donvanbc Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Hi, Can anyone give me info on upgrading the binding posts and crossovers of my Cornwalls I bought new in the early 80s.I love the sound,do these mods help you enjoy our speakers more.Thank you Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 As far as upgrading the binding posts, it's very easy to replace them with something better. I used Cardas Rhodium(sp?) for mine. I also replaced the wire inside with silver wire and gold spades. Now, when it comes to the crossovers there is some seriously divided opinion around here. Do a search here in "Updating Older Speakers" and "2-Channel Audio" using one or more of the following - crossover (s) ALK B Network Type B You'll get WAY more info than you need. LOL! Good Luck, Chris PS You may want to post the letters stamped in the edges of your cabinets (or written on the tag pasted on the back, if you can still read it) along with what type of woofer/squawker/tweeter are inside. This helps people know where you are starting from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 Are you having trouble attatching wire to the present terminals? Are they broken or something? Otherwise I see no reason to change them. It's possible to use crossovers that would change the voiceing of the speaker. Are you dissatisfied with the current voicing? Is different better or just different? Maybe PWK knew what he was doing? I dunno, but you gotta ask yourself these questions, the answers are your business. www.chicagohornspeakerclub.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 I doubt you will find anything significantly better in performance than the barrier strips Klipsch used. There are cooler looking and more convenient alternatives though. So, it depends on what is important to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 ---------------- On 1/4/2003 5:00:40 PM TBrennan wrote: Are you having trouble attatching wire to the present terminals? Are they broken or something? Otherwise I see no reason to change them. It's possible to use crossovers that would change the voiceing of the speaker. Are you dissatisfied with the current voicing? Is different better or just different? Maybe PWK knew what he was doing? I dunno, but you gotta ask yourself these questions, the answers are your business. www.chicagohornspeakerclub.org ---------------- I'm pretty much in agreement with TBrennan...if it ain't broke, don't fix it! PWK had an engineering degree, not me. He didn't just half-hazardly slap loudspeakers together hoping they'd sound good. Much R&D went into designing all his creations, and what mods were done by the company over the years was the result of even more R&D. I've considered replacing the crossovers/wires/terminal strips for my Cornwalls, but I'm satisfied with the sound just the way they are. I'm not knocking modifications at all, but just make sure it's what you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted January 5, 2003 Share Posted January 5, 2003 I use my CW's for both 2 channel music and HT. Switching between the amps is much easier with banana plugs. And, I have to admit, they do look kinda cool. As far as the wire inside is concerned, the original was fairly nasty looking (25+ years old). Replacing it was very easy. Don't knock it 'till ya try it, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted January 5, 2003 Share Posted January 5, 2003 Well....you know the old saying..."Convenience comes with a cost" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted January 5, 2003 Share Posted January 5, 2003 Chris, saw your system...VERY NICE! Westinghouse 300B bottleheads R 2 die 4! And your CW...BEAUTIFUL! This is proof that tastefully done modifications can be accomplished successfully! I said earlier that I have nothing against mods, just make sure it's what you want to do. I've always believed in leaving well enough alone, especially if the engine/loudspeaker/antique (whatever) works perfectly as is. Maybe this is dumb one-sided mentality; I'm not mechanically inclined, so attempting any mods on my part is foolish, and I don't want to screw up a perfectly fine piece of equipment because I want "go-fasters" on it! My brother has modified every car he's ever owned...turbos to superchargers to 1000+ watt, 15 speaker audio systems, just to be different. My car still has the original boring 4-banger engine with its stock tuner/cassette/4 speaker system...it works for me. Sure, I'd like a fast, sporty car with a great audio system in it, if it's built that way, or available from the manufacturer/dealer. I had a tube preamp last year that I rolled the tubes, from the cheap Chinese valves to NOS JAN Philips, which did make a significant improvement in its sound quality. But I also have a mint 1933 Emerson broadcast band mantle radio with (according to an expert in the field who looked it over thoroughly) all original vacuum tubes and oil-filled capacitors still intact, along with all it's cloth-covered wiring, its 3" speaker/grill cloth, and Bakelite knobs. It still operates perfectly for a 70 year old radio, but when the parts do fail, I'd like to replace them with any NOS parts if possible, to keep it as original as possible. Sure, its inlaid wood cabinet could be stripped of its old shelack and refinished, but it's original finish is still remarkably in good condition, so I'll leave it alone. See where I'm coming from with all this? That little mantle radio is worth over $400 in its original condition, blemishes and all. If I restored the cabinet to look like new, It may be worth about $200 tops! My original Cornwalls may be worth alot more someday if left in their original condition (they still look/sound as new as the day my dad bought them back in '79). I really wouldn't want to change them, but if I won a damaged pair on eBay for next to nothing, then I'd have the hell modified out of 'em! I'd commission you to do the mods (seeing what you can do with boring looking CWs) and I'd pay you handsomely for it! The other day I came across a