John Ek

So, the short story is that I bought my Klipsch Cornwall IVs almost a year ago. I had been happy with my active Genelec 8050s for 7 years, with subwoofers they were very nice. During the pandemic I decided to try something new, always wanted to hear what a larger, classic loudspeaker could do. So, I bought the JBL L100. Did not like them, tried something completely different, Dynaudio Confidence standmounts. Easier to live with but boring. In the mean time I read and heard about Klipsch loudspeakers' heritage series. Not a big brand in my country, Sweden. Unfortunately labelled as crap usually, or by the more positive, they are fun but ... Anyway, after searching for info here and otherwise I decided to order a pair when my local dealer eventually found out that the new heritage line was actually quite good. The Cornwalls are huge, no question about that, I had my hesitations. Maybe there Heresys? Most people at the time seems to favor the Cornwalls so I decided on those. When unboxing these I thought they were huge, quite ugly. An hour later I thought they looked quite cool, like a bookshelf on growth hormones. Playing some music over my Mark Levinson 3236S/432 combo was a game changer, this was something out of the ordinary. Bass with control, open and deep soundstage. Classic rock, jazz and classical music were extremely engaging. As were most other genres. These were keepers. So I decided to look for alternatives to my amplification, who needs 2X400W to power a Klipsch? I tried a First Watt F7, I tried an INT-25 from Pass labs, neither did sound better than my current combination. In there mean time my hearing was deteriorating, possibly as a result of visiting too many hockey games live. Turned out that wax also was an important factor. Nevertheless, before I knew what was causing my problems I decided to try a speaker I'd been wanting to try for many years, the active Genelec 8361 with built in DSP. DSP should be able to correct whatever frequencies causing my problems, or so I thought? My pair of 8361 arrived early June, hooked them up and was impressed by their midrange, possibly an improvement over the Cornwalls there. After a calibration and with the DSP I found them to be great with movies but completely boring with music, regardless of style. I had experienced fewer problems with my hearing while waiting for the speakers to arrive (approx 4 months) but suddenly I felt that I was experiencing the same problems again. Went on vacation for two weeks, really missed listening to music, came back home and found that I did not at all enjoy what the Genelecs provided. Decided to sell them, got them sold and had a lot of money in my pocket. Not only that, I hauled my Cornwalls back into the system and immediately found that listening to music is fun, oh, what these speakers do really put a smile on my face! I had long been wanting to buy a new vinyl player so decided to go visit my dealer. Came back with an excellent Technics but I also got to listen to a combination of Accuphase E-650 and Klipsch Heresy. That combination was excellent so decided to buy the amp for my setup. How did it sound in my system? Difficult to say, the best I've heard in my home is probably the best way to describe what I hear. I regret having tried other speakers, these Cornwalls are mazing, even more so with the Accuphase E-650. Never thought an amp would do that much of a difference (although Just wanted to share my very positive experience with the Cornwall IVs (and the Heresy IVs did sound very good when I heard them). I'm so happy that I did not sell them when I got my Genelecs, these are probably the best speakers in the world (for me) :-).

As soon as the piano starts playing. It’s not really sibilance, some frequencies seem to cause a ringing in my ears (fairly one-note). Not sure what to make of it but if I cup my hands behind the ears, the problem is less pronounced. I guess that by doing so I might alter the frequency balance and also probably get rid of some reflections off the back wall?

Brought back my Genelec 8050’s just to see if they are different. Not so, they were just as bad, actually even worse. I guess the problem is in my ears. Never experienced this before. Pretty sure it’s the sound pressure levels at live hockey games that’s caused some damage.

I’ve had my Cornwall IVs for some time now. I like them a lot, they are outstanding with some types of music (classic rock, jazz, large scale classical music etc.). One thing that’s disturbing me is the noise my AV receiver is introducing as soon as a source is active, that’s hopefully fixed by replacing the Marantz with another solution. The receiver is only used as a HDMI switch and pre-amp for digital sources, feeding a power amp via a pre-amp in HT pass through. Now, what’s really bothering me is the sibilant pitch I hear on a few recordings (mainly piano and female vocals, Norah Jones live cover of Black Hole Sun is one example). This is regardless of source/amp, it’s there on vinyl when the receiver is out of the loop and it’s there when using Spotify on the Apple TV. I can hear this also when watching movies, during some dialogue parts or when high frequency sounds are present. Has anyone else noticed this and what can I do to resolve the problem? Would a decent tube amp solve the problem, or perhaps a class A solid state amp? In addition to the Marantz receiver, I’m still using Mark Levinson 326S as pre and a No 432 power amp. I should say that when using headphones on another setup (or speakers) I can hear the same pitch but it’s not as evident or annoying as it is over the Cornwall IVs.

