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Power Rating for Cornwall Is?


JohnW

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The mistake you’ll make isn’t having enough power, but of sound quality.

 

I had a Parasound HCA 2200 II back in the mid 90s. It was an ok amp, plenty powerful enough for sure. But when I bought a McCormack DNA 1 to replace it,  the improvement was astounding. So much so that when the potential buyer for the parasound came to pick it up, I almost lost the sale when he asked to hear the dna. All he could do was shake his head.

 

As a side bar, I know a lot of people use SS amps with cornwalls. But it’s with tubes that they really shine. That would be my advice.

 

Shakey

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7 hours ago, Shakeydeal said:

The mistake you’ll make isn’t having enough power, but of sound quality.

 

I had a Parasound HCA 2200 II back in the mid 90s. It was an ok amp, plenty powerful enough for sure. But when I bought a McCormack DNA 1 to replace it,  the improvement was astounding. So much so that when the potential buyer for the parasound came to pick it up, I almost lost the sale when he asked to hear the dna. All he could do was shake his head.

 

As a side bar, I know a lot of people use SS amps with cornwalls. But it’s with tubes that they really shine. That would be my advice.

 

Shakey

 

+1 on tubes and Heritage speakers.

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8 hours ago, Shakeydeal said:

The mistake you’ll make isn’t having enough power, but of sound quality.

 

I had a Parasound HCA 2200 II back in the mid 90s. It was an ok amp, plenty powerful enough for sure. But when I bought a McCormack DNA 1 to replace it,  the improvement was astounding. So much so that when the potential buyer for the parasound came to pick it up, I almost lost the sale when he asked to hear the dna. All he could do was shake his head.

 

As a side bar, I know a lot of people use SS amps with cornwalls. But it’s with tubes that they really shine. That would be my advice.

 

Shakey



Well shit.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 10/23/2020 at 1:14 AM, Shakeydeal said:

The mistake you’ll make isn’t having enough power, but of sound quality.

 

I had a Parasound HCA 2200 II back in the mid 90s. It was an ok amp, plenty powerful enough for sure. But when I bought a McCormack DNA 1 to replace it,  the improvement was astounding. So much so that when the potential buyer for the parasound came to pick it up, I almost lost the sale when he asked to hear the dna. All he could do was shake his head.

 

As a side bar, I know a lot of people use SS amps with cornwalls. But it’s with tubes that they really shine. That would be my advice.

 

Shakey


So a good tube amp, or should I track down a DNA 1? 

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On 10/23/2020 at 1:14 AM, Shakeydeal said:

The mistake you’ll make isn’t having enough power, but of sound quality.

 

I had a Parasound HCA 2200 II back in the mid 90s. It was an ok amp, plenty powerful enough for sure. But when I bought a McCormack DNA 1 to replace it,  the improvement was astounding. So much so that when the potential buyer for the parasound came to pick it up, I almost lost the sale when he asked to hear the dna. All he could do was shake his head.

 

As a side bar, I know a lot of people use SS amps with cornwalls. But it’s with tubes that they really shine. That would be my advice.

 

Shakey

Damn you, Shakey! :D

The Parasound sounds really nice. I could stop here.

But all you guys telling me that Cornwalls really shine with tubes led me to just buy one of these, with 6550 tubes:

https://www.jolida.com/product/fusion-3502-p

Interested to see how much better it sounds than the Parasound.

Damnit, it appears I'm on a quest.

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  • 4 months later...
On 11/23/2020 at 2:43 PM, Shakeydeal said:

Jolida makes good gear. I’m sure you’re gonna like it.

 

Shakey

I don’t dislike it.

 

I was fully expecting to be blown away. Nope.

 

But...

 

I decided to use my Marantz SR7013 receiver for movies only, and the Jolida Fusion 3502P for music, fed by the pre-outs from the Marantz. In this capacity, the SR7013 is being used as a DAC and a preamp.
 

