Klipsch La Scala

Name: Klipsch La Scala
Brand: Klipsch

1963 – Present

The Klipsch La Scala was introduced in 1963 as a professional/commercial speaker, designed for public address systems, small theaters, and commercial installations requiring high output and bulletproof reliability. Like the Klipschorn, it's a fully horn-loaded design, but without the corner placement requirement—making it the only other fully horn-loaded speaker in the Heritage series alongside the Klipschorn and Belle Klipsch.

Klipsch La Scala Speaker - Placeholder Image

Wikimedia Commons - CC0

Specifications

Type	3-way, fully horn-loaded loudspeaker
Woofer	K-33 or K-33-E 15" (38cm) fiber-composite cone, rear-firing folded horn-loaded
Midrange	K-55-V, K-55-X, or K-55-M 2" (5cm) phenolic diaphragm compression driver on K-700 exponential horn
Tweeter	K-77, K-77-M, K-77-F, or K-77-D 1" (2.54cm) phenolic or titanium diaphragm compression driver
Crossover Frequencies	MF: 400 Hz, HF: 4500 Hz (varies by generation)
Nominal Impedance	8 Ω
Power Handling	100W continuous, 400W peak
Sensitivity	104-105 dB @ 1W/1m
Frequency Response	45-51 Hz – 17 kHz (±4 dB, varies by generation and placement)
Maximum Acoustic Output	121 dB SPL continuous
Dimensions	35.5" H x 23.75" W x 24.5" D (90.2 x 60.3 x 62.2 cm)
Weight	123 lbs (56 kg) per speaker
Enclosure Material	Birch plywood with book-matched wood veneers
Finish Options	Walnut, Cherry, Black Ash, Raw Birch (vintage also available in White, Brown, and custom colors)

Design Overview

The La Scala is essentially a Klipschorn without the corner placement requirement. It uses the same driver complement—K-33 15" woofer, K-55 midrange compression driver, and K-77 tweeter—but packages them in a standalone cabinet that doesn't require room corners for bass loading.

The key difference is in the bass horn design. While the Klipschorn uses the room walls to complete its bass horn, the La Scala has a fully enclosed folded horn that wraps around the inside of the cabinet. The 15" K-33 woofer fires toward the rear of the speaker, with the sound traveling through a folded exponential horn path that exits at the front. This makes the La Scala more placement-flexible than the Klipschorn while maintaining the fully horn-loaded philosophy.

The trade-off is in bass extension. The La Scala's folded horn is shorter than the Klipschorn's corner-augmented horn, resulting in slightly less low bass extension (typically 45-50 Hz vs. 33 Hz for the Klipschorn). However, the La Scala's bass is still exceptionally tight, articulate, and low-distortion thanks to the horn loading.

Generational Evolution

La Scala (1963-2005): Original commercial design, birch plywood construction, various paint and veneer finishes for commercial installations
La Scala II (2006-2024): Consumer-focused redesign with furniture-grade finishes, improved crossover
La Scala AL5 (2019-2024): Updated with titanium tweeter, new crossover network
La Scala AL6 (2024-Present): Latest generation with Heritage Active Crossover option, further refined drivers

Historical Context

The La Scala was designed for professional applications where the Klipschorn's corner placement requirement was impractical. Its first major deployment was for political rallies during Nelson Rockefeller's campaign for Governor of New York. Rockefeller was so impressed with the speakers that he later used them on his campaign train.

Despite its commercial origins, the La Scala found favor among discerning audiophiles who appreciated its fully horn-loaded design and high efficiency. The speaker became a fixture in small theaters, dance halls, and commercial installations throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

The La Scala's reputation for reliability was legendary. Many original pairs from the 1960s and 1970s are still in service today, a testament to their robust construction and simple, serviceable design. The birch plywood cabinets, while not as furniture-grade as the home-oriented Klipschorn, were built to withstand the rigors of commercial use.

In 2006, Klipsch officially added the La Scala II to the Heritage series, giving this former commercial workhorse the same furniture-grade finishes and attention to detail as its domestic siblings. This recognition cemented the La Scala's status as a true Klipsch classic.

Notable Uses

Nelson Rockefeller's political campaign rallies (1960s)
Numerous small theaters and cinemas across America
Restaurant and club PA systems
Home hi-fi systems of discerning horn enthusiasts
Recording studio monitor systems (due to high efficiency and dynamics)

Comparison with Klipschorn

While the La Scala shares the Klipschorn's fully horn-loaded philosophy and driver complement, there are important differences:

Bass Extension: Klipschorn reaches ~33 Hz (corner-loaded); La Scala reaches ~45-51 Hz
Placement: Klipschorn requires corner placement; La Scala can be placed anywhere
Size: La Scala is slightly more compact in width
Efficiency: Both are highly efficient (~104-105 dB)
Sound Character: Similar midrange and treble; La Scala has slightly less low bass but tighter bass control

Many enthusiasts who can't accommodate corner placement find the La Scala to be an excellent alternative that delivers 90% of the Klipschorn's performance with greater placement flexibility.

eBay Listings

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Listening Impressions

The La Scala delivers the classic Klipsch horn-loaded sound with exceptional dynamics and clarity. The fully horn-loaded design results in extremely low distortion and the ability to reproduce transient peaks with ease. Music emerges with a sense of presence and immediacy that compressed, low-efficiency speakers struggle to match.

The bass, while not as extended as the Klipschorn's, is remarkably tight and articulate. Horn-loaded bass has a different character than direct-radiating or vented designs—it lacks the "boom" that some listeners associate with deep bass, but offers superior pitch definition and transient response.

Some listeners pair La Scalas with subwoofers to extend the bottom octave, but many find the 45-50 Hz bass sufficient for most music genres. The La Scala's real strength is in its midrange clarity and dynamic capability, making it a favorite for jazz, classical, and acoustic music.