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Cornwall IV's in a Great Room


mayo

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2 minutes ago, BadChile said:

My kids really don't need to watch movies through Heresys and a tube amp, they're perfectly fine with yard sale ($50 for the set) KG4 / KV2 / KG1 surrounds and a couple of B-stock RW-12s from the sale last summer.

 

Time to call Child Protective Services. How are their tiny developing brains going to fully develop if they don't have $10K worth of equipment to watch the Teletubbies?

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That sounds like a marital issue to me... (i.e., domestic living with kids).  But I do understand the need for escaping the kids from time to time if they're in the mid-late teens.

 

But it still dilutes the funding for a better (single) setup.

 

Chris 

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Just now, Chris A said:

That sounds like a marital issue to me... (i.e., domestic living with kids).  But I do understand the need for escaping the kids from time to time if they're in the mid-late teens.

 

But it still dilutes the funding for a better (single) setup.

 

Chris 

 

Totally, and I actually agree with you that having a good single set up is worth more than two inferior setups.  But know what else dilutes the funding for good audio?  Kids.

 

Anyway, to the OP: don't have kids.  For the price of a year of daycare you can get a pair of NOS WE300B tubes.  Just saying.

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I really didn't have any time for hi-fi audio tinkering, etc. when the kids were growing up and I was working "for the other guy" to foot the bills.  I was a hi-fi enthusiast before marriage, however.  I just put it on hold for 22 years. 

 

Only when the last one went off to college did I invest in Jubilees (2007).  I've never regretted spending the time with the kids growing up, however. 

 

Chris

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I don't see the issue here. He has a nice spot on either side that will accommodate the Cornwalls perfectly, and a seating arrangement almost directly in front of them.

 

95% just want to set up their loudspeakers and listen to music. 

 

Where's @Coytee I'm surprised no one suggested four Jubilees and a rack of Crown amplifiers. 🙂

 

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As I see it, music is best as a shared experience.  ...We have our system (Cornwall iii's) in our great room and wouldn't have it any other way.  ..My wife and I raised our kids listening to our music as we listened to theirs.  ..Through ups and downs, we had our music to keep us close by giving us a common denominator.  ..And we always tried to be positive about whatever they were into - which was not always easy. :)  Today, they love Leonard Cohen, The Clash, Bob Dylan, Richard Thompson, Carly Simon, Wilco, Pink Floyd, etc..  And my wife and I love White Stripes, Black Keys, Imagine Dragons, Taylor Swift, etc..

 

Would my system sound better in a  dedicated 2-channel room?  Perhaps.  But the music wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable.

 

Our great room has very similar shape/ dimensions. ..Walls not quite as yellow as they appear.  ..Couch is 12' from of cabinet, then 20'' of kitchen.

 

CWiiiToeIn.jpg

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On 5/9/2021 at 4:50 PM, Shakeydeal said:

That Great Room is not such a great room for an audio system. My guess is you'll get about 70% of what a system is capable of. But since half of your time will be spent watching movies, at least 50% of the time it won't matter so much.

 

Open floor plans suck for music listening. Just a sad but true fact.  Movies? Who cares? But yes, 70% of a Cornwall IV is still pretty good, but you will need a good front end to get that.

 

My suggestion is to put together an adequate system in that room for video and find a better room for music.

 

Shakey

 

Greatly appreciate the advice even though a separate music room looks unlikely at this point.  Is your 70% estimate in reference to the listening position or just in the room writ large?  Would a double velvet (or something similar) curtain in the back bring that up to 80% in your estimation?  Again, thanks.

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13 hours ago, ODS123 said:

As I see it, music is best as a shared experience.  ...We have our system (Cornwall iii's) in our great room and wouldn't have it any other way.  ..My wife and I raised our kids listening to our music as we listened to theirs.  ..Through ups and downs, we had our music to keep us close by giving us a common denominator.  ..And we always tried to be positive about whatever they were into - which was not always easy. :)  Today, they love Leonard Cohen, The Clash, Bob Dylan, Richard Thompson, Carly Simon, Wilco, Pink Floyd, etc..  And my wife and I love White Stripes, Black Keys, Imagine Dragons, Taylor Swift, etc..

 

Would my system sound better in a  dedicated 2-channel room?  Perhaps.  But the music wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable.

 

Our great room has very similar shape/ dimensions. ..Walls not quite as yellow as they appear.  ..Couch is 12' from of cabinet, then 20'' of kitchen.

