StevenM

I posted a question as to the best mating amplifier for Cornwall's, I was really asking the wrong question, it is the setup as a whole that determines the sound we hear. The curse of these speaker is they reveal everything, both the good and the bad. My amplifier (Luxman MB3045) was a fine amp indeed, it just needed new decoupling capacitors. A new set of caps from Audience was nothing less than transformative. Highly recommended. Along these same lines, I looked at my interconnects, they were late 1970's Monster Cables, while I'm sure I spent too much money, I realized improvement here as well, although not nearly to the extent recapping did. Lessons learned: Small changes can reap large rewards. Tube amps rule horn-loaded speakers.

Lucky, I Should have updated this post, but here's what's been happening: I upgraded the Luxman MB3045 signal path capacitors with AuriCaps, (http://www.audience-av.com/capacitors/a_description.php) a fantastic improvement, highly recommended. Then I bought better interconnect cables (Accusound) (http://www.accusoundcablecompany.com/) Another huge improvement in fidelity, Finally I upgraded my speaker cables, but I ran low on money at this point, and couldn't afford the cables I wanted, Analysis Plus, (http://www.analysis-plus.com/) so I know there is room for improvement there as well. Best Regards, Steven

I haven't seen that brand here in The States. At 100w/ch it's a good match, if it has a "soft-clipping" feature, all the better.

All Golden oldies. At one point, I've owned every manufacture you've mentioned, but I didn't own the CW3's at the time. My research (in this forum) has so far came down to a pair of McIntosh MA-75's or MA-275 as the ultimate mach-up.

Thank you for the technical background. I have been searching the historical forum, and have gained tremendous insight into the evolution and design philosophy behind the CW's I, II & III, where they fit into the PWK product line, their intended use & placement. Also what people are listening to as well as what most people consider a good matching amplifier. I believe I have the right amplifier, a modern-designed, 50 watt tube amp, driven by a McIntosh MA6600 (pre-amp section), & the right sources: Rotel CD & VPI Scout 'table. What I believe is working against me is an overly bright room, (11W X 22L X 7H) and the desire to use the CW3 as a rock speaker, which (by forum community consensus) seems to lean more towards jazz speaker. In other words I'm driving it too hard & expecting earth-shaking bass down to 32 hz, I made the classic mistake of equating large size with low frequency extension when choosing the CW3. The good news I've found is, there seem to be some room for improvement in the mid-range horn (not the driver, but the horn itself), one CW2 owner suggested: 1) Padding the outside of the horn (to attenuate the ringing of the plastic horn) with the same stick-on sound dampening material used on the inside of automobile doors. 2) A steeper crossover with higher quality capacitors. I'll make that call when I see what caps the factory used. I'm at loath to mess with anything until the warranty expires. Finally, thanks for pointing me towards another CW3 owner. Unlike any other component, speakers are most notoriously fickle about their environment. I'm sure his insight will add to my audio enjoyment.

What (model) mid-driver is used on the K-horns? Is that format too large? You know, with a better mid-horn, my break-up issue powering with the MA6600 have a good chance of going away... I never determined which driver was the offending squawker, I'll now bet good money on the mid-driver. I'll going to re-tube the Luxman either way, only because I know how good this unit is capable of sounding when everything is up to snuff. I never tried conner placement only because in each conner at my disposal, there is a door: one is a seldom used outside door, the other one accesses an often used computer/media room. But you are quite correct about conner placement. 100+-year-old houses are such a pain when it comes to modern living.

Good insight. I have in-fact, performed this exercise with this and other speakers. In infinite space (outdoors) the MAC (MA6600) is indeed a good match, the tube-type Luxman, better still. As we discuss this, it is becoming increasingly apparent to me, I am dealing with, primarily, room acoustics issues, specifically: reflections. The wife did, at one point, offer to mount a tapestry or quilt on the wall opposite the speakers, this may be the key to peaceful cohabitation between artist and audiophile. Thanks for the banter Mark; it's always instructional to toss about broad concepts when dealing with nebulous problems.

Very good analysis. I provided a much long-winded answer, I like yours better.

