A7, La Scala or what???

[superfunk]

Hi all, i'd like to make a significant step up for 2011.
I was thinking to walk the horn way, but i've never listened to those classic speakers.
I've found a pair of La Scala PRO for 2000 euro, plus 500km of travel (return), and a pair of A7 for 2500 euro, with only 100 km of road.
Which one do you think is the best deal?
Which one the best speaker?
At the moment my amplifier of choice is a tiny Trends Audio, but if some more power is needed i can choose between a cheap yamaha and sansui, both SS.

My room is 3,7m wide and 5,5m long, 2,7 tall.
Need some help to make the right choice.

Would it be better (price and performance) if i try building something myself, maybe using new generation pro components, like B&C or Eighteen Sound???

[Pano]

The prices for both seem rather high, but maybe that's what they go for in Italy.

Personally I'd go for the A7 because of the better midrange. But the La Scala will have better bass. You'll enjoy either one quite a bit. And both can be modified and upgraded to your heart's desire.


I run a pair of A7 that have been upgraded to A5.

[picowallspeaker]

A guy that I knew equipped his pro audio Klipsch-style cabinets with B&C drivers (he just live next door to the factory ).
Reading the power ratings of B&C or Eighteen Sound stuff ,all far above the 100 W range ,makes me think that the amplifier will need to be very powerful ,not cheap nor tiny .

[multisync]

you won't need more than 10 watts for either speaker unless you like you music real loud. I mean real loud. I had a pair of A7-500's (bought new in 1971) in a 7 meter x 10 meter room with 100watt amplifiers. Every now and then I would shake the dust of the walls and my ears would ring for a while after.

[superfunk]

Don't forget my room's size!!!
What about JBL 4430 for 2500 euro???
I'm also more tempted by the A7, rather than La Scala..
Someone wrote the medium from the klipsch is nice, but totally wrong if compared to reality

[superfunk]

Another choice could be building a bass section to use with these:
B&C HF drivers DE400TN & DE35 - [English]

Here is an interesting point from the review:

Frankly the B&C DE-400TN-8 has risen to the front rank of my favourite HF drivers. It is probably my favourite current production high frequency system; I could sacrifice 6dB of its amazing sensitivity for an extra half-octave at the top and many SET tube-heads would sacrifice power handling for an extra octave at the bottom to replace those Altec VOTs if B&C wish to dominate that market, but as it stands the B&C DE-400TN-8 is an amazing new design that operates in a class of its own.

Anyway, i'm looking for the best solution i can buy with 2500 euro

[Pano]

If the A7 temps you, get it. But be prepared for some upgrade work to get it ready for "hi-fi". Do know what horn and what drivers are in it? Have there been any upgrades?

[bwaslo]

Originally Posted by picowallspeaker

A guy that I knew equipped his pro audio Klipsch-style cabinets with B&C drivers (he just live next door to the factory ).
Reading the power ratings of B&C or Eighteen Sound stuff ,all far above the 100 W range ,makes me think that the amplifier will need to be very powerful ,not cheap nor tiny .

Quite the opposite. The parameter that determines how powerful the amp needs to be is the efficiency, not the 'power handling'. The B&C or Eighteen Sound stuff is very, very efficient, very little power would be required for a domestic setting. But they can still play clean with much higher power, as in a club or concert setting.

[picowallspeaker]

Well...not quite the opposite . the opposite would be trying to drive such powerful speakers with low quality amplifiers . Dynamic passages might be very power hungry . i'm not a maniac for high power at home , I like my 50 Wpc amp which can drive tiny 4 Ohm speakers or complex 3 way 8 Ohm speakers ...don't ask it to deliver high current on 4 Ohm loads because distortion arises ,as heat ...
I'm working on a 94 dB per Watt (at 1 meter ) project ,with a a 12",a 6" and a 1" dome. Wow ! I never heard a pro-midrange at home before !!

[Pano]

Pico, believe what Bill is telling you. These larger pro audio drivers are very efficient. To achieve very loud levels in a domestic (small room) setting they need tiny amounts of power. 1W average will be very loud indeed. No, they won't be "power hungry" on dynamic passages. Unless you call 5 watts peak power hungry.

That's the counter intuitive part. Most folks look at a big speaker and say "Wow! You need a lot of power to run that!" Natural to think so, a bigger car, truck, boat, airplane or rocket ship needs more power than a small one. But speakers don't work that way. Smaller is almost always less efficient and more power hungry in the world of speakers.

And the power ratings are there because even very efficient drivers need gobs of power when you are trying to drive a huge space, like a sports arena, to high SPLs. High power and high efficiency are used in the pro world because high SPLs are needed in huge spaces.