Belle Klipsch review

Oh, I have done the tube thing with guitar amps. I think it makes MORE of a difference in a nice audio setup. I am already looking around (heh, heh).

 

I see NOS (New Old Stock) does not mean the same in the tube world as it does EVERYWHERE else. I see "NOS" tubes that have obviously been used due to the heat caused discoloration on the glass.

 

NOS should mean new in a box.

 

Yeah, that's my point. It seems that many seem to think NOS means "Nearly Old Stuff".

 

I have a pair of 1993 La Scalas in my TV rig. They are fitted with the first version of the ALK Universal crossover and they do tame/sort them out to quite a significant degree. I don’t listen loud at all and find them very clean and clear on dialogue with amazing dynamics when needed. The bass is ultra-fast if not deep, but it is coloured due to what I’m sure is a panel resonance in the plywood cabinet. They are odd speakers, scary good in some ways, quite odd/bad in others. I had Heresys that I’d recapped myself with one of Bob Crites kits previously and I’d rate the Heresy as neither as good or as bad as the La Scala! It touches neither extreme!

PS Tubes are fired up as part of the manufacturing process to flash the getter etc, so NOS tubes can perfectly legitimately have burn marks.

 

https://2d73e25b29782b6d6766-9c8af5....com/Spec_720000_Belle_635120763777450000.pdf

The maximum they recommend for an amp is 70 WPC. 104db sensitive, that thing is a monster!

 

Yeah, and I am not into "going to a Who concert" kind of loud guy. The Klipsch do not intrigue me because they can play loud. They intrigue me because of the dynamics they have when played low.

 

The problem with the Belles/LaScalas is they are not full-range speakers. They're all midrange and highs, no BASS. You have to run a sub with them as they only go down to 70Hz. You also can't play them above 80db or they'll give you massive headache because the horn coloration become unbearable. They're perfect if you listen to jazz/classical music at very low volumes though. The Cornwall is a much more balanced speaker than either of those two. But the midrange horn is much worse so pick your poison. If you like the KG4.2's you'd love the KG3.2's as they sound substantially better. I've run both side/side. Once I started dabbling with acoustic suspension speakers and cone drivers I couldn't stand to listen to the Klipsch or Tannoys anymore because of the horn colorations.

 

You are gonna love what the ALK crossovers do for your Belle's! They are magical. I like Altec products but I have never been a fan of their frequency dividing networks (the terminology that Altec uses to describe their crossovers). I had my first pair of A7's built from plans that Altec kindly sent to me, back when I was sixteen and still in H.S.

The Altec's had a resistive knob where you decrease the energy going to the HF horn to match the bass driver. Even back then, I always had it set for zero attenuation. As soon as I used it, the definition from the HF horn, went out the window.

Also, don't be alarmed when you get and first set up your crossovers. I had my A7's brought in from California and they didn't have crossovers. I do have a Berringer digital crossover but I didn't want to use it on the A7's. So, they sat unused for a couple of months until I received the crossovers from ALK.

When I first hooked the ALK crossovers up, I played the A7's for the first time. That was an OMG moment. Upon first hearing the A7's I thought that they sounded perfectly awful. I mean that they sounded really awful bad. I called and spoke with Al and he explained to me that when he ships out his crossovers, he has the jumpers set for their maximum anttenuation and he had me reference his chart, which I had overlooked.

By moving the two jumpers to different taps on the autoformer, you adjust the degree that the HF horn is being anttenuated. I fooled with this for around two full weeks. I went back to recordings that I was very familiar with, from way back when. That helped me to know how the recording should sound like.

When I just about had it perfectly dialed in, one setting seemed a bit dull and the next one up, seemed a bit bright. I looked at the different jumper settings on Al's chart and saw a pattern to them. From that, I said to myself, I bet if I set this jumper here and I sat that jumper there, I should get something directly in the middle between the two other settings. As it turned out, my "guess" was correct and I hit that precise sweet spot between that other two settings. I haven't touched the jumpers sine that day.

