Cornwall I: Care and Feeding

[dgheck]

I am glad that I have found this forum....it looks like I have come to the right place for some advice.

I purchased a pair of Cornwall I's in/about 1982 (back when I was a single man and still free to purchase furniture-sized floor speakers rather than only furniture-sized furniture) and have managed to hold on to them ever since.

They have been in service for the roughly 20 years I have owned them and have been well-cared for the whole time in the sense that they have always been in a climate controlled environment, and have never been abused either cosmetically nor through over use nor extreme volume levels. In short, they have been inside the whole time and have experienced relatively light duty.

But they are 20 years old and West Texas is pretty dry...

So my questions are: Other than oiling the cabinets from time to time, is there anything else I should be doing to extend the life of or upgrade the performance of these speakers? Do cones dry out? Was there some much better crossover/woofer/driver/whatever that is available that would dramatically increase the sound or performance of these speakers?

Also, these speakers get an increasing level of use in a Home Theatre app and given my particular room/cabinetry config it would be handy if I could lay these units on their sides (floor level) and space them about 12' apart (center to center). Is there any reason I shouldn't do this?**

Thanks for any advice.

DG Heck

Texas

P.S. I have always had an uncanny attachment to these speakers. I am glad to know it was not just me.

** Please forgive this question. I can almost hear the grimacing from the purists as they read it. I sense that this is not a great idea, but I don't have the technical knowledge as to why.

[Daddy Dee]

Hmmm. Looking back here, somehow my text didn't post. Will try it again.

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you are already taking good care of your CW's oiling the wood. If there was anything amiss with your drivers, you'd hear it. So you should be good there.

The only thing that comes to mind with speakers of that age is that the caps in the crossover networks may have drifted off factory spec. One wouldn't notice that, since the process is gradual. Bob Crites, (BEC) on this forum can do testing and replacement of the factory type caps. If nothing is off spec, then you're good to go and replacement isn't necessary. Interesting enough, the caps in the cases of Heresy's and CW's do better through the seasons than those in the open backs of the Khorns and LS.

DeanG and Al Klappenberger are other resources on the forum for crossover upgrades and do excellent work.

[D-MAN]

If it sounds good, it IS good. If you hear a problem, THEN it's time to go after it. At that time, you might consider upgrades, but until then, I say "why bother"?

There should be no maintenence required other than the routine care of the veneer.

DM

[Klipschguy]

DG, welcome to the Klipsch forum.

If the drivers are in good working order i.e. not blown or rubbing, I'd leave them alone. As long as the drivers and crossovers sound good, they probably are fine and should continue to be for MANY years. The driver complement in your speakers are the most desirable.

My Cornwalls are 1977, bone stock, and in perfect working order. They also sound excellent just the way Paul Klipsch designed them and I have no intention of modifying them.

Others forum members have Cornwalls that were built in the 60's and are still functioning perfectly with the stock drivers and crossovers. Note that modifying your speakers will decrease their value.

Interestingly, I've often noticed that once people start modifying their speakers, they usually end up getting rid of them (after, of course, singing the praises of their "tweaks.")

There is a reason Cornwalls have such long term satisfaction.

Just my 2 cents - others here will be in the other camp.

Again welcome to the forum,

Andy