Klipsch Cornwall I in search of advice

[Will2225]

Hi, I'm currently contemplating purchasing a pair of Klipsch Cornwall I speakers. The price is 1200 and although they look to be in beautiful condition it seems a bit high. The owner did completely refurbish the veneer and from the photos they look gorgeous. I'm currently running a pair of JBL l112s. I have a few questions, is this a fair price in 2020? Are the Cornwalls going to be an upgrade from the l112s. I've had Klipsch chorus I and heresy before, and I like the sound of horns yet I find the Jbl's seem to have more detail. How do the Cornwalls compare to the chorus? Should I finally take the leap into modern gear instead of original Cornwall I speakers?

 

[Nyjblbob]

Hi, I'm currently contemplating purchasing a pair of Klipsch Cornwall I speakers. The price is 1200 and although they look to be in beautiful condition it seems a bit high. The owner did completely refurbish the veneer and from the photos they look gorgeous. I'm currently running a pair of JBL l112s. I have a few questions, is this a fair price in 2020? Are the Cornwalls going to be an upgrade from the l112s. I've had Klipsch chorus I and heresy before, and I like the sound of horns yet I find the Jbl's seem to have more detail. How do the Cornwalls compare to the chorus? Should I finally take the leap into modern gear instead of original Cornwall I speakers?

The usual questions,
Do you have the room for the bigger floor standers?
Is your equipment up to the task for Horns?
Do you like the way they look?
Have they had any internal updates?
A fair price but in this market,???
Cash is King try to hold out for a Grand
Only you can decide
Good luck
Bobhorn

 

[Will2225]

The usual questions,
Do you have the room for the bigger floor standers?
Is your equipment up to the task for Horns?
Do you like the way they look?
Have they had any internal updates?
A fair price but in this market,???
Cash is King try to hold out for a Grand
Only you can decide
Good luck
Bobhorn

I should just have enough room for the Cornwalls. I'm planning on running them with a restored Fisher 500c or a Marantz 2270. I've read the Fisher would be a good match. They seem bone stock, besides the veneer. I really like how they look. Unfortunately he was asking higher and I got him down to 1200, I don't think he'll go lower. They don't show up too often around the Boston area. I have some hesitations but I'll probably go for it.

 

[RS Steve]

I should just have enough room for the Cornwalls. I'm planning on running them with a restored Fisher 500c or a Marantz 2270. I've read the Fisher would be a good match. They seem bone stock, besides the veneer. I really like how they look. Unfortunately he was asking higher and I got him down to 1200, I don't think he'll go lower. They don't show up too often around the Boston area. I have some hesitations but I'll probably go for it.

They will pair up nicely with the 500-C, I found Cornwalls a bit shouty and harsh with a 2270 I used to own. It was mostly because of room acoustics though, Cornwalls do not require much wattage to get loud. As far as price goes, if their finish is high quality restored, and possibly new capacitors installed in the crossovers, that price is fair. I have purchased a few pairs at 600.00 to 800.00 dollars but in need of restoration.

 

[Will2225]

They will pair up nicely with the 500-C, I found Cornwalls a bit shouty and harsh with a 2270 I used to own. It was mostly because of room acoustics though, Cornwalls do not require much wattage to get loud. As far as price goes, if their finish is high quality restored, and possibly new capacitors installed in the crossovers, that price is fair. I have purchased a few pairs at 600.00 to 800.00 dollars but in need of restoration.

The finish looks very high quality from the photos. Unfortunately the seller says it's stock. I managed to sell some other gear of mine very quickly, so I'm actually able to afford the 1200. He was originally asking for 1400 which seems way too high for original model Cornwalls.

 

[Will2225]

They will pair up nicely with the 500-C, I found Cornwalls a bit shouty and harsh with a 2270 I used to own. It was mostly because of room acoustics though, Cornwalls do not require much wattage to get loud. As far as price goes, if their finish is high quality restored, and possibly new capacitors installed in the crossovers, that price is fair. I have purchased a few pairs at 600.00 to 800.00 dollars but in need of restoration.

The Cornwalls should be a good step up from the JBL L112s, right?

 

[moray james]

perhaps you are not aware that the Chorus is the Klipsch upgrade replacement for the Cornwall ll. Check out a pair of Chorus ll. If you want to use small set amps a Cornwall is a good choice but if you intend to us larger SS amps then the Chorus and Chorus ll are your best bet with their pro high power woofer and in the case of Chorus ll with an improved mid horn.

 

[Nyjblbob]

A step up from the L112’s?
Bigger sound, Yep
More efficient,Yep
Better on a low powered tube amps Yep.
Better.Me being a Jbl collector biases my opinion there.

 

[RS Steve]

The Cornwalls should be a good step up from the JBL L112s, right?

The Cornwalls are a whole different animal, it depends on your likes and dislikes. I have seen very few that dislike Cornwalls though.

 

[Will2225]

The Cornwalls are a whole different animal, it depends on your likes and dislikes. I have seen very few that dislike Cornwalls though.

I ended up buying them because they really are in fantastic condition. The finish is beautiful and they sound wonderful. Compared to the chorus I speakers I use to have (which I upgraded and recapped etc) I like these much more. The sound has incredible presence and feels very lifelike. The bass has very good oomph and overall the speakers sound very life like and low and high volumes. Percussion sounds especially good as well as horns of course. I'd say I like them more than my Jbl 112s, yet they are two very different speakers. I found the Jbl's could handle any kind of genre or recording quite well while these speakers sound fantastic with certain genres such as jazz, classic rock, and folk and then just okay with some other recordings or genres.

