wes_in_va Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 (edited) I'm new to the forum and thought I'd make an introduction. I'm the proud new owner of my BIL's old Cornwalls, II's from the 80's from what I can tell so far. I've been too busy enjoying them to pull the grills and check the drivers. I'm crossing my fingers that these will help me get off the merry-go-round of speakers. They have everything I've been looking for. I'm really surprised, actually, at how well they do in my quite small 11'x12' listening room. The room is pretty well treated so that makes a huge difference. The system as it stands right now:Modded AR-XB/Denon DL-103M>AD797 phono stage>Guanzo 6N3 pre>Decware Zen SE84B>Cornwall II's The pic is a little different setup, using a modded CA640p phono stage and an audiobah TPA3116 amp. Those have moved. Edited October 23, 2014 by wes_in_va 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Welcome and congrats, I'll bet that small room rocks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Congrats. The CWs are great speakers. Pull them away from the walls a little bit more and give them some breathing room. You might be surprised. Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes_in_va Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Thanks for the welcomes. Shakey, I've actually played with several positions and so far this is the best. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but in this room they're pretty kicka** back there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steven1963 Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 1. Grats on the new speakers! In-laws have their perks. 2. Welcome to the forums! 3. Thanks for the pic - we love those. Cornwalls were the first Klipsch speaker I ever heard. Ironically enough, from my Brother-in-law. I was very young then - about 12. But they blew me away and I never forgot the sound. I bought my first pair of Klipsch in 1980, a pair of Heresy's. About 20 years later I told my BiL if he ever sold those Cornwalls I'd be interested. About 10 years after that he sold them, but not to me . He said he 'forgot' that I had asked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckAb3 Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Welcome to the forums. I've been enjoying CW's for quite some time. While the soundstage is big enough for a small auditorium, they do well in smaller environments as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 (edited) I've actually played with several positions and so far this is the best. I know it sounds counterintuitive It's not counterintuitive to me...in fact that is where Paul Klipsch recommended that they be placed (Cornwall = corner or wall). You might try tacking up some absorbent material on the front and side walls next to the midrange horns, and move the loudspeakers even closer to the side walls - listening at the center position for an increase in imaging. Toeing the speakers in to on-axis at your listening position will also facilitate imaging once you've placed the absorbent material on front and side walls. Additionally, you might also try placing a thick absorbent material across the top of the loudspeakers, letting the material stick out in front about an inch from the top. This should positively affect lower midrange timbre - making it sound a bit less "forward" in this band (600-1700Hz). Reference: http://www.diyaudio.com/wiki/Corner_Horn_Imaging_FAQ Edited October 23, 2014 by Chris A 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 To each his own. It's all very subjective and room dependant. The Cornwalls sounded best in my room when six feet from the wall behind them. Putting them against a wall or in a corner made them sound boxy and average at best. If that were the only way I could listen to them, I would have had to look elsewhere. Glad you found the spot in your room that makes you happy. Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 (edited) Putting them against a wall or in a corner made them sound boxy and average at best. Did you place absorbent tiles at midrange height out to 4 feet from the loudspeakers on the front and side walls? Were you using stock Klipsch Cornwall midrange horns when you had them in the corners with the absorbent material? The idea is that you smooth and extend bass response when they're placed in the corners--within 18 inches of the walls and within 4-6 inches of the floor--and you deal with early midrange reflections that affect imaging due to the nearfield (less than 4 ms delay) reflections from side and front walls. I recommend reading the link in my post above to understand why...especially in the vertical axis: it's called a collapsing polar midrange horn. Chris Edited October 23, 2014 by Chris A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Nice! Did you make the QRD behind the rack? Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Putting them against a wall or in a corner made them sound boxy and average at best. Did you place absorbent tiles at midrange height out to 4 feet from the loudspeakers on the front and side walls? Were you using stock Klipsch Cornwall midrange horns when you had them in the corners with the absorbent material? The idea is that you smooth and extend bass response when they're placed in the corners--within 18 inches of the walls and within 4-6 inches of the floor--and you deal with early midrange reflections that affect imaging due to the nearfield (less than 4 ms delay) reflections from side and front walls. I recommend reading the link in my post above to understand why...especially in the vertical axis: it's called a collapsing polar midrange horn. Chris No I didn't do that. All indications from this site were "that's the way PWK designed them to work", so I figured no futzing on my part was necessary. Just plop them in the corners like most do, and magic would appear. That was not the case at all. Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 There are a lot of comments about "just put them in the corners or against the wall" without mention of the room. You gotta deal with the room though or it is just dumb luck if you get decent sound. In my house, I'm rarely closer than a couple of feet to the wall + room treatments. Heresys in the bedroom do fine against the wall but there is also no other choice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I agree. Even if all you are after is more bass (which is sometimes a juvenile request in itself), then conventional wisdom is that the speakers should be closer to room boundaries. This is not always the case. You have to take into account the room nodes and where low bass reinforcement occurs within the room. This is best deduced by trial and error of moving the speakers and the listening postion in small increments. The best or the most bass may well occur where you least likely expect it. With the exception of Klipschorns, I think you are likely to find that near a room boundary will hardly ever give you the most linear bass response for large floor standing loudspeakers. The usual disclaimers apply here. My opinion and my experience, blah, blah, blah...... Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornman Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Wes welcome to the wonderful world of Cornwalls, I love them so much, thats why my handle is corn-man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiser SET say Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 And here all this time I thought it was because you were Corny HeHeHe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 (edited) off the wall... mo betta! off the wall, more spacial and airy... Against the wall/corner, more focus and beaming... your choice, neither is correct. Offcornwall... Edited October 23, 2014 by Schu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes_in_va Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Nice! Did you make the QRD behind the rack? Bruce Thanks. I did make the QRD. I didn't do any calculations beforehand so it's really more art than anything, but I do think it helps. I also have some egg crate foam on several of the walls, and I ahve a lot of absorption in the room including behind the speakers, at first reflections on the side walls, and tons of it behind my listening position. It's amazing how good this space can sound even with large speakers like the Cornwalls. The setup as it is now has a huge soundstage that extends well beyond the speakers horizontally and has a real sense of scale to it. Imaging is quite nice, though of course not as good as it was with the open baffles I was using before. The biggest compliment I can pay is that I have a bit of a hard time describing the sound since whenever I listen, I get lost in the music. Honestly, that's all I really want and these speakers do a better job of allowing me that than any others I've had. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbox Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I'm crossing my fingers that these will help me get off the merry-go-round of speakers. merry-go-round...did you ever come to the wrong place....welcome, come often... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 ...The biggest compliment I can pay is that I have a bit of a hard time describing the sound since whenever I listen, I get lost in the music. Honestly, that's all I really want and these speakers do a better job of allowing me that than any others I've had. "Lost in the music!" That's when you know that you must be doing something right! Congratulations and welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 In my house, I'm rarely closer than a couple of feet to the wall + room treatments. Pictures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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