Cornwall I vs. Cornwall II Redux

[Flason]

I finished my '78 Cornwall project last week and have been A\B'ing them with my '87 CW II's this weekend. Not really using the "best" equipment, HK930 (thanks Craig) and a Sony SACD player, but the same equipment between the 2 sets of speakers. I didn't want huge space between the sets so I stacked and inverted a 1 on a 2 and visa versa. For the most part, highs and lows, pretty much the same. I really don't think one has more bass slam than the other and the high frequency is too close to call. It's the efficiency and mids where the differences lie, at least to me. The 2's seem more efficient to me. At the same level on the receiver, the 2's are noticably louder. Also the midrange on the 2's seems more spacious. The 1's mid is more direction oriented. Let me put it this way, the 2's almost sound like you push the "stadium" button in and the 1's sound more direct. But I guess the question is which one I like more. I really wish it were that simple. I flip on the 1's and listen for a while and the choice is clear, I like them the most. Then I switch and play the 2's and think I like the 2's more. And it keeps going on like this. Need some input from y'all as to which I should keep as both pair will not fit in the house.

[BS Button]

What crossovers and drivers do you have in the 1's vs. the 2's? I'm not sure, but I do not think that the 2's ever varied.

[Flason]

I never opened up the 2's to find out what's in there. The 1's have a type B network. All drivers are original from the time. I think it's the K77 tweeter, which I just replaced the diaphrams in. The Mid is the K55V (?) I think. Since I put them back together I can't remember exactly.

[chops]

Since you have the CWs stacked and inverted on top of the CW IIs, I can understand why there is a difference in the midrange. The CWs' midrange is about 10" higher than the CW II's the way you have them. Most likely, you have a pair of mid horns either shooting well above or well below your head.

Unless you try putting the CWs on the bottom and the CW IIs on the top and see how it sounds then????

And yes, they are K55-V drivers in your '78s.

[Hardhead]

The BEST answer is: you need a bigger house so you can keep both pair.

[Klewless]

The test method I would recommend is

1. Put the amp into MONO

2. Put the speakers side by side, in the center of the room away from walls, etc

3. Use the BALANCE control to switch speakers while listening

4. It would be nice if someone else could do the switching for you while you are in the sweet spot

5. Listen to several favorite recordings in full

Good luck!

If yours are the ones with the mid/tweeter off to one side, put them next to each other

[Flason]

After even more listening it has become crystal clear that I'm still undecided as to which sounds best. There are some songs that sound better on the 1's than the 2's and some sound better on the 2's than the 1's. I have also found that while the bass section is basically the same between both, the 2's do have a little cleaner upper end. Still love the tweets in the 1's as thay are the exact same as the tweets in my Khorns. I guess that leaves me no alternative so I'll have to skip the gym tomorrow to keep experimenting ..... OK, I'll go to the gym and keep testing when I get home. (any excuse to get out of working out)