HPower

Hey Groomlakearea51, The TubeDepot has a ton of tubes listed, makes it even more confusing for a tube newbie like myself. A lot of the tube reviews that I have looked at usually talk about guitar amp applications, how should I relate that to HiFi amplifiers? Last year I bought some tubes from Brendan at Tube World for my now sold Modwright preamp. That made a huge improvement on the sound. I will give both Tube World and Tube Depot an email and see what they have to say.

Hey Guys, Now that I have had a month or so to listen to the Mid Monos driving my Cornwalls I am wondering what might be the next step... maybe upgrading the OEM tubes? The Mids came with: 1- 6922: Sovtek 1 - 12AX7: no name, Made in China 2 - EL34: Tesla One of the EL34s was a little wonky, it snapped and crackled during start up so I picked up a quad of Winged "C" SED from The Tube Store for $90 to get me by. Is NOS tubes the way to go? From what I have seen some of those can get pretty pricey, I may have to go 3 steps at a time... 6922s, then 12AX7s, and then EL34s? My musical tastes are fairly wide, rock, country, folk, starting to get into jazz, no classical. Here is a handful of cds that are currently sitting out: White Strips, Richard Thompson, Van Morrison, Mary Gauthier, Allison Kraus, Dave Alvin, Keb Mo, Holly Cole, John Prine, Lucinda Williams, Springsteen, AC/DC, Stones, Blue Rodeo, Roy Hargrove... no particular order. I would rather spend my time listening than rolling, so I would like rely on your opinions as too what you guys think might be best suited for me and my amps. Ultimately, I would like to bring out the best these amps have to offer. Thanks

This probably should have gone in the "right this minute" thread as I am half way through the first listen to the new S. E. disc. I have always been a huge Steve Earle fan, his live shows have always ROCKED but his song writing is what makes him truely great. I am really liking this recording, it is ... awsome! Then again, the circles that Steve ran in (Townes, Guy, Rodney) he pretty much had to know how to lay a song down. And to top it off, it sounds pretty fine on the Cornwalls.

Hey nu2toobs, That is a very kind offer but It was my fault for not jumping on them right away. I delayed a bit because I was trying to decide if my Cornwalls would be better of with the 25 watts of the Horns or the 50 watts of the Mids. The Horns probably would have been good with the Corns, but now with the Mids I am sure I will not have any concerns with power. The Mids may not be as quite as the Horns but hopefully that will not be an issue. The Horns should be even better suited to your La Scalas, let us know how the combo works out. Congrads on the new amps, when do you expect them to arrive? Tom

Well, It looks like I will be answering my own question about this time next week. I called up Mike at QS on Tuesday to say yes I will take the returned pair of Horn Monos that we had talked about the day before but much to my dismay he said they just got sold. Ah $#!T, now what to do as I had convinced myself that the Horns would be just the ticket for the Cornwalls. Mike says, I still have the returned pair of Mid Monos here and I can look after the shipping for you. I said OK, it is still a little more than I was budgeting for, lets do it. So by next Tues. or Wed. I should have pair of Mid Monos with chrome chassis hooked up the the Klipsch. This is exciting stuff... it will be hard to wait. []

Hi Jack, I have looked at the Fat-Man version before and have been thinking that would be a great unit for my daughter. The kids are all about the Ipod and I thought something like what you just got would be a great intro into a higher fidelity set -up. Ya, I understand the relationship between doubling the power to get 3db more output from a speaker but I am still having trouble convincing myself that 25 watts will be enough. I spoke to Mike at QS today and he actually has a couple of sets of used amps at he factory, a set of Horn Monos and a set of Mid Monos. Both are basically brand new models that have been returned for very slight cosmetic flaws, hence Mike is offering them to me at reasonably attractive pricing. Mike thinks the Horns will most likely do the trick for the Cornwalls but I am still wondering if I should pay the extra for the 50 watts in the Mid Monos. I will sleep on it tonight and give Mike a call tomorrow morning to put my order in... which ones to get?

Thanks Tarheel, I think that might be my plan, if I can be patient. The old Yamaha receiver that I am using right now (just to make something come out of the Cornwalls) sucks. If you or anybody sees a pair before I do, give me a nudge and let me know. Thanks

Hey Guys, Thanks for all the feedback so far. I sent off an email to Quicksilver asking what they thought about the Mid Monos matching up with my new Cornwalls. Mike actually got back to me very quickly and he said that the Mid's would work fine, but in his opinion, he thought that the Horn Mono Amplifier 25 watts, $1695/pair would be the best match. He also thought that 25 watts should enough to drive the Corns. After reading the discription on the Horn Mono I see where Mike is coming from in regards to that amp and hi efficient loudspeakers. At $1695, they are a little out of my budget for brand new ones, so it is either take a chance on those Mini Monos or wait for a pair of Horns to come up on Agon. I wonder how often the Horn Monos might surface in the used market?