My feeling about tone controls: If you have to adjust bass or treble, something more fundamental is not right with the system, either room acoustics, or mis-matched components... I've never had a situation where I was able to be satiated with manipulating tone controls, other than to identify what needed to be corrected. My Audio Research SP-5 pre-amp (used in trade for the MAC) didn't even have tone controls. This is why most high-end pre-amps have an EQ by-pass setting, many people playing in this end of the game, don't even want the signal to pass through all those caps and switches, even set on a "flat" EQ setting. I count myself in this camp. Room acoustics: I'm married to a (fine arts) painter. Translation: She is very opinionated about how the "look and feel" of her "space" .... Walls are viewed as another canvas in which to hang work (that, changing almost weekly). The suggestion I slap up some acoustic tiles makes her grimace. The Cornwalls actually caused quite a rift when they arrived, I'm pretty sure she cried when she realized how big they really where... The dealer I bought them from delivered them: We were un-creating the first one, and she cries "that create better hold both of them!" nay poor child, only one. Tears & explicatives follow... She remains an unhappy camper, viewing the Cornwalls as one would an unwelcome, over-stayed in-law or a visit from the tax-man. As much as I would love to acoustically taylor the room, I know when to stop pushing my luck. So when I say "I'm not there yet" what I mean to say is: A) I don't have the components closely matched to the point (where EQ is moot) or I don't have the room acoustics close enough to neutral.

Heh!

No. I by-pass all EQ. If I can't get it right with a flat EQ. I'm not there yet. Thanks for your input.

Yes, most people don't even like being in the same house as me when I'm rocking out. That and hundred of concerts goes a long way in explaining my tinnitus. The room is very bright, bordering on extremely bright: hardwood floors, wire-lath plaster walls, leather furniture, minimal window dressing, one small scatter rug under the coffee table, no wall hangings, four 5' X 3' book cases. I guess what I'm looking for is better bass extension, without over-driving the horns. Mid-range and up seems fine driven by the tube amp. For a while I bi-amp the system, using a McIntosh MA6600 to drive the woofer, and the Luxman to drive the horns, but the synergy isn't quite right, I have to attenuate the Luxman's quite a bit, for lower volume levels, than as the sound level goes up, I have to re calibrate (turn up) the mid-high range levels. It could be time to re-tube the Luxman's, it's been almost five years.

I haven't heard my dealer's home system, I'm assuming he had motive and opportunity to modify his Cornwall I's (he gets a lot of equipment in trade), and he has not heard the newest iteration of the Cornwalls, (I didn't buy them from him) so he doesn't know how good mine sound. So it's tough to make that comparison. If I have any disappointments with the new Cornwall III's I would have to say I expected more bass extension (lower frequency, and a little more punch). For the moment, I going to place the fault with my 30-year-old tube amps (Luxman MB3045's) they were only 50 watts/ channel, when new, it's been almost five years since the last re-tube (although I do the bias/balance adjustment yearly). My new McIntosh MA6600 (200 watts / channel, solid state integrated amplifier) drives the bass like I want, but it seems to push (over-drive) the horns into distortion. So I can't utilized my (expensive) new Integrated Amplifier like I want, I'm using it only as a pre-amp to the Luxman's, and the Luxman's are under-powered for how I like to listen to my music. The McIntosh forum suggests B & W 803's (and others) are better matched to the MAC MA6600 and MAC's tube offerings are better suited to the Klipsch Heritage series. Since I can't afford the MAC tube products, I'm kind of stuck. So I guess it boils down to finding a high-quality, tube amplifier in the 100-200 watt range, either that, or trade the Luxman's & Cornwall's for a speaker better paired to the MA6600. Both alternatives sound like more $ than I'm prepared for, at this time. I suppose I should re-tube the old Luxman before I do anything drastic. Got a good line on KT-88's? Any suggestions?

After purchasing a pair of Cornwall III's, I decided to upgrade my amplifier. I have always wanted a McIntosh and though this would be a great pairing. I bought the MA6600 with the HD FM radio option (first "receiver" MAC has produced in twenty years) Rated at 200 watts into 8 ohms, transformer-coupled, I thought this would be the last amplifier I'll ever buy. Well... It sounds great at low volumes, as soon I crank up the volume, it starts getting "dirty". Using the MAC just as the pre-amp, I swapped the output to my old Luxman MB3045 monoblock tube amp (@50 watts/chan.); sounds great with the exception it's a little under-powered. Back to the MAC, I swapped speakers to my old Infinity RS6; sounds fine up loud. I'm thinking the MAC is overdriving the Cornwall horns to the point that the diaphragms are slapping against their physical stops. Hindsight tells me I should have sprung for the tube-type MAC, but that price is a bridge too far, and I'd lose my shirt selling this one at less than a year-old. What I ended up doing is keeping the MA6600 as the pre-amp to drive the Luxman MB3045 monblocks. I'm wondering what tube amps people like paired up with Cornwall's, La Scala's, La Belles & K-Horns? Any thoughts?

Having own these for a couple of years now, whenever I tell someone what speakers I use, invariably the discussion turns to modifications and up-grades people have done to their Type I & II's. My question is: does this latest iteration of these classics have all the latest and greatest modifications? or are there better crossovers and specifically mid-range horn improvements available? One particularly knowable audio dealer I work with has modified his type I's with wooden horns and up-graded crossovers.