the volume the way the La Scala's do.

    Either way a nice, powerful horn loaded commercial sub woofer brings out the magic in either, but integrates better with the A7's.
     
    garyrc likes this.
  24. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
  25. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    Awesome! What is the schematic of?
     
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