TRiv

Lost bid last seconds @$285, shipping is a bid killer here, sure is never any Klipsch anything in Ohio that we can pick up...... oh well. for $285 plus $140 shipping/crating I can build with the original KD-2 plans I Just recieved. Heck , $260 for new AA crossovers, that leaves $165 for plywood and finishing veneer, ( to build two cabinets + false corners), maybe this is a better thing, sure wanted that original 54 though.

I should not have said subwoofer, not really a fan of them, but rather LF horn as it is. Looking to bring back some bass lost by inverting and raising Cornwall cabinets, and go a bit lower also. Currently I am tuning by ear and basic theory plus guessing/trial error, may buy a meter to measure someday to see what kind of mess I have, but for now the CW's are sounding good. One Khorn bass bin should do what I am looking for, though as I said, may look for another as this, and restify.... restore the cabinets to original with newer/ upgraded components. Anyone, is there much if any basic design/performance difference of this 1954 bin to a newer model? I am talking about the cabinet only, not driver/crossover, but the horn itself? I am not into collectables for money value, but rather their usefullness or pleasure to own, would like to know if this piece is worth something as a collectable or just a piece of old equiptment with moderate interest? I am looking for a good usable bin and not looking to go into a bidding war over it because of the vintage, I can wait and look elswhere, comments?

Found two recently that cover the whole sound spectrum, kind of weired but soundtracks to Tim Burtons movies "Nightmare Before Christmas" and " Corpses bride" , highs,lows, classical/jazz, entire voice ranges.

The vintage of this piece is neat, I would not modify other than maybe replace driver with K33E, maybe. Just touch up a bit and use as is (add false corner), maybe find/ build a mate (getting KD-2 plans) transfer Corn components and 511's to them ( store CW cabinets, or unless anyone has a pair of newer ( 60's-70's)K horn cabinets in similar condition that are stripped out and want to sell, let me know, interested.

Anyone here interested in this? I am considering to bid, would like to use as a "subwoofer" for modified 1977 Cornwalls. Any opinions on this set up, mods to Cornwall are simple, cabinets are inverted and raised 11" to get woofer closer to vocal performance height, in other words, voice sound coming from about standing performers level, with 511B horn/K55 on top of cabinet, and K77 vertical and centered between 511 and woofer, stock type B crossover. As is, this set up sounds really good with a more life-like image of performers as opposed to too close to the ground as the stock Cornwall, unfortunatly, some of the Cornwall bass is bit less due to woofer and port much higher off the ground. Thought is to use this K horn bass bin with a false corner, and setting in between the Cornwalls, CW's as is with there own amp, and a second amp to the K horn crossed at or below 200hz. Just looking to bring back some lost bass, and a bit lower. I really like the Corns as I have them set up, just needs a bit more, no boom though, just low and tight, suggestions/comments?

More pics and comments: http://turbobuick.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175034

travisc, adaptors came today, thanks! Drilled 2 holes into adapters and everything is changed over, much better! Have'nt changed anything else, though going to try the port relocation to the bottom of the back panel (using 3/4 plywood), and plugging original, the hope is to get more of the bass lower to the ground as original, though the cabinets are 12" off the ground. Was thinking of prototyping a stand to hold up cabinets that would be "L" shaped that would mate up to the back port, and redirect the pressure to the front, though not sure how tuning this will be, but may give it a try. Thanks again!

Actually as pictured, the top Cornwall is left ch, and the bottom CW (woofer) is right ch on the amp (preamp on mono), so is bi amped already, impedance is normal. I am only guessing here, but it sounds "right" only now the vocals and some instruments sound like they are at the right height, thanks to the higher position of one woofer which crossed over at 600hz , puts out a lot of musical information at the right height( instead of 14" off the floor)

