colterphoto1

Bill, I'm going tomorrow for a personal tour. Anything to look out for? I'm going to take my list of potential Cornwall mods to ask for their blessing, maybe pick up a few parts.

Congrats and welcome to the CLUB! You are quite correct in stating the 'human' element and warmth of the wonderful design of the Cornwalls. From what I'm hearing, they are one of the fave heritage designs. I'm proud to be a 12 year member of the club. Just now looking at making some cabinet modifications to 'soup up' the sound of my babies.

1. What Heritage speakers have you owned, currently own, or want to own? Own Cornwalls, would like LaScalas, Khorns, heck ALL of em 2. What was your age when you first purchased a Heritage series loudspeaker? 32 3. What is your current age? 44 4. Why did you choose Heritage loudspeakers over another Klipsch model? Used and were available cheap, I'd worked for PA company that used LaScala Industrials for disco and also owned a MCM full stack! 5. If you currently own some Heritage loudspeakers, and could purchase some more Klipsch speakers(new or used), which ones would you purchase? Why? more Cornwalls cause I love mine, LaScala industrials for PA, Khorns if a new home allowed for a 'theatre' room 6. Do you think the upcoming Jubilee should become part of the "Heritage" line, since it was also designed by PWK?don't know much about these, but if they are PWK, they're IN! please publish survey results so we can all share ;-)

Tom and Allan, Would love a pair if they're any left. I emailed earlier, didn't know I needed to post to get on list. Thanks Michael Colter

If IndyKlipschFan once sang through this system, it is DEFINITELY BLOWN UP- he has the loudest scream this side of Roger Daltry! LOL

oh yeah, the whole pile of speakers went for $530- the horns are worth that alone, even if all the cones and drivers were blown! ARRRRGGGHHHHHH

ARRRRRGGGGHHH! Wish I'd bought this stuff- It's in my city (Indy) and I've got plenty of barns for storage/rebuilding! IndyKlipschFan- if you EVER see anything like this again, please notify at once! currently the Party Barn has a tri-amplified system, mostly EV, JBL and BagEnd cabinets- This 'pile 'o' Klipsch' would have made a great addition. Me, I just like having the stufff around- makes you feel good even if it's not plugged in!

Beautiful work! Love that vintage grillecloth! Enjoy, I'm sure it was a labor of love.

Got some good ideas and theories there! First, congrats on your acquisition of Cornwalls- the price was certainly right and you will be amazed at the sound you get from these babies. Applause on your innovative approach in including these in your main listening room despite archetictural obstacles. From an acoustical standpoint, your ideas are 'sound'. You are right about low end being primarily omnidirectional, but I'd try as much as possible to maintain some sense of the stereo soundstage by putting your horizontal 'bass bins' under or on the sides of your mid bins. The horns of the cabinet are not a substantial % of the interior volume of the cabinet, so you shouldn't need to compensate for this ( horn volume is about 12x4x3 inches approx is only about 144 in3/ cabinet interior volume of 11,388 in3 based on my actual measurements= 1%) Your concept of mid cabinet orientation/placement is correct. Horns should oriented as they were originally in cabinet (note that some horns actually have better dispersion when placed vertically), with their height and toe-in appropriate for the listening room (ie, usually toed- in slightly to avoid the Bosian approach of reflecting sound off nearby walls) From a construction standpoint, BEWARE!!! First, when modifying your Cornwalls, be certain that they are vibration free and that you can restore them to original design and cabinet finish. For that reason, seal the mid/high openings carefully, with lots screws and perhaps a non-hardening type of sealant such as rope caulk, thin cork, or foam. Be certain that the built-in cabinets you install the bass bins in are well constructed and free of vibration. Beware if you are using a turntable (used to play old-fashioned vinyl discs reported to contain muscial information), as the Corn's may create vibration that is picked up by the turntable. Pad the shelf of your built-ins prior to sliding in the bass bins, to avoid scratches. The distance between the bass bins and mid/high units is not so critical from an electrical distance timing standpoint as is the distance between each of these cabinets and your listening position. You will hear a timing 'blur' if the distance between each bass/mid and listening position is substantial. Good Luck and hope this helps, Also check out the post for Updating/tweaking Cornwall I's, with many helpful hints on electrical and mechanical updates to your units.

