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How far have ss amps really come in the last twenty years??

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Wombat

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So you need multiple sets of speakers to match the monitors of the corresponding era.

Or just wait for the remaster, which is probably just as much about updating the EQ to suit changes in speakers as anything.

You tell me. ;)
 

watchnerd

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Well said.

I'm currently smitten by my Spendor S3/5 speakers. They may not be perfectly accurate, but what they do is deliver that "sweetness" and ease to the sound. Horns have that glowing tonal quality, yet with a relaxed tone, and they do this without sounding at all "dark" or obviously rolled off.
It's the same with voices through these little speakers. They sound so darned human!

A very canny design...if it pushes your buttons as they do mine.

Do you listen nearfield, like their ancestral LS 3/5a was intended to be used?
 

MattHooper

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Big space vs smaller space?

Do you mean the size of my listening room? If so: 13' wide by 15' deep, large room opening to a hall.
 

MattHooper

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Do you listen nearfield, like their ancestral LS 3/5a was intended to be used?

About 6-7 feet away, average of under 6.5 depending on my listening position.

Having experimented a lot with listening distances, I like to sort of split the difference a bit. Too distant and more room sound intrudes on timbre.
Too close, and it seems more of a head-phone effect, where the speakers seem to become more spacious, but less dynamic. In my room, a speaker placed at the above distance tends to sound both immersive, tonally smooth, with a good sense of dynamic life.
 

Wombat

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Do you listen nearfield, like their ancestral LS 3/5a was intended to be used?

BBC broadcast monitors were designed for near-field(as you say) vocal quality monitoring. Marketers have misled buyers to believe they meet a wider requirement.
 

jsrtheta

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Don't let a couple comments get your nose out of joint, I owned La Scala's for 32 years and never would have sold them if they would have fit in my retirement digs. Incredible speakers that do so many things right once you get used to them it's hard to live with anything else. I'm sure your aware of Stereophiles review of them in 2006, Sam fell in love.
http://www.soundhifi.com/klipsch/sam.htm
The Klipsch sound has been the recent rage at Stereophile in general so many preconceptions are changing. We have many horn lovers here, including a few M2 owners and other JBL horns.
Don't know anything about your room but have you tried getting them out of the corners and well into the room? Yes corner placement will help the somewhat weak bass (we both use subs for that) but I kept mine about 5' out and 2+' off the side walls. When aimed at the MLP the imaging was better than anything I've heard. Just something you might try?
Like has been said, I know of no speaker type that doesn't have it's weaknesses, you buy your ticket and take your ride.
No offense, Sal, but Sam fell in love on a monthly basis.
 

watchnerd

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About 6-7 feet away, average of under 6.5 depending on my listening position.

Having experimented a lot with listening distances, I like to sort of split the difference a bit. Too distant and more room sound intrudes on timbre.
Too close, and it seems more of a head-phone effect, where the speakers seem to become more spacious, but less dynamic. In my room, a speaker placed at the above distance tends to sound both immersive, tonally smooth, with a good sense of dynamic life.

6 feet isn't technically nearfield / below critical distance in a room your size, but it's also pretty close.

Small speakers in small rooms can sound really great on small material.
 

Sal1950

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No offense, Sal, but Sam fell in love on a monthly basis.
So do all Stereophile writers, Why would you only discount Sam?
They only write about the products they like.
To hear them tell it. ???
 

watchnerd

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No offense, Sal, but Sam fell in love on a monthly basis.

Agree re: Tellig...I viewed him as a humor writer more than anything.

Also, for that Scala review, the residence in question is said to have a living room 2 stories tall and like a 'Hyatt atrium'.
 

Sal1950

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Agree re: Tellig...I viewed him as a humor writer more than anything.

Also, for that Scala review, the residence in question is said to have a living room 2 stories tall and like a 'Hyatt atrium'.
Wrong, that was a friends house in Italy where he first heard them
If your going to tell a story at least get it straight.
The review pair were delivered to his house by Klipsch.
It's all right there in the review if you READ it. ;)
 

watchnerd

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Wrong, that was a friends house in Italy where he first heard them
If your going to tell a story at least get it straight.
The review pair were delivered to his house by Klipsch.
It's all right there in the review if you READ it. ;)

What did I get wrong?

To quote:

"The main room is two stories high -- more like a Hyatt atrium than a living room -- and gets its sound from a pair of Klipsch La Scala loudspeakers"

Later in the review Sam gets delivery, but his opening comments on the sound are from the big friend's house.
 

Sal1950

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Later in the review Sam gets delivery, but his opening comments on the sound are from the big friend's house.
Quit squirming, that what the review was written on. Not a quick visit to a friend of a friend in Italy.
 

watchnerd

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Quit squirming, that what the review was written on. Not a quick visit to a friend of a friend in Italy.

Having never heard the La Scala, I have no opinion on how they sound and have no dog in the fight.

I have no interest in engaging in a literary criticism debate as to whether Sam's opening comments should or should not be discarded given he listened in two different settings, when instead I have delicious dim sum to go eat.
 

Sal1950

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MattHooper

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6 feet isn't technically nearfield / below critical distance in a room your size, but it's also pretty close.

Small speakers in small rooms can sound really great on small material.

Yeah, that's what I mean by not being quite nearfield...though closer than the average set up.

My room was is very well treated and I can control the reflectiveness. I have good latitude for where I can place a speaker where it will still sound good. But I have some ergonomic restrictions at this point (a speaker placed too far away from me blocks the entrance). Fortunately the spot that works for ergonomics also works great with every speaker I place there.
 
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