craigtone

I was planning to do a Cornscala build but have shifted gears. The following parts are up for grabs. The woofers and midrange are open box and never hooked up. The tweeters were run in my K-Horns for about 2 years but work perfect. The Eliptrac 400 was a flatpack kit from Dave that I glued/pinned/clamped but never got further. Crites Cast Woofers - $300/pair SOLD! Eliptrac HF w/B&C DE10-8's - $200/pair SOLD! Eliptrac 400 horns - $300/pair SOLD! B&C DCM50-8 drivers - $900/pair SOLD! Located in Holland, MI.

The bracing would help remove some of the midbass "boominess" coming from box resonances. The Cornwall IV added the bracing based on feedback from users over the years specifically to address this. Ideally, if you added the braces you would need to expand the interior volume by the volume the braces displace. This is a minimal volume so probably not an issue and would most likely fall within driver tolerances anyway. As far as the horn, I have not heard the stock CS-B horn so I cannot comment. I plan to do a custom build so I went straight for the Eliptrac 400.

I don't know of any new production 45's that are really that good. Get yourself some National Union etched base or spend that money on some CX-345 or UX-245. Nothing can touch the sound of the old globes.

Ferrous

45 is probably the most neutral linear tube there is. I prefer them over 2A3 and 300B personally. They used to be affordable but now prices are getting up there. I am running globe RCA UX-245’s which sound much better than ST bottles.

I already have the Eliptrac HF horn and B&C DE10's on my Khorns that I will use. Dave recommends the DCM50's on the 400 so will probably go that route since I am not a fan of titanium drivers. I am adding front to back bracing and a split-back with a brace so I should be able to push the front forward to offset the volume loss of the bracing to fit the larger drivers.

I just ordered the Eliptrac 400 flat packs so planning to build the CS-B style with the Eliptrac HF, Eliptrac 400, Crites cast woofer and ALK CSW.

Any updates on the ALK CSW? I am considering a Cornscala CS-B build as I already have Crites cast woofers, ALK CSW and Eliptrac HF/DE10. I was also considering the Eliptrac-400. I am running a 45 SET so I need the efficiency!

Thanks Shakey! It might have been Forte 3 ... whichever has the new larger horn. I did see teardown photos of the CW4 and they have 2 braces front to back at about 10 & 2 around the woofer. I was thinking of doing the same if I build Cornscalas. Are you CW4's still stock? Curious if you have dug into the crossovers yet? My friend with the Forte's did and he said the resolution is even better than stock! There is something magic about that new midrange horn! 😁

OK ... first the background. I had RF-7's running off an ST-70. When I moved, the new room is small ... 12'x14' and I am listening across the shorter dimension so the RF-7's were no longer an option! I picked up a set of Cornwalls with Crites crossovers and Crites titanium diaphragms and LOVED them! Ended up upgrading to a Tubelab SE amp running Cunnigham CX-345's. I came across a good deal on Khorns and wanted to try them so I bought them and upgraded them with Crites cast woofers, ALK crossovers, Elliptrac tweeter with B&C DE10 and damped the K400 with bedliner on the back side. They sound incredible but don't have the bass the CW's did and the K400 still has it's quirks and imaging is so-so. A buddy recently purchased the Forte 4's. I went over and immediately fell in love with the new midrange! So, here I am looking to either revert back to a set of Cornwall 4's but then I though why not Crites Cornscalas? I already have the cast woofers, ALK crossover and Elliptrac w/DE10. I could pick up the Crites CS-B midrange and build the cabinets (braced of course!). The only thing I am really missing is the CW4's mumped horn at that point but I imagine the M2380's with a 2"CD will get me pretty darn close at about 1/2 the cost! For those of you that have the Cornscalas, are they good for a smaller room with low power (2W)? I know the Cornwalls performed excellent in this scenario. Would you use the Crites CT120 or Elliptrac w/DE10? Or ... should I save up for the Cornwall 4's? I'd probably still end up replacing the crossover in the CW4 anyway ... who uses ferrite core inductors for mids and highs??? 😡

Then these are screaming BUY ME to you! 😁

Thanks! I'm kind of shocked myself ... the price is a STEAL! DTO - you should sell something and make room! 😝

BUMP

Thanks! It is composite rosewood veneer. I painted the surrounds and rear satin black to make it pop.