I too, have a pair of Cornwalls, circa 1975, and considering the refinishing and regrilling path. Does anyone know of a possible modification to mount the speakers (mainly the squawker and tweeter) closer to the front of the 'motor' or baffle board? It seems like the sound from the horns would get severly diffracted when exiting the horn and striking the edge of the 3/4 plywood baffle board. This would probably involve some routing from the front of the cabinet for the tweeter and possible thinning out the mounting area for the squawker (midrange). Also, wouldn't some crossover components leak or lose value over time? How could one test this theory and possibly rebuild the crossovers while inside the cabinets for the refinshing job? Just a thought, while we're going to all this trouble. Damn, this sure is a cerebral board! Michael

Speaking of CATS, mine have used my old Cornwall grilles for a scratching post. I've been able to melt off the handing threads with a lighter, but they're not as nice as they could be. I'd like to refinish my 'oiled' walnut cabinets and replace the grille cloth. Is there any catalog of 'original' type grille material, where can this be obtained, and at what $$$. It appears that the cloth is glued to the masonite grille board, how to remove it? Or do I have to cut a new grille board? How to catproof these speakers? I was thinking of a plexiglass panel in front of the cabinets, like those rock drummers have, it May affect the dispersion pattern, though! LOL Michael

When my Cornwalls needed rebuilding (they lived through a house fire- thank GOD), I replaced the stock drivers with some PA speakers I had in some monitors, since I'm an ex sound-engineer and happen to have that like of stuff lying around the barn. In my case they were Electro-voice 15" and I think they were EVM15B (orL). If memory serves, they were a bit more efficient and a little peaky in the low end, but no more so than the LaScalas with stock speakers- just look at the frequency curve on those at 400HZ! They sounded pretty darn good to me, until my stock cones came back from reconing. Any rate, if it's a cheap fix, probably no big harm, of course, being purists, we'd rather see you fix em up right! If your originals are blown DON"T THROW THEM AWAY- save the frames and if the voice coil gap is not scored, you can have them reconed. Look for a rock and roll electronics repair center- they do this work all the time and it's way cheaper than buying new drivers! Michael

hey Bill, i recommend you add a REALLY BIG doghouse to the rear of the main house, say about 22x 30 feet, with room enough to let your Scalas BREATH! I remember using two pairs of the industrial (split cab fibreglass with metal edge) LaScalas back in the 80's for travelling disco/DJ shows! They KICKED! Michael

Oh yeah, AMEN to not needing a Sub with Cornwalls. I'm a firm believer that the ear can localize even low frequencies, down to the last couple of octaves. My bro has the Quintet/Sub setup and it drives me crazy with about half the audible spectrum coming from that box in the corner. I want to hear the original stereo/HT spread as the engineer mixed it. CORNS ROCK!!!! If I ever need more low end, I've got a couple of JBL 18" theatre/pa cabinets and a Crown 1200 amp, that should do the job! Michael

Thanks for the help gang. I"M KEEPING THE CORNWALLS. I just LOVE the sound of these babies so much I can't move em from the main listening room. I've got a 10 band eq on them (through my Yamaha receivers main pre-out/in loop- very cool) so the timbre closely matches that of the KILLER RC7, which I consider a necessity because of the imaging necessary for HT useage. I cannot see how some users justify using Cornwalls, Heresy, or LaScalas for centre channel, but hey, it's your ears. Likewise, for the sake of efficiency and imaging, I'm going to invest in RS7 rears, possibly move the more inefficient Definitive BiPolars to a side listening position as 2nd set of surrounds. Also going for the new Yamaha 3300 unless you have some advice regarding that purchase! Been shopping EBay for Klipsch, and there's some beautiful stuff out there. I recall paying $300 for my pair of Corns, but they had been in a fire and I had to rebuild all drivers. Peace and happy listening, Michael

OUCH- could NEVER consider selling my Cornwalls! These babies actually survived a house fire before I owned them. They sat in this guy's closet and the house burned down around them. I replaced cones and all drivers, they sound great, but stunk like high hell for the first three years I owned them. They're really ugly beat up oiled walnet, though- don't look real good in the LR and take up lots of acreage! I think I'll just keep em, perhaps buy the RS7's for surround (I don't have much wall space, but need something more effiecient and full range than the Definitive Bii-polars), I think I'd probably be disappointed with the RF7's as replacements, especially since I'd probably have to add a subwoofer (yech) of some type to make up for the missing bass (GOTTA LOVE BIG BOXES!)

