Cornwall and 45 SET

[jcmjrt]

I wasn't planning to have a powered sub.

It sounds like the 45 might sound great for low level acoustic listening but if I wanted to rock out then I'd need another system. The 300Bs might do both for me. Hmmm......

[jcmusic]

jcmjrt what I can tell you about the 45 tube is that it presents a more delicate presentation. The 300B is a fuller sound, I use the 300B and am very happy with the sound.

Jay

[jcmjrt]

I went to the Bay Area Tube meeting this past weekend. I took along my "new" Garrard 401 and phono amp as part of the presentation this weekend. Another guy brought his 45 SET. The speakers were Klipsch Chorus II (which are similar to Cornwalls). I couldn't believe how great that combination sounded! I was very happy with my TT/amp with a couple of other amps that were there (including some nice Quad IIs) but when it was combined with the 45 amp, it just seemed to reach the next level. This was in an auditorium and the music was plenty loud for good listening. We played a variety of music from classical, to jazz, to blues, to R&B and it all sounded great.

Anyway, I've ordered Wellborne's tube rectified 45 kit with upgraded caddock resistors, silver wire and TJ Mesh 45s. I'm hoping that I can find that "magic" again at home. When I've got it completed, I'll get back to you all and let you know what I think about the combo with the Cornwalls at home.

[Kudret]

jcmjrt, have you seen this: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstube&1162781224

Kudret

PS. I am 100% affiliated with the seller.[]

[jcmjrt]

Those 2A3s look nice too. I've heard that they sound good but haven't experienced that particular joy myself. At this point, I've got 45s headed in my direction. Good luck to both of us!

[Painful Reality]

Is the Cornwall sensitive enough to drive to loud listening levels in a small room with a 45 SET?

No...

[jcmjrt]

I just got the DRD 45's finished and hooked up yesterday. I'm using a Hagerman Clarinet preamp with the DRD45s fed into the Cornwalls.  The Cornwalls have Al Klappenberger designed XO's and plasticlay damping on the woofer basket and horns. I don't have any way to measure dbs but I can say that these will play loudly - not ear aching but have-to-speak-loudly-to-have-a-conversation-with-someone loud before showing any distortion. Even though these are just in the break-in process, they sound fantastic. So far I've been playing jazz, soft rock and classical and it's beautiful. I haven't tried playing the Stones or Doors, etc yet for a rock test but we'll get there. So far, I have to say that the magic did make it to my home.

[Cut-Throat]

I just got the DRD 45's finished and hooked up yesterday. I'm using a Hagerman Clarinet preamp with the DRD45s fed into the Cornwalls. The Cornwalls have Al Klappenberger designed XO's and plasticlay damping on the woofer basket and horns. I don't have any way to measure dbs but I can say that these will play loudly - not ear aching but have-to-speak-loudly-to-have-a-conversation-with-someone loud before showing any distortion. Even though these are just in the break-in process, they sound fantastic. So far I've been playing jazz, soft rock and classical and it's beautiful. I haven't tried playing the Stones or Doors, etc yet for a rock test but we'll get there. So far, I have to say that the magic did make it to my home.

Aren't you glad you didn't listen to the naysayers - Now, just imagine what a 45 amp will do with a pair of Khorns!

[NOSValves]

I just got the DRD 45's finished and hooked up yesterday. I'm using a Hagerman Clarinet preamp with the DRD45s fed into the Cornwalls. The Cornwalls have Al Klappenberger designed XO's and plasticlay damping on the woofer basket and horns. I don't have any way to measure dbs but I can say that these will play loudly - not ear aching but have-to-speak-loudly-to-have-a-conversation-with-someone loud before showing any distortion. Even though these are just in the break-in process, they sound fantastic. So far I've been playing jazz, soft rock and classical and it's beautiful. I haven't tried playing the Stones or Doors, etc yet for a rock test but we'll get there. So far, I have to say that the magic did make it to my home.

Totally reasonable description of what your experiencing !! That is great and I'm happy for you. I personally think if all low watt users were to describe things in the same fashion we would save the battles that insue on the subject.

Craig

[Parrot]

Totally reasonable description of what your experiencing !! That is great and I'm happy for you. I personally think if all low watt users were to describe things in the same fashion we would save the battles that insue on the subject.

Good point.

