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Vintage Cornwalls vs. Cornwall IIIs


moxmonkey

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Hi folks, 

 

Hoping to tap into your collective expertise.  Thinking about adding some Klipsch speakers into the lineup in the near future.  Had the opportunity to audition the latest Heritage offerings (with the exception of Cornwalls - only had III's) and found myself drawn to the sound of the Cornwalls out of everything (sadly the cost of the Cornwall IVs is likely beyond my reach).

 

Now my dilemma.  There is a pair of vintage untouched Cornwall I's for sale locally for $1300USD with some minor cosmetic issues or the floor model Cornwall IIIs I listened to for $2450 USD.  While the difference in price isn't massive, it's enough that its forcing me to think twice.  

 

My question for all of you, are the Cornwall IIIs worth the added cost over a vintage pair?  Thanks in advance!

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I'll weigh in with my experience, albeit with Heresys.

 

I was able to A/B a pair of 1981 Heresys with a pair of Heresy IIIs.  To my ears, in my room and with my gear the 1981 Heresys were clearly the winner.  The midrange was significantly better.

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9 hours ago, moxmonkey said:

Now my dilemma.  There is a pair of vintage untouched Cornwall I's for sale locally for $1300USD with some minor cosmetic issues or the floor model Cornwall IIIs I listened to for $2450 USD.  While the difference in price isn't massive, it's enough that its forcing me to think twice.  

I say think twice because $2450 is a good price for new Cornwall III speakers even though they are floor models.

 

On the other hand $1300.00 is an average price for the Cornwall I but if you did decide to move up the chain, you could probably get that $1300.00 back if you were to sell them, if still in good condition.

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Bill

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The original Cornwall will have the larger K-600 horn which to me is a certain advantage over the Cornwall III's use of the smaller Heresy K-701 horn lens.  I would take the original Cornwalls easily over the III's for that reason.  I would replace the capacitors with some high quality film and foils or paper in oils and be very happy.

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13 hours ago, DizRotus said:

I would go with the older Cornwalls. The lower price and larger squawker horn would make the decision for me.

Agreed.  The smaller MR horn made the III sound a little too much like the limited MR-horn-Heresy of that period. 

 

 -- Larry

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Thanks for the input everyone.  To what extent does the larger squawker horn on the originals impact the high end?  I found the high end of the Hersey IVs really harsh but didn't have the same issue with the Cornwall IIIs as things seemed more balanced across the board. 

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When I A/B'd the CWI to the CWIII, I preferred the CWI for the overall presentation, likely due to the larger midrange horn and lower crossover point of the CWI.

 

The CWIII does offer some improvement in the low end.

 

The tweeter in the CWIII may sound more refined to you (smoother, extended highs maybe?) than the CWI tweeter (K77).  But there are drop-in replacement tweeters if that is a problem.  Except for recapping the crossovers, dampening the mid horns, and adding a 9kZ frequency trap, my CWI's are stock and I think they sound fine.

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