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cornwall3 as 2.1 sound system


habinger808

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aloha,

as the title suggest, im thinking of purchasing a pair of cornwall3s as my one and only sound system for our home. the room it will be in is approximately 14'x30' with windows alongside the length of one of those walls. would these be considered too much sound for this space? also, we like to open the windows so we can hear things while we are playing outside with our 2 monkeys. my wife will only allow me to buy one system so im thinking to just turn up the volume if need be and enjoy things outside. 
lastly, recommendations on an integrated amp to hook these up to?... hopefully something under $500 to start with for a year. need to save some money up to buy the appropriate gear to really make use of these speakers. 

mahalo in advance for all your help

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How's it?

What's your planned ".1"?
Great choice imho on the Cornwall's and they handle the volume. Great for your size room, too! I don't have III's, but I have two pairs of Cornwalls. I'm a Yamaha guy, so look at their lineup for your integrated.

Best of luck,
Richard


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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baron167... i currently have a set of rp150m and r120sw setup to sony 7.1 receiver. i want to keep that as is since its ready to go for movies and shows.
the cornwalls will be just for music only as my wife is getting back into vinyl and shes about to collect alot of her dads this xmas. we both remember our fathers listening to classic old school speakers. my grandfather and uncle both had klipsch and they always sounded great to me. only looking at the cw3s since i can get a smoking deal on them as they both have some cosmetic damage to a few corners which i could careless about :)

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44 minutes ago, Kman said:

I agree with yamaha. pairing a A-S801 with Forte III's. I know not as big as the cornwalls but they Gel nicely together I think.  

mahalo for the input Kman! 

id really like the forte3s as it would fit much better into our space and i can always use the r120sw if we need more low end. unless i can find a smoking deal on forte3s like these cornwall3s :)
again this is purely an exercise in my head as i still need to convince my wife in letting me spend some moolah!

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I don't think your space is too small for Cornwall.  Remember, these speakers are designed to be cozied up against a wall or corner.  So they don't need the usual several feet of breathing room around them.

 

As for Forte III or Cornwall III, I listened to both and ended preferring the Cornwalls b/c they seemed more dynamic while at the same time seemed to sound better/ more open even a the very quiet volumes I listen at during very late or very early hours.

 

Not that any one persons opinion should trump anothers but here is a review by a particularly earnest audiophile who has both the FIII and CWIII and ompares them in this youtube review:

 

 

 

Good luck.  Both are great speakers.

 

 

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22 hours ago, habinger808 said:

thinking of purchasing a pair of cornwall3s

I have Forte's (w/ a set  of K-510 horns) in a small stereo room. Very good and detailed sound.  But ... certainly not able to get good sound out of these for "outside."

Also have Cornwall's used as rear speakers in our main room (about 20x40ft).  Like them much better than the Forte's AND they will give me "outside" sound ... so you can guess my recommendation. :D 

Cornwall's are powered by a vintage Yamaha CR-620 (35W/ch).  Very good sound and was only $100 on CraigsList ... enough for "rears." If you are using it as a main system I would recommend some more power, like a Yamaha CR-1020, Marantz 2252B (or "more and bigger").

One more thought ... since you have the room, consider going Klipsch "Pro."  I am using a set of KPT-904's (w/510 horns) as my main speakers and they will blow any residential Klipsch speakers away ... or the "ultimate," 402 horns with MWM boxes :D 

Cheers, Emile

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21 minutes ago, ODS123 said:

edited ...

I don't think your space is too small for Cornwall ... 

As for Forte III or Cornwall III, I listened to both and ended preferring the Cornwalls b/c they seemed more dynamic while at the same time seemed to sound better/ more open even a the very quiet volumes I listen ...

here is a review by a particularly earnest audiophile who has both the FIII and CWIII and compares them ...

AWESOME ... completely agree :D  Video is "long" but a very honest comparison ... highly recommend that the OP views the whole thing :) 

Cheers, Emile

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10 hours ago, ODS123 said:

I don't think your space is too small for Cornwall.  Remember, these speakers are designed to be cozied up against a wall or corner.  So they don't need the usual several feet of breathing room around them.

 

As for Forte III or Cornwall III, I listened to both and ended preferring the Cornwalls b/c they seemed more dynamic while at the same time seemed to sound better/ more open even a the very quiet volumes I listen at during very late or very early hours.

