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Definitive " best 2 Ch " Speaker thread


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3 hours ago, Flevoman said:

Just curious, What version of Cornwalls do you own? 

 

Presently a pair of Decorator 1’s from ‘77. But I’ve also owned verticals and II’s in the past. All good just prefer La Scala’s sound more.

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1 hour ago, svberger said:

Presently a pair of Decorator 1’s from ‘77. But I’ve also owned verticals and II’s in the past. All good just prefer La Scala’s sound more.

OK, because the funny thing is that my experience is just the opposite. I've traded in my Lascalas for the Cornwall 4, and the Lascalas have never impressed me to the same extent as the CW4. Although I have to say that I had the lascala in the garage for 12 years and so it was also 12 years ago that I last heard them play 😉

 

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1 hour ago, Flevoman said:

OK, because the funny thing is that my experience is just the opposite. I've traded in my Lascalas for the Cornwall 4, and the Lascalas have never impressed me to the same extent as the CW4. Although I have to say that I had the lascala in the garage for 12 years and so it was also 12 years ago that I last heard them play 😉

 

I haven't heard the CIV's although pretty much everything that I've heard about them are extremely positive. As I indicated, it really just boils down to one's preferences as does everything else in this hobby. My amps are all 60 year old tube amps, give or take, as are my preamps. I listen to mostly vinyl. Therefore, I have what I would consider an abundance of warmth throughout my audio chain, and perhaps it's just the neutrality of the LS's which to my ears play better with these electronics then the Cornies, which are just a little too bass heavy and thick sounding. I have used the Cornies with more neutral gear, as well as some solid state over the years and did find that to be a better match. But for me the LS's just do everything right within the confines of my room and my gear. FWIW, I also use restored Bozak 302's and AR3 speakers with my tube gear, and both of those speakers do fall on the warmer side of neutral, but are both smaller then the Cornies and the results are not quite as extreme as I find with the Cornies.

 

 

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1 hour ago, svberger said:

I haven't heard the CIV's although pretty much everything that I've heard about them are extremely positive. As I indicated, it really just boils down to one's preferences as does everything else in this hobby. My amps are all 60 year old tube amps, give or take, as are my preamps. I listen to mostly vinyl. Therefore, I have what I would consider an abundance of warmth throughout my audio chain, and perhaps it's just the neutrality of the LS's which to my ears play better with these electronics then the Cornies, which are just a little too bass heavy and thick sounding. I have used the Cornies with more neutral gear, as well as some solid state over the years and did find that to be a better match. But for me the LS's just do everything right within the confines of my room and my gear. FWIW, I also use restored Bozak 302's and AR3 speakers with my tube gear, and both of those speakers do fall on the warmer side of neutral, but are both smaller then the Cornies and the results are not quite as extreme as I find with the Cornies.

 

 

I totally agree with what you're saying here. It's about the right combination of gear and your personal preference, everyone will choose a different speaker as a favorite. Exactly for this reason I started my reaction with "funny".. Approximately the same setups, different experiences 

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51 minutes ago, Flevoman said:

I totally agree with what you're saying here. It's about the right combination of gear and your personal preference, everyone will choose a different speaker as a favorite. Exactly for this reason I started my reaction with "funny".. Approximately the same setups, different experiences 

What do you use to drive the CIV's?

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8 minutes ago, Flevoman said:

A Tube amp (Melody MDA2-2A3 tubes) and the Cambridge Cxn-v2 with Tidal 

That's a beautiful amp. A review on it here https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/amplifier-reviews/integrated-amplifier-reviews/melody-action-ultra-mda2-and-everest-211/2/   states "It’s very neutral and analytical, but never clinical and its timbre is spot-on natural. The bass, nearly always an aspect in which tube amplifiers perform less well than transistor amplifiers, is fast and tight and beautifully articulate, and with perfect pacing, it’s neither slow nor hurried. The bass is a little lean compared to the Ayon’s ..." If this is true, it sounds like it would be a perfect match for the Cornwall's that I'm familiar with. The McIntosh amps(MC225 and MC30) that I prefer to use with the Cornwall's or La Scala's tend to be more old school tubey with quite full bass. Again, for me, a bit much with the CW's but just right for the LS's.

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17 minutes ago, svberger said:

That's a beautiful amp. A review on it here https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/amplifier-reviews/integrated-amplifier-reviews/melody-action-ultra-mda2-and-everest-211/2/   states "It’s very neutral and analytical, but never clinical and its timbre is spot-on natural. The bass, nearly always an aspect in which tube amplifiers perform less well than transistor amplifiers, is fast and tight and beautifully articulate, and with perfect pacing, it’s neither slow nor hurried. The bass is a little lean compared to the Ayon’s ..." If this is true, it sounds like it would be a perfect match for the Cornwall's that I'm familiar with. The McIntosh amps(MC225 and MC30) that I prefer to use with the Cornwall's or La Scala's tend to be more old school tubey with quite full bass. Again, for me, a bit much with the CW's but just right for the LS's.

Indeed this is a very nice amplifier

This review only makes a mistake, it is not a Push Pull but a PSET amp. 

Unfortunately, I don't know the McIntosh. My experience with various brands and types is quite limited (yet)

But I share your opinion that an amplifier that amplifies the basses will not be a good match with the CW. 

I've also heard the CW4 and the CW3 sound like boomy speakers. And I don't like that at all. 

 

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2 hours ago, Flevoman said:

 

I've also heard the CW4 and the CW3 sound like boomy speakers. And I don't like that at all. 

 

 

Boomy is the last word that I would use to describe the bass of the CW4 . . . I found the bass very tight yet deep.

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9 hours ago, jcn3 said:

 

Boomy is the last word that I would use to describe the bass of the CW4 . . . I found the bass very tight yet deep.

When I had the CW3 together with the Dynaco ST70 I found the basses to sound absolutely boomy at times. When I first heard the CW4 at the hi-fi store during a demo, I was disappointed in the CW4. A very fat dominant bass, which is why I thought the Forte 4 sounded better than the CW4. More punch in the low end and it seemed more balanced. A second demo of the CW4 at another hi-fi shop gave me a completely different experience. The sound sounded a bit less lively, but the basses were fine. Now that the CW 4 is at my house with the Melody MDA2, they sound different again. The low end is balanced (perhaps still a bit too thin), the music is snappy and dynamic, but I would like a little more punch in the low end. This is my experience with the CW where I do believe that the CW can sound very boomy

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On 7/5/2022 at 2:02 PM, Flevoman said:

And you mean the last lascala? 

There is quite a difference between the current version and the one from the 90s I think. 

I’ve heard the new La Scala’s for a very brief time and think they sound great, but the original is not far behind and definitely my favorite Klipsch of the home offerings that I have experienced. No better speaker for live recordings. 

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