My pair of Klipsch Cornwalls just turned 31 years old and they are just as beautiful and sound like they did 31 years ago. They are still such an impressive speaker and so efficient. They are a tank. When buying speakers remember you get what you pay for. I think I paid about $1,600 for the pair in 1980 and they are worth more today than when I bought them.

I still can remember the first time I saw a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls. I was initially draw to them for their enormous size, I was 20 years old and I couldn't believe how effortless their sound was, It seemed to just flow through the speaker in a manner I wasn't familar with.
I had to have them ! I went home knowing the next day I was going back to buy them. After a little bargaining I ended up with their demo pair. They were 1983 CWOs. Now 27 years later, I am still just has impressed as I was that first day. Klipsch Heritage speakers work for decades!
There are few things in the consumer world, that you can use on a daily basis and expect to get 30,40,50,or more years of use out of. Klipsch Heritage speakers are one of those items. In one of their brochures they talked about a Heritage speaker being a lifetime investment, Well that is exactly what they are.
If you checkout the review here from 7/20/99 it is from Mitja Borko. He is the author of the " Klipsch Cornwall Loudspeaker Systems- Test report on electroacoustic measurements and listening evaluation"
He has a Masters in Science and is also an Electrical Engineer, In his own words he has " Tested hundreds of loudspeakers"
I first read his review after owning my CWs for about 17 years. His review confirmed everything I ever felt or thought about these speakers. Im sure someone on the Klipsch website could get you a copy if requested. Mitja also gives some praise to the Rogers LS3/5A speakers, Checkout some of the reviews for those speakers and you should be able sense a passion about their speakers as well.

Oh my gosh, where do I begin. I replaced Bose 901's in 1981 with a used pair of Cornwalls because the 901's did not have enouph bottom for my taste, I started out with a Marantz 2270 reciever, 140 watts. I then plugged in a Carver M400 amp initially to drive the 901's. The 2270 did not have the guts to drive the 901's. The Carver had 5 times the power needed to run the Cornwalls. I now had the volume I desired. Along came the kids and the morgage and college and weddings. I enjoyed the setup for a long time . My kids are grown and I finally upgraded the old stuff. I now have a Martin Logan sub, the Parasound Halo p-3 preamp and the Parasound 2125 250 watt amp and a Cambridge 540c Cd player. Wow!!!. My 30 plus year old Cornwalls ROCK anew. The highs are crystal clean and the mids are powerful. The base is enhanced by the Martin Logan sub. I thought of replacing the Cornwalls, but no more. Klipsch Cornwall speakers are timeless. Buy a pair now and you will never need another speaker.

I bought my Cornwalls in 1975 and have never regretted it. Today, 35 years later, they sound as good as ever.
I was attracted to the bass from the 15 inch woofers and have not heard their equal. The quality and longevity surpassed all my expectations. Kudos to Klipsch for a job well done.

In 1986 I bought 2 new Klipsch Cornwalls to compete with a friend of mine that had the Cornerhorns. (Yes we were young and foolish.) Although he paid more for his horns, we concluded that my cornwalls with the two horns and 15inch base was just as good, and actually better for the money.
To this day, 2010, they are the best sounding speakers I have ever heard. Over the years I have had several sets of "modern" tech surround sound systems made by Sony, Panasonic and HK, but still, nothing touches the rush of pushing air like the Cornwalls.

Hi,
Like a few others--I have owned everything...but have kept many--and my solution is 3 systems--- [1 [ in the den, ARC tube stuff w/ Theils, [1 ] quad Bose 901 Ser 1 in the bedroom w/a Phase 400 etc, and my Living room set, Cornwalls, ARC Tube amp, ss preamp, etc. Unlike the other commentors---I was an audio sales rep back in the 70's including Klipsch.Always liked the Corwalls.
My oddity I suspect-- is after having my K horns for over 20 years--- I just never was that happy w/ them. So I bought a pr of Cornwalls a few years ago and A-B'd them w/ the K Horns.The K-Horns are gone.
I like my sound wet and fat---and the Corwalls do it just right... The K-horns were like a dry white wine......
Best, jpb

I have used multiple Klipsch products over the years. They include Heresy 1, Heresy 2, La Scala 1, and Cornwall 1 speakers. I spent significant time auditioning other products (Klipschorn, Belle Klipsch, and numerous newer "non-Heritage" models). I am currently running a pair of Heresy 2 speakers with a VERY nice M&K subwoofer.

Additionally, I've owned a variety of non-Klipsch expensive speakers including Dahlquist DQ-10, KEF 102.b, Magneplanar III, Tannoy, B&W, Ohm Walsh, JBL, Yamaha, Electro Voice, Infinity, Revel F-30, Avalon Symbol, etc.

Obviously, I've been in audio for over 30 years. I'm familiar with both solid state and tube electronics. As a matter of fact, I used to design and sell modifications to Dynaco tube gear.

The bottom line is, having listened to just about every combo on the market for all this time, I'm ready to just kick back and enjoy listening. My choice of a "for the rest of my life" speaker is: (you guessed it) the Klipsch Cornwall.

Why? Numerous reasons including:

1. Exceptional dynamics - The Cornwalls can sound dynamic at any listening volume. Most "cones in boxes" and particularly most planar speakers have to play at or above a certain volume before they "come alive." The Cornwalls, being horn loaded, can sound explosive even at almost inaudible volumes. This lets the speakers be played at significantly lower volume without losing the sense of hearing real music. Don't think that this dynamics issue is trivial - it is what makes most speakers sound like speakers and not live music. The "jump factor" on Cornwalls is just higher than on any other speaker I've owned or heard.

