[New Cornwall Issue: 2nd Pair! Feelin' snakebit]

As you may have read in my previous Thread, my first pair of Cornwall III's had a mid-range horn that was not flush mounted against the baffle. 

The dealer happily agreed to replace the pair but my second pair has a fairly obvious dent. Ugh!!  

I understand nothing is totally perfect, but such an obvious mark on top of the speaker? The box did seem a bit rough, with more than a few dents and a small perforation on the top of the box, but none of the dents or hole correspond w/ this dent on the speaker. ..I suspect it left the factory this way. ..It almost looks like it was set down on a staple, nail or snip of wire as the the riser was being bolted onto the speaker. ..I'm so sick of this. These speakers are freakin' awesome!!! ..But $4200 is a ton of money, they should be blemish free and have drivers that fit properly.  

So once again, I'm asking? What would you do? ..Just live with it, or return the speakers - yet again - to the dealer?

[New Cornwall Issue: Should I be concerned?]

Thanks everyone. Yes, I'll return to let all know the 2nd pair is perfect.

Not to be too sanctimonious but Klipsch should take heed. ..Yes, it's about the sound, but fit/finish do matter to people. Below is a picture of Klipsch's R-24F, their $340/pr. entry-level floor-stander tweeter, pictured alongside my $4200 pair Cornwall tweeter from their signature Heritage line. The Cornwall tweeter is hid beneath a thick Grill, whereas the R-24F is not covered. ..This, I suppose, necessitates that the fit of the R-24F driver be nice and tidy while the grill of the Cornwall allows it to be a bit less so. ..But given the huge investment, it is pretty upsetting for the Heritage line owner to find the fit/finish is no where near as clean.

 

So if your reading this, Klipsch, please make sure this most definitely a very very rare occurrence.

[New Cornwall Issue: Should I be concerned?]

Good question.  ..Probably not b/c I'll be a bit pressed for time, plus these are so big and heavy that just packing/unpacking is a risky affair.  ..Wouldn't be hard to scratch or mar them in some way in a crowded audio showroom w/ people walking around.   ...But I told the dealer that I'll be returning the next pair if they have the same issue.  ..I also told the Tech Support rep at Klipsch.

 

If the replacement pair has the same issue I'll tell Klipsch that I want them to personally inspect the next pair before boxing them and shipping to my dealer.  I'm hopeful the replacements will be fine.  ..fingers crossed.

[New Cornwall Issue: Should I be concerned?]

Spoke w/ Klipsch today, they happily gave me the green light to attempt repair and agreed to assume risk if something went wrong. But they also told me they had no Cornwalls in stock meaning it would be 8 or more wks to get a new pair to my dealer if I couldn't fix the defective speaker.

Recalling that my dealer had one remaining pair of Cherry Cornwalls in stock I decided to just call the dealer and set up a return/exchange, I didn't want to wait 8 wks for a replacement pair if my repair attempt failed. So I pick up the replacements tomorrow. The dealer (Worldwide Stereo in Ardmore, PA) was very very nice about it. ..Saying, "you spent a lot, you deserve to have a perfect pair of speakers."

A heartfelt thanks to those who weighed in on how to attempt this repair. ..I'm sorry I never put your advice to practical use.

[New Cornwall Issue: Should I be concerned?]

1 hour ago, Frzninvt said:

Could be that the horn gasket is folded over and not allowing it to sit flush.

 

Could very well be!  ..Almost hoping so because I could easily fix it.  But again, I'm not inclined to take a screw driver to it until Klipsch assures me doing so won't void the warranty.  The mid horn on the other speaker is perfectly flush, as are all the other drivers in both speakers.  So annoying.  This issue wouldn't be possible with their other speakers (non-heritage) b/c the Gold speakers have a piece of trim that would only fit if the driver is flush.  ..

