Coloradohiker

I really don't want to take on stripping, sanding, and refinishing them at this time. They are usable in the condition they are now, I was just hoping to find a way to minimize the imperfections! After a little more research, it looks like I might be leaning toward "reamalgamation" of the current finish. I just need to find out what type of lacquer Klipsch used to know if that would work. I have always love the look of rosewood Klipsch and I feel very fortunate to found a pair of rosewood Cornwall's I could afford (locally no less!). Someday, I may have the time to stripe them down and refinish them right, but for now, I just want to freshen them up a little!

Ok, I guess I'm a budding Klipschoholic (or Cornwall-holic). I recently bought another pair of Cornwall's (1983 vintage w/ B-2 crossovers & K-51-V mids). They where part of a stereo system I bought from the original owner that included "Cornwalls with custom Cherry cabinets". After getting them home to better light, I realized that they where not cherry and check the tag to find they are actually lacquered Rosewood. The cabinets are in good shape with a few minor scratches and a couple of places where the laquer is crazing. I don't want to sand them down and refinish them so I was wondering if anyone had a suggestion on how to recondition the current finish. The grills also need a little attention. First, the fabric is starting to lift on the back side of the grills. What type of glue would you recommend to hold it back down. Second, just about every velco tab has detached itself from the grill. What would you suggest to reattach them (or should I just get new ones!). I did see some "Velco" glue at ACE hardware tonight and I wondered if anyone had tried it. Thanks, Alan BTW, they sound great! I realize my old abused Cornwall's may need a crossover rebuild after comparing the two.

I wondered if anyone had some thoughts on Voice of Music tube receivers. There is a Model 1467 available locally for $90 in working condition. About all I have been able to find out is that they where produced around 1963 and have 6BQ5 output tubes. I wondered if this would be a good receiver to drive my Cornwalls or would I be better of with a HK 430/730/930 receiver. Thanks, Alan

Update I was really disappointed with the sound of the Cornwalls but couldn't justify spending the money on new woofers considering the overall condition of the speakers. One night while surfing the internet, I realized that I would be staying within 20 miles of Orange County Speakers during a road trip with the foster kids to Southern Califonia (a 4 & 5 year old + 1100 miles = good times). I dropped the K-33-E's off on Monday and the good people at Orange County where able to recone them back to 4 ohms by Friday. I installed them tonight and all I can say is WOW! Not only are the missing bass notes back but the mid-range is much smoother. I don't know if there where other issues with the woofers besides the resistance (old 8.7 ohm vs new 3.9 ohm), but just having them reconed made a HUGH difference. I can now justify spending the time and effort to refinish them

A few of points: 1) It was not organ music I was missing (I don't own any), just simple bass guitar notes out of something like the Eagles-Out of Eden CD 2) I checked the phasing when I soldered the woofers. Simply switching from left to right channels would reveal if I had some type of phase issues. 3) To illustrate my lack of bass, while listening to my garage system today, I could hear notes that I'm missng from my Cornwalls. My garage system consist of a SanDisk MP3 player, an incredibly cheap Technics receiver (SA-913), and some beat up JBL 2600's So, in my book, the resistance issue is probably at least some, if not most, of the problem. After researching this forum on the cost of re-reconing my K-33's or getting new woofers to correct this problem, I'm in a quandary whether it is worth the investment ($200-300). I would love to get some of Bob's woofers but since the cabinets need to be reveneered and some new grill made (more $$$'s), it may make more sense just to wait and find a good deal on some Cornwalls in better shape. Guess I'll just have to sleep on it, maybe for several nights!

That would be years of filth and neglect layered over the black paint in the lower ports. There was also a fine collection of mouse droppings on the port shelf paper damping material. At times, I do question the sanity of trying to resurrect these speakers. On another note, besides the woofers, do the ohm readings look “average” for the other drivres or is the meter I used totally useless? Alan

