Klipsch LA SCALA II CHERRY 3-Way Cherry Heritage Series Floorstanding Speaker

Re-Introducing La Scala

If you long for the long-gone days when it was acceptable for a speaker to be big as a truck, the newly redesigned La Scala II from Klipsch will be sweet music to your decibel-damaged ears. A timeless classic, the original La Scala was an engineering breakthrough when it was first introduced. Its big brother, the legendary Klipschorn, set the industry standard for high sensitivity, wide dynamic range, low distortion, smooth frequency response, and powerful bass; the La Scala did the same thing, only in a comparably "portable" package. The technology of this three-way, horn-loaded loudspeaker is as valid today as it was 60 years ago. The definition of "portable," on the other hand, has become somewhat dated.

Like the legendary Klipschorn, the La Scala II displays extremely high sensitivity and is a fully horn-loaded, three-way speaker featuring a shorter, two-fold bass horn that can operate independently of listening room corners. As a result, the La Scala's only sonic compromise as compared to the Klipschorn is a slightly higher bass cutoff. A small price to pay for such a smaller price to pay.

La Scala History 101

The first La Scala went into production in 1963, when audio pioneer Paul W. Klipsch designed it for hopeful Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Winthrop Rockefeller to use as a public address speaker. Rockefeller failed to gain office that year, but the speaker he used got the votes of millions. Considered a "portable" and more affordable version of the revolutionary Klipschorn, the La Scala found great success beyond the campaign trail.

The fully horn-loaded, three-way La Scala sounded so good people wanted to put it in their living rooms, despite its raw, slightly awkward appearance. Virtually unchanged on the inside since its invention, the Heritage Series La Scala II underwent a recent external facelift, emerging much prettier and with an increased cabinet rigidity that reduces the already minimal distortion. The bass horn cabinet walls are now constructed of 1-inch thick MDF rather than birch plywood to decrease resonance and deliver cleaner bass response. The La Scala II includes a grille to cover the mid and high frequency horns. Even though the La Scala II adopts a more finished external appearance, it still delivers the same sparkling highs, extreme output, and unsurpassed low distortion bass response as the original design. Winthrop Rockefeller? -- All but forgotten outside of Arkansas. La Scala? - A legend in its own time.

In The Words Of The Original Mr. Klipsch

"I wanted something with a closer approach to accuracy in reproduction."

Sixty years and a zillion devotees later, you might say Klipsch got his wish.

Like the original Klipschorn, the La Scala generates rich, full, smooth, ultra-low distortion sound. It also utilizes the same horn-loaded drivers as the Klipschorn, making it highly efficient and able to produce high volumes consuming very little power and undetectable distortion. Aside from amping up the pretty factor and making the cabinet more rigid, the La Scala remains vitually untouched. Does it have the Model K-33-E 15" fiber-composite cone woofer with folded horn? Check. Does it have the Model K-55-X 2" Phenolic Diaphragm Compression Midrange Driver With Exponential MF Horn? Check. The 1" Phenolic Diaphragm Compression Driver Tweeter? Check. Magnetic grille posts allow for secure attachment and easy removal of the low frequency grilles, while top-grade binding posts ensure optimal signal transfer and a secure connection to any type of cable. Would Mr. Klipsch have been uber-proud of this speaker? Check. Do you need it in your living room? Check.

The Klipsch Sound

As part of the highly esteemed Heritage series, the La Scala benefits from decades of stringent engineering and class-leading research and development. Like all Klipsch products, the La Scala features Horn-loaded Technology--the guiding design for the first Klipschorn developed in 1946 and for each and every Klipsch product that has followed in the 60 years of its company history. Horn-loading allows the speaker to deliver very high sensitivity, low distortion, flat frequency response, and broad, controlled dispersion. This translates to unequaled power, detail, and dynamics, the hallmarks of "The Klipsch Sound."

This Beauty Is A Beast

A meticulously crafted work of audio artistry, the Klipsch La Scala loudspeaker enables you to experience the high quality sonic performance of the concert hall, in your living room. It is also meticulously crafted to look remarkably cool in all its walnut retro glory. Assembled by skilled craftsmen in Hope, Arkansas, where the Klipsch legacy began, these speakers have a legacy like no other.

Non Grain Matched

These Factory Irregular Klipsch La Scala II speakers come from the factory brand new but have a markdown due to a minor cosmetic flaw (non-matching woodgrain). Which simply means the woodgrain patern does not meet their very high standards to how it looks. It is unlikely that you would even notice this upon receipt.