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Back in the fold!! Proud new papa of '84 Cornwalls


joemcten

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I have been away from this forum for too long. I used to have '79 LaScala's that were unfortunately sold around 2001 when I got divorced. I just picked up a pair of 84 Cornwalls in raw birch with boxes for $500.00 locally that were for sale in the Want ad Digest. There are no dings,chips,stains, or marks. Grills are perfct as well. This is the cleanest pair I have seen.They are Cornwall 1 with the screw in back, but the mid horn is plastic and internally mounted. Tweeter horn is metal. They sound awesome!!! I am drving them with an Anthem Integrated 1. These are for my living room B system and could not be happier. Missed that live,you are there sound. As an added bonus, my wife actually loves how they look/sound. You can't beat that. Kenny Burrell is spinning right now as we speak.....Joe

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Thanks for the post. My "A" system which is in a 16'x20' room in my basement consists of a very cool and excellent sounding pair of Morel Octave 5.2's. I am driving them with a vintage(rebuilt&1 previous owner) Musical Fidelity system. The amp is a Studio T. It has dual torroids, 150wpc and class A to25 wpc. The Pre is an early musical fidelity that was supposedly hand built by the founder. I do not care about that. It flat out just sounds warm,dynamic, and above all musical. I spin vinyl on a modded Technics SL1200 MKii. Sounds great to my ears. Digital is via an old Denon DCD 1560 with a Denon D/A with their Alpha Processing. The Morels are quite beguiling. Very dynamic even though the dual woofers are only 5.25". They need serious power to get moving hence the big amp.The tweeters are spectacular. I have had great luck with the Paul Speltz Anti Cables in this system. I took out the Cardas and put in the Anti Cables and was floored. It is very cheap and works wonders my system. The A system is only used as an escape pod from the noise of the family. Most of the listening will be on the "B" system. Poor me. I am fortunate to have a wife that does not care and actually appreciates good sound. The Cornwalls are spectacular and will not be leaving my possession. I will post pics soon....Joe

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I have been away from this forum for too long. I used to have '79 LaScala's that were unfortunately sold around 2001 when I got divorced. I just picked up a pair of 84 Cornwalls in raw birch with boxes for $500.00 locally that were for sale in the Want ad Digest. There are no dings,chips,stains, or marks. Grills are perfct as well. This is the cleanest pair I have seen.They are Cornwall 1 with the screw in back, but the mid horn is plastic and internally mounted. Tweeter horn is metal. They sound awesome!!! I am drving them with an Anthem Integrated 1. These are for my living room B system and could not be happier. Missed that live,you are there sound. As an added bonus, my wife actually loves how they look/sound. You can't beat that. Kenny Burrell is spinning right now as we speak.....Joe

Just curious............Did you get those Cornwalls from the Want Ad Digest out of Albany, N.Y., Victory Mills to be exact? I inquired about a pair of Klipsch speakers listed there. When I called, the guy laughed, wished he had a trailer load of them, so many responses. He wouldn't say what model they were, didn't matter he said, they're sold !!!!!!!!!! Just wondering what I missed.........

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That is the pair I bought. I wasn't even looking. I just happened to look on Want ad digest, saw the ad and dropped him and e-mail. He was a great guy and he grossly underestimated the condition of the speakers. I asked him if he was open to offers and he said $500 cash takes them. If the weather had not been bad, I would have picked them up on Sunday. Had to wait till Wednesday. I know they were a steal. Nicest pair I have seen. I live in Delmar NY, so it was only a 45 minute drive for me. He knew that he let them go too cheaply, but he said that he was a man of his word. Getting the serial #matching packing boxes was an added bonus. Can't decide if I should put a some sort of clear coat on the Birch. I am open to suggestions here. I would love to say that I am sorry that I beat you to the pucnh on these, but I would't actually mean it....They look and sound awesome...Joe

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That is the pair I bought. I wasn't even looking. I just happened to look on Want ad digest, saw the ad and dropped him and e-mail. He was a great guy and he grossly underestimated the condition of the speakers. I asked him if he was open to offers and he said $500 cash takes them. If the weather had not been bad, I would have picked them up on Sunday. Had to wait till Wednesday. I know they were a steal. Nicest pair I have seen. I live in Delmar NY, so it was only a 45 minute drive for me. He knew that he let them go too cheaply, but he said that he was a man of his word. Getting the serial #matching packing boxes was an added bonus. Can't decide if I should put a some sort of clear coat on the Birch. I am open to suggestions here. I would love to say that I am sorry that I beat you to the pucnh on these, but I would't actually mean it....They look and sound awesome...Joe

Take your time and explore options in regards to finishing. Seach on this forum for Chris Kings cornwalls as they are some of the nicest. I recently did a pair in a piano black finish that turned out great. Ill search for some photos. But do yourself a favor and make sure you see what Chris' look like before proceeding with putting a finish on them.