I got them when ALK was still selling them. He no longer offers them.

I hate to do this but I simply don't have anywhere to store them and I am a "convert" to the world of open baffles. They have made many an audiophile jaw drop! Specs: - Crites Cast Basket Woofers' - ALK CSW Crossovers - Elliptrac Tweeter Horns w/B&C DE10 Drivers - Midrange Horn Damped w/Spray-on Bedliner - Rosewood Composite Veneer on Faces w/Tung Oil Finish - Surrounds & Rear Painted Satin Black - All Cabinet Seals Replaced These are not sequential serial numbers and were originally Decorator Series. I preserved the original SN stickers when I painted them. They did not have matched drivers hence the woofer replacement. With all of the upgrades, the bass response is MUCH better than stock and the crossover distortion is now non-existent. The B&C drivers also extend well beyond the factory tweeters. This truly is an amazing sounding balanced speaker! It has all the pluses of horn loaded speakers without the shoutiness that they can exert. Due to size and weight, shipping is not a practical option. Please contact me at craig4tone@att.net to set-up an audition. I am asking $3000 for the pair.

The tweeters extend much further in the high end vs the stock so cymbals sound much more realistic to me now. The crossover was the single most important improvement! The sound was much more balanced without the harshness at the squawker crossover point. Norah Jones Come Away With Me had several vocals that sounded like nails on a chalkboard but the crossover eliminated all of the harshness. As for the Crites cast woofers ... I'll keep you posted as they are still breaking in!

I've been a Klipsch lover for decades and about 5 years ago I scored a set of Decorator K-horns with raw birch finish ... I had finally reached Klipschdom! I have been making incremental upgrades to the speakers with ALK CSW crossovers, Eliptrac HF horns with B&C DE10's and Crites cast woofers. I decided to finally make them pretty to live up to the sound. Veneer is composite Rosewood, backs painted satin black and K-400 painted with rubberized bedliner. Enjoy the pics!

The factory risers are just a wood frame. There are different schools of thought about the unsupported center, hollow cavity resonances, etc. The pads I used are basically a carpeted piece of plywood with high-density foam sandwiched to it so the entire bottom of the speaker is supported and "filled". I also checked into the factory risers and the height is about the same.

$1000 speakers and you won't pay $70/each shipped (@ Sweetwater)?

I have a pair of Decorator Cornwall II's and I have the Crites crossover upgrade, tweeter diaphragm and midrange diaphragms. I have them at a 45 in the room corners per PWK's recommendation and the room is 11'x14' and I listen on the short wall. Some LP's are too bass heavy and can get boomy with my hardwood floors (Prairie Wind, Icky Thump, etc.). I was looking to get some risers and stumbled across the Auralex Gramma pro audio risers. I got them yesterday and WOW! What an improvement! The bass is much more controlled and bass imaging has improved tremendously! The midrange seemed to clear up a bit also but that may be because the horns are more aligned with my ears now. Regardless, if you have a set of Cornwalls sitting on a hard floor, give these some consideration!

Wanna buy them?

Thanks for the pics! Model number is CD-BR and yes, it has the R in the SN ... I am assuming that means 1977? I am hoping the paint is latex so it comes off cleanly. Worst case I can do a little sanding to get down to clear wood.

The model is CD-BR I replaced the midrange diaphragms and gaskets last night and the problem is gone! Now that they sound good, I am heading to the hardware store to pick up some lacquer thinner to strip the flat black paint off.

I picked these up in a trade and they sound great but look terrible! The previous owner painted them flat black to hide them in the front of his home theater. When I got them they already had the Crites' upgraded crossover parts and tweeter diaphragms. Someone had also repaired a dustup on one woofer and replaced the surround on the other. Last night I replaced the midrange diaphragms to get rid of a harshness I had on one side. They now sound incredible so I want to invest a little effort into making them look as good as they sound! These are the oddballs with the flush baffle and no grilles. There does not appear to be any veneer on them as I can see the plywood edges under the paint. I read through the forums here and am thinking of using lacquer thinner to strip the paint and then just hit them with some tung oil. Does anyone know what these look like under this ugly black paint? (pics would be nice) Is it worth the effort or should I just sand and veneer? I am leery of the veneer as I do plan to sell them next year so I can upgrade to some Khorns and don't want to devalue them. Hence trying to find out what they should look like so I can restore them properly.