 

So my question is: If I can't fix it (with instructions and maybe a new driver from Klipsch), would you live with it as is or insist that Klipsch (or dealer - as they are still w/in return period) replaces the speakers?  And I do mean both speakers b/c i wouldn't want a non-sequential pair.  

[New Cornwall Issue: Should I be concerned?]

8 minutes ago, TasDom said:

I'd send that pic to Klipsch support with your concern. Don't put a tool to it until you get their blessings as to not void your warranty.

Looks like there is space above the horn to raise it and re tighten but again, document their ok to do so if they allow it and still will honor the warranty.

 

Thank you both for your reply.  ..I'll do as you suggest TasDom, though I'm not optimistic.  The driver doesn't move at all when I firmly press on the raised corner.  I don't think theres's empty space beneath it.  Best case scenario is there's wood debris (from the CNC/ Router) that's keeping it from seating.  If they give me the go-ahead I'll remove the driver and see if I can clear it.  Worst case: the recess wasn't squarely cut and no amount of tightening will get the driver to lie flush.  I suppose it's also possible the driver has some excess flange that wasn't trimmed and replacing the driver itself would take care of it.  Anyway, this is so disappointing. Things happen of course. Not a biggie in the grand scheme of things..

[New Cornwall Issue: Should I be concerned?]

Darn it!  Lovin' my new Cornwalls but tonight I noticed this....  The mid-range Driver is not completely counter-sunk into the baffle and is a bit off kilter.  The other speaker does not not have this issue..  This either means it's not torqued down all the way, or the relief in the baffle is not totally square.  ..I could try tightening the screws but worry I might strip the wood.

 

Would this bother you to the point of returning the speakers or putting in a warranty claim?  ..While I don't hear a difference b/w the speakers I'm kinda bugged knowing this.  ..I can't help fixating a bit on it.  for $4200, this shouldn't be.  Thoughts?  

 

 

[Review of Cornwall III]

On 11/15/2017 at 7:54 AM, Frzninvt said:

I wish Klipsch would have used the larger K-601 horn from the Cornwall II on the III's instead of the tiny K-701 horn from the Heresy as that certainly must impact the width of the image.  The original Cornwall had batting on the inside of the cabinet which certainly prevented any internal resonances and standing waves but chose not to in the Cornwall II and I assume the III.

 

 

I'm not remotely conversant about what horns earlier versions of the Cornwall had, or how the III might sound if different horns were used.  All I can say is that the Cornwall III sounds absolutely fantastic.  ..So it seems to me that Klipsch made good decisions regarding its design.

 

As for the batting, I think you're incorrect about this.  In this pic of  Cornwall iii's being built you can see foam sections being glued against interior walls of the enclosure.  ..In any case, I am not able to detect ANY resonances from any music or test tones.

 

[Review of Cornwall III]

Thank you everyone!  ..Glad to be posting here at the Klipsh Forums.  Hey Mustang, ..Wow!! That is a beautiful built-in cabinet!  ..And my favorite part of your system?  ..All of the SoftWare!  Very nice!  One question, though.  What is that dangling from the ceiling  ?

[Review of Cornwall III]

Thanks Chris.  ..Wow, there's a ton of info there - that will take some time to read through.  Put another way, I'm not saying the Cornwalls don't image well, its just that I've heard others do it better.  But I fully acknowledge this may well be a matter of placement and room acoustics.  ..Of all my speakers, I think the PSB Stratus Minis imaged best.  ..These were small two-way stand mounted speakers that didn't come close to the Cornwalls (or Vandersteen or Paradigms, for that matter) in any other way.

 

If imaging performance mattered more to me I'd pull out the stops w/ regards to room treatments, placement, etc.. to maximize their performance.  ..Perhaps I'll eventually get around to that.  But for now, the Cornwalls huge, open, dynamic yet utterly smooth sound is bowling me over to the extent that I'm not yet missing my past speakers at all.  

 

And to your point, Bill.  Yes, it's a kinda ugly I can love!  

 

Thank you both for your replies!  

