Cornwall III or Heresy III?

[soulboogaloo]

Hi guys, 

 

I think I'm more and more attracted by the Heritage line. 

I'm on the market to find my new pair of speaker (I'm talking music here, not HT). 

My amp is a McIntosh MA6850, solid state 2x150w, so it's already really powerful. 

I was considering the Heresy III, which I still hadn't the possibility to test, but it seems feasible, there's a store here in Paris that has a pair in their auditorium. 

However, I was wondering if, now that I own a really upper-range amp, I shouldn't go for a more expensive pair of speakers, therefore the Cornwall came to my attention. 

Are they basically like the Heresys on steroids? I've read that they are a bit difficult to set and find the right placement, which might prove to be tricky in my living room.

I basically mostly listen to jazz, classical, and some old funk/soul sometimes, but I definitely in search of a great soundscape and imaging.

Would you say both of those models could fit? Or do they have each their own personality?

It will be tough for me to try the Cornwalls, so I'm a bit reluctant, plus of course, the price range is obviously not the same, so I wouldn't want to make any mistake...

Maybe I should add that the whole living room's surface is something like 40m², but the part where I'm listening to music is roughly half of it!

 

Thanks for your advices!

[EJC]

First, I'll state that I've never used either but I'm a long time Forte II (now modified) since 1989 and I'm about to embark oI seriously doubt n a Heresy Project.
So my opinion will be general in nature.

The amp has plenty of power for either, I seriously doubt you'll be using more than 5W to power either pair.

the Cornwall is twice the price and is a bigger cabinet. I would think it will have a better low end. But I'm not sure how noticeable it would be.

 

I think the decision comes down to wallet, room size, and ego. Whichever way you go the resulting sound should be fantastic.
 

[dtel]

I would go listen to the Heresy's to get an idea of the sound, the biggest difference is the Cornwall would have over it is the bass, plus the mid and tweeter is higher up on the Cornwall putting it closer to the ear when seated. They also sound a little bigger, I guess because of the same two reasons. The Cornwall has a good bit of full bass and the Heresy will have less but it's tight bass but definitely less.

 

Either speaker will probably outlive you so take your time, you can't really make a mistake with either. You asked if both models could fit and I would say yes, no problem. Also there are not hard to get placed for good sound, not as particular as some speakers.

 

I have a pair of Cornwall lll's in a 12' x 15' bedroom on the long wall, they are in the corners and sound great even with all the furniture.

 

Tough choices

[Seadog]

I do not find that Cornwalls are difficult to find a placement that sounds good.  I have set up my Cornwalls in a number of settings and they always sounded great.  I do not have Cornwall III's but I have heard them several times, including a head-to-head comparison with my Cornwalls, and I think you will not be disappointed if you choose the CW III's over the Heresy III's.  Hersey's sound wonderful, but the extended bass of the CW's fill the room with sound effortlessly, even at low listening levels.

[russ69]

5 hours ago, soulboogaloo said:

...but I definitely in search of a great soundscape and imaging...

These speakers are not the best at doing that. I love them for what they are but the sound stage is not extraordinary.