Klipschguy

A couple more thoughts…. Klipschorns and your Yamaha speakers are much different speakers serving different applications. If setup properly, the Klipschorn will approximate live music at low to high levels with dynamic realism and very low distortion. They are accurate and well balanced, but are certainly not near-field “ruler flat” monitors one might use for mixing a recording. Klipschorns are quite room dependent because the room itself actually becomes part of the speaker; the corner of the room becomes the mouth of the bass horn. The deepest frequencies need some room before the best (and deepest) sound is realized. As a musician and long time audio enthusiast: Many speakers offer a quality listening experience, but typically “Speakers sound like speakers, but Klipsch sounds like music, especially the Klipschorn.” I think it is important to understand exactly what type of listening experience you are after. Warm regards, Andy

Nominal impedance: The woofer is 4 ohms, the mid is 16 ohms, the tweeter is 8 ohms. The DC resistance will measure lower: 3.2 ohms, 10.6 ohms, 6.2 ohms respectively, would be fairly typical. A well designed folded bass horn is beautifully accurate. The bass also has a coupling effect in the room giving it a clean, tactile feel; in a sense you are standing in the mouth of the bass horn. One of my favorite things about Khorns is the way the sound carries out into the room without “dying out”; the sound will even follow you into another room - it must be some kind of acoustic coupling phenomenon (I hear it, but I never seen anything written about it). In my opinion, a Klipschorn which is not properly setup in corner (not perfect, but reasonably well) will not sound very good. A big rectangular room with the Khorns on the long wall is ideal. Placing on the short wall will dramatically reduce the performance, but may be acceptable for some. I personally think the worst setup for Khorns is a room that is too small (say 10’ x 12’). Khorns need some room to breathe. Others may disagree, but these are my personal findings. Big room, corners, long wall = audio bliss. Compromises begin as each parameter is violated.

As of 2/15/2023, $62,600 of the $83,000 goal has been met: 2 weeks left.

The only time I hear screaming from Heritage speakers is in a room that is too small (wonderful in a large room, screaming in a small room). If the demo room was small, considering taking its size into account.

Good to hear from you, Amy. Your gentle manner of keeping us in line is missed. Andy

The drivers and crossovers are great in those ‘82 Cornwalls. The K51 basically has the same frequency response as the coveted K55V dual phase plug drivers (there are some response curves somewhere on this forum). The K77M will take more power than the alnico K77, has more extended response, and was considered an upgrade by Klipsch (although the sonic differences are really not all that much - at least to my ear). The woofers are the same eminence drivers in use by Klipsch for years and are good. The B2 crossovers are considered an upgrade of the B network they replaced; they were designed to address some frequency response issues and better protect the tweeter. I personally like the B network better, but I am in the minority here. The cabinets are high quality, void-free plywood representing great quality, but have a thin layer of birch veneer that more or may not suit your esthetic needs. The Cornwall IIIs are MDF, but probably have pretty veneer. Which one to choose, well it depends on what you are looking for. My point is, if you want a Cornwall I, don’t let the 1982 designation deter you; it was a good year. The Cornwall III has some benefits of modern technology, but which one you will prefer will just come down to preferences. BTW, welcome to the forum! Respectfully, Andy Edit: I see 001 covered much of what I said while I was still typing. Thank you, 001!

Very nice looking pair of speakers! With loudspeaker design, one can choose only 2 of the 3: Efficiency, Bass Extension, and Cabinet Size. The Heresy has efficiency and a compact cabinet but at the expense of bass extension. The Cornwall has efficiency and bass extension but at the expense of a large cabinet. Physics. Loudspeakers are about moving air; the Cornwall will move a lot more air vs the Heresy. Distortion is inversely proportional to efficiency; the Cornwall is more efficient than the Heresy, therefore distortion will be lower, dynamics higher. If your Heresy speakers are sitting on the floor, the increased height of the Cornwall mids and tweeters will be more pleasing at ear level (when seated, of course…well, unless you are not very tall). Tonally, the Cornwall is a better balanced speaker to my ear (not going to say too much here). If you can ideally place the Cornwalls into the corners of the long wall in your room (angled in), the listening experience should be be stellar at low to high volumes. The Cornwall is one of the best low-volume-speakers I have heard, but when asked it will also approximate a live performance very well. I have a pair of Heresy speakers; they provide a quality listening experience but the Cornwalls are a better speaker, no question. The exception: if the room is way too small for the Cornwalls, then room size deficiencies may be better served with a smaller speaker. As a practical aside: A lamp sits better on top of a Cornwall vs a Heresy. One last thing: My preference is for the plywood and veneered lumber core cabinet construction of the Cornwall I vs the MDF construction of the Heresy III. Personally, I would jump on it, but it is your decision. Hopefully some of this information is helpful. Andy

In your own listening room if possible.