[Review of Cornwall III]

I purchased these new on 10/30/17 and they are are fantastic!  My last three speakers these past 15 yrs have been PSB Stratus Minis, Vandersteen 3A Sigs, and Paradigm S8 v2’s.  Though I loved each, I enjoyed none of them as much as I do my Cornwall III’s.  I feel kinda stupid for not giving horns a chance before now.  I pretty much accepted, without hearing for myself, the claims that horns sound shouty and harsh.  This couldn’t be further from the truth as far as the Cornwalls go; there is nothing bright or forward about them.  

 

To summarize some pros, cons:

 

Pros

Transparency & dynamics:

They have Incredibly lifelike sound at ANY volume from a whisper to a hair raising holler.  And though they sound clean and undistorted at ear-bleed volumes, it’s how they sound at quiet levels that most surprises me.  More than any speaker I've owned, I feel like I'm "right there" w/ the performance.

 

Build quality.  

The fit and finish is beautiful; the wood veneer is flawless and the grill cloth has a super cool feel - like something from a Marshall guitar amplifier.  At first I thought the grills weren’t removable but they are - they’re held in place with 6 small, but powerful, earth magnets.

 

Efficiency:  

I guess this is pretty well  known.  Anyway, I first powered the Cornwalls with a 50w Arcam integrated amp that I borrowed while my McIntosh MA6600 (200w/ch) was being repaired.   At 50% volume the modest Arcam drove the speakers to shockingly loud levels without a hint of strain or distortion.  The sound was perfectly smooth, clear, and effortless.  To play this loud I assumed the little Arcam must have been pumping out nearly all of it’s 50 watts.  Yet, to my surprise when I got my Mac MA6600 back - which features wattage meters - I found this wall-shaking volume was barely 10 watts!!  Again, this is CRAZY loud - like loud enough to attract police and cause hearing damage.  So you don’t need an exotic, pricey amp to drive these - any high quality NAD, Rotel or other quality moderately-powered amp will suffice.  By the way, my usual listening volume, which most people would argue is still too loud, is barely 2 watts! 

 

Bass:
Very tight and effortless bass.  I thought the big 15” woofer would sound muddy compared to the (3) 6” woofers of the Paradigm’s, but not so.  ..The bass is well-defined and deep at ANY volume.

 

Cons:

Size:  

There’s no getting around the fact that they are massive, hard to move around, and very boxy looking.  Obviously, you’ll need a big room and a spouse/partner who is willing to put music ahead of aesthetics.  Personally, I very much dig their retro look.  Among family & friends it seems the millennials dig their bad-*** size and throw-back appearance, while the older crowd preferred the sleek, furniture-like appearance of the S8’s.

 

Imaging:  

While the Cornwalls do a solid job of placing the instruments within the stereo soundstage, I would not say this is a relative strength. Maybe it’s the way the horns disperse sound, or maybe it’s just that I haven’t spent enough time experimenting with placement.  Whatever the reason, I have had speakers that do this better.   Personally, I feel imaging is a bit over-rated anyway.  Yes, it’s cool hearing instruments floating in air, but it doesn’t really correlate with how much I “feel” and dig the music. I’ve heard speakers that image beautifully that I otherwise did not enjoy.

 

Cabinet bracing (is this really a Con?):

The first thing I do when I checking out speakers is knock on the cabinet to gauge how hollow the speaker sounds.   I always thought this helps predict whether the cabinet will resonate while playing music.  Well, the Cornwall III’s indeed sound a bit hollow when you rap on them, but they don’t resonate at ANY volume.  No matter what kind of music or test tones I played, I could not detect any blurring or buzzing from the cabinets.  So I guess this isn’t a con at all.  Perhaps Klipsch feels these that since these already weigh 100lb ea. why needlessly increase their weight.

 

Again, after years of owning many great loudspeakers, I have never enjoyed a pair as much as these.  If you have the room for them, you will love them!