boom3

A phase plug on a direct radiator speaker is purely cosmetic. The cited web page about phase plugs is typical 'audiophile' pseudo-science and wishful thinking. the 'delicate midrange' waves they are fantasizing about are so big, compared to the phase plug that they will refract around it, not be reflected by it. A phase plug only works_in a horn driver_ if the surrounding air chamber is also configured correctly. The plug and the chamber work together to ensure that all path length from all parts of the the diapahram to the throat are equal at all frequencies. Since there is no corresponding chamber on a direct radiator, it can't work as true phase plug. Yeah, they _look_cool.

FedEx beat the hell out of my first pair of Corns-which were not properly packaged. They are great for delivering documents but I don't trust therm with anything breakable. Spend extra money and have your shipper take the speakers to Craters & Freighters.

May we ask what city and state or country you live in? Sounds like you have signed up to a subdivision or townhouse development.

IRT your more general question, 'synergy' is not predictable, except within gross limits, like a very low per amp and very inefficient speakers. There are just too many variables, especially with electromechanical components like phono carts and tone arms. In performing these experiments, the essential thing is to change only one component at a time, and, in the absence of instrumented measurement, keep a log of your impressions.

I am very familiar with the FE103 (not the Sigma). I used it in many projects over the years. It is one of the better cone midranges out there and has a low Fs and Qts for its size. However, I really don't think any enclosure will help it to have significant bass below 100 Hz. If I had to use it as a single driver, I'd use a transmission line. It's response is fairly smooth up to about 5-6KHz were the break-up nodes set in and the curve gets rough. I'd recommend an 18 dB/octave transition to a good ribbon tweeter at no higher than 5 KHz.

This has been discussed several times...I seem to recall that Klipsch is queasy about getting involved in these transactions in a formal way...however, there have been many "informal' postings of stuff for sale and leads to other sales (ebay, craiglist, local papers etc) here. I bought a pair of CW IIs frtom a fellow forum member and it was a fine experience. I am in the middle of a difficult buy from ebay right now and I wish that it had been listed on the forum instead.

On 6/18/2005 8:42:53 PM ygmn wrote: No drive in movies here in New Orleans.... Too Dayum hot and Muggy...plus it could rain...argggggggggg *** Hey, I'm a former N'awlinin myself...did you ever go to the Prytania in its heydey? That was an art theatre! I have lost track of its current status, it has opened & closed so many times. I go back to N.O. several times a year...

somewhere, the aliens are watching this come over their radio telescopes...

Idle hands are the devil's photoshop!

I still play my Sylvester from time to time...

I have to agree, and the hardware shows it..teensy speakers with teensy sound, and one horribly distorted subwoofer...all about special effects, not music. I was lucky to see Ben Hur in one of the last CinemaScope theatres. I like the 'art' houses; they enforce R ratings, have steep enough ticket prices to keep out most of the hoi polloi, and usually have gourmet snacks and depending on liquor laws, beer and wine. Unfortunatly art houses are getting rarer these days, rents going up and the ease of find obscure titles by Netflix. The last film I saw in a theatre was Return Of The King, and it had been a year before that (Two Towers) since I'd set foot in one of the mediocre multiplexes here. This weekend we have, thanks to Netflix, Firefly episodes and tonight will unwind to MST3K ripping "I Accuse My Parents".

dual reclining loveseat, velour fabric, in the middle of the HT field

Thanks for finding those refs. I have been recovering from minor surgery and wrapped up in a book project (non-audio). The Klipschorn seem to be special case it seems for just about everything. It does seem that there is a fairly fixed axiom that says folded bass horns are lucky to get a frequency ratio (nominal cut off to first crossover point of 1:10 (40-400 Hz in the older Khorn)

A very simple test is to take the grille off, and play FM noise (the hiss between stations) at a moderate volume. Put your ear near each driver. The midrange horn goes on up to the tweeter range, so be sure you clearly hear the tweeter working as you put your ear near it. The connections at the back terminals, as has been noted, need to be checked, as also the connections to the amp. DO NOT try to tighten the connections with power on; the screwdriver (if that is what is needed) could slip and short out the amp.