By the way, welcome to the forum; we are glad to have you here!

You are welcome. Get the Cornwalls; you will not be sorry. To me (and I own all 3): Klipschorns>Cornwalls>>>Heresys

I have both. The Cornwalls will sound bigger, more powerful, and more live even at lower volumes. As much as I like my Herseys, there is really no comparison, especially in a big room.

Greetings, If you have not already, please take a moment to show support and reserve/buy your copy of the book: Dope From Hope. There is only about a 30 day window to make this project happen. The gray hardcover is quite handsome. Kind regards, Andy https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/213287-dope-from-hope-book-has-launched-12312023/

Keep us posted. I am always interested to hear the results of these quests.

1981 Klipschorns came bone stock with the K33E, K55V (dual phase plug), K77M, and AA crossovers. Mine sound very smooth and well balanced without even a scintilla of sibilance. In fact, if anything the tweeter sounds very slightly recessed in the mix (big room, hardwood floors, high ceilings). My Cornwalls (in a different room) sound a tad brighter yet they have the K77 alnico tweeters with the B network. As you know, room differences can make a big difference in frequency response. I have a grand piano in a smaller room that did not sound its best, so I used a number of room treatments including drapes, an acoustic panel, and a rug; it took a little experimenting but the room went from pretty bad to great. My piano tech liked the results very much and commented “it is better to treat the room rather than the piano.” Respectfully, Andy

Can anyone give more information on these Klipschorns with the rotating “tremolo unit” mounted inside the K5J? In some ways it reminds me of a Leslie speaker.

Fantastic reply, Mustang! Thank you. I will check it out.

…rabbit trail dodger did indeed claim it, but Bob also stated dodger “faxed him an Altlas spec sheet” which BEC states “does in fact specify” a low frequency extension to 75Hz. Whether or not he believes the spec sheet from Atlas… Anyway, any more thoughts on my driver are appreciated.

Altas PD-5VH vs K55 Well, I guess I heard it here from our friend, Bob Crites aka BEC (rest in peace, you are missed my friend). Click on the link and scroll down to post #11.

Please know. I am not cranking up the volume at all. The K55 is specified to have frequency response to 75Hz. (I would not do the same with one of my Altec drivers.) A low level, full range signal helps me identify issues with drivers that may be difficult to detect. The volume is low enough to put the driver throat directly to my ear like a headphone. There is an issue, I am just trying to figure out if it is a problem. The driver is a K55V dual phase plug. Thank you for your replies. Should I disassemble the driver??? (I have replaced a number of diaphragms in the past without issues). I am a bit concerned about decreasing the alnico magnetic charge by separating the plates. The drivers have never been opened. One driver passes the full range, low-level-to-the-ear-test: the other does not.

I have a pair of K55 drivers. One driver sounds distorted (garbled would be a reasonable description) during some passages when played full range with no horn. The volume is not very loud for the test, but there is bass in the signal. With a capacitor and a horn lens it sounds fine (uncertain about at very high levels though). Thoughts? Maybe the diaphragm tends to bottom due very close tolerances - even at low levels?

It is the Phillips head screw passing through and securing the round inductor (coil) in the top right corner of the photo (AA Khorn network). The assembly screws outside the center of the inductor should be of little to no consequence.

Well, that’s that. In other news….🙂 BTW: Great discussion. Thank you all for your contributions!

Thank you, mboxler for the graph.

From our esteemed and missed BEC

My inductance meter reads .34mH with ferrous screw. BEC (may he rest in peace) measured .35mH. A 40% increase in the inductance (.245mH to .34mH) which in turn models a response curve that gives a drop in the K77 crossover point from about 5800Hz to roughly 4800Hz. Just looking at the numbers, it would be quite reasonable to assume one could hear a difference, even if it is being caused by an unorthodox ferrous core. Anyway, to each his own. I truly was just trying to help out. P.S. I read the linked thread above. BEC ran some curves and found the ferrous screw flattened the response by cutting the lower end of the response by 4dB (there was a mild peak there). I would like to see the anechoic curves.