Deang Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 I think I might be living in Odds and Mods for a while. The Cornwalls are a wonderful sounding speaker -- to a point. That point would be about 90db. Up until about 9 o'clock position on the volume knob, I have a set of speakers that give me everything I could possibly want in a speaker. They are crisp, tight, airy, and smooth. There are times I am listening, where the sound is so similiar to the RF-7's it's spooky. Excellent in every way. Beyond this point, the angelic character of the Cornwalls is replaced by that of a howling demon. Where the RF-7 maintains the integrity of its signature regardless of SPL -- the Cornwalls quickly degrade into an incoherent mess. I am however very pleased with their performance with movies, and they certainly seem to excel in this area. I now understand why most run these with 3.5 watts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 I predicted as much. They are ruthless with poor system matching, room, recordings, and bad taste. They require extreme care with setup and sources. IF you are getting an incoherent mess over 90dB, expect problems with material, sources, or amplification (even if tubes). They are not fond of compressed rock, I will say that. I was listening to original Beatles reocordings tonight via vinyl while making dinner, this through the Moondogs. Lets say that 90dB area was left behind. The sound was insanely good. The Heritage line will really show problems in your system, whether it be sources, amplification, material, cable, setup, etc. Get them right and things are insanely good. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 15, 2003 Author Share Posted February 15, 2003 Don't get me wrong, they sound great, and since they are in the general family hang out zone -- they will never go much over 90db anyway. Debbie and me watched 'The Bourne Identity' last night, and the Cornwalls kicked some serious butt. Fabulous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Did you tape caulk the Horns yet ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Using a pair of Cornwalls to listen to the soundtrack of a cheesy Matt Damon spy thriller seems to me to be akin to drinking Diet Doctor Pepper from a $300 Baccarat "baloon" Bordeaux glass. ARRRRRRRRRRGH!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCturboT Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Dean, Aren't you running these with your Scott 299B? There's gotta be something amiss somewhere as I have had plenty of experience with Cornwalls and a Scott LK-48 and while they are excellent at lower levels (under 90db) they also had no problems at higher levels whatsoever. Is this a "break up" issue or is the sound not as clear at higher listening levels? Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 15, 2003 Author Share Posted February 15, 2003 Craig, No caulk yet. I decided to some homework on the issue, and watched a movie last night instead. Jeff, I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is. It's those wonderful metal lenses ringing like the Liberty Bell. I was going to caulk the lenses last night, but I wanted to do a little homework on just exactly how much I should use, as I really don't want to overdamp them. This is especially important since they do sound rather excellent at the moderate listening levels, and actually -- 90db is plenty loud enough considering I don't sit in front of this system until everyone goes off to bed. This fact has me seriously considering having Craig walk me through wiring the Scott in triode. Right Craig? Your Cornwalls did have some advantages for the music we like. It had the plastic resin lenses, and the cabinet was braced. Mine have neither of these niceties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clipped and Shorn Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 What about caulking until the ringing is gone when you hit the bell with a rubber mallet or such? I was planning to do this with my metal Altec 511B horns before installing them. I am trying to decide between 1) automotive undercoating ( comes in a spray can), 2) Visco elastic damping material, 3) Duct Seal -- a product apparently comparable to Dynamat. Anyone else have success with this process, what did you find best? C&S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCturboT Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 ---------------- On 2/15/2003 3:29:44 PM deang wrote: Your Cornwalls did have some advantages for the music we like. It had the plastic resin lenses, and the cabinet was braced. Mine have neither of these niceties. ---------------- Dean, Think you thinking of the later model Cornwall IIs. While mine did have the plastic lenses they did not have any bracework inside. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 I don't want to imput dought here. But you never know I'm not perfect like my wife say's I am. Maybe there is something amiss with the 299B ............................ NAAAAAA no way LOL !!! Maybe the previous Owner listened to Guv'ner all the time and the old Cornies just can't handle real music after that Crack trip Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 15, 2003 Author Share Posted February 15, 2003 Damn, I never even thought of that. Someone playing sissy stuff through them for 25 years. Hell, they're probably not even broke in yet!! Thanks for the tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 He He !