# Review: Klipsch Cornwall III vs. Cornwall I



## rcarlton

We did not have a lot of time to compare the speakers. They were set up side-by-side at the Klipsch factory in Hope, Arkansas. Swapped back and forth between them. The Cornwall I vocals seemed a little 'tinny' and not as clear as the III's. Bass on the III was a little stronger. 

The CW I had good caps in the crossover, the Klipsch engineers had run a bunch of tests on it, and concluded the crossover was working correctly.

The CW III is on the left, CW I on the right. The woofer on the III is higher than the I. This is to smooth out the bass response.

Notice the III is taller than the I. No sonic advantage...small stand makes it easier to use the vacuum cleaner.


----------



## rcarlton

The attached image is a SPL vs Freq. graph of the Cornwall I in Klipsch's anechoic chamber. The purple and red lines are essentially the same line. I believe we tried a new inductor. It did not make a significant difference. The thing to note is the drop off at 400-600 Hz. The green line is swapping the polarity for the squawker (I think). All it did was move the drop to 700-900 Hz.

The drop off is due to resonances set up in the box. Later Cornwall I's used a B-2 crossover that helped some with the dip at 400-600 HZ. Klipsch fixed this on the CW III by raising the woofer (see the above picture).


----------



## rcarlton

This photo is from the Klipsch forum. Trey Cannon from Klipsch is working on the speaker. The owner, Seadog standing by in the anechoic chamber.

What other company would do that for their customers?:hail:


----------



## rcarlton

Liked the Cornwall I's so much I bought 1984 oiled walnut pair. Were 6/10 now 8/10 after light sanding and 5 coats of Tung Oil.


----------



## Sonnie

Very interesting... first time I've seen a test (anechoic I assume) room like the one above.


----------



## eddthompson

its a pitty we dont realy see klipsch here in the uk, i guess the only thing similar to those would be tannoys, at many times the price i bet as well.

now if only i could emigrate to the us :bigsmile: 

edd


----------



## khellandros66

:time-out: Who's the goof that trusted a Klipsch nut like rcarlton in the building. I mean sheesh I am suprised he didn't run out with pair on his shoulders.. :rofl: 

Just messing with yeah dood..I like theri newer THX Ultra 2 series alot. My dad had a pair of old Magnavox speakers (circa 1973-74) The he finally had to let go of when we started on the HT. Those were some great speakers. Horn loaded tweeter and 15in woofers. I remeber the first time I listend to Deep Purple's smoke on the water from LP on them. Really set me on home audio. 

~Bob


----------



## rcarlton

Here are some more pictures of the chamber. The revolving door. The entrance to the chamber.


----------



## rcarlton

Jubilee...the last speaker PWK helped create.


----------



## rcarlton

Closeup of the tiles.


----------



## rcarlton

The anechoic chamber.


----------



## rcarlton

khellandros66 said:


> :time-out: Who's the goof that trusted a Klipsch nut like rcarlton in the building. I mean sheesh I am suprised he didn't run out with pair on his shoulders.. :rofl:
> 
> snip
> ~Bob


I didn't run out with any speakers. Another couple did...Cornwall III's as a door prize:raped: !


----------



## rcarlton

Go to this site CWIII to see step-by-step how Klipsch makes the Cornwall III's.


----------



## rcarlton

After living with the Cornwall's for a month, used only for two channel through a vintage McIntosh MAC-1700. All I can say is Wow!!!:holycow: Not as big a sound as K-horns, perhaps a more intimate sound. Terrific separation of instruments, nice wide sound stage. Accurate reproduction of the music. Non-fatiguing. Works well with Jazz. Rock doesn't sound too bad either. Haven't played much Classic or Blues yet. No Hip Hop, Rap, at all (no plans to either).


----------



## Guest

Say Ron...

That pic of the Jubilee in the chamber sure looks familar!!

:clap: :clap: :clap: 

(and yes, I just now found this site)

:wave:


----------



## rcarlton

Just trying to drum up interest and at the same time enter a contest held here earlier for some SVS speakers.:sneeky:


----------



## Guest

rcarlton said:


> This photo is from the Klipsch forum. Trey Cannon from Klipsch is working on the speaker. The owner, Seadog standing by in the anechoic chamber.
> 
> What other company would do that for their customers?:hail:


....and here are those Cornwalls back at home handling front R and L duty in my all Klipsch Heritage HT.


----------



## khellandros66

:raped: 

Aside from the Triad Platinum LCR Center that is the biggest center I have ever seen.

~Bob


----------



## rcarlton

I'm impressed he could lift it that high. They weigh more than 90 pounds!!!!:holycow:


----------



## Guest

Hi.... New member here! Where here in Dallas,Tx can I go to listen to some BIG KLIPSCH speakers.
Thanks in advance for your replys, Don


----------



## Guest

How big do you want to go?

You want to go to the 'top' and hear the Jubilee or do you prefer the more traditional Khorn, LaScala, Cornwall and the like?


----------



## Guest

eddthompson said:


> its a pitty we dont realy see klipsch here in the uk, i guess the only thing similar to those would be tannoys, at many times the price i bet as well.