 

CWiiiToeIn.jpg

 

Well said, sir.  The family component is the most important part of the system for me, too.

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On 5/10/2021 at 3:10 AM, rplace said:

 

Interesting piece of gear. Not on my radar. Concerns about the AKM chip availability? Perhaps with the house not built yet you have some time.

 

That room scares me for music. I'd at least look at $1,900 into a Sonos 5.1 movie set up, that could also be whole house background music. And explore other options for serious music in a different location. Save the wife's concession for another day.

 

https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/surround-set-arc-sub-one-sl.html

 

 

 

Not sure the offer comes with a rain check, though, especially after we move in and she's looking to add new furniture and decor.  

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9 minutes ago, mayo said:

 

Not sure the offer comes with a rain check, though, especially after we move in and she's looking to add new furniture and decor.  

 

Stay the course...  To optimize that room you may need to add a rug here or there and maybe a few well placed wall hangings.  ..But there's no reason why it can't work.

 

Keep the music where all can hear it... :)

 

 

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12 minutes ago, mayo said:

 

Not sure the offer comes with a rain check, though, especially after we move in and she's looking to add new furniture and decor.  

 

Stay the course...  To optimize that room you may need to add a rug here or there and maybe a few well placed wall hangings.  ..But there's no reason why it can't work.

 

Keep the music where all can hear it... :)

 

 

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On 5/10/2021 at 9:03 AM, Bubo said:

 

If you think of the entire space as a speaker cabinet, and the CWs as the drivers, you have ports, and the side rooms are traps and or resonant chambers which are tuned.  I think the Altec 19 has the big chamber, little chamber design.

An open door to a resonant side chamber may be significant, something to play with.

Open doors and windows to the outside are always good.

 

It's hard to kn ow the effect reflections, or damping of the ceiling beams.

 

Glass is highly reflective as are stone and tile floors etc.

 

The only reason I have surround sound is boredom, it was an experiment. I was perfectly content with stereo. Judging by the way guests would jump during action scenes, nothing was lost.

 

My suggestion is set up a really good stereo using the CWs and stop.

 

 

Soft good, hard bad.

Some curtains that can be closed over the sliding doors are a good idea, I like the insulated curtains, rubber or foam backing seems to work well.

Thick rug in the middle of the room is a good idea.

Little platforms to get the Mids at ear level is a good idea.

Stuffed furniture is good.

 

Or just keep it simple and put a lesser stereo in the bedroom or office and decent quality FM radios in other rooms FM the original after AM, free streaming music.....Yamaha has a nice integrated amp for $400 the 300 something with bluetooth if you feel attached to a playlist.

 

I had an extra pair of heresys so I put them in the BR, sound great with Yamaha gear. FM, TT, DVD player.

 

If you can figure out how to put an equalizer between your pre-amp and amp, I would do it and tune it by ear.

 

After all f the exercises it comes down to your ears and the way you like to hear the music. DBX and others make great EQs that are for recording studio use, if it doesn't sound good, they don't eat...the way things should be. For bucks, there are auto EQ models, but since your gear won't be moving to other venues, I would just go manual.

 

Thank you for all the input and ideas.  I just may go with a stereo movie setup in the end.  Or I might forsake the CW's (😟) and get the RF8000 or RP 7 for left and right channels.  

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7 minutes ago, ODS123 said:

 

Stay the course...  To optimize that room you may need to add a rug here or there and maybe a few well placed wall hangings.  ..But there's no reason why it can't work.

 

Keep the music where all can hear it... :)

 

 

Thanks!  Apart from some other, more technical considerations, this is what I was hoping to hear . . . [stares blankly, apprehensive of being told something he wanted to hear]

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4 minutes ago, mayo said:

 

Thanks!  Apart from some other, more technical considerations, this is what I was hoping to hear . . . [stares blankly, apprehensive of being told something he wanted to hear]

 

There's a great deal of "perfect becoming the enemy of good" thinking on this forum.  ..But when you see what some feel is a perfect setup, you often see a man-cave that is totally unrealistic for someone who needs to keep a SO happy.  Indeed, most look like systems relegated to a garage or a basement.

 

Let me just say, , the fact that your SO is willing to let you have Cornwalls in the family great room puts you in the 98th percentile :)   ..These days, most SO's of audiophiles want tiny speakers that are concealed by a fern or are flush-mounted in a wall.   ...Dont sweat the fact that you're maybe wringing just 95% out of what the speaker can offer.  ..They'll still sound leaps and bounds better than Sonos.

