zebra03 Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 I have had my RF7II's for a year . I still have this nagging feeling Cornwall III's are far and away better than the RF's . What say you ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 I will say the new RF7llls are superior to the RF7lls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra03 Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 Close , but no cigar . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 zebra03, Welcome to the forum. 1 hour ago, zebra03 said: I have had my RF7II's for a year . I still have this nagging feeling Cornwall III's are far and away better than the RF's . What say you ? Very nice speakers in the RF-7II. What do you mean by "better"? I love my RF-63s that I have owned since May 08 and have never had a reason to "upgrade" to anything else. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Depends on what you listen to i think. Go find a member that has some and listen to them. Your talking about new ones or older ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Cornwall III now uses the horn from the Heresy. If the mid-horn was bigger, I think the comparison would be closer to fair. I've heard the Cornwall III several times, and was never particularly impressed. I even consistently picked the RF-7 over the Cornwall III in a blind test in Indy after it was first reintroduced. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank1938 Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 8 minutes ago, Deang said: Cornwall III now uses the horn from the Heresy. If the mid-horn was bigger, I think the comparison would be closer to fair. I've heard the Cornwall III several times, and was never particularly impressed. I even consistently picked the RF-7 over the Cornwall III in a blind test in Indy after it was first reintroduced. Agree with Dean. I've had the CF-2, Forte I, II, Heresy 1, 2, 3, Cornwall III. My favorite? Forte III. Great looking and excellent sounding speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ODS123 Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Haven’t heard the Cornwalls vs RFs but did so vs Hersey’s. To my ears, they sound wayyyyy more open than the Hersey iiis, shared mid horn notwithstanding. I think people are irked by the fact the Cornwall’s now share a driver with the Heresy and this may be impacting, via expectation bias, what they are hearing. I think you need to judge for yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 If by better... you mean different, then yes. Cornwalls are better. It's a different sound, not a better sound. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 1 hour ago, ODS123 said: To my ears, they sound wayyyyy more open than the Hersey iiis, How does that work -- they use the same tweeter, same mid-driver, same mid-horn, and same crossover topology. If they sound more open, it's because they're at ear level. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted February 13, 2018 Moderators Share Posted February 13, 2018 Also a different cabinet, this would only change the bass except for the height as Dean said. BUT when you change any part it's going to sound different, like on a old receiver with 3 tone controls, if you turn up the mid range and tweeter, it sounds like less bass and just the opposite. 2 hours ago, ODS123 said: I think people are irked by the fact the Cornwall’s now share a driver with the Heresy and this may be impacting, via expectation bias, what they are hearing. I think you need to judge for yourself. Even with the same top half drivers "to me" the Hlll and Clll sound a good bit different from each other, I guess the big difference is the bass could throw off my perception of the top horns ? 9 hours ago, zebra03 said: I have had my RF7II's for a year . I still have this nagging feeling Cornwall III's are far and away better than the RF's . What say you ? I have no idea with the RF line, but if you consider any change I would only do it after listening to a FEW other models, you wouldn't want to change for only a slight difference, that would be silly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 you should ask... is the CW3 better than the CW1/2... the answer is fairly clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ODS123 Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 As a more general comment regarding version II vs. version III of both the Heresy and Cornwall: It i's totally predictable that when a newer version of a speaker is introduced there will be those who claim that all improvements ended w/ the particular version they own. It's as if the crack team of engineers who made their great speaker suddenly became incompetent just as they were designing the successor. Or that the engineering focus abruptly changed from improving performance to only cutting costs. I recall reading this when Vandersteen went from 3A to 3Asig, Paradigm from Studio 100 ver4 to 5, Paradigm S8 v2 to v3 (w/ Berrylium Tweeter), and so on. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouachita Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 I will make this observation: Both speakers sound fantastic - but different. RF-7ii is a 2 way with a compression driver that goes down to 1200 hz, below that are dual 10 inch direct radiators. CWiii is a 3 way with compression driver(s) that go down to 800 hz, below that is a 15 inch direct radiator (same driver that is used in some or their pro speakers and the La Scala and Klipschorn) The mid horn in the CWiii is exponential while the horn in the RF is tractrix. If you're my age (~50) and are looking for that classic Klipsch sound, the CWIII is the speaker to choose. The RF-7 is also an astounding speaker, there is no wrong choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 2 hours ago, ODS123 said: As a more general comment regarding version II vs. version III of both the Heresy and Cornwall: It i's totally predictable that when a newer version of a speaker is introduced there will be those who claim that all improvements ended w/ the particular version they own. It's as if the crack team of engineers who made their great speaker suddenly became incompetent just as they were designing the successor. Or that the engineering focus abruptly changed from improving performance to only cutting costs. I recall reading this when Vandersteen went from 3A to 3Asig, Paradigm from Studio 100 ver4 to 5, Paradigm S8 v2 to v3 (w/ Berrylium Tweeter), and so on. All else being equal, the larger horn will typically sound better. Even when things are not equal -- the larger horn still sounds better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 46 minutes ago, Ouachita said: CWiii is a 3 way with compression driver(s) that go down to 800 hz, below that is a 15 inch direct radiator (same driver that is used in some or their pro speakers and the La Scala and Klipschorn) The mid horn in the CWiii is exponential while the horn in the RF is tractrix. The CWiii does not use the same compression driver as the LaScala or Klipschorn, or the same tweeter. While one would think the edge goes to the tractrix horn, consider that with these two-ways, all of the midrange is being reproduced by large cones, as opposed to a compression driver and horn. IOWs, by the time the horn takes over, there is no midrange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 55 minutes ago, Deang said: The CWiii does not use the same compression driver as the LaScala or Klipschorn, or the same tweeter. He was saying that the 15" was the same between them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ODS123 Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 2 hours ago, Deang said: All else being equal, the larger horn will typically sound better. Even when things are not equal -- the larger horn still sounds better. Hmm.. So why then does the CWiii sound better (to my ears, anyway) than the Forte III, which has a larger mid-horn? I listened to both in the same room and in quick succession using the same music. ..The CWiii's sounded more open and detailed. Your comment also begs the question, why did the Klipsch engineers use a smaller mid-horn in the 3rd iteration if LARGER is ALWAYS better?? ..I'm not an acoustical engineer but I somewhat suspect there is more to the calculus than you are suggesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avguytx Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 The "rumor" is the mold for the K600/601 was lost somehow. So, the Heresy III horn was apparently used because it was in the barn. Or so I've read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtr20 Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 50 minutes ago, ODS123 said: Hmm.. So why then does the CWiii sound better (to my ears, anyway) than the Forte III, which has a larger mid-horn? I listened to both in the same room and in quick succession using the same music. My guess would be placement. My father @TomR would probably agree with you. We listened to both at ask audio store, but in different rooms. I liked both, but I loved the mid-range I the forte III more, but my dad like the Cornwall overall better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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