OMIGOD, it's gorgeous! I do wonder how the RC7 woofers work with Altec x-over and if the designer copied the Klipsch cabinetry (port) design exactly! I do like the idea of a wooden horn though, as most of those old Altec's were metal and had a definite 'ring' to them. Good luck with the sale.

Help! I'm in a wonderful predicament! I'm the proud owner of 1975 Cornwalls, rebuilt within last 10 years. I dearly love the 'big box' sound of these speakers and they are the mains in my home theatre/hard rock sound system. I'm also using a newly installed RC7 and some Definitive Tech bipolar's for rear speakers in my 5.0 setup. Currently using a Yamaha 850, which is 80 x 3 + 30 x 2, underpowering the rears, although I plan on upgrading to a 3300 with equal 110 watts x 5 (7). I've stumbled upon an opportunity to purchase Klipsch speakers at substantial discount(30-50% below list), have about $2,000 to spend and wonder if anyone has any advice for me. As I see it, my main options would be to : 1. replace (?) Cornwalls with slimmer, smoother response, better dispersion RF7, to match my RC7. what is the best price any one has found on these? Then what to do with the Corns, hook em up in garage or basement? what a shame. 2. keep the Corns, but replace bipolars with more efficient RS-7 surrounds. 3. I'm not a great believer in powered subs, but if option 1, should i invest in a RSW15 as well? 3. I already own two pairs of KB1.1's for office and have another set of 4 with KSC C1 for a 'second room ' small theatre system, so I don't think I need any more 'little speakers' . Thanks for your help, this is kind of a 'dream list' of mine. I live in Indianapolis, and am taking the Klipsch facility tour next week ! WWWOOOOO HHHOOOOO !! Michael

My .02 is that the designation of this 'sixth' channel would matter a great deal. If the sound engineer mixes this such that it is truly a center rear channel, ie a mono mix of both left and right rear channels, or a third discreet channel in the rear soundstage, it would be treated similarly to the front center channel and would thusly require a somewhat beamy upper mid and high end so that the sound could BE LOCALIZED BY THE HUMAN EAR, ie, you would want toknow what direction the sound came from because this information would be important to he soundstage. A RC7 or similar speaker would be called for. If on the other hand, this sixth channel is used as a discreet effects channel, it would by necessity require a speaker system whose dispersion pattern was very diffuse, so that the listen COULD NOT TELL EXACTLY where the sound was coming from. RS5 would be an appropriate design for this speaker. In the long run, engineers do not have a written set of rules they must follow, so the chances are that some soundtracks (and multi-channel audio discs) may be mixed in either of the examples above. Similar to the old debate of direct versus reflected sound (Klipsch vs yech Bose) or bipolar vs dipolar surrounds, the ultimate choice is probably that of the listener and their favorite source material, IMHO! Above all, just have FUN being an equipment junkie- Klipsch- collect em all- it's a set! Michael

My system is evolving into a monster! I've got Cornwalls for my main fronts, and love my new RC7 which is extraordinary. Currently the RC7 is in a cabinet under my 27" set which will be replaced by a 35" direct view screen. I think for viewing height the TV will be on a stand about 22" high, with the RC7 ON TOP of it. This will place the RC7 considerably higher that the Cornwalls (or their possible replacements, RF7) . Question is this... Will a height differential across the front three speakers cause problems with this very critical portion of the sound stage? I also occasionally use a 100" pull-down screen and a Canon projector. Should I keep my RC7's near the floor, aimed up at the prime listening position, so they are not 'behind' the screen when it is pulled down? In this position, they would be only 1' off the floor, like they are now. Thanks, Michael

