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tannoy gold versus 80s Klipsch Cornwalls

L

luckyman70

New Member
Hello,
I have a tube amp preamp and turntable and would like to add some new speakers. Im not the most knowledgeable and would like some help. What would be a better speaker for me the tannoy 12'' gold or the 80s Klipsch Cornwalls . Both in good shape and price almost the same.

Thanks so much for your help.
 
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Cornwalls with upgraded ALK networks get my vote! Better than that would be a tri-amped set.
DC
 
Tannoys hands down. The cabinet plays a huge part in the tannoy sound. So if you are good with your hands build some custom cabinets and you will not be disapointed.
 
I recently had a pair of Tannoy HPD 12's in excellent condition. The HPD is a little more controlled in the botton end and bit mor sedate in the mids compared to the gold. The very first thing which struck me was how very well they imaged and could simply disappear when set up with little attention on initial testing. These were in the Tannoy Cheviot cabinets which are very robust and well built, there is little to do there from a structural point of view as they did what needed to be done. I was able to compare them to a recently upgraded set of Klipsch Quartet with new KLF20 woofers and re tuned passives along with fully braced cabinets and new damping all ti diaphragms.
While the Tannoy cabinets are very good in terms of build quality larger cabinets would have been beneficial. The Klipsch had deeper more controlled and more articulate bass. The Klipsch were much more efficient and dynamic and were more extended.The Tannoy were smoother more relaxed and could draw you into the music a bit better but lacked the detail of the modified Quartet's. If the Tannoy were as efficient as the Klipsch I would pick them over the Klipsch even though the Quartet had much deeper and more controlled bass. For me the efficiency was the killer for the Tannoy and no amount of power amplifier can adjust for that.
So I guess it will depend on what you value most in a loud speakers sound. I can say I was very torn to sell the Tannoy and very sorry when they left. In the end I could not bring myself to accept the limitations of the Tannoy compared to the Quartet. The Quartet have given way to progressively more efficient loudspeakers and I am now over the 100 db range and looking to extend that to as much as I can. Tannoy are an amazing loudspeaker and they make you wonder what designers have been doing with their thumbs since the 1970's? I hope this is of some interest Best regards Moray James.
 
Tannoy get my vote as well.

From my experience, Tannoys have an incredibly distinct sound - and once you get used to them, you cant go back. ever since i got mine i heard allot of other really good speakers (including altec 19 and 604, and jbl l200, l110) and they all just sounded, well, off.. but that's just crazy me.

and here's a little story - i went to a local high end stereo store to by something a couple of weeks ago, and they had a pair of Tannoy dc's playing in one of their rooms.. i didn’t see what was playing, i could only hear it (standing next to the door of the room) and i immediately new its a pair of Tannoy dc playing, don’t know how but i just knew - and i was right.. i asked the owner and indeed a pair of Tannoy 10' dc's were playing in that room :) this is how distinct and one of a kind they are, and i dont see myself ever replacing mine.
 
Tannoy.

In the UK, the generic term for "speaker" is "tannoy" (in the same manner that here the generic word for "tissue" is "kleenex").
The generic term for "speaker" in the US is not "klipsch".
 
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Im not the most knowledgeable and would like some help.
Click to expand...
Since you had to ask................

Get the Klipsch. Repair parts are readily available and fairly inexpensive. There are upgrades available(think Bob Crites). Cornies will do well to retain their resale value when you're ready to move up the ladder to something like the Tannoys.
 
frperdurabo said:
I should point out that mhardy is a Cornwall owner....
Click to expand...

...that's erstwhile Cornwall owner! :-)

Yes, I believe that I know whereof I speak...
although, as is widely known...
De gustibus non est disputandum

Rcornieoly.jpg
 
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