I have several tube amps and integrated's, both new and vintage and I will have to say, that the PrimaLuna was my overall favorite. With the modern manufacture stock KT88's, it is a really nice sounding amplifier and it runs the tubes easy so they sound their best and should last a lot longer than those who push the tubes harder to get more wattage out of them.

Tube amps are also known for their hum. I have two tube amps that I am fond of but can't use for that very reason. One is a Rogue Stereo 90, bought used and a vintage Scott 222C from the mid 60's, which is rated at 22-WPC using tubes that are in the EL84 family. And this is a really sweet sounding amplifier.

I bought my PrimaLuna from a seller on eBay, so I saved about $100 bucks. He was selling it because his other gear is SS and he has young children that found the tubes fascinating and he did not want any accidents to happen.

The PrimaLuna is as quiet as a rock, no hum through the A7's at all! With 36-WPC, I have yet to try turning it all the way up. The Belle's are even more efficient than the A7's. I have been running the A7's with it ever since I purchased the Five.

I just pulled it out less than two weeks ago, when I received an Audio Note kit amp, that I purchased fully assembled. It is even more remarkable.

The Five, at $1,099, is a stupid good sounding amp for the price.

The adaptive auto bias is a really cool feature to have. I don't even usually have any of the tube amps on display where they can be seen. They are sitting on a reinforced table behind the TV, when I want to light up the A7's, I use a radio frequency remote AC On/Off switch.

The Belle's and La Scala's have bass that drops off sharply at 60-Hz. I would recommend setting your sub's crossover frequency to 60-Hz. as a starting place. You may benefit from even a higher crossover frequency of 60-80 Hz.

Here is a photo of one of the A7's, to the left is a 15" commercial bass horn sub-woofer. It is driven by 1,600 watts of power from a Crown XTi-2000, running in bridged mono mode.



Here is a photo of the front mains which I use for HT and 2-channel stereo. The A7's sit directly across from the tan sofa in the next photo.



The next photo is the left rear corner, from the HT POV in relation to the front mains, shown above.



On top of the credenza is one of the rear Klipsch WF-35 towers, the La Scala that is plugged in to that rear speaker in parallel, is playing host to our Christmas (2017) turkey, which has just been removed from the decorative serving platter and is on the carving block, waiting to be sliced.

That is the one that I sometimes sit on the floor in front of.

I will say, that your Belle's are the nicest ones that I have ever seen. Similarly, the La Scala's that I have are the nicest ones that I have ever seen. They are actually commercial models, with sturdier cabinets than the standard models, better internal bracing. They have been covered with Baltic Burch plywood and have custom made grills. Other than the appearance they are totally original. I had glass cut to protect the tops of them.

These were done by the same individual who did the restoration of the A7's I have.

Here is the other La Scala with the top grill off.



You might want to call and speak to Al at ALK about replacement's for your squaker horns. There are several options on the table available for those that Al can tell you about.

I had brought in my La Scala's back in early 2014 and had used them as front mains for a few months, until I couldn't take it any more and I have some permanent hearing damage in my left ear from using them loud. So they have been sitting where they are now since that time.

 

I just hooked up the Fortes again. It is a chore because I store them in another room and they are heavy. IMMEDIATE relief. The upper bass, lower mid monotone note that dominates with the Belles is gone. Everything opens up and become relaxed. (and so it is with ANY of my power amps and the Forte) I am really not expecting much with another amp or a new crossover, but I will find out for sure first hand eventually.

 

Anyway, thanks for playing along. I will report back when I get the power amp. It will be nearly summer by the time I get the crossovers though. There is a two month lead time.

 

A friend owned Belles for a while and they sounded just as described.If you put your ears down near the bass horn way too much midrange is coming out and that seems to cause some peculiar phasey interaction with the midrange horn.
I recently heard some new La Scalas and thought they sounded very good.never heard Steely Dan sound so good.