For now, I have the Cornwalls in my living room on the short wall about 3.5 feet out from the deepest part of the bay window that is the end wall. As the room is only 12' wide and about 18' deep the speakers are about 6-7 feet apart and only 10" from the side walls. The listening position would be about 8 feet from the speakers. Our house is an open concept split level so this living room is pretty much open to the rest of the lower level... dining room, kitchen, and then down about 5 steps to the family room. I listen at medium levels usually (the wife may have a different opinion) and once in a blue mood at live venue levels. Mostly rock, folk, blues, country, a little jazz, no classical or pop/top 40. Just coming from my 87db PMC's with a 500 watt Bryston, I am still trying to get my head around the idea of just a handful of watts. []

Hey Dean, I will be using my Musical Fidelity, CD-Pre24... it is a preamp/dac/cd player, all in one box. See link for example : http://www.musicalfidelity.com/products/archived/cdpre24.html

Cornwall II Specs Frequency response-------38Hz-20kHz±3dB Power Handling-----------100 watts maximum continuous (1000 watts peak) Sensitivity--------------101dB @ 1 watt/1 meter Nominal Impedance--------8 ohms Tweeter------------------K-79-K 1" (2.54cm) Polymer diaphragm compression driver High Frequency Horn------90°x40° Exponential Horn Midrange-----------------K-57-K 1.5" (3.81cm) Phenolic diaphragm compression driver Mid Frequency Horn-------90°x40° Exponential Horn Woofer-------------------K-34-E 15" (38.1cm) Fiber-composite cone Enclosure Material-------Medium density fiberboard (MDF) Enclosure Type-----------Bass reflex via front-mounted port Dimensions---------------35.75" (90.8cm) x 25.25" (64.1cm) x 15.5" (39.4cm) Weight-------------------90 lbs (40.9kg) I think these specs are accurate... 101dB @ 1 watt/1 meter. Without the chance to try either amp, I would be more comfortable going with the 50-60 watts in the Mid Mono. I sent the seller an email asking him to contact me in the event that his sale pending falls through. I will for sure check out the QS link and reviews. Thanks

Unfortunately, no. That must relatively a new "sale pending", it wasn't there when I frst saw the ad. Mike, do you think the Mid Monos would be a good option for me and my new Cornwalls?

Thanks Tarheel, If you look at my 1st post on my other thread " New, almost Cornwall owner? " you will see the system that I just came from and I am very new to the "hi efficiency world", so I am a little out of it as far as knowing what is required for my new Cornwalls. Link to Agon Mid Monos: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstube&1192741408 Would you think that is a good price for a pair of Mid Monos?

Yes, you guys speak the truth. [8-|] I got a young guy who noticed from a softball prize shirt that I was wearing that I played so we talk ball for about 5 minutes then he ask if I was bring anything back, I said just an old pair of speakers that a buddy of mine (Doug) just gave me for a few bucks. He asked are the y used, I said yes and then he said thats fine, have a good day... BONUS. Ya, Doug's Marantz stuff looked better that brand new and sounded great on the Corns... I already forgot what model number his receivers are. Refer to my initial post on this thread as to my last system and my plan for this one (strictly 2 channel)... I was hoping to budget around $1000. I also just started a thread, asking about Quicksilver amps...? It seems a lot of Klipsch guys are also vintage guys as evident by Doug's cool collection, I would probably lean more to a relatively current amp... I think. Thanks, let me hear what you guys think.

Well, I now am a Cornwall owner. [] I went down and saw Doug yesterday and pulled the trigger on Doug's very nice Corns. Thanks very much to all of you who recommended tuned4life, you were all right on, Doug is a super guy and all his gear is top shelf. Now I need to decide on an amplifier... all suggestions are welcome. Thanks again Doug I will be in touch after I have a chance to play a little bit with these great speakers.