 

[Nyjblbob]

Very nice
Congrats
Enjoy them, plenty of information on mods to do.
Bobhorn

 

[Will2225]

Very nice
Congrats
Enjoy them, plenty of information on mods to do.
Bobhorn

Thanks Bob. I'm going to listen to them stock for awhile and then probably try a couple mods. I was considering the budget universal ALKs crossovers or possibly just recapping them myself with sonicaps from crites. Very happy for now though!

 

[twiiii]

You can always change the tap on the midrange driver/horn auto-former. But what. is most important is getting them located properly in the room for the smoothest performance and finding the right listening position in the room to get the final voicing. There is no reason for shouting as you call it if the speakers are positioned properly. A lot of people sit to close to their Heritage series speakers. You need to back off a bit to allow the ambient sound of the room to equal the direct sound of the horns. I never sat closer than 12 ft to a pair of Cornwall and preferred 15 to 20 ft. We had thick well padded carpet on the floor , heavy drapes on the windows, and soft furniture. I would never put a pair of Cornwalls in a Santa Fe type home with the naked walls, tile floors and leather furniture. Also make sure you have something to defuse or absorb the sound reflecting back of the rear surfaces. You can place them in corners and point them away from the back wall to get a softer sound, too. Never listen to them with the horns pointed directly at you!.

 

[squirrelnest]

Enjoy your Cornwalls.....they will fill any room with music!

 

[Will2225]

You can always change the tap on the midrange driver/horn auto-former. But what. is most important is getting them located properly in the room for the smoothest performance and finding the right listening position in the room to get the final voicing. There is no reason for shouting as you call it if the speakers are positioned properly. A lot of people sit to close to their Heritage series speakers. You need to back off a bit to allow the ambient sound of the room to equal the direct sound of the horns. I never sat closer than 12 ft to a pair of Cornwall and preferred 15 to 20 ft. We had thick well padded carpet on the floor , heavy drapes on the windows, and soft furniture. I would never put a pair of Cornwalls in a Santa Fe type home with the naked walls, tile floors and leather furniture. Also make sure you have something to defuse or absorb the sound reflecting back of the rear surfaces. You can place them in corners and point them away from the back wall to get a softer sound, too. Never listen to them with the horns pointed directly at you!.

Thanks for this info on the correct placement. My room unfortunately isn't huge but has high ceilings. I'm about fifteen feet away,m probably more but the speakers are only about five and a half feet away from one another (not ideal but they still sound great). I have a lot of soft furniture and a carpet on the ground. I might invest in some drapes and I have a large mirror behind my listening placement which I should probably move.

I'm confused on what you mean by changing the tap on the mid-range horn? I haven't read about this before.

 

[Will2225]

Enjoy your Cornwalls.....they will fill any room with music!

Thanks! I'm loving them so far! Actually called in sick yesterday to work so I could stay and listen to them. Kinda tempted to it again today haha

 

[Will2225]

I just opened up one of the speakers from the back to see if any work was done. It looks in great shape to me. The only thing is that it looks like the wiring was upgraded at some point. Besides that does it look stock to you? Also I know this question gets asked a million times but any opinions on the AlK universal economy crossovers vs Bob crites? I'm tempted to splurge on the AlK ones. I've bought crossovers from Bob crites before and they definitely made an improvement in my heresys. I've also bought just the capacitor kit from him for some chorus speakers and noticed almost the same amount of improvement in the heresys. I think I'll either just recap them or buy the ALKs universal crossover.

 

[RS Steve]

I ended up buying them because they really are in fantastic condition. The finish is beautiful and they sound wonderful. Compared to the chorus I speakers I use to have (which I upgraded and recapped etc) I like these much more. The sound has incredible presence and feels very lifelike. The bass has very good oomph and overall the speakers sound very life like and low and high volumes. Percussion sounds especially good as well as horns of course. I'd say I like them more than my Jbl 112s, yet they are two very different speakers. I found the Jbl's could handle any kind of genre or recording quite well while these speakers sound fantastic with certain genres such as jazz, classic rock, and folk and then just okay with some other recordings or genres.

Every pair of Cornwall's I have owned, around 4 pair, ended up getting sold because someone just had to have them. I do have another pair coming along with a pair of K-horns next month, so it will be heaven once more pairing them with my many tube amps.

 

[Will2225]

Every pair of Cornwall's I have owned, around 4 pair, ended up getting sold because someone just had to have them. I do have another pair coming along with a pair of K-horns next month, so it will be heaven once more pairing them with my many tube amps.

That's awesome. I can see why they sell so easily, they really are amazing to listen to. I would love to hear what k horns sound like in comparison to cornwalls. I'm also interested in how the chorus II speakers sound in comparison, I had the chorus I' speakers but far prefer the Cornwalls.

 

[rebellovw]

I ended up buying them because they really are in fantastic condition. The finish is beautiful and they sound wonderful. Compared to the chorus I speakers I use to have (which I upgraded and recapped etc) I like these much more. The sound has incredible presence and feels very lifelike. The bass has very good oomph and overall the speakers sound very life like and low and high volumes. Percussion sounds especially good as well as horns of course. I'd say I like them more than my Jbl 112s, yet they are two very different speakers. I found the Jbl's could handle any kind of genre or recording quite well while these speakers sound fantastic with certain genres such as jazz, classic rock, and folk and then just okay with some other recordings or genres.

Nice - those are beautiful - congrats.