It seems like a very attractive amp, I like the fact that it has auto bias and that it allows for changing between different tubes. I assume it’s quiet enough as it works well with Fortes.

I’m just looking for something that makes the system sound it’s best, be it tubes or SS. Sure, if solid state is about as good as tubes I would certainly go SS just because of less maintenance, but main goal is to get the best out of my Cornwalls.

I have my Cornwalls connected to Mark Levinson 432 and a 326 pre-amp. Streaming is routed via my Marantz receiver (basically used as a HDMI router only) which is connected to my ML pre using HT pass-through. I actually prefer streaming via the Marantz, sources directly connected to my ML pre (including my vinyl player) sound a little lifeless and bright. Guess it means I may like the warmth my Marantz provides? Anyway, what amps do you think are a good match for Cornwalls? Accuphase class A integrated is a dream but expensive, do they work well with Cornwalls? I like that Acupphase have tone controls, not necessary but nice to have. PrimaLuna, Luxman, Line Magnetic etc, what are your opinions?

Lots of thanks you to you Shakey, you are one of the reasons for why I finally ended up with the Cornwalls. I’ve had a lot of doubts (in particular as dealers where I live don’t consider Klipsch as “true Hi-Fi”) and no possibility to audition before buying. Some also express concerns about the (lack of) bass. Luckily, you and a few others (including the Audiophiliac on YouTube) convinced me. In my room (a medium sized room) these speakers are excellent with a great bass that does not overpower the room. Again, thanks. Love them.

Yes, I guess this might be the issue as it’s not really that prominent when the AV receiver is off. Seems like it’s more prominent also when using the Apple TV as compared to the STB. Everything is however grounded properly, not sure what else I can do (apart from be switching the receiver that I don’t really need).

These will definitely stay. Just love the tonality and the impact. Awesome speakers. I’m considering to replace the receiver by new Bluesound node (as it has HDMI). I don’t need a receiver anyway. Hopefully, that will solve the problem.

Thanks! These speakers are among the best speakers I’ve heard, it’s amazing what they do. The preamp is a Mark Levinson 326 and the receiver (Marantz, only used as a HDMI switch) is connected via it’s pre-amp ou to the ML in HT pass-through. Strangely, the hum is there as soon as I switch to that particular input on the ML, regardless of the Marantz being switched on or not.

First impressions are, with the speakers basically flushed against the back wall, very slightly toed in, amazing! Definitely exceeding my expectations. i was worried that they would be bright, Definitely not so. I was worried they might not look good in my room. Well, they don’t, they are simply too big. Kind of awful actually. My wife hates them. But the way they make music! I immediately fell in love with these speakers. They are more fun than all of my recent , previous speakers (JBL L100 and 4349, Dynaudio confidence 20 and Genelec 8050). It’s not only that they are fun to listen to, they are, but they are also very nicely balanced and great with voices. The only problem I have encountered so far is a hum when connecting my preamp to the AV Receiver, phono and CD inputs are silent. I guess it’s due to the efficiency of the speakers, any suggestion on how to connect the receiver(it only has RCA out) are appreciated. .

I was considering black ash but now I see that my pair in walnut look amazing.

The speakers arrived this morning! They are now in place and I’m eager to try them out in the evening. One box was damaged, there was a hole of about 6x4” but luckily there was no visible damage to the speaker. One question, the rubber rings for the magnetic grilles, is it necessary to remove those?

I had a McCormack once, paired well with my current Martin Logan Sequel 2s. Since then I have tried Musical Fidelity (terrible) Bryston 4B-SST (still own, maybe not quite as good as McCormack) and a Mark Levinson 432. The latter is definitely the best to my ears but I have no idea how either would pair with very efficient speakers. I also believe my preamp, Mark Levinson 326s, is better value than the power amp.