Hey guys, Well I went a head and bought tuned4life's Cornwalls... Thanks very much Doug, I am sure I will really enjoy these. Now I need a new amplifier. How do the Quicksilver amps work with Klipsch, in particular, the Mid Monos? Will the 50-60 watts do the Corns justice? I see a pair on Agon for $1175...? I think I would like to try I would like to try tubes 1st but am open to all and any suggestions. Thanks

Thanks Mark, I don't know if you had a chance to look at the Montreal ones but they do look pretty minty and I was told that they are definitely all original. It is always good to get a referral from a satisfied customer. I actually sent Doug (tuned4life) a PM, so hopefully he gets back to me so we can have talk. Cheers

Hey tuned4life, Are you trying to peek my interest? [^o)] Do you have any pics that I could have a look at? How would you compare yours to how the ones look at my Montreal pair link?... http://132.205.220.170/audio/Cornwall/ The guy in Montreal will let his go for $1100... plus a 10-12 hour round trip for me. I have tentative plan to go down to Montreal on Friday. You are probably only a 2 hour drive from my work in Mississauga. Tom

Hey Tom, Thanks for jogging my memory, I think you are right in that the F_ amps are best suited for single driver/no cross-over designs like the Cain's for example. I have actually owned 2 of the Pass designs that you just mentioned. I first had a Threshold Stasis 3 and later had an Adcom 555 mkII, I then moved on to the Bryston 14B that I just sold. I am not familiar with Monarchy but I will give it a google. Thanks

Hey Tom, Unfortunately, the Cornwalls seem to be few and far between in the Toronto area. If I decide to go for the ones I mentioned in Montreal I would be driving down on Friday so I have a couple of days make up my mind. At least if I go look at them in person I have the choice to pass on them if they are not as advertised, loosing only my time and a bit of gas. Fortunately, my Musical Fidelity cd/preamp is a very quite piece and I am thinking should work well as the front end for the Klipsch. For solid state, how might one of the First Watt amps work with the likes of the Cornwall, has anybody tried any of these Nelson Pass designs?

Hey jtnfoley, In the past I have often purchased stuff in the States and just drove back across the border without declaring anything, usually smaller items, but it might be a little obvious with 2 big 100lb things in the car. [:S] As rjrbass said, the legit costs would be 15% taxes at the border plus the money exchange... aprox. a total of 25% on top of what you paid for the speakers. If I was to find a pair just as minty as these ones appear to be in the $600usd range and in driving distance... 600 x 1.25 = $750ish. Sometimes it is very hard to be patient. [8-)]

Thanks for the feedback so far, keep it coming, especially amp suggestions. I have not been watching prices for all that long but I have noticed the ebay prices around 500-600... plus what ever shipping costs that would apply. I am in the Toronto area and rjrbass is correct about the Heritage models being a little harder to find up here. The ones that I am mentioning are located just this side of Montreal, probably a 5 hour drive for me. The only other pair that I have seen locally (Ajax, ON) and they are version 1's from the 60's that are in very rough condition... he will take $750cnd. see link: http://www.royann.ca/sva/Klipsch%20cornwalls.htm When I compare these two, I would gladly pay the extra $350 to have the very near mint condition ones? Thanks, Tom

Hi Guys, Brand new to the forum, so here is goes my 1st... long winded post. I am very close to pulling the trigger on a pair of Cornwalls and am wondering what you guys thinks about this particular pair. The serial numbers are: 8410623/4, so I am guessing these are 1984 models? They are all original, very clean looking from the pics, 2 owner (I would be #3), oiled walnut, and sort of local (5 hour drive). The seller is asking $1150 cnd (aprox. $1050usd) Here is a link for a bunch of pics: http://132.205.220.170/audio/Cornwall/ Assuming these are original and unmodified, should I expect to have to do much to bring them back to peak performance? This will be a huge change for me as I just sold off my entire system a week or so ago, which was comprised of: Musical Fidelity CD-Pre 24... cd player. Modwright SWL 9.0 (with tube rectified PS)... preamp Bryston 14B... amp PMC OB1... speakers The only thing I didn't sell was the CD-Pre24 so I will be using it for both cd playback as well as preamp, to hopefully go with the "new to me" Cornwalls. Still not sure what I will be getting for an amplifier, perhaps a tubed unit. The main reason for the selling of my old rig was to downsize the amount of money that I had tied up in the system. Hence for a new amp, I would like to keep my budget in the $1000 range, probable 2nd hand. A couple of thoughts I had: Cary Rocket 88 VTL ST-85 Sonic Frontier Power 1 Any and all suggestions would be welcome, tube or solid state. Thanks