Hey Dave, Congrats on your Cornwalls, I rescued a pair that lived through a home fire, damn things smelled like smoke for years, put played great after I got the woofers reconed! Regarding the 4 vs 8 ohm markings, the individual components may vary in ohmmage, but the OVERALL NOMINAL impedence of the speakers system is 8 ohms as advertised. Wait until you get a CD player and a reference CD to check your sound. Using old cassettes is a questionable test technique. Regarding moving tweeters forward, my Cornwalls have the squawker (old Klipsch term for midrange) and tweeter mounted to the rear/inside of the front panel of the cabinet. Wouldn't there be some benefit to moving them to the front of the cabinet face to reduce diffraction effects of the 3/4 plywood ?? Has anyone done this? Would this be in like with Klipsch engineering for the Cornwall II? Michael

I also use Yamaha and Cornwalls and can address your problem. As mentioned, surround sound amps have lots of goodies that take away from the manufacturers $ to put high quality components in low-mid priced units. One problem is that your signal is being routed through the digital domain for the purpose of adding 'effects'. Both of these will add 'grain' and reverb (multiple sound sources) which will muddy your pure sound. Many HT receivers also have horrendous damping factors, like 50 or 80, whereas most audiophile recognize that values of 150-300 are much better. In laymans terms damping factor is the ability of the amp to stop the woofer from 'ringing' after the sound pulse has ended. This would be particularly important with a speaker system with large heavy woofers like the Cornwall. Lastly is the lack of good tone controls. My Yamaha 850 has main in/out jacks which I use to interconnect a good dual 10 band eq to account for oddities in the way my Cornwalls interact with my room acoustics. If you like Yamaha features, perhaps try a higher grade stereo amp, which will give you the damping factor you need. Also 2300 and 3300 HT units are better, with the 3300 allowing you to hook up auxilary equipment like EQ's. Both units have 'direct' modes, which allow you to take a stereo sound source and bypass all the DIGITAL processing, rendering a purer sound. You also get PHONO inputs on these units, unlike many other mid-priced HT receivers. Hope this helps! Michael

Steve, thanks for your thoughts on rear center channel speakers. I'm currently using only Dolby Pro Logic with my Yamaha 850. Looking to buy the 2300 or 3300 so I'll be either 6.1 or 8.1 (with Yamaha front effects, which I probably won't use.) In my last post, I was speaking entirely theoretically, since I've never wired a 5.1 or 6.1 system. I know that the rear channels are 'full' spectrum frequency response, therefore the attempt to match the fronts both in terms of efficiency and timbre are critical. I don't know how much information is contained in DVD's or SACD's in terms of discrete rear channel information, and how much separation is in those recorded channels. I would think that if the information contained in these 3 channels is intended to be localized for the listener in the prime location, that direct-radiating speakers would be best for ALL THREE REAR speakers. If the sounds are intended to be diffuse, then again, bi-polar or some type of diffuse-radiating speakers would be called for in ALL THREE REAR speakers. I cannot imagine (speaking theoretically here again, trying to put myself in the recording engineers shoes) how you could possibly need diffuse sound in the L/R rears, but require localized sound in the center channel, unless the mix was VERY specialized with respect to sound moving from front center to rear center. Not trying to 'flame' here, just interested in your thoughts and YOUR EXPERIENCES with sounds from different sources. Q- Is the sound mix drastically different with SACD's than DVD's, such that the purchaser should determine his 'main' listening source and arrance speakers in accordance with this? (i.e. is a principally SACD music setup vastly different from a principally DVD setup) Thanks for your input

Thanks for a reasonable explanation of bi-wiring. If I purchase the specialized cables for lo-freq and hi-freq and wire the things backwards, will I get a frequency response of 100hz-1Khz? Are we SURE this isn't snake oil to sell more $$$ cables??

WOW- that ?? generated a load of responses. I can't believe that a company like Klipsch would engineer such a 'benefit' and then not explain better how to use and the audible benefits. Their 'tapered array' in the RC-7's is a magnificent concept and well explained, but I still don't get the bi-wiring concept. Unless the runs from amp to speaker are extraordinarliy long, I can't see how bi-wiring would have much advantage over using a high-quality wire like Monster Cable. I will contact Klipsch directly (I live in Indianapolis and know Steve and Paul Klipsch personally) and see if they can route me to an engineer who can help us. Michael