gettincorny Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Howdy. I recently purchased a pair of '73 Cornwalls and they sound fabulous. The fella I bought them from says he opened the back of one of the speakers and removed the woofer to check the surround. Does the enclosure need to be resealed in some way? If I want to check the woofer reattachment, what should I watch out for? Thanks in advance for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 I would take both back panels off,,,compare them to each other make sure all the drivers are the same in each one,,,post the serial numbers so we can tell more about them,,,,if the grills dont come off,,,he had to take the woofer out from the back to check the surround....loosen and re-tighten all the wires while your in there,,,check condition of wiring to....im sure others here have some more ideas,,,,also if you got them on smooth floor go to wal-mart and get some grippers and pull the slider thingys off the bottom and put the grippers in place where the metal sliders were....what are you using for amp on yours?,,,rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Welcome to the Klipsch Forum and to a very interesting group of audio fanatics. I too am a Cornwall owner and am very proud of the fabulous sound I get from them and an otherwise fairly modest system. Please check out the Forum 'thread' under Modifications for a Cornwall compendium I am working on. You see, there are several structural and electronic modifications that can be made. These have been devised/tested by Forum members. For now, I agree, just open em up, notate conditions and numbers, tighten everything down and just ENJOY. You'll find that since Cornwalls use a woofer without foam surround, they rarely tear and many users report decades of use without driver failure. If you'd like some great reading on an independent test report on your Cornwalls, check out this website: http://www.belgaudio.com/kcmap.htm Some of the chapters are rather technical, but some are pure bliss. Basically, this group gives the Klipsch Cornwall an excellent review, particularly in response to efficiency, frequency response, and low, low distortion. Again, welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gettincorny Posted July 28, 2004 Author Share Posted July 28, 2004 Thanks for the reply. The serial #'s are 3L044 and 3L047. They aren't consecutive but they have the vertical horns on opposite sides. I'll definitely take a look inside. The grills don't come off so the only way is through the back. Also, the speakers are on risers - I'm not sure what "slider thingys" you are referring to? I've been using a CJ MV55. The preamp is a Bottlehead Foreplay but I guess I'm not a very good solderer yet because there is a lot of hum - more through the Cornwalls I figure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gettincorny Posted July 28, 2004 Author Share Posted July 28, 2004 Thanks for pointing out that thread - it looks to be full of info. I've only had a short time to look through it so forgive me if I'm asking a question that is answered somewhere in there, but I'm wondering if sealing the back panel of the Cornwalls in some way will help the tuning of the port? Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 I've not heard of vibration or 'leakage' problems with the wood-to-wood joinery of the Cornwall back. If a few screws are loose, you might try the old carpenter's trick of backing out the screw, inserting a toothpick in the hole and snapping it off. Then rethread the screw in the new, tightened hole. There is a modification to strengthen this largest panel in the cabinet. That is to double the thickness of the panel by adding a panel of like thickness to the inside of the back, joined by glue and screws, slightly smaller than the enclosure internal dimensions so that it does not contact the sides and vibrate. This is supposed to increase the 'slam' factor by stiffening the back and providing more support for the low frequencies inside the cabinet which exit via the port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 Klipsch put metal sliders on bottom of the speaker to slide on factory floor,,,if you have yours on smooth surface it will work better if you put grippers on them,,,rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richinlr Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 colterphoto1, Thank you for the website with the Cornwall review! A fascinating read and the reviewer has expressed exactly what is causing a revival of horn interest in me. In a nutshell, Klipsch Heritage speakers sound REAL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InventiveAudio.com Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 I have a pair of Cornwall I's also. Definitely take those back panels off and check the condition of the crossovers, drivers, look for loose wires, etc. But the biggest kick is how they hand tied the dampening material on the inside of the speaker with string. Unfortunately for me I had to remove all this because the speakers were kept in an outdoor shed and were odorous. They had SO=speaker odor. It was a lot of hard work but I removed everything from those speakers and cleaned them all up so they would smell and look pretty again. The Cornwall's tweeters can be a little agressive compared to my K-horns so you will definetely want to get a tube amp to run those speakers. Tubes will warm up the sound and give you silky smooth mids and high. One other upgrade I think is mandatory is to buy a good sub. But hey I don't even know you and I have you spending a ton of money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 On 7/28/2004 11:22:54 PM gettincorny wrote: I'll definitely take a look inside. The grills don't come off so the only way is through the back. I may be mistaken, but the grills 'should' come off. There is probably 12 velcro squares holding mine on. Try a plastic picnic knife between the cabinet edge and grill and pry gently. You might want to protect the woodwork with a small cloth. I also have Cornwalls (the originals) although they are horizontal horns. Your vertical models are highly prized for HT use because they are intended to lie on their side (cabinet laying horizontally) so that the horn is now properly oriented. Lots of folks look for these for a center channel between two standard Cornwalls. Did you get a chance to read the Belgian Audio School review yet? Happy listening! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gettincorny Posted August 3, 2004 Author Share Posted August 3, 2004 Are your grills recessed? Mine seem to be. I can slide a knife between the wood and the grill but I can't get behind the grill. I don't see an easy way to pry the grills off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted August 3, 2004 Share Posted August 3, 2004 The grills on the '73's are NOT removable! The motor board is screwed to the frame, the grill cloth is wrapped around the motorboard and stapled to the back side it is not coming off. The only way to get into them is from the back. Only later models had the removable velcro grills. Your '73's also must have the vertically placed tweeter and midhorn which makes them more desireable than the later horizontal versions because they are not as common. The front motorboard can be removed but it must be unscrewed from inside the speaker. If you are not experiencing any problems I would just leave them alone though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hardy Posted August 3, 2004 Share Posted August 3, 2004 My 74 Cornwalls have horizontal drivers; I think the 73's would too. One other 'tune up' point I didn't see mentioned above: it is well worth checking that all the drivers' screws are snug (especially the woofers). One of my woofers was buzzing at fairly high volume on the almost unbelievably bass-heavy track "Way Down Deep" (from Jennifer Warnes' "The Hunter"). I was afraid I had a real problem but it was just loose screws (as someone here at a Klipsch forum suggested). Be careful not to overtighten and strip the screw holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gettincorny Posted August 4, 2004 Author Share Posted August 4, 2004 I'm glad I didn't try too hard to take the grills off. And my '73s do have vertical horns. If they are used upright, it looks from what I've read, that I should select left and right speakers so the tweeters are on the outsides. Any dissenters? I'm also looking to move to lower powered amplification. How little wattage have people used and still been happy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 OOPS, sorry about the misinformation! I ASSumed that your 73's were the same as my 74's . Talk about speaker odor! Mine lived through a house fire just prior to my purchasing them. Grime in the open grain walnut and horrible smoky odor for about two years. Actually much more pleasant than that popular 'Eau da Bar' that our old PA LaScala's had. WHEW, nothing like the combination of smoke, spilled beer and cheap perfume! Michael- tripping on memory lane again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 How little wattage have people used and still been happy? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dflip Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 I've had the backs off my Cornwalls at least twenty times. One screw hole is a little stripped, so I will have to do some repair work, but other than that they come off fine and can be put back on easily. There is no double sided tape or insulation, just a rabbit joint for the back piece to fit into. There is enough potential for vibration given their width and minimal internal bracing, that you don't have to worry about the backs being resealed to make them completely soundproof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dflip Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 quick fix for stripped screw holes in wood: take a couple of toothpicks (a sliver of hardwood is better), insert in screw hole and snap it off even with top of hole, this will 'tighten' the hole up enough that the screw can get a new bite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 How little wattage have people used and still been happy? With Cornwalls, 35 wpc. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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