rmestradatx Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 New to this forum - I have a pair of Cornwalls (Type: C-WO) salvaged from storage. Work okay but probably need some TLC. Any recommendations on a good amp to go with these? Right now I have a Yamaha P-2200 I'm borrowing to run these. Anyone know anything about these speakers? They are serial numbers: 5M072 and 5M073. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 rmestradatx, We welcome you and your '75 Corns to the forum. Standard questions are: How big is your room? What type of music are you into? How loud do you listen? I can give you a very definative answer: your Corns will sound better with an amplifier! Most will recommend tubes but there are some nice SS amps around that will slam the Walls!!! I'm listening to The Dead on my Jolida 302B and Heresys as I type this and find the sound very pleasing. It ain't Klipschorns, but then again what is? Your Corns with the ported K-33 will be closer. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmestradatx Posted May 17, 2004 Author Share Posted May 17, 2004 ---------------- On 5/17/2004 3:26:56 PM 3dzapper wrote: rmestradatx, We welcome you and your '75 Corns to the forum. Standard questions are: How big is your room? What type of music are you into? How loud do you listen? I can give you a very definative answer: your Corns will sound better with an amplifier! Most will recommend tubes but there are some nice SS amps around that will slam the Walls!!! I'm listening to The Dead on my Jolida 302B and Heresys as I type this and find the sound very pleasing. It ain't Klipschorns, but then again what is? Your Corns with the ported K-33 will be closer. Rick ---------------- Hi Rick. I have a really big room. About 3000sf. I play classical and jazz. How loud? Not really sure what you mean by loud - but I think it's cool when the lights vibrate! I'm thinking of getting an Adcom 5400 - will that do the job? Thanks! Ram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandi Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 Holy Moly your room is bigger than my house!! What are the dimensions? and what is the oreintation of the room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 Welcome to the Klipsch Forums, Ram, and to Cornwall ownership! If you're interested in tube power, I would recommend any new or used McIntosh vacuum tube power amp...they're that good with Heritage Series loudspeakers, and many forum members use them in their audio systems. They're pricey, but if your budget will allow it, these Mac tube amps are surely the way to go, and IMO are definately worth it. Also just about any new or used solid-state McIntosh amp would be a worthy candidate as well, as long as it uses their patented McIntosh Autoformers (which are used in all their tube amps), and NOT the Direct-Coupled design. I owned an MC7200 that was Direct-Coupled, and was a bit harsh in the highs with my Cornwalls. I've also used the classic MC2100 and MC250 power amps (with Autoformer transformers), and they both have that smooth tube-like sound that closely resembles that tube sound most Klipsch owners enjoy with their horns. Of course there are lots of other choices out there...vintage integrated tube amps from H.H. Scott, Marantz, harman/kardon, Fisher, Dynaco, EICO, Heathkit, Quad, Pilot, etc. Also newer amps and recievers from Yamaha, Denon, Nakamichi, harman/kardon, NAD, Adcom, etc. High-end tube and solid-state like conrad-johnson, Boulder, Linn, B&K, Bryston, Monarchy Audio, Cello, Sunfire, Anthem, Cary, Krell, Mark Levinson, Aragon, Manley, Audio Research, etc. And don't forget all the latest Chinese tube amps from Antique Sound Lab, JoLida, Dared, Ming-Da, Cayin, BEZ, Radii, and on and on... We could go on for days with all the possibilities...why not tell us what your interests are. Do you fancy only 2-channel stereo, or a full-blown 7.1 home theatre? Edit: just noticed you posted the Adcom...I've also used the GFA-5400 class-A MOSFET power amp. I love this combination as well, although 100 watts is more than enough power to drive the Cornwalls. I've driven this amp through my BEZ Model Q4B line stage tube preamp (via NOS 6SN7s) with excellent results! Get's pretty hot at any volume due to its class-A topology, but has no effect whatsoever to the performance. I recommend it as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 That is a big room! I too have a pretty large area to fill not quite as big as you have but with cathedral ceilings it is a lot of space to fill! With my cornwalls, I have used Hafler (ss), Parasound(ss), Vintage McIntosh (tube and ss), NOSValves Scotts, Cary(tubes) and Vintage Fisher. In my mind and to my ears the vintage Mcintosh tube gear fits the best for my situationa and my ears. Ill admit that maybe its because I lusted after Mcintosh equipment when I couldnt afford it. But even though it puts a smile on my face whenever I power up all those tubes! Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 i also had a pair of good old corns, i powered them with yanny, sony, denon, rotel and b&K, the yammy just sounded wrong, the sonny sounded like a boom box the denon was good, the rotel was great, and the b&k is best, i guess my point is as long as you have quality power behing those corns they will really impress you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 3000 square feet is not a room...it is an airplane hanger...or a nice comfortable size for a fully-equipped cabinet shop! Do rain clouds form near the ceiling on humid days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmestradatx Posted May 18, 2004 Author Share Posted May 18, 2004 ---------------- On 5/18/2004 7:46:07 AM HDBRbuilder wrote: 3000 square feet is not a room...it is an airplane hanger...or a nice comfortable size for a fully-equipped cabinet shop! Do rain clouds form near the ceiling on humid days? ---------------- Oooh - are you psychic? My pals refer to my room as the blimp base. I don't have a problem with humidity but we do have dust bunnies the size of a Texas tumbleweed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 I would say you need more than just cornwalls. LaScalas would work nice in a large room like that. Or of course the mighty KHorn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clipped and Shorn Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 You do understand that these speakers do not need a lot of power, 30-50 watts is way more than enough. If you do not want annoying harshness in upper midrange, I would definitely recommend tubes for pre and amp. I have mostly used vintage tube gear in my search for making Cornwalls sound best. Eico, Dynaco, Scott, Fisher, etc. can be obtained at relatively friendly prices, and can even be upgraded by individuals you might meet right here on the forum, if you choose not to do it yourself if need be. C&S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 vintage solid-state harmon/kardon receivers, such as 430s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjohnsonhp Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 This modern new $1295 EL34/6SN7 integrted tube amp might be worth a look with the Corns. http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=processors&product=13.1 Dodd Audio makes some modern new tube gear worth a look. The hybrid Van Alystine stuff has good reviews at a higher price. I was tempted to keep my NOSValves Curcio/Dynaco ST-70 and mate it with Mark's Blueberry which has been getting good ink on the forum, but then I got interested in hooking up a HTPC, HDTV Comcast box, Universal player, TT, and more so I'm looking at a pre/pro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 What Colin said. Actually, the Cornwalls will do fine with low power, since they are so efficient. You have a huge room, though! What it all really boils down to is how much you intend to spend for your power for them. The biggest advantage of the old H/K "X"30 series of twin-powered stereo receivers is the cost vs. performance ratio. For example, you can pick up an H/K 430 receiver for around 40-50 bucks plus shipping on eBay in nice condition. It has a conservative rating of 25 WPC, but due to its twin-powering, it seems to put put much more power than that! What you get is a great little package for the price of a tank or two of gasoline, that includes a very nice tuner in the deal. If 25WPC doesn't float your boat, you can opt for its bigger brothers, the 630, with 30 WPC, the 730 with 35 WPC, or the 930 with 45 WPC. All of the 430's bigger brothers have a pre-amp-out/main-amp-in feature the 430 lacks. The 930 has the BEST tuner of the bunch, too (it is FET-front-end loaded)! Also, the bigger brothers of the 430 have capacity for TWO of each of aux inputs, turntables, tape decks/monitors, whereas the 430 has one of each. How much more do the 430's bigger brothers cost on average in good condition on eBay? The 630 will run around 50-70 bucks plus shipping on average, the 730 around 50-90 bucks on average, the 930 around 75-150 bucks on average. All of these units tend to be fairly bullet-proof, are built like tanks, have already survived about 30 years and will likely survive another 30 years if well-maintained, and they have H/K's famous ultra-wide-band frequency response, test out flat as a pancake on response curves within the min-to-max of human range of hearing, have no real backround noise normally associated with solid-state gear of the period, and their twin-powering gives them the ability to easily keep up with complex musical passage transients so that they don't go into clipping easily (IOW, they are accurate reproducers and have the ability to be bass monsters due to the power available to the amp sections for each channel)! But, the biggest advantage of all is "most bang for the buck"! There are many who have touted these receivers as some of, if not THE best stereo receivers ever made in their power classes. So, if you want to go the least expensive route, or want to have a back-up unit on the cheap, they are hard to beat, IMHO! Actually, even if you opt for something else to power those Cornwalls, there is good reason just to get one of these and give it a try...since you seldom lose anything in the deal...most folks who get one and then re-sell it, get out of it what they have in it! And a number of people get them, move on to "upgrade" to more expensive gear later on, but just can't seem to let the H/K go, since it can always be used for a back-up unit or a second-system unit! As a matter of fact, there are a number of folks on this forum who have found these units to be all the "upgrade" they need to begin with and are perfectly happy with them! I honestly haven't found a better solid-state "bang for the buck unit" that has consistently performed well with Klipsch Heritage series speakers, and has tended to remain affordable over the past few years other than these units! It is only a matter of time before they begin rapidly to go up in price on the used market! The downside to them? You have to get outta your chair to use them...they don't have remotes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavyDistortion Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 I also suggest using tube amplification with your Cornwalls. I've used a NOSValves Scott 299-D to drive my Cornwalls with nice results, but I'm now using a VAC Avatar Special Edition integrated tube amplifer with even better results. IMO, your Cornwalls will love tube amplification. Ed Hurdle HeavyDistortion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.