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry N. Cruse Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 MH I agree. The CWs are transparent. The Cormwall may require some room tweaking and a good source...but well worth the effort. Being voiced like PWKs cornerhorn, they can sing. Unlike the Khorn bass that rolls and flows like a wave across the floor,....CWs can be like an "explosive boot in the chest". I.B. Slammin tc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Dean, It is *impossible* to over damp the horns! No horn should ring, not even a little bit. Any ringing adds something that is not supposed to be there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 15, 2003 Author Share Posted February 15, 2003 Well, my thinking was that every speaker is voiced taking these things into account (resonances and what not). Of course, the Type B crossover is pretty simple, and there certainly isn't anything there that I can see that would suggest PWK compensated for this particular problem. I do think Kelly has a point with this though in that damping that lens completely down might impact the squawkers ability to project some ambience into the music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 ---------------- On 2/15/2003 1:47:16 PM JCturboT wrote: There's gotta be something amiss somewhere as I have had plenty of experience with Cornwalls and a Scott LK-48 and while they are excellent at lower levels (under 90db) they also had no problems at higher levels whatsoever. ---------------- My all-original Cornwalls sound just as good below 90dB as they do at over 100dB! Granted, certain poorly recorded CDs, LPs and cassettes have made the Cornwalls sound harsh, but overall these horn-speakers have impressed me to no end no matter what level the gain controls are set to. I've never noticed any degradation in sound quality from one level to another, and I have the metal bells and no internal bracing other than what Andy (HDBRbuilder) used in the construction back in '79. Even though my room placement is less than ideal, I assume my equipment is a great match for the Klipsch...my present arrangment has been the best setup thus far; the quality of sound with my source and interconnects/speaker cables are unequaled (a high-end vacuum tube amp/preamp would be even better, in my opinion)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted February 16, 2003 Share Posted February 16, 2003 i read your post and made me curious, so as soon as everyone was awake i got out the old spl meter, and i sure dont know why you are having problems, i discovered that 90 db is about where mine start getting too loud, but they are royally singing, i can go upstairs to my sons room and hear sweet music, and no distortion, up or down, standing right in front of them, nothing makes mine sound bad, except source of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted February 16, 2003 Share Posted February 16, 2003 Dean, For horn damping, "Extreme" Dynamat is good, and easy to apply. It is intended to be a vibration damping material. It's usually sold through Auto audio channels .. people use it to damp various metal car surfaces. I agree that you can't overdamp a horn. Some people might think they don't need to be damped at all, but that's a different direction. leok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 I find it really strange that anyone would assume you cant overdamp a horn. This contradicts almost all experiences I have had over the years with damping products from speakers with sand and shot, to component chassis', to stands to ad infinitum. Every device has a sweet spot for damping and over damping can bring very negative results with speakers, especially dealing with cabinets. The actual composition of the horn and the construction, whether it be wood, metal, or plastic, does have an affect on the sonics, some more subtle than others. The application of material and the amount of material can play an important role here to the extent that it affects the reproduction and resonance properties. I personally feel that under-damping speakers is FAR superior to overdamping, where the air and treble can be aversly affected. In my view, this holds true whether it is a metal horn or the cabinet. As for the cabinet of a speaker is concerned, one needs to only fill up a cabinet like the ProAc towers with too much sand to shot, and watch the presentation become dull, slow, and lacking air. Why anyone would consider a horn body to be any different is a mystery. As stated, just as horns have different properties depending on material, so do they have different properties depending on sound deadening application. I personlly would go VERY easy on the application. My experiments in this area with SET amps and my CW have led me to a LESS IS MORE approach regarding this dampening of the horn bodies. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dflip Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 I have two rounds of rope caulk just at the point where the magnet meets the horn. I found I needed this to reduce the ringing from the squawker, but not too much. With solid state, I had about 8 inches of caulk. I reduced it when I got the Scott and tried it without any caulk, but it was too bright. I went back to a little and am now happy. It was noticeable what just a little did to the sound. You will have to try it yourself to find the right combination. The good thing is it's cheap, $2 - 2.50 at Home Depot and easy to remove. I also have a pair of Totem beaks on the top of the cabinets which help change the sound and soundstage slightly. Forward for more soundstage and highs and to the side for more bass. They really do work, but at $200 Cdn are not cheap. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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