Clipped and Shorn

My Cornwalls are serial # 17S718 C-BR which makes them vintage 1978. Is it possible that the page of instructions that came with these speakers originally was titled "Instructions For Cornwall II" I thought that "Corwall II" didn't start until 1985 or so, and that the units I have here would be definitelly Cornwall I, being 1978. The reason I ask is that there was an envelope with literature that came with these used Corns and it seems unlikely that the seller would have had anything but the literature that came with the speakers originally, (but I could be wrong). There are two sheets, one called instructions (Corn II) and one for wood care. -C7alt

That's good to know. Maybe I could start with a simple cap replacement. As far as I know everything is original. Not sure which type K-55 is in there. I am still curious to know if anyone had tried the ALK modified design and what their experience may have been.

I have a pair of 1978 Cornwalls (serial # 17S717) for a dedicated two channel system. I am thinking of eventually running them with a diy SET 2A3 amp. Currently I do not play the Corns much because of midrange harshness with any good volume (even with my Eico HF-81). I understand that the crossovers can be improved and the design that ALK has available online claims to have helped with the annoying spikes in question. There is even a proposed upgrade to his original design. Anyone have any experience with these ALK crossovers for the Corn I either made by Al or diy, and/or any other stories of improving Cornwall characteristics by upgrading the crossovers. A few years ago I did go inside and damped the woofer frame and the the mid horn as per instructions on these boards. -Clipped and Couponed

No, it's in Anaheim. We would not allow that color up here. Right, that is in ORANGE county. We live in PURPLE county... c&s

"A and B are the same shade of gray (same color)! Believe it or not... " Hard to believe, but it is true. Shows how context is almost everything and how comparisons of perceptions, either instantly or serially, is highly problematic. I am reminded of the famous Land experiments. "Edwin Land and color vision The now-classic experiments on color vision begun in the 1950s by Land are not only a fine example of exploratory experimentation at the frontier between physics and biology, they also have a direct bearing on the theoretical content of Goethe's Theory of Colors. Land's research began with a simple experiment using two black-and-white transparencies of the same colored scene. The first transparency, the "long record," was taken through a filter that passed only long-wavelength light. The second, the "short record," was taken through a filter that passed only short wavelengths. The two records differed only in the lightness or darkness of corresponding points; neither had any color. The transparencies were then projected onto a screen, directly on top of one another, using a beam of light from the red part of the spectrum for the long record and a beam of incandescent light for the short record. According to the classical color theory based on the work of Newton, Thomas Young, James Clerk Maxwell, and Hermann von Helmholtz, the image on the screen could only be some shade of pink. What the observer saw, however, was an image brilliantly and diversely colored, almost like the original scene." -Klippednshorn

That's a great one. Had not seen that before. Much more fun to watch than the spinning tires tacked together at an angle which do a similar changing thing. I wonder how many old tire places used that trick for their signs. I tried to find an example on the web but could not. Anyone have advanced googling skills? See if you can find an image of one of those old tire shop signs that was made by fastening two tires together at at an angle, then rotating them around an axis. It is the same kind of rotation illusion which appears to go in either direction. -Klueped and Scrounged

Clipped--- Yeah, the cool cat blowing sax and the beautiful face is a nice example of "thing" and "no thing." Which must always exist together. As you refer to it, figure and ground. What happens if you take all the objects out of space? Does space still exist? In the "gestalt" sense, the answer is yes and that brings up one of the most basic concepts in that system, the FIELD. http://books.google.com/books?id=NWtM-L83RnwC&pg=RA2-PA28&lpg=RA2-PA28&dq=gestalt+terminology +%22the+field%22&source=web&ots=CYZP3emtEh&sig=q5d_3qjBwvDDvr1RjBtEzFf5zsU (you need to cut and paste together both halves of this url in order to go there. ) (my friends call my Tiny Earl (Url). -Tiny

Gil, Good analysis. On another note, anyone who has done tile work or marquetry knows how quickly a small almost imperceptble variation in a line or the width of a cut or the width of a grout joint manifests as a dramatic effect when translated to "area". Even a carpenter knows the importance of which side of a scribed line to cut. It matters. It always seems amazing that a wall made of random rocks or a patio floor made of irregular flagstones seems like it fits together like a puzzle, it is all in the virtually unnoticeable fudging of the grout joint. The designer of this puzzle was tricky. c8s

