hamonrye

One of the things I was told many years ago and finally learned the hard way is that capacitors can be one of the weak links in any electronic component. I just can not understand getting excited about buying "vintage" capacitors. I rarely keep original caps in any vintage piece of equipment, let alone go out of my way to purchase someone else's old stock, new or used. I guess I just prefer experience over hype. And I don't own an internet auction site that needs to be fed with the above mentioned items. I have built a number of amps,... and recall spending many hours, weeks, and in some cases months listening for differences in circuit components. There are real differences from type to type of caps, resistors, iron, cables..., IMHO.I prefer the simplest circuits I can get away with in each component. Of course, if I used a complex preamp/amp package that had tone controls, multiple selector switches, told the time in London and Tokyo, and made toast, hell I'd as soon throw a pair of wool blankets over my speakers and call it good. Once you get a significant collection of audio related technical publications/ schematics, and building/listening experience, it will become obvious that iron was slowly supplanted by capacitors as technology improved. Caps are very hard to get right at anything like reasonable prices that would be attractive to manufacturers. Now iron is more expensive, but improved, and many hobbyists are trying to eliminate caps because of the newer iron designs. We keep going in circles, chasing that holy grail of sonic purity. Although I prefer Hovland or copper foil-in-oil Jensen/Audio Notes, that's just me and my system. Excuse me; I use the above only if I absolutely have to use a capacitor. Avoid them if at all possible. Hammy

Thanks for the encouragement, folks. I am selling because my listening room width allows me to only place them 2 feet apart, edge to edge. I have just always wanted to try these models out. I have had a very old pair of Heresy's for some time. Those became my wife's speakers for our upstairs. Of course, I am properly relegated to the basement family room for my "he man" stereo rig :-) The Cornwalls are not going to work in my listening space, alas. I am back to using my skinny "audiphile approved" speakers. Not as much fun, though. Well, I may just post these on Ebay if my recent inquiries don't pan out.Thanks for the help. Kevin

I am fishing for ideas about the best place to sell my Cornwalls. I don't like the idea of the whole ebay hassle only to have to post that I refuse to ship them. I simply refuse to ship these speakers, they are so big. Is there a web site that one can post speaker ads that actually get looked over? Of course,I realize everyone at this site already owns Klipsch gear, but I am hoping you have diverse purchasing experiences. These are 1970 era, ser#13R166 and 13R167, oiled walnut. I want $650.00. Any ideas are very much appreciated. Although I seem to find any number of audio equipment sales sites, I can't seem to find a single speaker specific sales site. Horn specific is even better. Help, Kevin Portland, Oregon

You have reinforced my preference for this site. I appreciate all the info. I will fill in the blanks as requested. BTW, I do not for a minute doubt the high quality and design integrity of the ALK xovers, I am merely fishing for other ideas. Gear: VPI MarkIII table, audioquest arm, Grado Sonata cart Modded Adcom GDA600 dac Wadia WT3200 CD transport Sansui TU9900 tuner Heavily modded Quicksilver Audio preamp Homebrewed 300B amps- triode connected,choke loaded,battery biased WE436a into (RC) 300B, to Audio Note outputs (for you tube rolling nuts like me) Cables-mix of Cardas, Wireworld, and homebrewed digital Alternate gear: B&W P-6 speakers, old Revox SS recording amp used as a headphone amp and backup test amp because of highish power, push-pull design. I am using the Cornwalls in a somewhat restricted space, about the size of an average dining room. I have always been suspicious of bass problems with these room dimensions, considering the long wavelengths associated with frequencies much below 60 cycles.In fact, the most likely reason I may consider selling them. I can't change the room's dimensions. Let us forget my bass issues for now. I still wonder if I should be exploring such simple experiments such as L-pads, autotransformer tap dancing, or making my own autoxformers. I understand that the secondaries of output transformers can be used for just such experiments. Anyway, you all have provided me with some ideas I will follow up on. Hell I may even get out the saw and put in the tractrix horn, and relocate the tweeters; vertical of course. I really like the dynamics and effortless presentation of these horns. After looking over prices of old Altec,JBL, and TAD gear, this is as much horn as I am willing to pay for. Thanks, Hamonrye

I have been lurking for some time, hoping to find some information about upgrading my Cornwalls. Not much new has shown up. I love the midbass to midrange dynamics they provide, but simply find that they need to have the midrange better integrated (padded down) to the tweeter, never mind the severe roll-off below 63hz ( I thought they were supposed to be rated to 1db- at 38hz ?) My problem is that it appears that the only mods metioned here are the ALK crossover, and the Pro sound mid horn. I am sure that the ALK Xover is well designed, but it turns the Cornwall into a 4 ohm speaker, and I am a devout SET user. SET's do not want to see such a dificult load (imp). Sounds like PP, SS territory. In fact I noticed most posters use Japanese SS receivers. I have been told: 1) There are no better tweeter drivers available to increase high end frequency response? 2) That using an L-pad is the best way to integrate the midrange driver to the rest of the system 3) The tractrix horn has no bearing upon the poorly integrated mid-to-high region 4) To ignore the bass limitations. Any comments on the above issues? Feel free to send any info you have to my address. Although I am about to sell them, I could still be nudged back into the fold. kt66@teleport.com Kevin

I have a pair of Cornwalls I am considering modding permanently with the tractrix horn from Klipsch. I enjoyed the most recent post on this topic but it was from someone who does not particularly care for Klipsch speakers. I wonder: -have any others done this and what are your subjective opinions regarding the mod? -did you experiment with any other brands of mid drivers /horns? -Did you keep the K77 tweeter horns or also change them, and to what? -Did you also do any crossover work to deal with the midhorn's level, or was it not so necessary after the mod? -Did you regret such a drastic alteration, i.e. was it not enough of an improvement considering the mutilation required? Thanks in advance folks, Kevin