New Cornwall I owner needing opinions

[MooCorn]

Hi to everyone. I just got my dad's Cornwall I pair (1982/B2 xover) as he is downsizing. I'm no audiophile, but these are nice sounding and he kept them in great condition.

I admit that I stink on AC circuits, but I measured all the crossovers (in circuit). The readings all matched (within 10%), except that the 20uF cap has an ESR of 16ohm while the other one is only 4ohm. I also could not get a reading with my induction meter on the 245 coil on one speaker. I'd really rather not desolder these to get better readings as I have never worked on oil caps before.

Both speakers seem to 'work'. I get distinct output from each tweeter, squawker, and woofer, but with the inductor possibly being bad, am I going to get distortions on some frequencies?

I'm very careful when repairing things, but is the diaphragm likely to split/crack if I remove it to clean out the grooves in the magnets?

As 'luck' would have it, I just replaced the run cap in my outside air conditioner with an aerovox part that looks remarkably like the 20uF. Besides the uF rating, they were both 100V with similar part#s. Is this really what Klipsch used all those years ago??? It seems useless to spend big $$$ on a recap kit when I can goto my local A/C shop and get the same stuff for 1/3 of the price!

I don't have a manual for these. What gauge wire is needed for hookup? The wire inside the speakers is huge compared to what I use now. Did the Cornwalls originally come with a chart of each speakers test results?

A shoutout tester/inspectors Mark Black, Judy Purtle and Sherry Stroud if they are still at Klipsch!

 

[MooCorn]

pretty dead around here

 

[moewillis]

You put a cap rated for 100v in your ac?!?!

Assuming this is a residential split system, they need 370 minimum. We only sell 440

 

[bberkom]

First, I am very jealous of those hand-me-downs. If you are wanting to restore/recap these, I would get a crossover kit from Bob Crites. I used his recap kit for my Heresy I's, and it was a great purchase. Klipsch crossovers are very easy to remove and work on.
http://www.critesspeakers.com/

If you are getting good sound out of all drivers, I wouldn't think the inductor is bad. Bob Crites's website also has all kinds of good schematics and info on Klipsch speakers, and if you email him about a crossover rebuild kit, he can probably help with the inductor in question.

As far as speaker wire goes, you'll get a lot of opinions on this. Using regular old lamp cord was a normal practice back in the day, so a small gauge will work. There's not really a minimum requirement for specific speakers, but variables such as length of runs, shielding, etc. can affect things. I think I use a 12ga or so speaker wire for most of my speakers, but just do some research around here and you'll find plenty of opinions on speaker wire/cables.

 

[MooCorn]

You put a cap rated for 100v in your ac?!?!

Assuming this is a residential split system, they need 370 minimum. We only sell 440

This was a temp fix, and there are 4 of them instead of the normal one (wired parallel??). The AC guy didn't have the right part but said he'd be back to finish the repair.
But except for tolerances, what is the diff in this AC cap and the sky high priced ones people seem to 'cherish' for their crossovers? I breakup old tube TVs and they commonly have these types of caps. To me, a cap is a cap unless you start to get into stuff like dielectric types, etc, which I know nothing about with regard to 'sounding better'.

 

[MooCorn]

If you are getting good sound out of all drivers, I wouldn't think the inductor is bad. Bob Crites's website also has all kinds of good schematics and info on Klipsch speakers, and if you email him about a crossover rebuild kit, he can probably help with the inductor in question.

As far as speaker wire goes, you'll get a lot of opinions on this. Using regular old lamp cord was a normal practice back in the day, so a small gauge will work. There's not really a minimum requirement for specific speakers, but variables such as length of runs, shielding, etc. can affect things. I think I use a 12ga or so speaker wire for most of my speakers, but just do some research around here and you'll find plenty of opinions on speaker wire/cables.

Yes, all drivers make sound when connected individually to crossover. Besides making sure ohms was > 0 < infinity I didn't know any other safe way to test. I actually was going to use lamp cord, as my run is 8 feet.. However, the 'sweet spot' sounds pretty bad with that spacing so I need (at least my dad had) 20 feet apart in his setup.