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1 hour ago, ODS123 said:

 

There's a great deal of "perfect becoming the enemy of good" thinking on this forum.  ..But when you see what some feel is a perfect setup, you often see a man-cave that is totally unrealistic for someone who needs to keep a SO happy.  Indeed, most look like systems relegated to a garage or a basement.

 

Let me just say, , the fact that your SO is willing to let you have Cornwalls in the family great room puts you in the 98th percentile :)   ..These days, most SO's of audiophiles want tiny speakers that are concealed by a fern or are flush-mounted in a wall.   ...Dont sweat the fact that you're maybe wringing just 95% out of what the speaker can offer.  ..They'll still sound leaps and bounds better than Sonos.

 

Put that way, I do feel lucky.  Thank you, sir.

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I get what everyone is saying about having the family enjoy music too. Sure, that's important. But for me it's about having something adequate in the living room and relegating the serious system to it's own room. We are empty nesters, so my wife comes downstairs from time to time to listen with me. 

 

The problem I see with having the best system in a family type room is that not everyone wants to listen to music when you want to. Or they might not want to listen to what you want to. Yes, you are indeed lucky to have a wife who will allow speakers like Cornwalls in the main living space. Cherish that for sure. But some of us are lucky with a wife that will allow an entire room dedicated to nothing but listening to music. And mine actually let me put that requirement at the top of the list when we were house shopping.

 

So we are all fortunate in this hobby to some degree. Just enjoy music on whatever system you have available to you.

 

Shakey

 

 

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18 minutes ago, Shakeydeal said:

I get what everyone is saying about having the family enjoy music too. Sure, that's important. But for me it's about having something adequate in the living room and relegating the serious system to it's own room. We are empty nesters, so my wife comes downstairs from time to time to listen with me. 

 

The problem I see with having the best system in a family type room is that not everyone wants to listen to music when you want to. Or they might not want to listen to what you want to. Yes, you are indeed lucky to have a wife who will allow speakers like Cornwalls in the main living space. Cherish that for sure. But some of us are lucky with a wife that will allow an entire room dedicated to nothing but listening to music. And mine actually let me put that requirement at the top of the list when we were house shopping.

 

So we are all fortunate in this hobby to some degree. Just enjoy music on whatever system you have available to you.

 

Shakey

 

 

 

I migrate between my living room system (Leben CS300 with 1972 Heresies) and my den upstairs (HK430 with RP160M set). They sound so different that, each time I fire them up, my reaction is 'boy this setup sounds amazing'... And when I fire up the other system, I think exactly the same... Keeps me smiling, wherever I am!

 

PSX_20210512_141507.jpg

PSX_20210512_141350.jpg

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1 hour ago, Shakeydeal said:

I get what everyone is saying about having the family enjoy music too. Sure, that's important. But for me it's about having something adequate in the living room and relegating the serious system to it's own room. We are empty nesters, so my wife comes downstairs from time to time to listen with me. 

 

The problem I see with having the best system in a family type room is that not everyone wants to listen to music when you want to. Or they might not want to listen to what you want to. Yes, you are indeed lucky to have a wife who will allow speakers like Cornwalls in the main living space. Cherish that for sure. But some of us are lucky with a wife that will allow an entire room dedicated to nothing but listening to music. And mine actually let me put that requirement at the top of the list when we were house shopping.

 

So we are all fortunate in this hobby to some degree. Just enjoy music on whatever system you have available to you.

 

Shakey

 

 

 

I understand and appreciate your position here.  When our birds have flown and more possibilities open up in the house, I look forward to this possibility.  Thanks for your input here (as well as your other posts in this forum that have educated me).  

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13 hours ago, mayo said:

 

 

I understand and appreciate your position here.  When our birds have flown and more possibilities open up in the house, I look forward to this possibility.  Thanks for your input here (as well as your other posts in this forum that have educated me).  

 

Our great room system is highly biased toward 2-channel.  ..My center speaker and surrounds are Paradigm and Polk Audio, respectively - so, they don't match.  I bought them when my F/R speakers were Paradigm S8v2s.  But when it comes to movies, no one in my family is bothered by the slightly timbral/tonal mis-match - we're too focused on the story, etc..  And we don't have a subwoofer.  ..Don't really miss it.

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