KLF30 VS. Cornwall II

[InventiveAudio.com]

Hi,

I have a pair of Cornwalls that I bought new. I am very happy with the speaker. However, I heard that the KLF30 was a much improved horn speaker compared to the Cornwall. I heard it was smoother. I was wondering if anyone had A/B the two sepakers and compared the sound. The reason I'm asking is that I have a friend who wants to make a trade. Opinions are appreciated.

[boa12]

trader, congrats on sticking w/ the b&k by the way. i have the 7270 & love it.

this depends a lot on the ear tastes. i have both in the main sys & compare w/ 6 channel stereo though they are placed on opposite room ends.

i love both but always have liked the corns better. they're a classic. the 30s are louder & i would say clearer on the highs, great mids. but i think the corns are more refined & also have great mids, but, though they have great low bass extension, not quite that 2nd octave slam factor of the 30s.

only way to tell for you for sure would be to give the 30s a direct comparison. tough call. i'd be inclined to keep the corns though myself.

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My Home Systems Page

[avman]

from my limited experiences w/both i prefer the more balanced sound of the 30's. the cornwalls i've heard sounded good, and played brutally loud, but don't seem as 'flat' from deepest bass to highs as the 30's.avman.

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1-pair klf 30's

c-7 center

ksps-6 surrounds

RSW-15

sony strda-777ES receiver upgraded to v.2.02 including virtual matrix 6.1

sony playstation 2

sony dvpnc 650-v 5-disc dvd/cd/SACD changer

dishnetwork model 6000 HD sat rcvr w/digital off-air tuner

sony kv36xbr450 high-definition 4:3 tv

sharp xv-z1u lcd projector w/84" 4:3 sharp screen

Bello'international Italian-made a/v furniture

panamax max dbs+5 surge protector/power conditioner

monster cable and nxg interconnects/12 gua.speaker wire

KLIPSCH-So Good It Hz!

[mace]

Hi,

First off I will advise: Before trading get together with your friend and compare the two for yourself. You really need to hear both in the same room and let your ears decide! If you have such an opportunity consider yourself lucky and do it! They are both very, very fine loudspeakers and each have their pros and cons. Only your ears can decide.

That being said....

I have both KLF 30's and Cornwall I's. I just got the Cornwalls a few weeks ago. I was never 100% happy with the 30's. To my ears, the Cornwalls are smoother and I would say they just have more body. The music isn't as brash, harsh with the Cornwalls and I find myself wanting to turn them up and up because they are so easy on the ears. With the 30's, the high end seems much more pronounced and really can be grating at high levels (95 dB and up).

The Cornwalls benefit from physics. 177.5 liters vs. 130.2 liters of volume (36% more for CW vs. 30's). Plus, the front board is larger for the CW at 5220 vs. 3729 cm^2 (40% larger for CW). The CW's have much more free front board with only 20% taken up by drivers compared with the 30's 56%. So, in the end, the net "sounding board" area for each is 4150 cm^2 for CW and 1625 cm^2 for 30's. The CW has components mounted from inside while on the 30's the components are screwed in from the outside. Does any of this matter? I don't know. It seems to from what my ears tell me.

See this thread for some response curves in my room. Keep in mind the response in of any speaker is very dependent on the room.

Now, as far as amplification I'm using, I do consider this my weak link but it isn't terrible. I'm using an NAD 3240 integrated amp. This amp was used for A/B-ing the speakers. Both speakers had generic monster cable. I have an older Denon CD player with Monster interconnects. I suppose that upgrading the amp may help the harshness of the 30's but keep in mind that I didn't hear this with the Cornwalls. Maybe the 30's are more accurate but it seems to my ears the CW's are more natural.

Another difference in the 2 is the connections at the back of the speakers. The 30's have the banana plugs and the Cornwalls have some screws going into a steel plate. Probably a disadvantage for the CW's.

I'm in the process right now over the next month or so of doing more testing. Currently, I've moved the 30's into another room where they are just sitting. However, after a couple of weeks I will hook up the 30's again to see how they compare again before I make a final decision on which pair to keep. The are both speakers and the decision isn't an easy one.

Oh, and on one more subjective test the Cornwalls win hand down: the goosebump test. I get many more goosebumps with the Cornwalls. My music varys from metal, blues, rock, classical, piano, techno and dance.

Later,

Mace

This message has been edited by mace on 04-21-2002 at 01:08 PM

[InventiveAudio.com]

Hi,

The reason I posted this thread is that I don't have any way to compare the speakers side by side. My friend is out of state and is coming for a visit so I need to make a deciscion fast. I think I'll keep the Cornwalls. They are a classic and I love the sound so why gamble on another speakers. From what I'm reading they are not worlds a part but the CW may be smoother. The 30s probably have more bass but that doesn't matter because I'm running a home brewed sub. The upgrade bug is hard to get rid of. I would love to hear the newest stuff from Klipsch compared to the CWs. My amplification is a Sherbourn 5 channel amp. I also have Heresy speakers and will be using a B&K amp for those. The Heresys are the older version but sound very close to the CWs in the upper mids and highs. With a sub with is a killer setup. Now I need to buy another set of Heresys and used each speaker for a center channel. Right now I'm using a C5 center that is adequate. I also have S5 sorrounds which are also adequate.

[mace]

I think you'll be very happy keeping the cornwalls. Consider that they are already 'old' and will hold their value well. The 30's just went the way of extinction and will only get cheaper over the next few years (probably) since they don't have the 'character' of the cornwalls. So, if in the future you should chance upon some 30's and you could sell the CW's and get the 30's and probably not be out anything.

Mace