 

[moewillis]

This was a temp fix, and there are 4 of them instead of the normal one (wired parallel??). The AC guy didn't have the right part but said he'd be back to finish the repair.
But except for tolerances, what is the diff in this AC cap and the sky high priced ones people seem to 'cherish' for their crossovers? I breakup old tube TVs and they commonly have these types of caps. To me, a cap is a cap unless you start to get into stuff like dielectric types, etc, which I know nothing about with regard to 'sounding better'.

i cant speak to the type of caps klipsch uses but i can the ac caps...

under NO circumstance should a 100v cap be used (even temporarily) in an ac unit. tying them together increases the mfd (which is acceptable) but not the voltage rating. that cap has over twice the rated voltage running through it.

im not sure why an hvac tech would even have a 100v run cap on their van. or why an hvac wholesaler would either. that cap (or caps) needs changed pronto and its a wonder it hasnt blown yet. are you sure its a 100vac cap?

 

[RT Fan]

First of all congratulations on acquiring the Cornwalls. Second get in touch with Bob Crites and update the crossovers, either yourself or have him do it. I bought new crossovers for my Chorus & loved the results. I also updated the diaphragm of the tweeters & would recommend that as well. The Crites boys are very prompt in responding to either emails or phones. many happy customers both here & on the Klipsch Forums with their products.
http://critesspeakers.com/

 

[darkblue94]

First of all congratulations on acquiring the Cornwalls. Second get in touch with Bob Crites and update the crossovers, either yourself or have him do it. I bought new crossovers for my Chorus & loved the results. I also updated the diaphragm of the tweeters & would recommend that as well. The Crites boys are very prompt in responding to either emails or phones. many happy customers both here & on the Klipsch Forums with their products.
http://critesspeakers.com/

I got Bob's complete replacement crossover and titanium tweeter diaphragms for my Forte's and am fully satisfied with every aspect of the transaction. My buddy that has Forte II's went with the recap kit and diaphragms and is also completely happy. Which ever way you go you will end up loving your Cornies. I hope you don't end up putting them 20' apart.

 

[SiliconTi]

You can pull the mirage drivers apart and clean them - just take your time.

 

[longdrive03]

Me too on being jealous of your gift from your dad! It is really hard to blow an inductor since it is just wire. You can go with Bob's recap kit which is simple to install. I live near him and stop by when I'm up that way. Good guy and knowledgable guy - won't steer you wrong. You will hear a difference using the Sonicaps which Bob uses in his xovers. I've recapped four pair of Cornwalls recently using them and you can hear the difference.

Good luck

 

[MooCorn]

You can pull the mirage drivers apart and clean them - just take your time.

Both speakers contain:

K-77-M Tweeter
K-51-V Squawker
K-33-E Woofer

I guess by Mirage you mean the tweeter?

Does anyone have a sheet of the DCR for each of these drivers so I can make sure I'm at least in the ballpark before trying any cleaning or mods?

Is the squawker supposed to be jammed up into the material on the back cover plate of the speaker? I didn't want to really tighten down on the back panel now knowing if there was some kind of system involved with keeping the K51 'happy'.

 

[SiliconTi]

Ahh, auto-type.

By midrange, I mean the K-51-V.

 

[MooCorn]

Are the gaskets (whatever connects driver to horn) and the diaphragms so fragile that I won't be able to reuse them if I decided to just clean around the magnets? They certainly seem to move OK now since good sounds comes out!

 

[MooCorn]

Does anyone know if Bob Crites sells on Amazon? I've got Prime shipping for another month and would love to use it on a few speaker parts

 

[avguytx]

Don't think so. On eBay though.

 

[MooCorn]

Yea, I think I want to redo this B-2 crossover, but I don't see a kit for it on ebay from him

 

[bberkom]

I'd just email him with the type of crossover and drivers you have. He will get you what you need and set up transaction via paypal if you can't find the kit on eBay.

 

[darkblue94]

I'd just email him with the type of crossover and drivers you have. He will get you what you need and set up transaction via paypal if you can't find the kit on eBay.

Give him a call, he will actually talk directly with you.

 

[Eric n Kc]

Hey
I just called him when I did mine. Make sure you know what your speakers have inside. He'll need to know.
Over time I replaced the complete x overs, tweeters, mid range diaphragms, and the little red rubber washers in them. Big difference. Bob's the man to talk to. My .02. Eric