I finally got some K-77's (sixties vintage) installed in my abused Cornwalls and set them up in their temporary home in the basement. I was a little shocked by the lack of bass they put out. I wasn't trying to listen to organ music, but they seem unable to reproduce some of the lower bass guitar notes. I hooked up a couple of different floor standing speakers (including a pair of Klipsch SF-1's) and they all do a much better job on the lower end. I'm not looking for chest pounding bass but I do what to hear the music in its' entirety. The components in my Cornwall's are K-77 tweeters, K-57-K mids (with the plastic horns), K-33-E Woofers and B-3 crossovers. I don't think that the woofers are original since they have round magnets instead of the square magnets I believe were being used in 1985. That, and the fact that the wires where just twisted on the woofer lugs and I imagine that Klipsch actually soldered them on (Yes, I corrected that!). I also loosened and re-tightened all the lugs on the crossovers & speaker terminals. I tested the resistance and came up the following readings though they might not be accurate since it is a very cheap digital multi-meter. Tweeters-7.1 ohms Mids-11.8 & 12.1 ohms Woofers-8.7 ohms So, could the lack of bass be caused by the woofers are not being the right vintage? Since the tweeters where blown at least twice and the woofers where probably blown once, could the crossovers be damaged? Or am I just expecting too much bass out of a 52-year-old design? I appreciate any thoughts you might have. Alan

Darn, I really need a new set of tables. Emailed but never received an answer before the ad was deleted. I'm guessing a pair of Chorus. Alan

WOW! Sounds like my Cornwalls are not the only thing that’s been abused here! Anyway, been trying to decide which route to go with my Cornwalls. Option 1 is to part out the mids and x-overs and use that money toward a pair of Cornwalls in better shape. Option 2, which I am leaning strongly toward, is to rehab these old beauties! . It’s a tough call because after a lot research, I figure that a low budget rehab will cost between $300-$400. Remember, I’m on a tight budget. Sonically, I’ve decided just to replace the tweeters, and if necessary, recap the x-overs. Unfortunately, the cosmetics issues are move severe. Between the beer bottle stains, cigarette burns, paint over spray, and extensive veneer damage, the only option is to “recover” the cabinets. (Due to the amount of damage, I’m thinking that these may have been used as band speakers). Painting them black is not an option because 1) these are going to end up in my living room and 2) by the time I got them into a paintable condition, I might as well re-veneer them! So, I would like people’s opinions a couple more questions. 1) One of the less expensive mods I have read about is bracing the cabinet. Since I will have to pull out all of the drivers during the repair of the exterior, it seems like a good time to add bracing. Is it worth the effort? What type of bracing would you suggest, wood or angle iron and what size. Would it be best to do the front, back, or both? How do you get around decreasing the interior volume too much? 2) What is peoples experience with veneers? What type of veneer and glue did you use? Sorry about the amount questions but I like to have a fairly clear understanding of what I am attempting before I start.. I have surfed this site for the last 5 days and have gotten a pretty good ideaof what I need to do but I like to ask the questions just in case I missed something. Your help is greatly appreciated Thanks, Alan

Thanks for the input. Didn't find anything on Ebay except the Crites. It would be best to get some K-77-M's for my application, correct? Tried the vacuum trick but my 6HP shop vac was unable to pop them back out. Oh well, won't be able to see them once I have some grills on. Thanks again, Alan

I have liked Klipsch speakers since I heard some LaScalla’s years ago, but could never afford a pair. I went to a garage sale this weekend and stumbled onto a vintage stereo system that included two Cornwalls. I was able to sell the non-working Sansui 9090db receiver for five dollars more than I paid for the entire set-up so basically, the Cornwalls where free! The Cornwalls are in pretty rough shape. No grills, no risers, the veneer is chipped and scratched, the tweeters don’t work and the centers of the woofers have been pushed in (seems cosmetic). It looks like they are from 1985 with B-3 crossover, K33-E woofers, K57-K midranges, and some MG Electronics HT500 tweeters. Besides the tweeters, everything else seems to work and they are structurally sound. The upside to their rough condition is that I have an open slate to what I do with them. My budget is the big issue. I don’t make a lot of money and I just became a foster parent to my girlfriend’s two grandchildren, ages 4 &5. To keep cost down, I will probably put on new veneer and build some grills myself. A friend even suggested that with kids running around my house, I should just use some wood grain laminate instead of veneer. Cosmetics aside, obviously the first concern is the tweeters. I doubt that the replaced tweeters are rebuildable, so it looks like my best (and only) option is a pair of Crites CT-125’s. Next, would be a Crites crossover rebuild. If possible, the next big jump would be converting them to a pair of Cornscala’s, but that maybe beyond my means right now. So, keeping my budget in mind, my questions are: 1) Are there any other options for tweeters? 2) Would my B-3 crossovers work in a pair of Cornscala’s? 3) While the M2380 horns for the Cornscala’s look affordable, the Selenium D405 2 drivers are seem fairly expensive. Any other options? Right now, it looks like the best bang for my buck would be just to install the CT-125’s and rebuild the crossovers. I would appreciate any ideas or options I haven’t come up with.