I have not had time to digest the attachments. However, I've been at home from minor surgery and so had time to run the Rives Audio test CD and the analog RS meter test. I'm not going to post the results because they are so particular to my total room + system response as to be meaningless to others. That having been said, I think that using any meter with sine wave tones, as on the Rives audio CD, is a very gross measurement. The standing wave problems, especially above 1 KHz are amazing in any normal room. Also, the acoustic shadow of my body kept influencing readings, even though I was standing to the side of the meter. I therefore had to let the meter settle as I looked at it. The test tones are rather brief and I had to operate with the CD remote in one hand and the pencil in the other. The meter was on a tripod. BTW, this first test was in 7.1 stereo mode, with "room correction" EQ and all speakers (4 CW IIs and a homemade center) on. I stopped the test at 8 Khz to avoid tweeter damage. My point is, the RS meter is really more of an environmental tool (i.e., for gross levels of music and noise); if you want to try to measure "frequency response" you need two things: education in the process and a true cal'd mic and PC-based analyzer, which now can be had for about $500.

If you are 60 feet into the great outdoors, and the speakers are rolled to the windows, you effectively have an anechoic response, so if all that is true, you are hearing what very few people ever do-just the speaker and not the room or the furnishings.

If you are 60 feet into the graet outdoors, and the speakers are rolled to the windows, you effectively have an anechoic response, so if all that is true, you are hearing what very few people ever do-just the speaker and not the room or the furnishings.

I'm not sure which mystery you're referring to. It seems the Qes is a tad high for a wide-band bass horn, generally, Qes should be below 0.25 or so. They would probably be fine in a Cornwall cab.

"any input as to the pro's and cons of older cornwalls and newer version cornwall's would be appreiciated." Hoo-boy! each (and all the permutations in between) has their partisans. I have two pair of 86s, i.e. later CW IIs. I had heard the CW Is in the late 70s and after studying the later CW IIs decided that is what I want. The non-removable back makes no difference in practical terms, since the drivers can be removed from the front. The 86 cabinets are better braced, and I think the K79 and K52 tweeters and mids are better than their K77/K55 ancestors. OTOH, the later CWIIs have a very chintzy crossover-it works, but it's not up to Klipsch standards. The K77/K55 CW Is are also prized for their very close sonic match with other Heritage systems using the same drivers. The theory was you got the same mid and highs with each Heritage, just a smaller dollop of bass as one moved down the line. Not exactly true. The larger baffle of the Cornwalls makes for a smoother transition from bass to midrange than in the Heresy or the LaScalas or Belles, to my ears at least.

Sounds like the RIAA equalization is off, from, perhaps a bad component and/or the wrong setting. I'm not familar with that model, does it have more than one phono equalization setting, as the preamps of the early 50s did?

I had the Sansui QRX-5500 once upon a time. It was a very good receiver for medium-efficiency speakers (22 watts/channel x 4). I never used it in the quad mode though. I also used it as the head amp mated with a Sumo Polaris PA, before I got a Sumo Electra preamp, which is the cleanest preamp I've ever heard.

OTOH, there were some good 70s recordings...Thick As A Brick has already been mentioned. Listening to the CD remaster on the Corns was a religious experience. Paul Simon's "Live Rhymin' is a luminous recording. Roy Haley (sp?) is a gifted engineer who is resposible for much of the S&G sound, like the "crashes" on "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and the electric xylophone on "Cecila".

exiles on main street is my fave stones album, but the sonics, even on a remastered cd are pretty bad, with a vey jukeboxey sound

I have two pair of 86 CW IIs. They are MDF.

No, you didn't "take it in the shorts on shipping". $250, for professional packing and careful shipping-if that's what you get-is about right. I bought one pair off e-bay and was charged $150 for shipping via FedEx. They were very poorly packed and were damaged in-transit. The seller was a gentlemen and refunded half the shipping cost. My second pair was bought from a fourum member. These were packed by Craters & Freighters, in double-walled boxes on a skid, via motor freight. That shipping also cost $250, but they arrived with nary a scratch.