A warning for all non-Cornwall owners

[Tom Adams]

<tongue-n-cheek mode on>

WARNING: By ceasing production of the Cornwall, Klipsch has deprived the world of a truly wonderful speaker! Shame on you Klipsch, LLC.

<tongue-n-cheek mode off>

Well gang, I'm the proud owner of a pair of Cornwalls with vertical horns and all I can say is WOW!

First of all, if gpstrackman is listening, thank you very much for a allowing me the chance of being the second owner and for a wonderful purchasing experience. You're truly a class individual. The wife & I know how much these speakers meant to you, so you can be sure they'll be treated with the same care. It was pleasure meeting you.

Next, a big thanks goes to Mike Lindsey for allowing us to invade his house and use his electronics to demo the speakers. BTW Mike, you'd better hope that water ring from your beer bottle comes out.

Ok - for those of you who've not seen Cornwalls, there is nothing, I mean nothing, that can prepare you for their size. I remember them being big, but OMG, these are some big a** speakers. To some degree, I can understand why Klipsch might have killed production for they do require some real estate. And lets's face it, nowadays there's lots of competition in a living room for space. And FWIW, if you like the sound of Cornwalls, you'll be pleseantly surprised with the new RF-7's for they sound a lot alike to my ears. Anyhow, I digress.

Had a chance to listen to them for only a few minutes last night, but man am I pleased. Subwoofer? I don't need no stinkin' subwoofer. Actually, my KSW-15 seems to be at ease with the Cornwall although the crossover is a bit <ahem> lower than what my Heresy's required. Everything is much more mellow and fuller than the Heresy's. Highs are crisp and detailed, yet none of the harshness of the Heresy's tweeter. And soundstage?? Sheesh, a wall of sound. My wife commented how she was hearing things on recordings she hadn't heard before. To her ear, she prefers the RF-3's to my Heresy's, but said these Cornwalls were in a different league. She kept asking how can a speaker that's that old still play like a new one? Magic , I said. It's Klipsch magic.

Interestingly, I was watching a DVD in 5.1 (Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense) and noticed that there didn't seem to be much bass coming from the Cornwalls. Naturally, I haven't had time to re-balance my system with my db meter, but I was shocked when I pushed the "STEREO" button on the Denon's remote. BANG! These puppies came alive! There was a substantial increase in bass and that's got me rather puzzled. I'm telling ya, Denon and others may say 100 watts/ch. x 5 and 125 watts/ch x 2, but there's a big difference in what the amplifier is capable of delivering in stereo. And I'm not talking about just loudness - I'm talking about punch and detail. Anyhow, once again, I digress...

For those who care, I hope to get some pics up this week of my new (old) Cornwalls.

BTW, anyone know how to get grills off Cornwalls? Or can I assume that since they've never been off since 1971, they're not coming off?

Tom Adams

[HornEd]

Congratulations Tom... and Jim, you were right as usual on your "Tom guess"... and now you know why this HornEd built his Cornwall Music Den in the downstairs research library. Masterful full range sound laced with delicate nuances of musical truth.

The loving heritage they represent led me to email gpstrackman (a gentleman by any measure), and, perhaps, if I lived as close as Savannah I would have become an active bidder. But, already having one fine vintage pair, I thought it best that someone else have an opportunity to love and cherish. I am joyful that they fell into such good hands. Enjoy! HornEd

[eq_shadimar]

Dang well now I can't wait for mine. I have just purchased a pair of Cornwall's myself (details in another thread) but I have to wait a week or so for them. I have a very little car and those suckers just won't fit in there. I have begged a friend with a truck to help me but it will be a week or so. The SVS subwoofer comes in on Wed so my neighbors are going to hate me I just know it :-)

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HT -

RF-3's

RC-3

RS-3's (white)

Advent Powered Sub

Harman Kardon AVR 510

PC -

ProMedia 4.1

Bedroom -

KG4's

Harman Kardon AVR 20 MKII

[Klipschguy]

Hello Tom,

Congrats on the Cornwalls. I've had my Cornwalls for about 10 years now - no complaints and I smile everytime I listen to them. I think you'll feel the same.

Now in hindsight you can understand why I was modifying the tap locations on my Heresys to get them to more closely match my lovely Cornwalls (goal was acheived too).

Also, your grills are probably held on by little pieces of velcro like every pair I've ever seen (I'm just not 100% certain about the vertical horn models, I assume it's the same). A butter knife at the top corner with some careful prying should take them right off.

Post the pictures, I'd love to see them.

KG

[boa12]

congrats tom! the only way i've ever gotten the grills off mine is to kinda get my fingernails under the klipsch nameplate & tug until the top pulls out.

if u do that a lot plan on probably having to reglue the nameplate back on a few times.

i've only had the grills off less than 10 times since purchased in '84 though. including putting on new black cloths & nameplates w/ the cherry refinish 'bout 1 yr. ago. enjoyith

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Klipsch KLF 30 (front), KLF C7, Cornwall I (rear)

Velodyne HGS-18 sub woofer

Monsterbass 400 sub interconnect & Monster CX-2 biwire & Z1 cable

Marantz SR-8000 receiver

Sony DVP-C650D 5-disk cd/dvd player

Sony Trinitron 27" stereo tv

Toshiba hi-fi stereo vcr

Technics dual cassette deck

Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2000 digital cable box

Boa's Listenin Lounge:

Klipsch RF-3 (front), RC-3

Monster MCX Biwires

Sony STR-DE935 a/v receiver

Kenwood KR-9600 AM/FM stereo receiver (vintage 1975)

Russound AB-2 receiver switch to RF-3

Teac PD-D1200 5-disk cd changer

Technics SL-1950 turntable/AT LS500 cartridge

rock on!

