They call Cornwalls fun. What's better than that?

Recent reviews of the Cornwall IV's (Steve Guttenberg, Zero Fidelity, others I'm sure) have called them the most "fun" speakers out there. They're "engaging" and "exciting" and they "just make you want to listen to music."

Do audiophiles poo-poo them?

Do audiophiles want speakers that are less fun, but more accurate, clinical, resolving, etc...?

Audio stuff is intriguing, but it's exhausting.

 

Be prepared to receive the most disparaging replies, I start with mine.

Nothing is accurate, clinical equals dull sounding and boring.

 

My cheap setup is fun, engaging, exciting and makes me want to listen to music.....

 

I reeeeeaaaaally want a pair of Cornwalls.

 

I haven't heard the Cornwalls, but I previously have had more engaging and forward speakers. Honestly there are times I miss them. Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath just don't sound quite the same on anything else. But when it comes to other types of music, I found them fatiguing with time. I'm just not able to listen to speakers like that for hours on end. Normally two albums and I would need a break.

It's all about your preferences. I personally like something that's a little more laid back and dark. But if I had the space and funds for multiple set ups I would consider a more lively and forward system, especially in a shared space.

 

Yeah, this might be the thing. I listen to Zep rarely and Sabbath never. (I mean, I like Zeppelin, and have everything on vinyl, but I maybe put on one of those records once a year.)

More a hard-bop jazz or acoustic guy...

Mind you, I don't need Cornwalls, nor could I fit them in my house, but there's something about them. Maybe it's that they are "party speakers."

Ahdunno.

 

Cornwalls were the house party speakers when I was in college. They were awesome and fun. Two speakers and the best SS amplification we could get and the sound filled the room. Really good sound.

 

Congrats!! you have hit the bullseye!!

 

I agree! These are some very, very fun speakers that "next, next leveled" my previous B&W CDM-1SE/dual sub setup. They make my Schoeps CMXY-4V masters sound like I am at the venue. Carver Amazing Silver MK4. Open baffle, 3 12s hidden behind a "sock" and dipole ribbons as well.



There will always be the "haters gonna hate" crowd and I think this has to do with the fact that people hear/interpret sound differently. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

 

Where did you grow up? Our crew had to settle for lowly Cerwyn Vega‘s for party speakers. And if we had to slum it, it was AAL’s.

 

Just say it. You know you want to. They're Amazing speakers.

 

IMO Cornwalls are the second best Klipsch speaker ever made. The Klipschorn are a little better, but need a corner installation unlike the Cornwalls.

 

I’ve heard a good bit of speakers, Cornwalls with EL34s just sound right to me.

 

"Just say it. You know you want to. They're Amazing speakers. "

I do feel so . One comment on another forum I think summarizes them best (I couldnt find it, but summarized below). I have had them hooked up about 6 weeks now and was concerned whether or not the room would be big enough (the Amazing Platinums have 4 12s and a couple ribbons). It appears to be at about 16'x26' (and open to the kitchen in the back). They need major power though. The right one is getting 800W and the left 750W (Innersound ESL 800 and Innersound iPower 750, Roger Sanders said I could treat the mismatched amps as "sonic equals") and I have the gain of the Arcam C30 preamp maxed out at +8dB for the balanced outs. The volume on the C30 maxes out at 72, and while I do generally like my music loud, I am routinely pushing 60-65/72 on the volume. I will slowly test out my other amps on them from next most powerful and down to a NAD 7155 or 326BEE at about 50 WPC. The manual says they will take from 35W up to 750W. The ribbons take up to 1200W peak and output 22Hz-40 kHz, the woofs output 120 Hz and down. The manual also says they can use 18 AWG speaker wire as long as it is 14' or less. Who knows, maybe they can with no ill effects at louder volumes, but I kind of doubt it considering my power dips to 110 V from 120V once I hit 4A and higher(power strip has voltage and current lights). The Innersound monos have 36 transisters, each capable of outputting 200W or 250W and an instantaneous current of something like 170A. Manual states a 350 WPC amp will hit SPLs up to 110 dB. Next amps I will try powering them with? Forte Model 3@200 WPC and it "doubles down in power", Denon POA 2800@200 WPC, Kyocera A-910@150 WPC (it has overload indicator lights which will be useful), NAD 2700@150 WPC and the list goes on...probably down to my NAD 7045@45 WPC. That is probably my least powerful power source for it that "has a chance" but I hardly doubt I will consider it "worthy". I feel the Forte Model 3 will be what I consider "worthy"but I kind of doubt I will consider anything else I own as "worthy" for these speakers. The reason I think the Forte Model 3 will be "worthy" is bc I power 2 subs with it and it stays playing for quite some time (20-30 seconds) after I turn the power off.

