Corny

On the spontaneously combustible topic...yes...I've seen it happen several times. I'm a firefighter, and I've been to several fires that took place just after the owner of the home spent thousands having a contractor refinish their floors or other wood work. Usually in homes that are being renovated and no one is living in them at the time. The contractors finish for the night, leave the house vacant, leave the rags in a pile, and several hours later we (the fire dept.) arrive with the house completely in flames.

Thanks Piranha. I bookmarked that one.

Thanks for mentioning the "Boiled" linseed oil. I read the post relating to it, was planning to get some, but hadn't done it yet. If you were mentioning it to make sure I understood that there was a difference between "Raw" linseed oil and "Boiled" linseed oil...I'm glad you did. I read that term "Boiled" and didn't really pay much attention to it. I just focused on the "linseed oil" part, butcause I knew of the spontaneous combustion hazard associated with it. You forced me to do a Google search, and now I know the difference. I found this passage helpful, "Which is the 'right' linseed oil for the job... Raw or Boiled? Raw" linseed oil is just that... linseed oil mercilessly squeezed from flax seed and packaged with no additional additives or preservatives. Raw linseed oil dries very slowly, taking weeks to fully cure. You should limit its use to the insides of wood gutters, chopping blocks, sawhorses, and other items exposed to the elements where drying time is not a consideration. Slow drying is a mixed blessing. For oil-based paints, slow drying is a benefit, since this allows the paint to "level" itself, giving a smoother finish with fewer brush marks. The best looking paint jobs are invariably oil paint jobs, without question. However, when used as a wood preservative for items that are handled or walked on, such as tool handles, furniture, or wood decks, long drying times are undesirable. Enter boiled linseed oil... "Boiled" linseed oil, though, is not boiled. The actual boiling of some oils changes their drying characteristics, true. With linseed oil, though, it is the addition of certain solvents that causes linseed oil to dry more quickly, acting as if it were boiled. This makes it a better product for preserving tool handles, decks, and furniture. I suppose they should have named it "sort-of-boiled linseed oil", or "kinda-like-boiled-but-not-really-boiled linseed oil". You know... to make it less confusing..." I know now that I definitely don't want to use "Raw" linseed oil. I'll make sure I get the real BLO. Thanks alot. Here's the website I got the info from: http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/inflin.shtm

I don't know how I would get 12 to connect to the Corwalls. I had enough trouble getting the 14 to fit through the little holes in the connectors on the back of the Cornwalls. For using larger guage wire, do they have some sort of connectors that attach to the ends of the wire, and then reduce down to connect to the speakers?

Before I read your recommendation for 12 guage wire, I had already bought 14 guage at Home Depot (the speaker wire they cut off the spool). Do you think I would notice a difference with 12 over 14? Some others here said 14 is fine. I don't know how I would get 12 to connect to the Corwalls. I had enough trouble getting the 14 to fit through the little holes in the connectors on the back of the Cornwalls. For using larger guage wire, do they have some sort of connectors that attach to the ends of the wire, and then reduce down to connect to the speakers? Thanks.

I'm glad you brought up speaker placement. That was going to be my next question. I do have them angled in...but I don't think I have them in the best spots in relation to the shape of the room. My livingroom is rectangular, the long walls about 22 feet, the short ones about 12 feet. I read somewhere that the speakers should be a pretty good distance apart. I think someone put it, "the farther the better." I'm not sure what this means. My two options are: Option #1) Put the speakers along one of the short walls. This would put them about 9 or 10 feet apart. This would direct the music towards my easy chair, which would be about 18 feet from the speakers, and would make for comfortable listening while seated. I don't have it like this at the moment, but I'm considering trying it. I would have to do some creative furniture rearranging (again). Option #2) Put the speakers along one of the long walls. (this is where I have them now) This way the speakers are about 20 feet apart. The down side to this configuration is that my couch and easy chair are along this wall also (because the TV is on the opposite long wall and can't be moved...in an elevated built-in TV alcove). So if I'm sitting in the easy chair, I have the left channel Cornwall about 2 feet to my right, pushing the music past me to the opposite long wall. The right channel is about 16 feet to my left. If I sit on the couch, I'm centered between the speakers (and across from the TV) but the music is moving in a V pattern away from me. I guess it probably bounces back off the other wall, but not optimal I'm sure. If I want to be centered between the speakers (the way they are now) and have the music coming towards me, I need to either stand or pull up a kitchen chair or barstool. Not too bad, but definitely no easy chair. What would you guys do?

Thanks for the advice on revitalizing the oil finish. I'm glad you mentioned the possibility of spontaneous combustion with linseed oil soaked rags. As soon as I saw you mention linseed oil, I knew that I would have to mention it if you didn't (I'm a fireman). Glad to see you guys are on the ball about that. I've been to several fires that started that way. Also, this is probably a pretty lame question, but how do you remove the front grills on those speakers? I tried to gently pry with a butterknife, but was feeling resistance and didn't want to damage either the grill or the wood next to it. Are they held on in the corners? Thanks.

