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It's been a while, short update


John Ek

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So, the short story is that I bought my Klipsch Cornwall IVs almost a year ago. I had been happy with my active Genelec 8050s for 7 years, with subwoofers they were very nice. During the pandemic I decided to try something new, always 

wanted to hear what a larger, classic loudspeaker could do. So, I bought the JBL L100. Did not like them, tried something completely different, Dynaudio Confidence standmounts. Easier to live with but boring. In the mean time I read and heard about Klipsch loudspeakers' heritage series. Not a big brand in my country, Sweden. Unfortunately labelled as crap usually, or by the more positive, they are fun but ...

 

Anyway, after searching for info here and otherwise I decided to order a pair when my local dealer eventually found out that the new heritage line was actually quite good. The Cornwalls are huge, no question about that, I had my hesitations. Maybe there Heresys? Most people at the time seems to favor the Cornwalls so I decided on those. When unboxing these I thought they were huge, quite ugly. An hour later I thought they looked quite cool, like a bookshelf on growth hormones. Playing some music over my Mark Levinson 3236S/432 combo was a game changer, this was something out of the ordinary. Bass with control, open and deep soundstage. Classic rock, jazz and classical music were extremely engaging. As were most other genres. These were keepers. So I decided to look for alternatives to my amplification, who needs 2X400W to power a Klipsch? I tried a First Watt F7, I tried an INT-25 from Pass labs, neither did sound better than my current combination. In there mean time my hearing was deteriorating, possibly as a result of visiting too many hockey games live. Turned out that wax also was an important factor. Nevertheless, before I knew what was causing my problems I decided to try a speaker I'd been wanting to try for many years, the active Genelec 8361 with built in DSP. DSP should be able to correct whatever frequencies causing my problems, or so I thought?

 

My pair of 8361 arrived early June, hooked them up and was impressed by their midrange, possibly an improvement over the Cornwalls there. After a calibration and with the DSP I found them to be great with movies but completely boring with music, regardless of style. I had experienced fewer problems with my hearing while waiting for the speakers to arrive (approx 4 months) but suddenly I felt that I was experiencing the same problems again. Went on vacation for two weeks, really missed  listening to music, came back home and found that I did not at all enjoy what the Genelecs provided. Decided to sell them, got them sold and had a lot of money in my pocket. Not only that, I hauled my Cornwalls back into the system and immediately found that listening to music is fun, oh, what these speakers do really put a smile on my face! 

 

I had long been wanting to buy a new vinyl player so decided to go visit my dealer. Came back with an excellent Technics but I also got to listen to a combination of Accuphase E-650 and Klipsch Heresy. That combination was excellent so decided to buy the amp for my setup. How did it sound in my system? Difficult to say, the best I've heard in my home is probably the best way to describe what I hear. I regret having tried other speakers, these Cornwalls are mazing, even more so with the Accuphase E-650. Never thought an amp would do that much of a difference (although

 

Just wanted to share my very positive experience with the Cornwall IVs (and the Heresy IVs did sound very good when I heard them). I'm so happy that I did not sell them when I got my Genelecs, these are probably the best speakers in the world (for me) :-). 

 

 

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Congrats and thanks for posting.  I love these reports of the journeys (and we like pictures, too, if you feel like it).  Always nice to hear reports of amp-serendipity (and that thing is lovely, BTW), too.  In the end, it's good that you tried the other stuff and lived with it--removal of doubt is valuable :)  

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John, it's amazing what different perceptions of a loudspeaker brand exist in different markets and countries. Also in Germany there are some "High End" blinded people who think Klipsch is a party loudspeaker, but also quite a few people who appreciate Klipsch for 60 years, who are also classical music listeners. Congratulations on your CW IV and your choice.

I would be very interested to know what bores you about the other speakers. Can you describe it a bit or is it "audio-emotional" beyond words? 

 

 

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John,

 

[Those of you who have heard this stuff way too often, skip it!]

 

I've been ruminating on what makes the not necessarily "golden ears" dislike Klipsch, and other speaker companies that use horns in the mid and high frequencies (or even those that are fully horn loaded, like The Klipsch JubileeKlipsch - #TWOCHANNELTUESDAY with the Jubilees - make some... | Facebook and Klipschorn, old JBLs and Altecs).  All of the above, including the 2/3 horn loaded Cornwall IV, sound incredibly like the classical orchestras I experienced and/or played in, as well as the marching band,  jazz band, and Rock bands in Golden Gate Park.  So what's the problem?

  • Confirmation bias, when, and if, the "golden ears" hear horns.  They have been told, time and again, "Horns are bad, honky, sound like singing through cupped hands," etc., so they hear artifacts that may or may not be there.  Every concert hall, control room, recording location, microphone placement pattern, sounds different, but there is usually no way of knowing if what one is hearing is the speaker, the room, the listening position, the original room, etc.
  • Some have not heard good horns, including one salesperson selling low dynamics, veiled, "boring" speakers that I encountered in the shadow of the Transamerica pyramid, who was running down horns without ever having heard one (he finally admitted that).
  • Some need to show they can afford speakers costing from $100,000 to $4,000,000, even if they rarely listen to them, being so busy buying and selling the world.
  • They, for whatever reason, like some other design approach better.  That's O.K. with me, but they should to leave any preconceived notions at the door, if possible.  When I selected Klipschorns, I very closely considered the very different big Bozaks (sweet), and, later, B&W 801 Fs (smooth).  They all sounded very, very different, and I liked them all, but the Klipschorns sounded the most like my old orchestras, and were the most fun! 

John, I know what you mean about ear wax.  I had mine removed, and I hear a lot more detail, etc.  I recommend it to everyone, but have it done by a professional.

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Congrats about those Cornwall IVs!

& @garyrc seen your posts all over the last four five years since I joined here. Got to say that you always make a lot of good sense even when it goes into several paragraphs. Thanks dude.

Edited by JohnJ
yrs here
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