Note:

No "goes so loud it peels the paint," "shakes the pictures off the walls," or "cracks the plaster on the ceiling" statements. No "plays loud enough for Mahler" statement. In other words, no preposterous claims that just beg to be corrected in the interest of accuracy.

[jcmjrt]

Yes, I am. If I hadn't heard a 45 integrated hooked to Chorus speakers, I might have listened to naysayers and passed but I did hear and I wanted.

My SO doesn't usually really listen to music but last night after hooking these up, we sat together for quite a while (1 - 2 hours) and just listened to tunes together. My SO's attention span has never even come close to lasting that long before.

[seti]

I would like to hear 45 and 2A3 on cornwalls. I remember hearing my 300B SET on cornwalls and I didn't like it as much. There seemed to be a huge difference between the cornwalls and my Belles which really suprised me.

[ben.]

Those DRD45 do sound good. It's nice that SO was so attracted as well. Obviously they sound better to SO than whatever you had before.

[Hardhead]

You need to know exactly how loud you listen to music and exactly how much headroom you'll want for music peaks. You can do the math and see if you'll have enough wattage with a 45.

If Cornwalls are 98 dB efficient at 1 watt, if I remember correctly, you may not have enough headroom with a 1.5 watt 45 amp. Klipschorns, Belles, La Scala are more efficient at 104 dB at 1 watt, and may be efficient enough for a 45 amp, depending on how loud you normally listen.

I'd do some actual auditioning before I would summarily reject anything based solely on what someone else says, but that's just me.

[Cut-Throat]

Well, if there are amps that can 'peel paint off the walls or shake pictures off the wall', I would not want them. I just got my walls painted and my artwork is too expensive.

I'm sticking with SET amps. They just sound better to me too!

[Duke Spinner]

I music we listen to is acoustic jazz and classical, and SETs are a beautiful match for those genres.

They can also be great for heavy metal/rock, and so forth.

I

am

speechless

[Erik Mandaville]

Great!

Enjoy your new amps!

Erik

[Ray Garrison]

I always find these sorts of "Is this enough power?" discussions interesting. Mostly because I appear to be so far out in left field compared to what the general consensus appears to be. When I had La Scalas in a 17 X 21 room (tile floor, cement walls) I found my little Rotel RA830BX2 (30 watts / side) to be just barely enough power, most of the time, with most music, and not powerful enough fairly frequently. I used a Jolida (don't remember model, 6550A tubes, 70 watts / side) and found it okay most of the time, but I prefered the sound of the Rotel if I didn't need the extra power. Also tried a bunch of other stuff (Acurus DIA100, Krell KAV300i, variety of Adcoms, Golden Tube Audio Se40 {?model?}). I never had the chance to try an SET (300B, 2A3, 45, whatever) so I might be completely wrong, but I can't imagine being satisfied with the power output. It occured to me that perhaps the problem is we're not using the same metrics here. When you talk about listening at low levels, or loud levels, or background music, or intense music, what do you mean? Here's my personal yardstick:

Background music - you can hear someone talking to you if you're close to them.
"Normal" level - you can hear someone talking to you if they're really close, or they're shouting.
"Pretty Loud" - you can't hear anyone unless they're standing next to you shouting at you.
"Loud" - you can see someone's mouth moving, but you can't hear what they're saying.
"Really Loud" - You can't hear yourself shouting back "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
"Awsome, Dude!" - You don't notice someone slapping you on the back because it feels just like the kick drum.

[Parrot]

Well, if there are amps that can 'peel paint off the walls or shake pictures off the wall', I would not want them. I just got my walls painted and my artwork is too expensive

LOL! Excellent point. There's no disputing that.

[Cut-Throat]

Here's my personal yardstick:

Background music - you can hear someone talking to you if you're close to them.

"Normal" level - you can hear someone talking to you if they're really close, or they're shouting.

"Pretty Loud" - you can't hear anyone unless they're standing next to you shouting at you.

"Loud" - you can see someone's mouth moving, but you can't hear what they're saying.

"Really Loud" - You can't hear yourself shouting back "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"Awsome, Dude!" - You don't notice someone slapping you on the back because it feels just like the kick drum.

Well, If this is your yardstick, I Never exceed the Normal Level. - Anyone with any knowledge of the human ear, knows that you are damaging your hearing by your "Pretty Loud" yardstick. If you are not deaf now, you will be soon! BTW - By your definition " Loud" and above "Loud" is no longer Music, It's just noise!