Thanks for the confirmation on the 14 guage. Don't have much time to talk now...got to get back to the Cornwalls. Just wanted to say one thing... They were worth it!

You asked about the serial numbers on my new Cornwalls. I'm not sure why you're interested, but here is the link to the eBay page that shows my speakers with serial numbers. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3093012177&category=61378&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBWA%3AIT&rd=1 Hope I didn't overpay too much, I had to have them though. Not quite like the guy I read about here that found his speakers at Good Will for 130 bucks. If you look at the bid history on the auction you'll notice that another guy bid $1268 when there were 38 seconds left. The bid increment was $25, so I jumped in with a higher bid with 20 seconds left. I didn't want to cut it too close because I hadn't bid on eBay in a while and wasn't sure if it was going to ask me for my password or something. As it happened, my bid went in with 20 seconds to go. I was lucky that the other guy didn't see it in time to outbid me. So I got them for $1293. Then another $110 or so for shipping. I'll find out in the morning if they were worth it. They sure look nice! Just like they came off the showroom floor yesterday. Not a scratch on them. (By the way...any advice on oil or polish?). I'm not sure what they call this finish. How can I find out? The plate on the back says they were made in '86. Still had the original boxes. They look nicer than the photos on the eBay ad. The flash made the front grill look lighter than it is...sort of transparent (it's actually a dark brown color). I have them all hooked up now, but too late to try them. I ended up going to Home Depot and getting some 14 guage speaker wire. Do you think that is too thin? People were recommending 12 guage. (Doesn't the wire get bigger as the numbers get smaller?) As it was, I was having trouble feeding the 14 guage through the little hole in the back of the speakers. I'll update you on the sound in the morning. Got to go to bed now, because my Christmas is tomorrow morning!

Thanks for the info., Al. (that the speaker wire lengths don't need to be equal), but I just got through rearranging my livingroom to make it equal. I'm glad that I like my new furniture arrangement better than the previous one. I would have hated to move everything, then read your post, then have to move everything back again. Good to know though. Thanks alot. I'm off to the lamp cord store. (Maybe Home Depot)

Hey, thanks for the quick response. Glad you happened to be reading the boards. Wasn't sure how long I'd have to wait for a response. Just happened on this board today (Google search for "Klipsch" and "Speaker Wire"). Glad I found it...looks like a lot of willing, friendly knowledge floating around out there. Your recommendation about reconfiguring my setup, so that the left and right speaker runs were more equal. I thought I had considered every possible way to arrange my furniture...without getting too ridiculous...but you forced me to go back to the drawing board...and I found a way to do it that is probably the best of all. I live in a 2 bedroom condo, so space is at a premium. The stereo has to go into the livingroom, and share space with my sofabed, dining table, easy chair with ottoman, coffee table, and two armoire type book cases. So after the rearranging (the 3rd configuration of the day) the left speaker run is about 13 feet and the right one about 16 feet. A lot better than 15 and 30. Plus the stereo cabinet is between the speakers now, along the long wall, between the couch and the easy chair. Should be easier access and hopefully more equal sound. The previous plan had the speakers on the long wall, but the stereo cabinet along the short wall (rectangular livingroom). That's why one speaker run was so long before. Both speakers were to the left of the stereo cabinet on the other wall. Thanks for the advice. I'm on my way now to get some cheap speaker wire so I can at least have an idea what these Cornwalls sound like. Oh, and your comment that you were surprised that my username "Corny" wasn't already taken...I was surprised too. It was the first one I tried. I was sure it would be taken. A friend of mine was trying to give himself an e-mail address when he signed up with his internet provider. Every name he tried was taken. Must have tried a dozen names. Finally, out of frustration he tried the name "isanythingleft", and that is his e-mail address to this day.

Hello. Just joined this forum. Hoping for some guidance for an old dog who needs to learn some new tricks. I've had my stereo disconnected for several years since my speakers went out. Finally got on eBay and bought a pair of Cornwall II's, made in 1989 (received today...bigger than I expected...hope they are worth it). I understand that they have a good reputation. Need some speaker wire and whatever else I need (connectors?) to hook up speakers. Hoping for recommendations on what I need to buy and how to hook up. I have an old McIntosh component setup circa 1977 or so. Power Amp Model MC2105, PreAmp C28, Tuner MR78. The speaker hookups on the power amp are just little screws. They don't look like they will accomodate large guage wire, unless there is some sort of connector that I can use. (please excuse my ignorance...I've been out of the stereo scene for a while...and was never in it very deeply). The speaker terminals on the back of the Cornwall II's are big plastic screw-down things (how's that for a description) with a small hole in the center of them. I'm not sure if you put a connector through the hole, or the speaker wire itself. If it's just the speaker wire, it would have to be pretty thin guage. I'm not sure if I need "monster cable" or not. The left speaker wire needs to be about 30 feet long, and the right one about 12 feet. Does anyone have any recommendations on what I should buy to make this hookup? I don't know what's available, and what I need as far as wire, connectors, etc. Any help would be appreciated. I'm looking forward to getting back into the audio world...I've been lost in the computer world (video and photo editing) for the last several years. Thanks.