partymark Posted June 30, 2023 Share Posted June 30, 2023 I have owned my pair of Cornwall IV's for about 2 years now. It wasy first step into higher end speakers as well and buying something new. Previously I had only bought used and mostly vintage. I still have a pair of original Cornwall's from 1983. With my new Cornwall's I decided to get all new gear to go with it. I ended up with a Parasound newclassic 2125v2 amp, Parasound newclassic 200pre preamp, Parasound zphono, pro-ject x2 (with at540ml cart) and a Rotel cd11 tribute. I have had it in my mind that I am not getting enough of their full potential with my pre/amp section. I started looking into nice integrated units. I have sort of narrowed it down to 2 maybe 3 units. The main 2 I am looking at are the Yamaha A-S2200 and the Bryston b135 cubed (used), the third is the Parasound halo hint 6. I am mainly leaning towards the Bryston b135 cubed. Am I realistically going to notice a big increase in sound quality going to something like this? Power wise it's 135wpc compared to 150wpc I'm running now, and the Cornwall's don't need a ton of power. Keeping within this range is okay for me. So am I chasing a dragon in futility, or are there real sonic gains to be made by going into something more high end like the Bryston? I know they seem to have many proponents and as many naysayers, but I am very attracted to the build quality and made in Canada 20 year warranty as well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted June 30, 2023 Share Posted June 30, 2023 You have something against tubes? Remember the CW IV will happily be driven with as little as 15 watts. And I don’t mean background music, but actual real world volumes. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OO1 Posted June 30, 2023 Share Posted June 30, 2023 You let out the Yamaha A-S1200 / A-S 1100 , the A-S 3200 / A-S3100 are more money , the A-S 2200 is a beefed up A-S1200 , and the A-S 3200 has higher quality parts than an A-S2200 , these series from Yamaha will last 20 -30 years........ Bryston being Canadian is an excellent choice as well + a warranty for peace of mind / 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted June 30, 2023 Share Posted June 30, 2023 The gear you have should make those speakers sing. Have you tried playing with the placement, room correction, acoustic treatments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddy Shagmore Posted June 30, 2023 Share Posted June 30, 2023 No experience with Bryston. I have had the A-S2200 (90 wpc)for several years. No issues. I rarely can get it up 1/3 power. Very clean, solid and punchy bass, and I hear nuances I never did with my old Marantz. XLR connects. It has a lot of positive reviews. I added a Schiit Lokius tone control unit for further enhancement. With VU meters and silver...it's a winner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschtastic Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 I recently got a Marantz 40n for my CWIVs. I think it pairs well and like the reviews I read prior to buying it has good solid bass. Buddy Shagmore what Marantz did you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partymark Posted July 1, 2023 Author Share Posted July 1, 2023 7 hours ago, Shakeydeal said: You have something against tubes? Remember the CW IV will happily be driven with as little as 15 watts. And I don’t mean background music, but actual real world volumes. Tried a basic Reisong A10 amp with both my original Cornwall's and the IV's. Didn't enjoy it, but I know it's a very low end unit. I am mainly concerned about reliability and having to replace tubes over time (and with the situation in Russia and China, will we be able to get tubes for the next few decades?) But I am interested in Cayin tube amps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partymark Posted July 1, 2023 Author Share Posted July 1, 2023 6 hours ago, Ceptorman said: The gear you have should make those speakers sing. Have you tried playing with the placement, room correction, acoustic treatments? I have very limited ability to play with placement other than toe in, but I have added 2'X4' GIK 244 panels either side of the speakers at first reflection points and to act as a bit of bass absorption (6" thick panels) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partymark Posted July 1, 2023 Author Share Posted July 1, 2023 6 hours ago, OO1 said: You let out the Yamaha A-S1200 / A-S 1100 , the A-S 3200 / A-S3100 are more money , the A-S 2200 is a beefed up A-S1200 , and the A-S 3200 has higher quality parts than an A-S2200 , these series from Yamaha will last 20 -30 years........ Bryston being Canadian is an excellent choice as well + a warranty for peace of mind / Yes it seems like the 2200 is the sweet spot, has a better pre amp than the 1200 and some better parts inside, the 3200 is out of my price range Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddy Shagmore Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 4 hours ago, Klipschtastic said: Buddy Shagmore what Marantz did you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddy Shagmore Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 A restored 2245. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 High powered amps and high efficiency speakers, horns included, aren’t the best match. All amplifiers have a “sweet spot” and for big power (SS or tubes) that’s not usually in the range where you will be powering Cornwalls. Now I know people will tell you it will work fine, and for the most part it will work. But I will argue that low power (especially tubes) is what works best with our speakers. If you insist on using 150+ watts you are ignoring the chief benefit of high efficiency horns and might as well be buying 87 db sensitive speakers. There is a learning curve with amps and you seem to have found that out already, they all do NOT sound the same. But put a high quality, low(ish) powered tube amp on your Cornwalls and I doubt you will look back. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veloceleste Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry4841 Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 The thing is if you have a mega watt amplifier you will still be only using a few watts of it's power at most with our speakers. You can prove this with a simple VOM meter and ohms law if you do not believe it. I know many will say otherwise for some reason but the truth is math does not lie. What this means is you can use mega watt amplifiers, absolutely nothing wrong with doing s,o but you must be sure that the first watt of it's power is excellent. And yes some of those mega watt jobs measure distortion # at max and not a .5mw where most of your use will be. As Pass states on his Firstwatt page, who cares how it sounds at 100 watts if the first watt sounds like crap. Or something similar. Another thing is those with amplifier experience, own or in the audio electronic field multiple amplifiers, know tubes still rule when it comes to sound. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigantic Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 For the amount of money you're spending, you'd be better served with a tube amp. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry4841 Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 Just now, gigantic said: For the amount of money you're spending, you'd be better served with a tube amp. Another plus for tubes. You get high end sound much cheaper with tubes than SS amplifiers. In other words a 1K to 2K tube amp is going to sound better than 5K to whatever SS amplifiers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flevoman Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 I'm still in a huge learning curve myself when it comes to this hobby. But I own the CW4 myself and have gained some experience and knowledge with this speaker (partly with the help of this forum). My personal experience is that a tube amplifier definitely sounds more pleasant than a solid-state (SS) amp. I haven't tried many SS amps, but from what I've heard, they sounded good but lacked the liveliness that a tube amp possesses. The sound, for me, sounds richer with a tube amp. As for wattage, don't get fixated on that. The amplifier I had with the CW4 was a Decware 2.3 Watt, and it sounded lively, punchy, and detailed. The volume knob never went beyond 50%, and it already played very loud. My normal listening level was around 35%. You're asking if you're chasing an unattainable goal. But what exactly is your goal, if I may ask? Audible improvement? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 @partymark, Where are you located? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1291 Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 Interesting so gonna toss in my .02 worth. As a kid I was always told to never get into the back of the old TV. I remember the repairman coming one day after a couple days w/no TV and saw him spend 5 minutes replacing a tube but he told me the same thing. Then I saw solid state come into being as the the "real deal." I knew it ALL then so I jumped in with both feet. An "OLD" guy told me no I'd never find my happy place w/SS. WHY NOT OLD MAN I thought so I asked what he had. An old McIntosh amp, Thoren's table and Wharfdale speakers. He even invited me to his house to listen. Pfffft, NOT happening old man. Fast forward 50 years later and I'm running an integrated PrimaLuna and would love to buy a new Mc but it's outta my range today just like it was then. Maybe I'll get lucky someday. I've often wondered WHERE his system went. He was married w/no kids so it went somewhere. To a friend I'm sure. Today, I wish I would have listened to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1291 Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 @partymark I just smiled eyeballin your nick. If you're near OH bring your A game and stop in I'll happily throw ya a party. It ain't all about Bach you and I both know that. Everyone has their niche. You've got the some sweet CW so it's time to unleash the beast. They'll rock your socks off. With gas you're gonna hear things you've never heard before. To that end, I remain just another "OLD MAN." 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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