jwcullison, Would like to start with nice workmanship on the cabinets, very professional looking. I understand that you are after the same "Cornwall" bass sound with more db and in a smaller appearing package, looking for more bass here also, though we are going down different paths, looking for the same results. To start, I have 1977 Cornwalls, with the cabinets inverted (180 degrees) with 511B's/K55's on top (ports and woofers are now top) and k77 between the 511's and woofer's, goal-- to get sound off the ground, voices and instruments more at a live performance level, works good, actually raised the cabinets 12" further off ground, sounds just right IMO except the "Cornwall" bass level went down for obvious reason (ports/woofers over 3' off ground), still sounds good but lacking. My path, cruder than yours, is to stack existing Cornwalls onto another pair of Cornwalls as bass bins ( may fabricate them for the purpose) only, I see others have double stacked here on the forum, though was thinking of laying them sideways with woofers aligned to same side, and 511's/K77 aligned also. A bit big, but not much more than a dresser or other furniture, so here at least the look will be ok. Was wondering, since I have'nt seen it posted here, are you planning to try bi-amping the woofers? I only have the two Cornwalls right now, double stacked and drove the top woofer,K55, and K77 with stock type B crossover as a stock speaker, then powered the lower ( using type B crossover) and the "Cornwall" bass was back plus. Wondering also ( anyone can jump in) if the lower woofer bi -amped would be better crossed over, maybe with a type A? another question is can you run just the woofer with these crossovers minus the mid/high outs hooked to anything, no bare wires to terminals of course, (they don't need a dummy load or anything?) JW, was also wondering if you tested the lower woofer only with stock crossover and the k55/k77 on top of your cabinet to see/ hear if the "Cornwall" sound is there? in other words as close as you can configure to see where your baseline is? I know you have the same volume and port size, though the shape and motorboard area can also have an "effect" on sound and despersion as well. I find the woofer height raised is getting to be more of a lower midrange, which is why I did it in the first place, a lot of vocal information coming from them, and I want that information more at a live performance level ( height wise, seems floor speaker systems leave out the Z axis, have the imaging but..), actually trying to get the "big" open sound similar to Magnaplaners I once had, though with more bass, db level, 100's of watts less power consumption, and wider sweet spot, think I am already there! Again, nice work on the cabinets! note: mid/high horns in cabinets are non-functional

Have thought about it for same reason, though holding off, not because of resale value or ringing, but may still mount in cabinet. Still experimenting here with driver arrangment, though if the 511 is on top of CW cabinets, cutting flange off at least the top half flange would work, not sure about bottom half, could still mount that to a base. Of course, removing entire flange and leaving the bosses with the hook and chain holes could be used to mount them, but leaving the bottom flange, which is out of site anyway, would be best. Cutting off will not be easy though, sabre saw or sawsall will not get in there all the way, cut off wheels don't work with aluminum, a die grinder would work. Finish grinding with a 90 degree grinder (Dotco)3" grinding disk loaded with bees wax will grind down remaining flange quick and smooth. It will take some time but would look better for sure. My latest configuration with the CW/511 ( Voice of the Corn) is as before, inverted cabinet, 511 on top, but raised cabinet 12" off floor, and K77 horizontal between 511 and K33. My reason for this, I like the sound to be more true to a real performance (most floor speakers including CW's, are too low) the places I've been to hear live music, the singers are standing with band behind, and the average height is 4-6' for vocals ( lead singers don't usually sit while performing). With the centerline of the 511's voicecoils at 31/2" and the K33 at 2", the vocals sound 3-3 1/2' off the floor, too low ( don't forget the K33 handles some of the vocals), and not right, so I raised the cabinets. I'll have to post picture later , but so far WOW!, played "Honeydrippers" cd with Robert Plant ( LED Zepplin) and sounded like the band was live in the basement! The only thing is raising the cabinet so high is the bass drops a bit more, thinking of either another pair of CW's as bass bins only crossed over at 400hz (run with separate SAE 2100 amp), or finding/waiting for an empty Khorn cabinet/s (add K33, AA crossover) to do the same. Really though, the bass is tight and accurate as is, so will wait and see/try. By the way, do you still have any adaptors left, would be interested to buy (mine are 3/4 plywood pieces with K-55 just threaded in to them, works!)

Here is a Lansing forum post/link that also includes Altec discussions, and the thread below looks as though some Klipsch discussions as well; http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=3690&highlight=altec+311

Correct on the 311-90, and so are the 511 and 811, there is also a 311-60 ( 60 degree dispersion) which sell for less than the 311-90. I learned of the 311's existance from this site, someone installed on Khorns, there are also several multi-cell Altec horns that some here and elswhere have added to their systems. Many if not all the multi-cell are quit large (larger than the 511, not sure on the frequency range. If you look on ebay under "consumer electronics" and search for "horns" (don't go to sub title of speakers) and any given week there are several hundred types of horns listed, good place to at least get some idea of makes/ models available. Many auctions don't give specs/ dimensions so if something is interesting, doing google search under brands/models sometimes turn up some info. I am actually quit happy with the 511 upgrade, now it's just curiosity about that bit much better with the 311-90, maybe even one of the multi-cells, a 300hz horn crossed at 400...... just wondering, would search for a pair if a noticable difference, now to find an empty khorn to build a sub? or is it supposed to be the other way around,Khorns with Cornwall center? Not interested in conventional sub/boom boxes, just the lower accurate bass of the Khorns...... got a bit of the bug here too.