 

Not that any one persons opinion should trump anothers but here is a review by a particularly earnest audiophile who has both the FIII and CWIII and ompares them in this youtube review:

 

 

 

Good luck.  Both are great speakers.

 

 

brother... it was these videos that got me started looking into buying some heritage speakers a few weeks ago!

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I've had Cornwalls and they would be great in that room.  Just toe them in a bit for listening, or leave them flat for a wider stage that would probably work better for outside. The only Yamaha I used with them sounded harsh and brittle.  I would try them with the Sony avr first if it has an A/B switch for the speakers and a phono stage.  See if you like the sound and get a feel for the speakers before you spend the money on something else.

 

You didn't mention what turntable you have but if the cartridge (needle) is old make sure you get a new one before you start using gramps old records lest you cause damage to them.

 

So you play with monkeys? I always wondered what happened to that band.

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If anything, Cornwalls might be too small for 14 x 30.   Certainly not too big.  Search Amazon for "integrated amp" and you'll find several good choices in your range.  I will also recommend higher priced Yamahas.  Or, look for a vintage CA-x00 (maybe a CA-x10/x20 series) and have it restored.  A CA-800 drove my La Scalas quite well and tended to have a soft, tubey sound. 

 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xyamaha+CA.TRS0&_nkw=yamaha+CA&_sacat=0

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On 12/24/2018 at 3:54 PM, JohnA said:

If anything, Cornwalls might be too small for 14 x 30.   Certainly not too big.  Search Amazon for "integrated amp" and you'll find several good choices in your range.  I will also recommend higher priced Yamahas.  Or, look for a vintage CA-x00 (maybe a CA-x10/x20 series) and have it restored.  A CA-800 drove my La Scalas quite well and tended to have a soft, tubey sound. 

 

 

I strongly and respectfully disagree w/JohnA.   I don't think there would be ANY problem with a room that size.  ..My room is larger and my cornwalls can play to crazy ear-bleed levels without any hint of strain AND the wattage meters on my amp barely crest 10 watts.  So No need for gobs of power.  Heck, the CW's will sound great with an inexpensive A/V receiver in stereo mode.  I did exactly that while my primary integrated was being serviced and the speakers still sounded fabulous.  ..Prove this to yourself.   Bring your A/V receive to the dealer and ask him/ her to hook them up.  You'll agree I think.

 

Edited: added pic.  As seen in the attached pic my room is about 18' wide.  ..And it's twice as deep.  Plus, 10' vaulted ceiling.  

 

Mele Kalikimaka!  (I grew up in Hawaii.  ..Lovely place to spend Christmas!).

 

 

NewCWiii.jpg

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12 minutes ago, ODS123 said:

aloha ods123,

im born and raised on oahu and made the move to the mainland 3 years ago. miss the island lifestyle but things change. im waiting to hear from the seller to see if he'll let me hookup my av receiver. hopefully he does so i can get accurate sound using what i already have.

 

 

12 minutes ago, ODS123 said:

I strongly and respectfully disagree w/JohnA.   I don't think there would be ANY problem with a room that size.  ..My room is larger and my cornwalls can play to crazy ear-bleed levels without any hint of strain AND the wattage meters on my amp barely crest 10 watts.  So No need for gobs of power.  Heck, the CW's will sound great with an inexpensive A/V receiver in stereo mode.  I did exactly that while my primary integrated was being serviced and the speakers still sounded fabulous.  ..Prove this to yourself.   Bring your A/V receive to the dealer and ask him/ her to hook them up.  You'll agree I think.

 

Edited: added pic.  As seen in the attached pic my room is about 18' wide.  ..And it's twice as deep.  Plus, 10' vaulted ceiling.  

 

Mele Kalikimaka!  (I grew up in Hawaii.  ..Lovely place to spend Christmas!).

 

 

NewCWiii.jpg

 

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8 minutes ago, habinger808 said:

 

aloha ods123,

im born and raised on oahu and made the move to the mainland 3 years ago. miss the island lifestyle but things change. im waiting to hear from the seller to see if he'll let me hookup my av receiver. hopefully he does so i can get accurate sound using what i already have.

 

 

If it were me I'd tell the dealer that my placing an order for the speakers is predicated on being allowed to hook up and confirm my AVR can drive them.  ..It's hard imagining a "no" to that.  The Cornwalls are very easy speakers to drive cleanly.  It's hard imagining that your AVR won't be able to cut it.

 

 

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