 

Yeah, I can actually disconnect the mid drivers and still get a LOT of midrange out of just the bass driver. This is where the problem probably stems from. I hope the new crossovers at least address this. My original AA crossovers have new Sonicaps though.

 

There are two reasons that I have not as yet attempted to upgrade the La Scala's.

Reason number one, is that I removed them as my primary speakers and upgrading them is not a priority of mine.

Reason number two, I read many articles and visited different websites about upgrading the squaker, at least, plus I would have replaced the original crossovers which have not even been recapped and still sound fine. I read just a one single post by a guy who liked how they sounded in their original condition.

Being that, other than appearance, they are stock and I decided to keep them preserved that way, at least till I had a complete and definitive plan for making changes to them.

As someone who owns and uses ALK crossovers, the change on your system will be huge as well as running with the tube amplifier.

It took me two months to get my crossovers too!

Just moving to the tube amp will make a huge difference.

With the investment that you have in your Belle's, I would urge you to consider obtaining a replacement squaker horn, you don't need to replace your driver, just the horn. Al can assist you and make some recommendations for you on the squaker horn.

While I was waiting for my A7's ALK crossovers, I read about the Ls Scala's squaker horn issues on the ALK web site and this was a few years before I even owned my La Scala's.

Once you get the Five and have run if for a few days to break the tubes in. Try what I do. I sit on the floor with my back against a piece of furniture and listen to the single La Scala. Try with some piano music or an easy Jazz trio or quartet. You will see how nice your Belle's can sound, as long as you don't turn them up too loud.

 

To make clear to those suggesting a tube power amp (which I already bought) I am NOT complaining of harshness per se, yes "shouty-ness" but not harshness.

 

I have replaced the K55 drivers with the A-55-G from Crites. The only difference is it is a tad smoother and a bit more recessed. That annoying resonance, that monotone note, no matter what instrument or voice comes near it, in the upper bass, lower midrange is driving me nuts. I can hear it two rooms away!

I have looked at that wooden horn on ALK's site and it comes as a kit right? I am not a wood worker. So, it intimidates me a bit. Not into building wooden things.

 

That is just one squaker replacement option. Al knows of others as does Bob Crites. You will not get rid of the shoutyness until you change out the squaker horn, which is more important than changing out the K55 driver.

 

Are other horns simply direct bolt on replacements or is there wood work involved? I would be looking for unbolt the original, and mount the replacement using the same mounting holes. I do not care if it causes the driver to stick out the back a bit more. But I do not want to modify the mounting, the grilles or the opening on the front.

 

I have never seen the other horns, but reason would indicate a direct replacement, for those, like me also, who do not want to forever damage their original cabinets.

I went back and looked on the ALK site. There only seems to be that one kit available. I wonder if it can be purchased assembled? I seem to remember other replacement squakers on the ALK site, some time back.

I wonder how much the kit horn is?

 

It actually stands for New Old Stock.

Some tubes might not be boxed but may measure as NOS, as in testing as new.

 

Yes, I think I so stated that I know what NOS means. Tested as new is not the same as new though. It means it was never used and never SOLD to an end user before.

 

I do have some tubes that you might like to try. They are some NOS EL34 tubes from Europe.

I think that they can further tame the Belle's.

Wait until after you have listened to the Belle's with your Five, which I'm assuming will be arriving shortly.

 

Thank you, yes the amp should come sometime next week. I tried a "harshness" test by playing Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding CD. It sounded pretty damned good. I was expecting the harmonica to drive me out of the room, but it was surprisingly pleasant. The resonance issue did come up with some of the acoustic guitar though, but no so much his vocals.

I've been playing LOTS of stuff. And most of the time the same issues keep coming up.

 

I noticed your pic of course. I have a pair of AR 6's and AR 3a's. Love the 3a's. Last speakers I will ever own AFAIK.

 

What was a game changer for me was getting some custom made xovers, it made all the difference and I would never go back. I too have Forte II's with an upgraded xover which made them sound so much better but, they pale in comparison to my khorns with custom xovers.