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Cornwall II

1ADSarge

1ADSarge

Der Bürgermeister
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I am picking up a pair of original Cornwall II's. I know crossovers and tweeters are the recommended upgrades. What am I looking to pay for the upgrades? I'm not very good at soldiering and I don't really have someone local who could mod crossovers so is there anyone that has done this before I could mail them to? From what I have read, the tweeters seem easy enough to do? Is there any other upgrades to get the optimum sound from these big guys? Thanks for any help! I'll post pics up when I get them.
 
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I stronly suggest listening to them "as is" before making ANY changes. Only once you're very familiar with their sound will you appreciate the improvements from upgrades.

That said...

The tweeter diaphragm replacement is easy. Take your time and be very careful with them. The diaphragm and in particular the voice coil is very fragile.

As for the crossover if you can't find someone local to change the caps you can send them to Bob Crites and he'll do the work for a very reasonable fee.

Last time I looked the diaphragms were under $60 delivered and the crossover kits were a bit over $60 delivered.

Cornwall IIs came with 2 different crossover configurations. Either mounted to a board or mounted to the input cup. Bob will need to know which ones you have in order to get the correct kit to you.

I did both to my Cornwall IIs not long after I got them. It made for a significant improvement.
 
Whether or not they "need" additional internal bracing has been a subject for debate for a LONG time. I don't know the answer. I did not add any additional bracing to mine.

Having previously owned Cornwall Is I was surprised that there was no damping material inside the CW IIs. After asking around the general opinion was that internal damping material on 3 sides of the cabinet (top, 1 side & back) could possibly help but certainly would not hurt anything. I bought a box of this:

http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-656/Paper-Cushioning/12-x-175-Cellulose-Wadding-Roll

I lined the top, back and one side of each cabinet. Frankly I didn't here a single bit of difference good or bad once completed.
 
Enjoy the Cornwalls. :music: jhoak has the right idea. Play them for a few weeks and get use to them they may not need anything right now. I replaced my cross overs after 30 plus years (Bob Crites) of hard use and checked all my drivers with a Ohmn meter and they were still in spec. :thmbsp:
 
Thanks for all the ideas everyone. I think I will listen to them for a few weeks before I do any mods. After checking Crites website, looks like I'll be just over a hundred if I can find someone local to do the crossover mods and I do the tweeter myself. That is much cheaper than expected, I was thinking in the $300-400 range.
 
1 other question. Would I be able to comfortably run these with my 18wpc Maggy tube amp or will I need more power (listening to classical, choral, organ, classical rock at medium levels)
 
Here they are. After a good wipe down with Old English Wood Oil, they turned out pretty nice! I couldn't get the grills off so I'm not sure if any dust caps are pushed in. How do you get those darn things off?

img0176ol.jpg

img0177jf.jpg
 
What would be a rough guesstimate of optimal placement? I've read close to the back wall and something like 10+ feet apart. Any ideas?
 
People are going to tell you to toe them in a bit. That's what Paul Klipsch said to do. I'd trust his opinion. It might not be possible to separate them more where they are, but I recommend moving them as far apart as possible.

Those are some mighty fine looking Cornwalls. You're a lucky man. I bet they'll sound nice with your little Maggie. I can't think of a better speaker to pair with that amp.
 
They will sound good 6 to 15 feet apart and towed in some. My small den forced me to have mine 7' apart and sofa 7' back. I aimed them at my shoulders and moved them away from the wall/corners about a foot......WOW :music: Down side is, I have a smaller "Sweet" spot but better Bass.
For 20 years they were in a huge room 20' apart and they Never sounded this strong. In 30 plus years we have had many different amps on them (tubes, SS) and all of them sounded Good. Enjoy :thmbsp:
 
I actually ended up trading my Bozak B-305's plus he gave me $250 cash on top. I think I made out pretty well. I will miss my Bozak's but I have always wanted a pair of CW's and when he said he'd add cash on top, it was a done deal. I tried out the Maggy tube with them and was not at all pleased with the sound. It sounded much better on my DBX BX-3 MKII amp. I'll hopefully be getting a Sansui G-9000DB receiver to try out on these and see which is going to make a better sounding match. As far as placement, I really haven't been able to get them in a sweet spot yet. I got them slightly towed in, about 7 feet apart, and about 10-12" away from the wall which has sounded best so far.
 
What model was is your "Maggy"? I think many years ago Pop had a Magnavox 93 series hooked up to his old Khorns. Do you not have a turner with tone controls to use with the tube amp? I know a lot of tube owners frown on this and even more that I use a AVR now. I needed a pre/pro for my Bluray HT system as I use my Corns for fronts. I use the "Pure Direct Mode" and was Suprised how nice and warm my Revox R2R sounds:music: on SS amps. I was going to purchase some new amps for the AVR but my small den and my Klipsch sound good with the Yamaha amps in the AVR. I saved some money for other toys :yes:
 
What year Cornie II's? They look like I's to me, but i've been wrong before...
Oh. When/if you want to do Crites upgrades, all it took me was a screwdriver, a wrench and some clamps.
Very painless if you have basic woodworking.
 
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