Cornwall opinions please

[cubdog]

Who has them, or has heard them. How do they compare to the other Heritage models? What is a fair price assuming no shipping is involved? Thanks.

cubdog

[silversport]

cubdog,
I have never heard them...well I may have, brother says I did about 25 years ago...I dunno...anyway...Cornwalls stand just under the LaScala/Belle Klipsch and Klipschorn...can be used in the corner or against the wall (corn-wall...get it?)...15 inch woofer...similar mid and tweeter to other Heritage speakers....so well liked they brought them back...original Cornwalls are well liked...Original Cornwall IIs are sometimes called Vertical Cornwalls as they were used for centers between Klipschorns in the infancy of Stereo...then the later Cornwall IIs...some prefer these as they have slightly different guts...newest (since this year) Cornwall IIIs...seems to be the best liked...but they are $3500.00...as for price...depending on finish Walnut Oil or Laquer, Oak Oil or Laquer should be nice in the $600-$800 range...the more exotic finishes raise the price line...if the crossovers have been redone by say BEC II or someone equally qualified, or they are in particularly nice condition the price goes up $1000.00 or so...as nice as your kg4s are these are many steps up the ladder...good luck and good hunting!
Bill

[Parky50]

oh-oh !!!

Ross is "looking" again !!! :nono:

[Tom Brennan]

I've owned a couple of sets of LaScalas, a set of Heresys and a set of Cornwalls and the Cornwalls were by far superior, of "real" Klipsch speakers only the Khorn sounds as good or better than the Cornwall.

Unlike the Heresy or LaScala the Cornwall has a deeper bass response which gives it a robust and pleasing tonal balance. In contrast I find the bass-shy nature of the LaScala and Heresy makes them painful to listen to despite their considerable dynamics and clarity; far too much midrange and lower treble energy is presented and the result is a sound that's very harsh and irritating.

I consider Cornwalls to be pretty good speakers though----excellent clarity and dynamics and a pleasing tonal balance, a little rough sounding maybe but certainly not irritating.

My opinions ya understand.

[gonzp]

Klappenberger and DeanG are making crossover networks that can cut back the squalker so that it is not as hot, for those that like a softer more laidback presentation. The CW's are prolly the closest in the Heritage line to sounding like the mighty K-horn in the lower registers. I don't think that their midrange is on par with a Belle/ Lascala though.

[rcarlton]

I have a pair of Cornwall I's. Sound great, but about ready for the capacitors to be swapped out. Easy fix to get the "just off the showroom" sound back.

[mhardy6647]

Imagine Heresys with bass. You'd be hard pressed to find better all-around speakers under $1000 the pair.

Save up your pennies and buy a Marantz 8B to drive them. You'll probably never want anything else ('cept maybe big Altecs or electrostatics -- such is my wish list).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/mhardy6647/dampedcornyhornies.jpg

[Johncan]

I have the Cornwall I. I am done looking for speakers. These do it for me.

John

[pen_man]

I have owned three pairs of Cornwalls, Heresy and K-horns. Only the K-horns are better and not by a wide margin. IMHO, it is tough to find a better speaker from a price valus standpoint. A nice pair will cost you $1000-1200 and if you amortize it over a few years, they are hard to beat.

[Grey.Coupe]

Mine are 1982 models, owned since new, original except for the Dean G crossovers, and I have tried since new to find speakers I enjoy more. Still listening to them. I have upgraded electronics, but never found another pair of speakers that I enjoyed more listening to long term.
They can be a bit fussy about placement, and the risers make important improvements, but overall, I still love them after all these years.

[pmsummer]

Cornwalls rock! They also jazz, blues, folk, and classical. And they do marching bands, too.

Fair price? $600 to $900 for a good CWO pair of C-Is or C-IIs is fair. Prices are rising, it seems (although several good deals went down this summer).

The new Cornwall IIIs are REALLY good...for $3500.

If they are more than 20 years old, they'll need new caps to hear what you're buying.

[OldSkool]

I have had Cornwall I's and they are incredible loudspeakers.

Aside from the Khorns, Corns are the best Ive heard to date.

[Dflip]

It is fairly easy to replace the caps, one 2.0 and one 4.0 uF cap which can be replaced by a number of options including Hovland, Jensen PIO, or Auricap Thetas all of which are really good, but do vary the sound slightly. You could also use inexpensive Solen's but there are better options. If you have older Cornwalls you may need a P-trap, 3.0 uF cap with a .1 mHy inductor to help tame to 900 Hz ring they tend to produce. How do know if you need this option, does the squawker have spring loaded connectors, if you do, you need a P-trap. None of this is very difficult to do if you can solder at all. Remove the old parts one at a time, check where the wires go and reattach them using solder except on the spring connectors. $40 - 160 US depeanding on the quality of the parts and the speakers are set for another twenty years.

With jazz and female vocalists they are incredible, with rock and and SS receiver, 40 minutes and it's time to quit because me ears and forehead couldn't take the accurate detailed soundstage any longer. They do love tubes.

[TommyK]

Who has them, or has heard them. How do they compare to the other Heritage models? What is a fair price assuming no shipping is involved? Thanks.

cubdog
I had a pair of '79 Cornwalls. Loved the sound. Had to sell them as they were too obtrusive in the family room. They are big. Like small refrigerators, but refrigerators all the same. I gave up some bass and bought some marital bliss when I went with Belles.

If you dont have good corners for khorns, and have the space in the listening room, Cornwalls are the way to go.

Someone mentioned above that older models are called vertical cornwalls. This is so, but I assumed it was because the tweeter was mounted vertically not horizontially like the model 2s
Peace,
TommyK.

[silversport]

Cornwall (sometimes called Cornwall Is)
Cornwall II (original vertical Cornwall)
Cornwall II (newer version of Cornwall)
Cornwall III (newest version of Cornwall
Bill

[heideana]

Hi...sorry for the late response...I've got CW III's...I can't imagine having any other speaker on my hifi rig, except maybee the mighty Anni-K (if only I had room!!!!). I luv the way I feel the music as well as hear it...snares have a snap that I feel in my gut and I feel the bass drum thru my feet....better then the LaScala's I grew up with. They were clean/crisp for their time, but something was always missing in the bottom-end. I know I could do La Scalas or Belles and add a sub-woofer, but seems like the long way around....

[cubdog]

Well now that I have my Cornwalls I'm of course interested in hearing the newest model. Everyone raves over them. If they really are a dramatic improvement over the I and II's they must be something.

cubdog