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Cornwall III with Bryston


tipatina

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I may have a good deal on a pair of like new Cornwall III. My current speakers are Vandy 3A Sig. My Bryston 4B SST works well with these. I saw a q/a on the Crutchfield site under the Cornwall III listing where a customer with a 200 wpc amp is advised that 200/ch is too high. This doesnt seem right for normal listening volumes but the Cornwall IIIs cease to be a good deal for me if I’m going to need to replace my amp too. 

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Just because an amp is "capable" of a certain level doesn't mean you are going to use it, especially with high efficiency Klipsch......Statements that XXX wattage is too high is misleading.  If you can get a good deal on the speakers, do it.

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I would imagine your Bryston should work perfectly. Wattage is like horse power, you are only using what you need. Your car is not always out putting its max horse power, its the same with an amp. Its ALWAYS better to have a higher wattage amp controlling a speaker than a low wattage one. You blow speakers faster by running out of power than you do with too much. With too much power the listener usually gives up before the speakers do. 

I am running a pass labs X-150.5 on some new Forte III's (had them for 29 hours) and it sounds great (sans typical room issues). Its a 150x2 amplifier but most of his designs are conservatively rated. I have seen others with powerful amps and efficient Klipsch speakers and not have any issues. 

I would not worry at all about mating the Bryston to the Klipsch. In fact out of all my concerns/questions about buying the Forte III's the only thing I did not fear was them working with my amp. 

Hope this helps. 

 

EDIT to add more:

Speakers are usually passive devices (unless they have an amp build into the cabinet) and only do what they are told to do. Sound is really nothing more than air (in our medium) molecules moving inside a room that makes our ear drums move, our brain then interprets the sound. Speakers do one thing, move air. The amp moves the speaker.

The better the amp, the better control it will have on the speaker and usually a better sound. Bryston makes fabulous stuff!
 

Edited by Raygun
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Thanks for the replies. I’m using a Dehavilland Ultraverve preamp. I’ve enjoyed the Vandys over the years but I recently acquired some Forte IIs that I’m using in a second system with Bottlehead pre and Pass ACA monos. The Fortes got new Crites xovers.

I had some Forte I’s in the main system years ago but changed to Thiels and later the the Vandys because my room was too boomy with the Forte I. My room has since been improved. 

Listening to the Forte II’s in the 2nd system reminded me about the visceral experience from horns and I’d like to try the Cornwall’s in my main system. 

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Thanks for the replies. I’m using a Dehavilland Ultraverve preamp. I’ve enjoyed the Vandys over the years but I recently acquired some Forte IIs that I’m using in a second system with Bottlehead pre and Pass ACA monos. The Fortes got new Crites xovers.

I had some Forte I’s in the main system years ago but changed to Thiels and later the the Vandys because my room was too boomy with the Forte I. My room has since been improved. 

Listening to the Forte II’s in the 2nd system reminded me about the visceral experience from horns and I’d like to try the Cornwall’s in my main system. 

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I have a Crown D45 powering a pair of MWMs (2x 15 in each cabinet). The mids and tweets are from  LaScalas. Plenty clean and tight bass to die for. Even powered them with my 2A3 amps @ 3.5 watts. Still sounded great.

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  • 5 weeks later...
On 11/2/2019 at 9:49 PM, bliss53 said:

Brystons can be a bit brash with Klipsch horns. Tubes are usually a good match.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have heard this also but never experienced it.  The 4BSST is supposed to be a fantastic amp but may be a little too "matter of fact" though I wish I had one anyway 🙂

As far as power, you use what you need.  I am currently running a set of Forte IIs with a set of BelCanto REF-1000 monoblocks.  They put out 1000w into 4ohms so it just matters on the throttle.

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On 10/2/2019 at 2:30 PM, tipatina said:

I may have a good deal on a pair of like new Cornwall III. My current speakers are Vandy 3A Sig. My Bryston 4B SST works well with these. I saw a q/a on the Crutchfield site under the Cornwall III listing where a customer with a 200 wpc amp is advised that 200/ch is too high. This doesnt seem right for normal listening volumes but the Cornwall IIIs cease to be a good deal for me if I’m going to need to replace my amp too. 

 

Quite a coincidence...  I had Vandersteen 3A Sigs driven by a Bryston 3bsst for about 5 years.  I used a Bryston BP25 pre-amp.

 

Though they sound great, your Vandersteens are quite inefficient, so require a very powerful amp.  ..And because of their 1st Order Cross-over design, they are also a bit fragile.  A bit too much power can easily result in a blown driver.  For this reason, I was always reluctant to really crank them which is something I'd like to periodically do with my 2-channel system.

 

I now have Cornwall III's and absolutely love them.  I use a McIntosh MA6600 to drive them.  I love my mac b/c of it's build quality, aesthetics, it has tone controls, a mono switch, and the ability to volume match all the input levels.  But the 200 watts/ channel my amp produces is wayyyy more than necessary.  If my wattage meters hit 20 watts, the volume is so loud as to risk hearing damage and irritate my neighbors across my yard!.  ..My usual loud setting is around 4 watts.  So, keep the Bryston if you want, but know for certain that you do NOT need all that power.  Heck, Brystons lowest power amp would be overkill.

 

Enjoy the Cornwalls - you won't regret the switch!

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Dont sweat it. That Amp has very, very low distortion and a stellar noise floor number.  People freak out about big watt amps because they're usually a  budget amp that is going to give you a hiss at idle or at a very low output. Not going to be the case with that amp.  If there is any noise at a low level its going to be the SNR limits on that tube Pre.

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  • 4 years later...

Hey reviving an old thread.

Badger, Im using Akitika GT 104 power amp and Akitika PR-102 pre with the DIY Cornscalas. 

 

The deal for Cornwall III fell through but now am working in a pair of CW IV which I'll initially use with the Bryston 4BSST. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I managed to get a great deal on the Cornwall IV. Ive hooked them up to my Bryston 4BSST. Great sound to say the least. They really move alot of air. The bass is tight and palpable. I can get the volume up to about "9 oclock" on my BP26 for more than adequate volume in my large listening room. I don't hear any "harshness" or "excessive brightness"

They replaced my Vandersteen 3A sigs which sounded great but the dynamoc range on these is so good that thery really present a live concert sound. They also image very well. Im very pleased with my purchase. 

 

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