2. Ultimate volume capability - The Cornwalls can play LOUDLY when desired. It is probable that the fully-horn-loaded Klipsches such as the Klipschorn, La Scala, and Belle Klipsch can play at higher ultimate loudness than the Cornwalls, but in my home, I'll never notice the difference. Further, unlike most speakers, the dynamics don't compress at super high volumes. Most speakers just settle into a loud roar at high volume - not so the Cornwalls. The Cornwalls still sound like music even at rip-your-head-off levels.

3. Sensitivity - This characteristic is related to the first two. Without sensitivity, you don't get dynamics or ultimate volume (without a million watts of input and the likelihood of blowing your tweeters). The Cornwalls can play both dynamically and loudly with the most modestly powered of electronics. With right at 100 decibels (dB) of output with a single watt of electrical input, the Cornwalls can be driven by low-powered receivers, tube amplifiers, or even integrated amplifiers (listen to an old Pioneer SA-5100 integrated amp at 10 watts per channel if you don't believe me). Of course, with sensitivity comes the likelihood of hearing any hiss, hum, or noise in your electronics. Good electronics can be clearly heard and appreciated through the Cornwalls. Bad electronics will not be tolerated. Cheap doesn't necessarily mean bad, though; I have a bottom-of-the-barrel Yamaha AV receiver that sounds sweet and clean!

4. Bass response - With specified frequency response to the low 30's, the Cornwalls, for most people, will go low enough in the bass that no subwoofer will be needed. This is a MAJOR advantage for several reasons. First, if a subwoofer is to be good, it must go both low and clean. Most cheap subwoofers can't do either. The ones that can cost more than the Cornwalls. Second, for a subwoofer to work with music and not just movies, it must remain flat in frequency response across its range. Most subwoofers don't. They're tuned as "one note boom boxes" for impact on movies and really don't sound good on music. Third, with a subwoofer, you lose stereo bass. All the bass response below the subwoofer crossover frequency is routed to the single (mono) subwoofer. For movies, who cares. But for music, there is often stereo content into the bass frequencies that just gets lost with a mono subwoofer.

5. Appearance - This is, of course, a very subjective issue. Some people think that speakers should be "out of sight; out of mind." The Cornwalls (particularly in a nice veneer finish) are more like fine wood furniture. The proportions are pleasing (particularly with the optional risers) and the speakers are handsome.

So what don't I like about the Cornwalls? Very little. My few objections would include:

1. The 15" woofers cross over to the small horn midrange at 600 to 700 Hertz (Hz). In the upper frequencies of the woofer, there is slightly less detail than would be delivered by, for example, the La Scalas whose larger midrange horn takes over at 400 Hz. For most music, this is never noticeable, but it occasionally is.

2. The 15" woofers can sound sloppy with some amplifiers. Tube amplifiers, in particular, with their high transformer output resistance and subsequently poor damping factor, make for less than tight bass (sometimes). Despite the theoretical disadvantages of tube amplifiers, some do a wonderful job of driving the Cornwalls' bass, so audition carefully before you buy amplification. If the tube amp you already have sounds wooly in the bass when driving the Cornwalls, try another amp. Most solid-state amps provide awesome bass with the Cornwalls.

3. The older Cornwalls use an Electro-Voice T-35 tweeter mounted ** behind ** the 3/4 inch thick baffle board. This, in my opinion, causes the tweeter to sound dull (particularly off axis). Uncle Paul Klipsch did this deliberately since he wanted the speakers to function when placed either in a corner or on the wall (get it - Corn - Wall?). To avoid so much treble reflection when in corners, the dispersion of the tweeter (and the midrange, for that matter) were limited by mounting them behind the baffle board. The easy remedy is to either listen directly on-axis or to buy the Series 2 or 3 Cornwalls (which have their tweeters mounted on the front of the baffle board).

That's it - I have no further criticism of the Cornwalls or their sound. That is VERY unusual. Most speakers could receive pages and pages of negatives. The overall excellence of the Cornwalls makes them my first choice for my home. If you've never auditioned a Klipsch Cornwall, do yourself a favor. Give the Cornwalls a fair try with music that you're familiar with and decent amplification. You'll be glad you did.

Quality

Placement is critical as with any speaker.

These speakers were the first purchase made after getting out of college in 1980. They are the one true purchase made in my life that has maintained value and satisfaction for some 27 years. I will never get rid of them for any price. I recently moved into a new home and have rediscovered the enduring quality of these speakers. They are amazing when properly placed in a large room. Electronics come and go but the physics of sound reproduction stays the same.

Very good soundstage.
Can handle loud volumes sans distortion.
Bass is nice.

None!

These are the third pair of Klipsch speakers I have owned over the years and I must say, they are BAD A$$!!!!!!!!!!!

They have a awesome soundstage and they look impressive even when they just sit there. The bass is nice and tight I might add. You will not be dissapointed with these big boys trust me.

Similar Products Used:

Forte II

Sound,efficiency, Its all excellent.

They are big. 100lbs each

This is it. The sound I have been looking for. Its been a long journey. The Cornwalls are the most engaging speakers I have ever heard. Highs and midrange are open, airy, and extented. On the low end, no sub is needed. The low octives are tight and go very low. I am using the Cornwalls with a Magnavox 14 watt el/84 pp amp and this system can rearrange the pictures on the wall. Whats most noticable about these speakers is they sound wonderful a low volumes.

Similar Products Used:

JBL l-100, JBL-l-166, Large Advent, Dynaco A-50, Paradigm Studio 20, Dynaudio Contour 1, B&W 602, and others.