Cornwall I questions

[Bob Gardner]

So today, this happened:

 

1975 Cornwall I's, Walnut, sequential numbers, refinished by the second owner.  I know that probably reduces the value, although they did a very good job with the refinishing.  First owner was a now-elderly couple who probably never played the Cornwall's anywhere near their SPL potential.

 

Was surprised to see the screw terminals rather than binding posts.

 

They sound amazing!  All the qualities that I love about my Heresy IIIs, but even more so!  The Heresy III's (purchased new in 2010 from a high end audio store in Houston) will now be for sale - a topic for another thread.

 

From the sound, I would say they are in perfect condition functionally ... but are there any common issues that these may have?

 

I'm driving them with a Denon "audiophile series" two-channel receiver in my  living room.  Placement is far from ideal at the moment - I'm planning to build a floating shelf, with TV and home theater on the shelf and music-only system below.  The floating shelf idea is best left for another thread.  Same with the eventual integrated or preamp/amplifier upgrade I'd like to do eventually.

 

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

Bob

[CoryGillmore]

Gorgeous speakers! And yes they'll sound even better once you get them in a more optimal position in your home. 

I know a lot of guys toe these things in crazy amounts but I found that in my house they sound best as close to the wall as possible and toed-in just ever so slightly. 

[billybob]

19 hours ago, Bob Gardner said:

So today, this happened:

 

1975 Cornwall I's, Walnut, sequential numbers, refinished by the second owner.  I know that probably reduces the value, although they did a very good job with the refinishing.  First owner was a now-elderly couple who probably never played the Cornwall's anywhere near their SPL potential.

 

Was surprised to see the screw terminals rather than binding posts.

 

They sound amazing!  All the qualities that I love about my Heresy IIIs, but even more so!  The Heresy III's (purchased new in 2010 from a high end audio store in Houston) will now be for sale - a topic for another thread.

 

From the sound, I would say they are in perfect condition functionally ... but are there any common issues that these may have?

 

I'm driving them with a Denon "audiophile series" two-channel receiver in my  living room.  Placement is far from ideal at the moment - I'm planning to build a floating shelf, with TV and home theater on the shelf and music-only system below.  The floating shelf idea is best left for another thread.  Same with the eventual integrated or preamp/amplifier upgrade I'd like to do eventually.

 

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

Bob

For a clean look, they sell those spade lug to bare wire to banana plug standoff connectors online. Just get the ones that will fit.

Parts Express, Amazon, etc...

Congrats on your Cornwall s.

[Bob Gardner]

@billybob,

 

Thank you!  I realize how lucky I was to find those in very good condition, a half hour from my home!

 

Now that I have such nice speakers though, I may have to review the rest of my system to ensure it's worthy of the speakers!  I listen to CDs (a few of which are HDCDs, Super Audio CDs, or DVD-Audio), but I also listen to music through my iPhone, currently through Spotify.  Experimented today with setting Audio Quality at very high in Spotify, vs. ripping a CD to WAV and listening to the WAV with Vox - the WAV was definitely better, but perhaps a topic for a different forum.

 

Thanks

Bob

[billybob]

6 minutes ago, Bob Gardner said:

Thanks Bob

You can talk this and that on your thread, especially if you have questions. You appear to be well on your journey. Sounds good to me, as long as you dig on it.

Happy for you as alot of others often have to take a road trip to purchase.

BTW, my opinion on things like price are just suggestions, so do what you like of course and, you will find others here, that I listen to. Many here to invite information from.

Enjoy your forum...

[Bob Gardner]

I took the covers off for cleaning, which brought up a couple more questions;

 

The Cornwall I’s seem to be made from plywood rather than MDF.  As a sometime carpenter, I actually prefer plywood.  All later Heritage series are MDF, right?  Why did they switch from plywood to MDF?

 

How are woofers measured?  I believe the Cornwalls are supposed to have 15” woofers.  The opening in the motor board measures 13 1/4”.

 

Thanks

Bob

 

[billybob]

Don't remember now if you showed your rear labels or not.

Raw Birch plywood is usually the case with the 1s, think also the 2s to a point in time.

The 3s went to MDF or similar.

Yes those are 15s mounted from the inside.

Maybe the forum will fill in the other questions or go as far to correct me at least.

@Bob Gardner

[Jem02jr]

Congrats on your Cornwalls ! I recently picked up a pair of 81 cornwalls and they sound great..I also use a Denon receiver for both stereo listening and tv audio. Almost all of my music is from my iPhone via Apple Music. I use a portable dragonfly cobalt dac which is a definite step up from the dac in the denon plus I can use for my travel headphones as well. Down the road maybe a tube amp but for now I am a happy camper. Enjoy !