James & Michael, You guys are lucky. They were not as plentiful, and more expensive when I got mine. JC you got mail. Terry They are a great value used today, I bought a pair of 811B's in 1978 for a project ( never built) from a local industrial sound co.( authorized Altec dealer), for $285 ( 1978 money) new. Just out of high school selling hi-fi for $5 hour, they sure were expensive then, the 511's were over $350 a pair new! Except for ones that are physically damaged, they don't wear out, just need paint, maybe. Still wondering if the expensive ($600-900 a pair) 311-90's with the K55V crossed at 400hz would be worth the upgrade from the 511?

travisc, These are the horns with the beautiful paint , this is the kind of paint job to have; http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/632368/ShowPost.aspx too bad the 511's have that big flange, even without them though, they won't really have the decorative look as the above.

travisc, Good to see you have the 511 mods up and running, I see your experimenting does'nt stop there, nothing wrong with that. Doing the same here, though at a slower pace, I find doing one mod at a time, enjoying the music for a week or two, then trying something else works good. Following others suggestions and my own ideas makes a list of thing to try, watching your mod ideas here as well. As I mentioned in earlier post, I turned the Cornwall cabinets upside down as a mod, and after having them this way for several weeks, they are there to stay (have a few other ideas, though require cutting, not ready yet). Voices seem much more in focus this way as are probably some instruments as well, and there could be a reason for this, unlike those with Khorns,Belles,Lascalas with the 511 upgrade, by replacing the 400/401 with the 511, the midrange voice coil centerline is about if not the same distance from the woofer centerline as stock, in otherwords they replace the mid horn but it remains in the same location as stock. When the 511 is on top of the Cornwall cabinet, the centerline of the midrange voice coil is 28" from the woofer vs. 14 1/2" for the stock 600 horn centerline to the woofer, a change of 13 1/2". Since voice also comes from the woofer (even if crossed at 400hz), that would exlpain the separation, except for maybe if you are 20+ feet away, not sure of that , but 8-15ft it is very noticable. Buy inverting the CW cabinet and putting 511 on riser (now the top) the midrange voice coil centerline is closer to woofer at 21" vs. 14 1/2" stock , or 7" closer than 511 on upright CW. I removed the riser which is another 2" gets the midrange voice coil centerline a total of 19" from woofer vs. stock 14 1/2" , so the difference is now only 4 1/2" inverted CW vs. 13 1/2" for upright CW, 9" closer, again makes voices more focused. Just wondering if you, Terry, or anyone else is going to try this, really works. Note, the Altec Voice of the Theater and Model 19s have the 811 or 511 horns right above the woofers (close) as does do the Khorn, Belle Scala owners, even stock Corn, Heresy or most any other brand for that matter, must be a reason! give it some thought and maybe even a try! Happy experimenting!

AL K Probably right , and at this point, going to work more on clearing the room ( basement) and giving the Cornwalls more room and sitting farther back. Didn't take much arm twisting here as I really like the way these things sound as they are set up, just some minor tweeks, and buy more cds and enjoy. Going to have to try a tube amp sometime, currently using SAE 3100 pre and 2200 power amp, I used to sell this stuff when it was new, along with Soundcraftsmen, Sansui, Kenwood,Pioneer ( circa 1977-1982) but never tried any tube stuff ( built amatuer radio tube transmitters, no stereo equipt). Thanks again ( and to evryone else for advice. travisc Let us know how you like this set up when you get there. if you try the upside down thing like I did as you know, be carefull not to scratch up the top of your Cornwalls ( which would now be the bottom!) Sounds like human voice coming through the woofer is normal even at 400hz ( I should have known this, probably forgot!), anyway that would explain the "hole in the sound"I mentioned earlier when the 511 is on top of normal orientation cornwall, the woofer and midrange (511) drivers are a bit too far apart, fliping the cab gets them closer together, again slight drop in bass but tighter.

