No stuffing in CWII's?

[intotubes]

I have a pair of '86 Cornwalls. I bought them from the original owner who swear they have never had themn apart. I had the horns out for some minor repair and noticed that there was NO stuffing in the box. None. There was a brace from front to back below the midrange horn. The crossover was screwed to the back - an inductor coil had come loose and was hanging by it's wires, I glued it back to the board. But the inside was otherwise bare. Is this unusual?

During a test listen through one speaker, the other needed a new tweeter, it sounded very good. The bass was thumping me in the chest and the sound was exceedingly clear. Are later Cornwalls naked inside?

-Mark

[Kriton]

My 87 Corn II's are naked too...later Corn's didn't have any stuffing...I haven't decided whether to try to put something in or not.

K

[garymd]

Even Cornwall Is have very little insulation. I haven't opened mine up for years but recall a thin layer about an inch thick throughout the cabinet.

Its always been my understanding that CWIIs were naked inside like yours. Lots of folks have added padding. I'm sure there's a thread or two with details if you search a little.

[Frzninvt]

Yep, the Corn II comes naked internally! While the speaker sounds phenomal right out of the box, the cabinet resonates bad if you rap your knuckles on the side of it compared to an original Cornwall. You can get the 1 1/2" egg crate type acoustic panels from Part Express and cut and install them through the woofer hole. I did a pair and it did not take to long. I used Scotch 77 Hi Tack Spray Adhesive to secure the panels. It smoothed out the bass response some. I think it was like $60 total.

The crossover network in there looks like it was assembled by Playschool. I would replace all the parts with updated ones and put a real terminal strip in there instead of that piece of metal hammered into the wood.

You will be surprised how much smoother and cleaner they will sound if you do the above to them.

[intotubes]

I listened to a pair of '86 Cornwalls before buying mine. They were the best speakers I had ever heard and I had to have them. If all later CW's are naked then I think I will listen to them that way for a while before making any changes.

What do you mean by "smoother" bass? As measured with an SPL meter or is it a subjective improvement? Were you able to do an A/B test or did you modify both speakers at once? Are the stock crossover's that bad or is there some degradation of the componenets after 20 years that you hoped to remedy by rebuilding them?

Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I am still at the early stages of listening to and appreciating these very fine speakers. They are incredible.

-Mark

[BS Button]

You might want to keep the thickness to a minumum and especially on the back panel down by the port area. Also, I would not recommend gluing or, use just a strong mechanical staple gun. I've got a set of foam made specifically for the cornwall, if you're interested.