 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
In Reply to: Klipsch Cornwall II not in my tastes. posted by Rdc on January 22, 2003 at 18:12:29:
OK...I am gonna give you some FREE advice for your listening pleasure with Cornwalls...you can take it or leave it...but I know what I am talking about here!1. You stated your Cornwalls were sitting directly on hardwood floors with a carpet or rug ahead of them. Part of your bottom end problem is the fact that the speakers are not making proper floor contact as they are. If you look at the bottom of them, and there are either metal gliders pounded into the bottom or into the bottom of the risers, then remove them. Go to your local Wal-mart, and look in the hardware section for the areaz where furniture feet and such are. There you will find black peel-and-stick "Grippers". These are dense black neoprene "feet" bases designed for use on hardwood floors. Get a couple packs of the 1" diameter ones. Then put one of these on each corner of your risers on the cornwalls...if no risers, then put one on each corner of the bottom of the cabinet..and add one more to the center of the bottom of the cabinet. then put the speakers back on the hardwood floor...and listen to the difference...it will surprise you!!
2. You are driving those Cornwalls with WAY TOO MUCH POWER!! The reason the mids and highs are so ear-splitting is that you are overdriving the drivers of those horns with all of that excess power in complex musical transients!! You should NEVER drive any of the Klipsch Heritage speakers with any power source exceeding 120 watts RMS!! Otherwise you stand a chance of overdriving the drivers in the top end...especially the tweeter, eventually blowing its diaphragm!!
First...try out the "cheap fix" of the grippers...then try out a good lower-powered CLEAN amp...and you will fall in LOVE with those Cornwalls!!
Follow Ups:
The grippers are a good idea that I will follow up on. They don't have the risers or gliders, just bare wood. The same should be done for my Fried Model O passive subs. They have felt gliders to avoid scatching the floor.I knew that my high current amps might present a problem with the Cornwalls and I took the gamble. The basic idea was that more power is better than too little. I also thought that due to the increased eficiency I would be able to use less power to keep my amps within their first 20 watts of class A power.
It was a difficult choice for me, but this afternoon I finally connected the Cornwalls to my 110 watt Yamaha RXV-2095 home receiver. Surprisingly, all it took was a quarter volume to drive them and I was able to bump the bass settings up three clicks for more impact. Of course the music does not have the same stage or clarity of my separates. But it is impressive how easy they are to drive. I keep my stereo and home theater setups on the same rack in my living room but never mix them. Stereo is by far more important for me.
I am running my Fried Model O passive subs and C3\L combination in conjuction with the Cornwalls. It is amazing for me how the speakers compliment each other. Both sets of speakers were made in 1986. to hear a total of 12 separate drivers working together from boxes that big is impressive.
I know that someday I have to take the plunge in tubes but I can't swing it now. What would you recommend for a good tube and SS amp to drive the Cornwall?
A good SS amp to drive the Cornwalls? Well...how about a great S/S low-powered stereo RECEIVER instead? For under 100 bucks you can get an old H/K 430...it will do the job, for sure! And you WON'T have to bump up the bass control on it either!! If you want a bit more power, then go with an H/K 730...it will cost more, but it is a very nice match(along with the 430) to Klipsch Heritage speakers...trust me...either of these will amaze you! I know that when I tell you the 430 is CONSERVATIVELY rated at 25 watts per channel, while the 730 is CONSERVATIVELY rated at 40 watts per channel, you won't believe me...but your EARS WILL BELIEVE IT when you HEAR IT!! And those Cornwalls will just amaze you with either of these TWIN-POWERED S/S models...you just won't find a much better match for them in the S/S realm...unless you opt for very good tube power, instead!!
The Parasound ZAMP is a nice little low-powered SS amp that sounds a bit better than an old H/K receiver (actually very similar in that it has high current, ultrawide bandwidth, low feedback) and is about a quarter the size and weight. All this for around $250. The Parasound amps I've heard, including the little ZAMP, sounded very smooth and clean in the high end--important with your Cornwalls.
The "X"30 series of H/K receivers are NOT just old H/K amps or receivers...they are the best of that breed...with the 430 and 730 models the best within that series...they are QUIET(noise-free), have loads of headroom, sound great, and will provide the Cornwalls with a bass bottom end that is unmatched by most any other S/S power source...new or vintage. And all of this at a price hovering around 100 bucks...maybe even less...used! When you add in that they also have a great tuner section, etc...how can you lose? Besides...these until-recently un-re-discovered gems of the past...are consistently going up in high bids on ebay lately...so even if a purchaser DOES find he/she does not necessarily like it...he/she can easily get his/her money back out of the deal!! I know of a number of Klipsch "heritage" series speaker owners who are simply delighted with their H/K 430 models!! And you won't find a bigger bang for the buck deal out there! Give one a try...and see what others are finding out!!
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