I’ve installed an A/B switch—the front left and right speaker outputs of the Marantz int the A channel, the outputs of the Jolida into the B channel. The switch’s output feeds into my Cornwalls.

 

This allows me to switch between the outputs instantaneously.

 

And I have to say, the Marantz receiver, by itself, has a more detailed soundstage, with better definition between instruments, tighter bass, and slightly higher volume  and more punch than the Jolida. The Jolida has more detailed upper frequencies— more “sparkle”—but it’s bass is looser and a bit boomy. It has a smooth, unpunchy quality. 

 

This had Jared at Jolida blaming the A/B switch. Not sure what adding a yard and a half of copper wire into the signal path is doing. He also suggested not toeing in my speakers.

 

This led me to chase the theory that maybe I had the wrong tubes by reading everything I could about them for a week. I could spend hundreds on new tubes, then wait a month for them to break in to see if maybe yeah, it was the tubes...or maybe I could just start by replacing the preamp stage tubes, the 12AX7s...which led me to a phone call with Sean at Upscale Audio, who thought my problems could be solved with a pair of Tungsrams...for only $140...apiece.

 

Hm. Not like you can return tubes if you don’t like them.

 

But maybe I have gimpy tubes?

 

DO tube amps sound better than good solid state amps? 

 

Or maybe I prefer SS to tubes? 
 

It’s frustrating. 
 

I remember listening to the Parasound 2250 (the one I just sold), thinking “This sounds amazing. I’m satisfied...but how can I be satisfied when it’s common knowledge that a good tube amp would sound even better?”

 

Hence, the purchase of the Jolida. I’ve put about 300 hours on it, so it’s broken in...but it feels like my quest for great sound has taken a (small) step backward.

 

I’m not sure what to do next.

 

 

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Two things. 
 

Jolida makes good budget tube amps. The key word is budget. Not saying they don’t sound good, but your expectations might have been too high.

 

I would definitely upgrade the small signal tubes. This usually makes a significant difference in any tube amp. 12ax7s are pretty common, if you don’t keep the jolida you can use them in something else down the road.

 

It’s hard to imagine a world in which a tube amp doesn’t sound better than a Parasound amp. Don’t give up yet.

 

Shakey

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48 minutes ago, JohnW said:

There is a pristine McCormack DNA-1 for sale on Ebay right now...


That’s a good amp.  But it has a lot of age on it. There is a common issue with them that when it happens, it’s a boat anchor. Most people that buy them now send them to Steve for restoration. You can google this and see what I mean. I wouldn’t take the chance unless I wanted to invest more on top of the cost of the amp.

 

Shakey

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19 hours ago, JohnW said:

Or maybe I prefer SS to tubes?

People forget that when SS amps were introduced , no one complained that tubes were better than SS amps , I would even say it was the contrary ---ideally , one should have both -

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2 hours ago, jvs1670 said:

I'd suggest a 70's era reciever from Marantz, Yamaha, Sansui or Harman Kardon.  I'm using an HK 730 and it sounds better than any other thing I've tried including tube amps.  You don't need to spend a fortune either.

I used to have an AVR510. I’ve often thought of picking up another HK receiver.

 

The 70s vintage receivers are ridiculously unaffordable at the moment.

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I have a pair of mid 70's Cornwalls. Completely gone through and refinished . I've used many different amps over the years. The bottom line? Cornwalls are excellent speakers that will reflect the sound from whatever amplification and source is used. 

 

Some of my favorite amps over the years:

McIntosh MC 225's (monoblocked pair) - sound fantastic and look great with the tubes glowing!...using them now

HK 470 - Quite capable...not the quietest

various vintage Marantz recvr's...similar to the HK...very cool controls and sturdy build

Decware Zen - probably the best sound of any...just not enough power to really blast something

Cary 300B - also VERY sweet sound

Scott 299B - totally rebuilt by NosValves...another very fun piece of equipment...great sound

 

There has been a few others, but above are the highlights. Half the fun is trying different equipment. Next is likely to be Benchmark amps...

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