Here's Ralph's website http://www.artisanaudio.co.uk/ He's in/near London and could probably get you hooked up with a pair of Jubilees if you wanted (at a price that might surprise you?)

If I recall... his Jubilees are located in his home which is the same place he does the auditions for you. (I don't pretend to speak for him though)


----------



## Guest

I have only gotten back into music now for about six weeks. I started with a set of Klipsch KSP 300, then went to four Bose 901 Series VI. Sounds really great but as you can see I am still looking. I missed out on a set of Cornwalls by one day when I first started looking. I have a set of Klipsch Belle's spotted that I want to hear but they are a four hour drive. I really dont mind that but I would rather look at some local. I looked at a set of Klipschorns but condition was a 5 on a scale of 10.

Thanks, Don


----------



## rcarlton

The DFW_hornheads have listening parties about every quarter. Last one we heard Cornwall's. There will soon be Jubilee's in Waco. Perhaps that will be where the next meet will be. 

Me, I have all the big Klipsch at home: K-horns, LaScala's, Cornwall's and Heresy's.


----------



## yourgrandma

What do you think about the KLF-30's? I know hey arent really clssic Klipsch's, but they were some of the Baddest speakers I'v heard.

I'd love a pair or two of Heresies. A friend has some and let me loose with my iPod and I didn't leave his house till 4:30 AM.


----------



## rcarlton

I had KLF-30's. I think Cornwall's sound better to me.


----------



## Guest

Hey Ron.... Thanks for th reply, You have a list of very nice speakers just wondering why I dont see any Belles on that list. Thanks, Don


----------



## rcarlton

Don,
No room:daydream:. I might consider a Belle for a center channel. Would have to get a terrific deal.


----------



## Guest

Ron... I really appreceiate you answering my questions. My main reason for coming here to begin with was to find out what I could about the Belles. If you would tell me what you think of the Belles. I have a set of 82 Belles spotted that I am very interested in but dont know anything about them. What would you consider a terrific deal? I went and looked at a set of Klipshorns at a reasonable price just wasnt happy with thier history even though they sounded pretty good through a low buck amp. My intesion was not to hyjack this thread but I am not able to PM you until I have 10 post, if I am correct.
Thanks, Don


----------



## Guest

Hi,

I noticed you talked a lot about the Klipsch Jubilee on older threads....

I've been luck enough to pick up 3 of the Jubilee bass bottoms only for commercial theater applications.

I was wondering if you could give me some advice on how I could go about finishing building the mid/highs to create the finished product?

Any assistance would be appreciated...

Thanks,
Tony


----------



## rcarlton

Tony,
I would go over to the Klipsch forum and post your question. The man you need to talk to is Roy Delgado...he worked with Paul on the Jubilees and has proven to be very helpful.

BTW there are a pair of Jubilees in Bay City.


----------



## Guest

Ron,

Thank you very much!!!

I will try to contact Roy at Klipsch on their forum......Bay City is about 4-5 hours from here, but it may be worth the pilgrimage to see what I'm going to spend my time and money on:bigsmile:

I know by reading the threads that quite a few people talked about getting plans to build the base units. Even with as little experience as I have in this, I would think building the mid to high range would be a cake walk with some good direction since I already own the bases. 

I picked these 3 bases up for under $1000, so I hopefully made a good decision....

Thank you,
Tony


----------



## Ricci

Yep. That's one thing that people can't take away from Klipsch is the loyal customer base and the dedication to them. I'm a Klipsch owner myself with 2 pairs of Epic CF-4's and a KV-4 center. I just like the company, the homegrown Indiana USA spirit and the big efficient effortless sound that Klipsch is known for. 

Trey Cannon is a stand up guy. I was asking about replacement parts over at the Klipsch forum and he ended up sending me a set of ports, 2 complete CF4 crossover's and some old literature on them for free. :T

i need to hear some Jubilee's some day...


----------



## Guest

Thanks for the reply....

I hope to get these Jubs up and singing real soon.:bigsmile:

I'll send you some pics once I get this project completed!!

Thanks....


----------



## jamset

rcarlton said:


> The attached image is a SPL vs Freq. graph of the Cornwall I in Klipsch's anechoic chamber. The purple and red lines are essentially the same line. I believe we tried a new inductor. It did not make a significant difference. The thing to note is the drop off at 400-600 Hz. The green line is swapping the polarity for the squawker (I think). All it did was move the drop to 700-900 Hz.
> 
> The drop off is due to resonances set up in the box. Later Cornwall I's used a B-2 crossover that helped some with the dip at 400-600 HZ. Klipsch fixed this on the CW III by raising the woofer (see the above picture).


hello rcarlton

by your graph do you know at what LF do the cornwall iii roll off?

thank you


----------



## tesseract

Welcome to HTS, jamset.

This is an old thread and rcarlton hasn't posted here in months. If you do not get a reply soon, you might try PM'ing rcarlton.


----------



## rcarlton

jamset said:


> hello rcarlton
> 
> by your graph do you know at what LF do the cornwall iii roll off?
> 
> thank you


I would try the Klipsch Forum. I don't have information on the III's. Still loving my I's.


----------