fully restored 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville convertible...FABULOUS! It looked just like my dad's car when I was 3; white with maroon interior and a black ragtop. I peeked inside through the rolled down drivers window; the odometer read 67,400 miles (original?). What I saw next was just sickening...a brand new Alpine tuner/CD player in the dash! I almost puked! If that was my car, it would have it's original AM radio and single under-dash mounted speaker underneath its grill opening! End of discussion! Just my humble opinion, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted January 5, 2003 Share Posted January 5, 2003 jt, My CW's were not as much a modification as they were a reclamation. I spent less than $200.00 total. I do agree with you about keeping things as stock as makes sense. At the same time collector value is not important to me. When it comes to audio gear I like to listen. If a new technology (eg. capacitors, etc.) will do a better job or last longer I'm all for it. Right now, I have Fisher X-101 integrated tube amp in for reclamation with the famed Mike Zuccaro. Can't wait to get it back. It's going to be in a second system in my garage. Mike Z thinks so many of today's popular modifications are BS. His pholosophy seems to be get it back to original spec and that's it. Right now I'm listening to Alison Krause on vinyl and she makes you almost want to cry. You really ought take a listen to some vinyl. Regards, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted January 5, 2003 Share Posted January 5, 2003 Chris, I can appreciate where you're coming from...no arguements from me! You make a valid point about, "When it comes to audio gear I like to listen. If a new technology will do a better job or last longer I'm all for it." It's all about listening, and after selling almost half of my audio gear, eliminating equipment that wasn't necessary, my system sounds better than it ever did! I guess what it boils down to is that I'm scared to commit to a mod; what if I don't like it afterwards, then what do I do? Can it be changed back without messing it even more? And if I did the work, well...forget about it! I guess for me, it's best not to jump on the modification "band-wagon" because others are doing it...my Cornwalls sound pretty damn good to my ears as they are right now, so why change that? When I had Kimber Kable 8TC speaker cables connected to my system, the CWs sounded thin and way too bright, so much so that at times I couldn't play even my favorite Direct-to-Disc LPs (I've got lots of vinyl; just need a preamp again to listen to them). Now that I replaced the 8TC with the Orbeck Stratti, what a world of difference! After a 100 hour burn-in period, the "in-your-face" horn presence is still there (which I love, it sounds more "live"), but the harshness and ear-splitting frequencies that were once present before are now totally elliminated. The highs are more natural, with lots of gusto when cymbals crash without piercing your ear drums! This is the easy kind of mod I like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donvanbc Posted January 5, 2003 Author Share Posted January 5, 2003 Thank-you for your help.I wanted to change the binding posts for convience so a set of spades that come with todays speaker cables would fit.I thought a higher quality binding post would be more in keeping with the high standards met by the rest of the speaker. I also find at lower volumes the woofer does produce the same kick and needs a higher volume to produce good results.Old capacitors do degrade and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for me.Thanks for all your responces,they give me lots to think about.Your sincerely, Don. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 donvanbc...Sorry I got off your topic a little back there, but it does help to get opinions from all sides; that's how I learn! I haven't auditioned any of the new upgraded Heritage Series, but I think that Klipsch did replace the original terminal strip for a modern 4 gold-plated binding posts for biwiring...if so, go ahead and replace it if convenience is important to you. When I purchased the Orbeck Stratti from AudiogoN.com, they came with large gold-plated lugs which looked great, but would not even come close to fitting the terminal strips on my Cornwalls, nor to my McIntosh amp's strip (both amp/loudspeakers are of the same generation B.M.C. and 16 to 18 AWG lamp cord was used exclusively for speaker cables). I ended up removing all the twist/lock lugs from the Stratti cables and just twisted the 11 AWG bare wire together to connect to the CW/Mac, which still wasn't easy due to all the wire! All that twisted wire is probably putting a strain on the terminal strips, so I'll most likely buy some crimp-on/twist gold pins (from www.partsexpress.com) big enough to accept 11 AWG wire...pins are slender enough for the short screws to tighten down on. I'm not qualified to answer your capacitor question, but there are others on this forum that can. If you can't find an answer on this particular thread, you can do a search through the Technical Forum, or ask your question there. Good luck with your future mods! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnguyen Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 I just bought a pair of Cornwall II and the only thing I did to them is order one woofer from Klipsch to replace the bad one and that's it. I agree with other posters if they work fine leave them alone and enjoy the music. Happy listening. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 Old post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speakmeister Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 Hopefully Don has his cornwalls singing by now, another one of those almost 10 year old posts has surfaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MechMan Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Wow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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