I cant find the quote on my speakers but he basically said they sounded "larger than life" but that he thought his listening room may not have been big enough for them to "breathe". He ended up having numerous pairs of speakers over the years that he preferred but I felt his "sounded larger than life"was very appropriate for these speakers. They are very, very fun speakers.

 

Love my Cornwalls. I’ve powered them with lots of amps and I currently drive them with a Yamaha a-s2100. I’ve been looking to upgrade speakers for the last year and they make it very hard to move on.

 

Fun is a very good thing when done right.
I've never been able to hear the Amazing speakers. I want to.

 

When I get my DAT player hooked up I will turn up Floyd Ohio Stadium 5-29-94 Schoeps CMC64>Sonosax SX-M2>Panasonic SV-255 for you. There was a really fun 6 a.m. nitrous party in the front yard (and everywhere, balloons/punching bags being filled in the street) of the house 3 houses down from The Thirsty Scholar in the heart of campus.

 

A record store near me has the new Cornwall IV's as the in store system but usually has the music at background levels. In this situation they sound quite bright, particularly with the small combo jazz music he often plays on them.

I must go along when he is not busy and choose some good vinyl to wind the wick up on.

 

Speakers with horns are generally a bad choice for low volume music, even at higher levels the highs can have a life of their own. They can be very nice if you like the type of sound but they are not for everybody.

 

Funny then that all the reviews say they are good at low volumes. Most speakers tend to have to be at medium volume to sound good. Someone mentioned Jazz and I generally find this genre bright due to sparse instrumentation and wind instruments up front. I'm sure the Cornwall is better with rock and reviews say they also are good with classical as well. Unfortunately the last show I went to hoping to hear them they were only playing the smallish Heresy IV. I thought these sounded warm being played with grills on and no toe in. I stood by a display pair and they are a very large beast. Finish on the new models looked excellent. Problem is in UK they sell for £6.5K so something you need to audition carefully.

 

They have an allure.

 

Forget Klipsh, if you want a fun speaker look at the L100 / L82 from JBL.

I had the Forte III and Heresy IV on loan and the L82 smoked both of them no matter what the genre. So good I sold my Harbeths!

 

I haven't read any reviews and I don't have first hand experience with the cornwalls but if I go by my own experiences with speakers I had, or heard, with a variety of -generally JBL- tweeters, my experience was that generally the horn tweeter just tended to shine.
We also have to wonder where do you draw the line of what is low volume. What is low to some might not be so low to others, like many things in audio you and I might perceive things differently. I used to love that type of sound, I am not sure I still do so much but I certainly know people who would despise them.

The great thing about highly efficient speakers is that no matter how weak the amp you use is, it can still sound incredibly engaging. Definitely, at £ 6.5K you must make sure they are your kind of sound before purchasing.

 

A lot cheaper too. Don't hear much about the L82 just the L100. Much more affordable. Harbeths are just well overpriced these days and a bit of a curate's egg IMO.

 

I’ve got a pair of Cornwall 1’s. Had to tame the sound by wrapping the horns in plumbers putty. Also upgraded the crossovers with Crites upgrades. They’re a little bit too big for my listening room, which is not an ideal setup. Positioning is important as well as room treatments. Once you get them dialed in, they’re great. I could imagine the IV’s would sound much better as the technology and development has advanced since mine were made. I would like a pair of Forte’s. I heard a pair in a showroom and was really impressed.