You point out what has always been the biggest obstacle to using a visual analogy for an auditory experience. I always get blank stares from musicians when I refer to "rests" as "ground" and "notes" as "figure", eg. a musical or rhythmic phrase being figure and ground in much the same way as in art. Remember those illusions where you either see a young girl or an old hag, that has to do with figure and ground, by the same token, I will analyze a rhythmic pattern by taking note of the pattern (shape) of the rest pulses. 0x0xx0x0x0xx say the 0 is the note hit. Then the rests pulses, the x's, express another pattern 0x00x0x0x00. If you play the notes with your right hand while simultaneously playing the rest pulses with your left hand, then one might hear or pay attention to either, just like when you either see the young girl or the old hag. This whole area of crossing one sense modality into another is called synaethesia and has always been facinating to me: http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/2/21/144256/437 Both senses follow the principles that were presented in the realm of gestalt psychology, and as such, both vision and the auditory are subject to the same types of illusions (closures), although you do point out an enormous difference between the instantlly comparable and the serial comparable. Closure illusion is not controllable, eg. your eye/mind is hopleslessly "convinced", for example, that those alternating flashing lights on traffic signs are "moving" back and forth! The consecutive flashing of still frames at 24 frames per second in the movie is seen, unalterably, as MOTION. This is what I mean by the term "closure", it is the brain (cognitive system) which "explains" the sense data. The same system "explains" the 3 inch difference between what each eye sees as "depth". Etcetera. Sorry for throwing around so may tangent ideas, but hopefullly it will kick on the discussion. -Kip and Handstand

Docker Who, You are correct sir. Good answer. They are both sneaky quadrilaterals. The would-be "hypotenuses" either "bulge" or "sag" to accommodate the fudging. The inside triangles (defined by the angles the tangents suggest are not equal as proposed). Anyway the really short answer is: Magic! (as in sleight of hand and misdirection) -Sea & Ess

This relates (marginally) to the AB/X thread in which "illusions" seemed to be relevant. How would you explain this apparent conundrum?

In our labratory we have substituted frisbees for balls and are currently gathering data. -c&s

I dug up another reference to this general isolation method (see below). Do you think it was a true audiophile who wrote it? However, upon careful reading, it seems like "how not to do it", and it opens up a pandora's box of possible audiophile arguments as to what sounds better: PS, I do not recommend that you slash your balls! 1. Blue balls. 2. Green balls. 3. Black balls. 4. Marble with slight marbelling. 5. Marble with medium marbelling. 6. Marble with lots of marbelling. 7. Slate (low, medium, or high thud factor) 8. Six balls versus four balls. 9. Number of knife slashes in balls. How evenly spaced. Which Xacto blade used, remember they come in different shapes, I suspect the pointy ones best for jazz, the wider ones for rock, etc. 10. Angle of knife slashes in balls in relation to slab or table. 11. Seamco #558 balls versus other models. 12. Clear furniture cups versus brown ones versus NOS vintage furniture cups. 13. Break-in period for furniture cups. 14. Break-in period for balls (varies with ball color or model etc.) 15. Break-in period for slab. 16. The sound resulting from honing, polishing, and/or facing the slab (well worth it?) "The Shock Platform: An Easy Solution to Acoustic Feedback The problem of acoustic feedback is far more generalized than most audiophiles recognize. If the system does not actually "howl" when the gain is cranked up, many are confident that all is right with the world. If only it were so. When even the subtlest amounts of acoustic feedback are eliminated, the sonic results are startling. Solutions to this problem have ranged from sheer mass (in the form of brick platforms) to elaborate construction projects using springs or Barry mounts. Here is a project, courtesy of Mel Schilling and Craig Goff of Music and Sound of California, that is incredibly effective soni- cally, attractive, and easy to build. A stonemason will provide the 16" x 20" x 3/4" slate slab required for the top. For the few additional dollars, have the edges and face honed. The results are worth it. Ours cost $30 for the stone and polishing. It may be difficult to resist splurging on a piece of sexy marble, but as my wife (who shopped for the parts for this project) can testify, marble resonates more than slate. In fact, it actually rings. The greater the marbling, the more the ringing. The dull thud of slate is definitely the way to go. Our piece weighed a hefty 28 pounds. Your local sporting goods dealer will supply you with six black racquetballs. Use only the black balls, as the blue and green types are not as highly pressurized, their walls not as thick (for support). We used Seamco #558. A stop at the hardware store for six plastic caster cups, and you are done. These are the cups that fit under furniture legs to prevent carpet wear. Get the 1-3/4" size. We liked the clear plastic. Now, with an X-acto knife, make five evenly spaced, bladewidth slashes across and at right angles to the center seam of each racquetball. Drop a vented ball into each caster cup so that the seam is parallel to the tabletop (and the slashes running perpendicular). Place the slate slab on top of your new shock absorbers. With your turntable atop the slate, adjust each racquetball/ caster cup so that the weight is evenly distributed. You may find that you have to experiment a bit for very light turntables and remove a ball/caster or two, or add an additional one for very heavy tables. What will you hear? If your system is like ours, with "no feedback problem", you should hear greater clarity throughout the entire frequency range. Triangles have a purer ring; a subtle raspiness that affected all instruments is now gone. Bass tightens up remarkably and subjectively goes deeper. Break-up that sounded like mistracking or power amp clipping has disappeared. We must emphasize that we heard all of these effects on a system previously considered immune to feedback, or at most, subject to minimal amounts. Needless to say, we now consider the shock platform to be as necessary for the full realization of a system's capabilities as proper speaker placement or phono cartridge alignment. -- Robert & Beverly Wolov (Pennsylvania) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -Slabbed and Scored