Josh

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That is the pair I bought. I wasn't even looking. I just happened to look on Want ad digest, saw the ad and dropped him and e-mail. He was a great guy and he grossly underestimated the condition of the speakers. I asked him if he was open to offers and he said $500 cash takes them. If the weather had not been bad, I would have picked them up on Sunday. Had to wait till Wednesday. I know they were a steal. Nicest pair I have seen. I live in Delmar NY, so it was only a 45 minute drive for me. He knew that he let them go too cheaply, but he said that he was a man of his word. Getting the serial #matching packing boxes was an added bonus. Can't decide if I should put a some sort of clear coat on the Birch. I am open to suggestions here. I would love to say that I am sorry that I beat you to the pucnh on these, but I would't actually mean it....They look and sound awesome...Joe

Take your time and explore options in regards to finishing. Seach on this forum for Chris Kings cornwalls as they are some of the nicest. I recently did a pair in a piano black finish that turned out great. Ill search for some photos. But do yourself a favor and make sure you see what Chris' look like before proceeding with putting a finish on them.

Josh

Doesn't Chris have decorator models? They're absolutely gorgeous.

Even without the fronts, finishing them in a similiar manner would be beautiful. Chris did an amazing job.

Where's Chris been anyway? I haven't seen him around here in quite a while! I still drool over those Corns of his every time I see them and I regret not picking up a pair of local Decorators when I had the chance.

BTW Joe - Welcome back. Congrats on a killer deal! I use Corns in my "B" system also.

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That is the pair I bought. I wasn't even looking. I just happened to look on Want ad digest, saw the ad and dropped him and e-mail. He was a great guy and he grossly underestimated the condition of the speakers. I asked him if he was open to offers and he said $500 cash takes them. If the weather had not been bad, I would have picked them up on Sunday. Had to wait till Wednesday. I know they were a steal. Nicest pair I have seen. I live in Delmar NY, so it was only a 45 minute drive for me. He knew that he let them go too cheaply, but he said that he was a man of his word. Getting the serial #matching packing boxes was an added bonus. Can't decide if I should put a some sort of clear coat on the Birch. I am open to suggestions here. I would love to say that I am sorry that I beat you to the pucnh on these, but I would't actually mean it....They look and sound awesome...Joe

Take your time and explore options in regards to finishing. Seach on this forum for Chris Kings cornwalls as they are some of the nicest. I recently did a pair in a piano black finish that turned out great. Ill search for some photos. But do yourself a favor and make sure you see what Chris' look like before proceeding with putting a finish on them.

Josh

Doesn't Chris have decorator models? They're absolutely gorgeous.

Even without the fronts, finishing them in a similiar manner would be beautiful. Chris did an amazing job.

Where's Chris been anyway? I haven't seen him around here in quite a while! I still drool over those Corns of his every time I see them and I regret not picking up a pair of local Decorators when I had the chance.

BTW Joe - Welcome back. Congrats on a killer deal! I use Corns in my "B" system also.

You are absolutely correct Gary. When he posted the find and said they were raw birch I immediately went to Decorators. When I bought my first pair in 76 ( which are now the very ones that Chris refinished and that everyone now drools over!) I just bought the least expensive version they had which was the now sought after Decorators. Chris helped me get them home (we were room mates at the time.) We oiled them up with linseed oil and finised them with coats of paste furniture wax. Years later I gave them to Chris on permanent loan and he refinished them to the state they are today. We both are in agreement that the unique finish and look that they sport today are the result of the first coats of linseed oil and johnson and johnson paste wax that we applied 30 years ago! They were virtually yellow when I shipped them to him must have been 8 or 9 years ago. Since then chris and I have refinished two additional pairs of decoraters. One in Piano black and one as close to his as we could get. Couldnt get that close because the ones we were woring with didnt have 30 years of hardened and yellowed wax and oil on them!

To be truthful It was not until recently that I knew that they also sold the unfinished with a grill. I think that the ones pictured are also considered decoraters. If you look they are butt jointed and not mitered on the edges.

Very very nice looking pair.

Josh

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I have looked at pics of Chris's Decorators and they are beautiful. What exactly is a decorator model? I am a bit fuzzy there. You mention that mine are butt jointed and not mitered. Is that uncommon? I appreciate all of the comments regarding finishing. I may just oil and wax them to start. There are no water stains from errantly placed glasses, and I want to keep it that way....Joe

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I am by no means an expert on this but I am sure that if what I say in not correct someone here will let us know! It is my undersanding that the Decorator designation is for those speakers that were purchased unfinished - leaving the decorator to choose the finish. Because they were unfinished it is believed buy many that the plywood used was the best on the floor at the time. The construction is also a little differenent in that the plywood is but jointed. This is also believed by many to be a better and more structurly sound way to go. Less cabinet flexing means better speaker performance. There is also a version of the decorater that did not come with grill cloth and had the same plywood unfinished plywood as trhe motoboard. There are some who believe this type of construction is even more sound than the decorater version with the grill. The letters in your serial number would indicate that it is a decorator. I think the letters are dbr but might be wrong on that.

Josh

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