Trying a few tweeter locations right now before final mounting, was in same position only horizontal for a few weeks, then change to vertical as pictured. Actually have no plans to mount incenter of horn mouthe, but rather above flange as pictured, but am planing to try side mount as you have and as others have done k-horns. Searching previous posts on horizontal vs. verticle looks to be evenly sided, so personal preference must be a factor! so far my preference is the vertical mounting, now to settle on location, though mounted on top center, maybe another inch or so higher with 511 and k-77 flanges on the same plane works good ( a bit hard to make look good though ), and as of now, there is a folded terry washcloth in the top bowl-like area of 511 top to cut down highs reflecting in there, seems to work. Before using the 511's, I put a small triangular (corner) piece of terry-cloth inside the mouth lower surface of the k-600 horn which made a noticable taming of the mid shrill. The cloth was just enough to cover the lower surface without plugging the throat in anyway, sort of like carpeting a bare floor room, actually tried this with the 511 also, which does'nt really need much help, but again, seems to get rid of some of what little shrill there is. Al, you mentioned that the "A" type crossover would have overpowering mids and highs compared to the Cornwall low end, I know you are the one to ask on crossovers, so what would be the advice here on going to a 400hz crossover that would work for the Cornwall/511 setup, retaining the use of the k-55-v driver? others here believe the 511b is capable of going down to 400 and rolling of quickly, though most everyone with K-horns, Belles, LaScalas are happy with the 511 upgrade, so the Cornwall should be too at 400 but the crossover would be a bit different? One more question here, at 400 crossover, is there any human voice coming through the woofer? there is notice of this with the 600 crossover, or are my crossovers getting old (original 1977) i.e. capacitors breaking down? colterphoto1, watching ebay for several weeks and buying a pair of 511's there, $100-$150 seems to be the range. Just like (travisc), I bought now, paid $129 plus $25 shipping for a pair in near mint condition. There is no shortage of these and for the price really worth it! Now if someone here could say if the 311-90 or 311-60 is worth it, they are kind of up there$$!

Here's another:

Some pics:

travisc, Painting them would'nt change the sound at all unless the paint was something like non-skid paint, even then probably not much. I have thought about painting them too, and I used to do custom car painting and collision repair/painting some time ago, and I am not sure how difficult it would be, at least to my standards, to get a good even finish going down the throat of the 511's. Painting these is going to be like painting the side strakes of a Ferrari Testarossa without taking the strakes out, could be difficult. I don't know the thread, but a recent one here, someone had pics of some exotic looking salad bowl horn that was painted some tone of maroon/stawberry pearl color that was just wow ! in the looks dept. That particular horn didn't look to hard to get paint down the throat, it was more open. I might give it a try if I could find a damaged horn to experiment with, still think that even with base/clear coat using a gravity feed gun may not get paint in there to look even. Another possibility may be powder coating, will have to check with someone who does this, there may be a better chance this could work, though colors will be more limited than auto paint, but there are many colors available. Getting these horns to look more appealing is a challange if you or wife/girlfriend don't want that look in your home, I am lucky, like them as is, and fiance does'nt care, so I will try to make them more something, just not sure at this point, don't really want them to look like giant boxes, so leaving the 511's exposed to us is fine ( plus it makes it impossible for nik naks, water dripping plants, beer cans, etc. from being on top of cabinets!) Like I posted earlier, I turned the Cornwall cabinets upside down, and mounted the 511's to plywood, then set them on the factory risers which are now at the top of the speakers (still factory attached), and like this, the 511's look like they are supposed to be there, they are the same width as the risers. First and formost though, this was done for sound, to me anyway, there seemed to be a hole in the sound when the 511 was just on top of the cabinets in standard orientation, so I flipped them, this puts the bass ports right below the 511's, I like it! and at this point I would'nt even consider mounting the 511's inside the cabinets, there is a way, but the sound is more off the floor, big, and life like! especially if you like being near or in the front row of a performance! Anyone else try to paint these? not just flat black either, something more exotic in color?

Hi everyone, been lurking this site for past 3 months and thought it time to jump in. Thanks to info here, I picked up an average condition pair of 1977 oiled walnut Cornwalls on ebay 2 months ago instead of a pair of Magnanplaner MG2's to replace a pair I had years ago, happy I did, anyway, also a fan of altec equiptment, and after reading about Terry's Cornwalls with the 511B's, had to do the same, well worth it! While the cabinets on my Cornwalls are not perfect, I also do not want to modify them to the point where they are no longer restorable and still basically the original design, so to start I mounted the 511's to pieces of 3/4 plywood and set them on top of the cabinets, and K77's to the top of the 511's. Going to work on making the plywood mounts more cosmetically appealing when I figure what I want them to look like. To Terry and anyone else that have done this with the Cornwalls, I tried an additional mod that to me made this set up sound better blended (mids to lows) was turn the cabinets upside down, and put the 511's on the stand offs/bases which now are the top. have any of you tried this? I don't notice much drop in bass this way, if anything a bit tighter, and the lows sound more attached to the mids. Will be making the Altec factory mod to the horns, cutting the fins at the welds and filling with black RTV or similar to what Altec used to get rid of some of the ring, also going to make a wooden rear mount to horn as the metal ones transmit a lot of noise right through the horn. Having gone this far, has anyone done the 400hz crossover, and is the difference worth the change? seeing as those who have put 511's on theire Khorns, Belles, and Lascalas already have the 400HZ crossover (is that type A crossover?) Have enjoyed reading posts here, and searching the archives, nice forum/site, enjoyable speakers!