[boa12]

was going to post a follow up to suggest using some lever device maybe w/ a rag or cloth something to protect cabinet but see k-dad got there.

at least i know that works now. me just 2 lazy to go to kitchen drawer.

[Tom Adams]

Thanks guys for the congrats and tips on the grills. I tried tugging on the PWK emblem, but didn't wanna pull to hard for just the reason you cited boa. I also tried lightly prying it out, but that didn't work either. Unlike my Heresy's, the grills are recessed at least 1/8" to 3/16" back from the front edge of the speaker making it almost impossible to get something onto the back edge of the grill. Realizing I was tired, I quit trying to get them off for I knew frustration was just around the corner followed by fussin', frammin' and something getting damaged.

Ok - so it was really the wife saying, "You better leave well enough alone. You're about to mess things up."

LOL - The wife also says while music is playing, "Why do you wanna pull the grills off? Have you no faith? Are you afraid there's no speakers behind there?" LOL - outta the mouths of babes...

Tom Adams

[boa12]

tom, yea be careful. that sounds like when i tried to tune up my '84 Chevy Z-24 myself. took me a day to get

the old plugs out when they hadn't been removed for the 1st 60,000 miles. and of course it had a transverse mounted engine.

maybe barry can provide the grill removal history.

[Mr. Blorry]

I will admit never trying to take grilles off of Cornwalls, but when I picked up my (new) 1977 Heresys the other day, I had the same quandry. I went to the kitchen and grabbed a metal spatula. Slid it inbetween the grille and the frame, and gently pushed back on the handle. Voila! It separated the velcro just enough to get my grubby little fingers underneath, and then removal was a snap. Perhaps you can utilize the same precise technology to remove Cornwall grilles?

[Allan Songer]

You're grills ARE NOT held on by velcro and THEY WILL NOT pry off. They are screwed on and you will have to REMOVE THE HORNS AND WOOFER from the inside and proceed from there should you wish to remove them!!!!! This is the way the early Cornwalls were made. If the grills are decent I advise you to leave well enough alone!!!!

[Allan Songer]

Here's what yours probably look like inside, but if they're from 1971 they probably have a mud magnet on the woofer instead of Alnico.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=757826&a=10308307&p=34745536&Sequence=0&res=high

You'll noitce that the grill cloth wraps around the plywood panel that the horns and woofer are mounted to. There is no separate grill!!!

[boa12]

whoops & wow - thanks allan for a great cornwall lesson. knew they had verticle horns, but these are extremely different from my '84 cornwall I all the way to that grille. woofer of course is even side of center. sorry tom for my bad advice

are the specs on these much dif than the horizontal I?

[Tom Adams]

First of all, thanks Allan for the info about the grills. I will cease & desists and have faith that drivers are actually behind the grill.

Ok Allan - showing my ignorance here, but what is a "mud magnet" and are the ones in your photo Alnico? Also, I'm assuming the crossover in your photo is an ALK crossover??

Oh lord...I can feel myself heading down the righteous path of speaker tweeking.

Tom Adams

[Allan Songer]

I think the woofers went to mud magnets in the very early 70's--you'll notice that the magnet is square as opposed to round--I think they're made from some kind of ferrite slurry and therfore called "mud." I doubt if there is much of a sonic difference if any bewteen Alnico and "Mud" magnets, but I've never done any kind of comparison. Mid-horns and tweeters remained Alnico for several years after the woofers went to "Mud." Does anyone know why?

[Allan Songer]

Yes, that's the ALK network in place. I think it's the first one made, as Al had me do some serious comparisons during the later part of the development stage. You will not be sorry if you invest in a pair of these networks--the biggest improvement in my system was in the quickness of the bass--the decay from a plucked bass string for instance tightened up remarkably. To put it simply--the Cornwalls just sounded BETTER with the ALK--go back into the archives and read my initial post on this.

[Colin]

quickness in the bass - well, why didn't somebody say so? can't wait to get my ALK cross-overs - great picture by the why, if you didn't say so, I would not have recognized the Cornwall Is from the rear!

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big old Cornwalls, 2A3 tube amps, Dynaco tube pre-amp, Rotel CD player, KSW200 & LF10 subs

[Allan Songer]

And here's the same speaker from the front:

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=757826&a=10308307&p=34745532&Sequence=0&res=high

[TBrennan]

Alsn---Hmmm, much nicer looking speaker than the later Cornwalls. When I was in the museum in Hope a few weeks ago I saw a very early Cornwall that had what Fender and Ampeg amp fans call a "TV" front, very nice.

[Jim Cornell]

Tom, Horn Ed, Klipschguy

Could you imagine the sound of 2 pair of cornwalls!!

Glad to see your happy tom, i knew very well you would be!!

Nice pair of vintage cornwalls, post a picture soon if you can!!

Jim

[Lone Palm]

Thanx for the pix Allan I have never heard of vertical horns. When I bought my Heresys in 1978 any other Klipsch was out of my price raange. Never even listened to Cornwalls. Can anyone tell me why they were discontinued? Was it because the LaScala was more Speaker for just a little more money or what? Just curious.