Tube amp Friendly Speaker That Sounds like Klipsch Cornwall


Hi All, 

I am shopping for a tube friendly speaker after a long time with Magnepan 3.6's and then Thiel CS5i's.

I was able to spend a couple of hours with a broken-in pair of Klipsch Cornwall 4's. These were in a dedicated dealer space with corner bass traps and some treble absorption. They were driven by an all McIntosh setup (7200 Receiver and T500 CD player).

The Cornwalls were dynamic, and I loved the palpable sound of the 15 inch woofer. Loud rock in roll was great with them. However, I was less impressed at lower volume levels and finally decided they were not very detailed and a bit too much in my face, at least in that setup.

When I left that room, I wandered over to where some Magnepan 1.7i's were playing in a casually set up open space. I thought the Maggies were much more resolving than the Cornwalls and a lot more laid back.

Any suggestions on a tube friendly speaker with good sized woofers that is dynamic but with good weight and detail to the sound?

Thanks for listening,

Dsper
dsper
@ozzy62 wrote:  "Many people, and not saying this is you, conflate earlier Cornwall versions with the IV. They are very different animals."   

I don't have experience with the Cornwall IV but I do have some experience with horn design, and imo the midrange horn in the Cornwall IV looks like it would have less coloration than the old-style horn.  

Duke

I don't have experience with the Cornwall IV but I do have some experience with horn design, and imo the midrange horn in the Cornwall IV looks like it would have less coloration than the old-style horn.  
 I have owned KG 3.5s, Cornwall IIs, Cornscalas, Forte IIIs and Klipschorns. You are correct, these are the least colored horns that I have heard.

Oz


There are so many excellent speakers it's hard to say what's best. Then you have rooms, amplifiers, dacs, sources... It's tough to be an audiophile, lol. Everything will be a different flavor, with some areas excelling over others and some not as much.

If I had unlimited funds, I'd probably try them all to find the "perfect" sound. As it is, I have very happily "settled" for Cornwall IV's and a Luxman L509X and enjoy wonderful music with a three mile smile. I love horns so some bias there, but I feel the Cornwalls are the best there is in their price range.

If you want something that sounds like Cornwalls then get them! If you want less 'in you face ' try Heresy IVs with a pair of quality subs. They are also beautiful sounding but more subtle.
I was intrigued by the Cornwall IV and went to my local dealer that had the Forte 3 and the  la-scala on the floor (no cornwalls). I am also a long time Thiel owner (2.4). 
 The fortes were just hooked up to an integra reciver and sounded pretty bad to me. No life and lacked impact in the bass. Mids were nice enough, wide, and nothing stood out as terrible. Highs were clean enough but nothing but the facts kind of sound. As a whole the speaker did not impressive me in anyway at all.
I brought a small headphone setup as a reference (helps me demo, but I look like a total weirdo...) and switched back and forth as I often do at home (late night, kids and family life calls for headphones sometimes). Anyway the setup sounded bad enough my headphones sounded amazing in comparison (the headphones normally sound bad right after my home speaker rig). 
It turned me off enough I did not demo the   la-scalas. 
I am 99% sure the integra was most of the problem and could ask to have them hooked up to proper gear but I am not sure I will bother. I am still interested in the Cornwall iv. The build leaves a lot to be desired based on YouTube videos but could be something fun to play with regardless of the poor build.   
Not sure what to think as the Cornwall IV and to a much lesser degree the fortes have been getting universal praise more or less. 
The question I ask myself is, Are the Cornwall IV really a good speaker or does the build hold them back? 
I would be running them with duel subs using an active crossover but I think all systems need subs....
The additional bracing and horn ports of the  CW IV have erased the boxiness of Cornwalls of yore. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by poor build quality of this speaker. Sure the xover could have better quality parts, but that's all I can think of that I would change. And the sound is so good that I don't even give that much thought either.

The exterior fit and finish seems very appropriate for a 6K dollar speaker.

Oz