I have used Mark's racquet ball isolation scheme several times now with phono turntables and CD players and it solved any and all problems due to foot falls as well as woofer feedback (and small earthquakes). Depending on the surface area needed for the TT or CD player, I have used (inexpensive or free) remnant cuts from a local marble cutter, selected slabs from a local rock and landscaping supplier, and even large square stepping stones from the local Orchard Supply (very inexpensive). The racquet balls are several to a can at the local sports shop. Not knowing, I did not glue the furniture cups down or to the slab (do not recall if that was suggested when I first read about this scheme a few years ago). I simply placed the furniture cups with the correct spacing on the table or shelf, placed the balls in the cups, then carefully positioned the slab on the balls. So far, no problem - have used this method a half dozen times. As long as you do not try to move or tip the whole table with this assembly resting on it, everything seem to stay put. The trick is getting the slab placed correctly (centered) on the four balls. Gluing the furniture cups to the slab does seem like a good technique both for stability (security) and for taking the guess work out of spacing and positioning. Eventually I might do the gluing, but at this point, probably not, since everything is set up and my time is more spent listening and enjoying. At least my vinyl shelving has been bolted to the walls and my house foundation is retrofitted. -Clamped and Shored

If you want what you want when you want it, then thrift stores aren't very satisfying. If it means waiting for years in order to hear the music you are looking for....then there are better options. On the other hand, I have built my empire, so to speak, through thrift stores, flea markets, and the county dump recycling center. I just wait for fini to give me cell phone call saying "get over here" before its gone..... You collect and stockpile (pack rat), then later when you need something, "shop" in your own store before going to Home Depot. Fish through that bucket of "farmer's mix" (aka hardware store floor sweepings) until you find the right sized nail. Of course the best one was when fini called and I got my 30 POUNDS of sterling silver. That, and a nice bicycle.

I think I saw some rather Extended Zepps and quite a few Double Bazookahs down at Ed's old ranch. Lot of hams there. Clipped and Shorn

Push Pull Tubes, eh? c7s

So, does anyone routinely initialize their system using the Very Yak? This thread, more or less, is what I had hoped for by asking my naive questions. Knowing your electrons is like knowing your cuts of meat.......which includes head cheese. I still think that electrons want to do their best and we should give them all the help we can.....so they can "shine"....it is what they were meant to do......and the ones involved in producing sweet audio are very priviledged... I worry about the growing number of "homeless" stray electrons in the universe lately..... l cover up my AC outlets when not in use to avoid such leakage...... c7s

ok, I just shut it down, but it was nice having it always on the ready to play music for an hour or so whenever I would come back into the house from working outside. Now I will have to go back to the utility SS system which I tend to not fuss with, turning on and off whenever I feel like it. I was enjoying the Eico/Cornwall system this week and would put on a CD at bedtime and fall asleep, that is why the system stayed on, because in the morning rather than turn it off, I just immediately started playing music again. You can see the temptation to just leave the system on all the time, especially because of the all the tubes. Like was stated in this thread, there are actually quite a few hours in those tubes. I kind of like this idea of playing that system for maybe a week at a time. My tri-amp system is another matter and I do not feel comfortable leaving that system on indefinitely, but the Eico HF-81 system....well, it is just an HF-81....and when it blows....who knows .... the pCats might be rolling down the assembly line..... replace the system with Merlin+pCat....hmmmmm nice dream.... C&S

Craig straightened it out a couple of years ago. Why do you say it is not good to leave on for that length of time? c7s

most of the week..... maybe will turn it off later this eve..... c7s

Well, I still have not turned off the Eico HF-81, it is now sounding so good all warmed up and hot, I cannot seem to get around to turning it off. Been listening mostly to CDs thru a classic Rega Planet and the Cornwalls. Sounding real good. C&S

a couple of naive questions: 1. How much more work (stress?) is there to electronic gear when the music is played than when the amps are idle (not necessarily with a standby mode). If you leave, say, tube gear, on for hours and hours, how much less is the gear working when music is not being played compared to when you are playing it. Is loudness a factor? Is this even a consideration. 2. What happens when electronic gear (tube mostly) really gets warmed up. Do circuits have a way of "seeking" some kind of equilibium when they have been on for hours and hours. I ask this because it seems that things get to sounding particularly good when you leave the amps on almost all the time. What is the state of a tube rig after hours and hours being on that is different than say the first half hour? Do electronic circuits have a "will" to be their best, and eventually find a way towards this in spite of small anomolies that might exist (does the circuit, the big picture, over-ride, the "tolerances" of the parts...does this make any sense?), in other words, does leaving the thing ON, "polish the rock" so to speak, so it shines like the gem it always knew it could be........ Now I am afraid to turn this darn thing off...... C&S

---------------- On 7/22/2005 6:01:42 PM D-MAN wrote: ---------------- On 7/22/2005 5:08:47 PM fini wrote: I can't bear the thought of my wife squeezing any harder on my testes... ---------------- And that's just a tube of model airplane glue! Wait'll she gets ahold of your you-know-whats! DM ---------------- I remember that stuff, it came in a yellow tube and we used it for putting models together, except I believe it was called Testors Cement and that is the stuff dreams were made of, expecially if you sniffed a bunch.....whew! C&S