Cornwall II or III

[timeout59]

Hi I'm new here, hope it's okay to ask this question in this forum.  Found some nice looking Cornwall II's w/i reasonable driving distance.  They have square magnets on the woofers, does that mean they are Alnico?  Are Cornwall III's improved over the II's enough that if you had the option for not much more $ you'd prefer them?

[opusk2k9]

The round are the Alnico.  I doubt any of the Cornwall II shipped with them.

 

The bass is spec'd a lot lower on the Cornwall III, but I haven't heard them personally. 

[J M O N]

I haven't heard the IIIs but the Cornwall IIs are excellent speakers.  I can't hesitate recommending them.  Add some decent tubes and you'll have a very musical system.

[Woofers and Tweeters]

Welcome to the forum. Ask a lot of questions. These people are great.

[ricktate]

The II would be a lot cheaper and almost same performance. If you can get those and maybe upgrade crossover. Make sure all drivers work in the ones your looking at. Being able to go get them is huge advantage.

[joshnich]

There are two different cornwalls that were designated Cornwall 11's. Original vertical horn Cornwalls were 11's as were the ones from the 80s with the horns mounted from the front of the motor board. The original 11's most certainly had alnico drivers on the woofers and I am pretty sure they were square.

a spectacular looking pair is currently on ebay

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Klipsch-Cornwall-II-Speakers-Pair-with-Original-Packaging-Beautiful-Shape-/152195176157?hash=item236f8a16dd:g:vZwAAOSwM4xXbGf6

 

 

[ricktate]

I think those on ebay have alnico tweets but the woofer is not. I could be wrong though. Even so does not really matter any Cornwall would be good if all drivers worked and you can pick them up your self.

[LarryC]

On August 8, 2016 at 2:56 PM, timeout59 said:

Hi I'm new here, hope it's okay to ask this question in this forum.  Found some nice looking Cornwall II's w/i reasonable driving distance.  They have square magnets on the woofers, does that mean they are Alnico?  Are Cornwall III's improved over the II's enough that if you had the option for not much more $ you'd prefer them?

I would recommend the II's in any case.  The mid horn is larger and is responsible for the special Cornwall sound IMO.  I am not enthusiastic about the III's, with their slightly smaller mid horn and higher Xover point.  Just MHO.

[pzannucci]

On 8/9/2016 at 6:35 PM, LarryC said:

I would recommend the II's in any case.  The mid horn is larger and is responsible for the special Cornwall sound IMO.  I am not enthusiastic about the III's, with their slightly smaller mid horn and higher Xover point.  Just MHO.

15" woofer for great vocals usually demands a lower cut off.  I haven't listened to IIIs but I also like warmer mids (probably phenolic vs Ti on the mids).  To each their own.

[LarryC]

I agree re the phenollic for the mid -- this involves the character of the sound, and the TI in the tweeter contrasts with it too much for my tastes.  I suspect the same is true re the woofer, since many bass notes are produced by the fiber cone, while many of the overtones are produced with either phenolic or TI mid and/or tweeter diaphragms (yes, bass overtones DO reach up into the tweeter's range!).   This may very well artificially produce clearer bass notes, because the tweeter then reproduces clearer overtones.  The trouble is, this can be an artificial clarity that DOES NOT BLEND WELL with the cone bass.  I'd be careful about disturbing the even tone quality from top to bottom of the Corn II!

[pzannucci]

9 hours ago, LarryC said:

I agree re the phenollic for the mid -- this involves the character of the sound, and the TI in the tweeter contrasts with it too much for my tastes.  I suspect the same is true re the woofer, since many bass notes are produced by the fiber cone, while many of the overtones are produced with either phenolic or TI mid and/or tweeter diaphragms (yes, bass overtones DO reach up into the tweeter's range!).   This may very well artificially produce clearer bass notes, because the tweeter then reproduces clearer overtones.  The trouble is, this can be an artificial clarity that DOES NOT BLEND WELL with the cone bass.  I'd be careful about disturbing the even tone quality from top to bottom of the Corn II!

Yes, that and the crossover locations along with the size of the woofer will provide that character.  The 15 with a higher crossover provides a less distinct male vocal range than smaller woofers.  Of course this is dependent on the design but with paper/fiber woofers, it seems like it does to me.

 

Some speaker companies tout using the same or almost the same material in their drivers top to bottom to have the character remain the same.