I bought a pair a demo Klipsch Cornwalls in 1979 for $750/pr. I haven't thought of getting rid of them yet. I still run them through an old Pioneer SX1050 receiver I bought in 1978. Quite frankly, I wouldn't part with either. They still sound as good today as the day I bought them. Of course, the only thing I can fit in my living room is my stereo and a couple of recliners. What more do you need? If you can find a pair of these speakers, buy them and consider the seller a fool!

If the loudspeaker can reproduce the whole frequency spectra, from the lowest to the highest note a human ear can perceive, if it can reproduce a wide range and the most complex sounds effortlessly and with lowest distortion and if it can reproduce music in its whole dynamic range it must really be a good loudspeaker.No doubt Klipsch Cornwall can do this. And no doubt, it is an exceptional loudspeaker. Cornwalls are large speakers and they sound like it. They present a very large, natural sound stage. They are one of the few speakers you will ever hear that you will instantly love. They reproduce music effortlessly, whereas most speakers color the sound in some way. They have a transparency to them that I have not heard before, or since. The other remarkable thing is volume. These things sound perfect at any volume that you can physically withstand. I can honestly say that I have never heard them distort. Cornwalls not only reproduce sound, they transfer-transform-restore original power and energy too! Cornwalls transmit and restore total sound energy within entire audible frequency range. They restore it within tremendous dynamic range. And there is a direct functional correlation between energy being radiated by the loudspeaker as a system and the physical and emotional excitation of the listener. That’s why Cornwalls excite so much. Cornwall is unbeatable in terms of dynamics, presence and the ability to transform a real life feeling into your living room. They reproduce music with absolute clarity the sound is pure and clean. Bras is
reproduced with the blat intact. Trumpets and trombones are right there. That's why they are so persuasive. Internal volume of 220 litres assures effortless and unique low-end response. It is practically impossible to replace this exceptional "mechanical" characteristic with any "electrical" means adequately.
Reproduction of LP is unbelievably good. Even when playing old and worn LPs.
When reproducing directly transmitted signals (directly from microphone or via FM tuner)Cornwalls sound absolutely spectacular - there is no difference at all between "they are here" or "we are there" statements. With good recordings, Cornwalls sound fabulous; really very good. With poor recordings, Cornwalls sound poor - of course, they are not designed to "improve" or color sound. But always, whatever the source is, Cornwalls sound REAL. ALWAYS! Cornwalls is TRUE monitor and REAL speaker. It is an OPTIMAL loudspeaker as well. There is literally thousands of good loudspeakers around. Regardless of price it is hard to find few of them to come close to this masterpiece. Sometimes I tried to find deficiencies and deviations, but I simply couldn't. I always found them on some other part of the signal processing path. Cornwalls work well with tube amplifiers. Of course they do. But not with just any tube amplifier. Best results can be expected with well-designed amplifiers with "closed terminals" frequency response within +/- 1.5 dB at least. The tube amplifiers with accentuated frequency roll-off above 5 kHz should be avoided. Such amplifiers may play well with some other "+3dB/High" or "+6dB/High" tweeter horns, but cannot be recommended as a good mate for the Cornwalls. Maybe Cornwall is less capable concerning low end reproduction than Klipschorn but it may also be more optimised choice with regard to placement and capability to properly reproduce sounds which do not comprise low frequency information, like vocals or some musical instruments, like a violin, a flute, etc. Klipsch loudspeakers are immortal! They will be out of date only when the laws of physics change. Or when physiological sound perception characteristics of human race change. We all know it is quite certain that it will not happen within the next few thousands years.
Maybe Klipsch loudspeakers are a status symbol, but it is very likely for Cornwalls to became the cult object. Like Marantz did with Models 7, 8B and 9, Klipsch should probably reconsider Cornwall re-creation, with the minute attention paid to every detail of its original construction, in order to reproduce precisely the performance that made if famous. Finally I would like to tell you that I do not dance and I do not say "Yes, yes …." very often, I do not conduct an orchestra either. But Klipsch Cornwalls encourage me to do all these. Day by day. They put me into complete harmony with the music. They make me happy. You may find a complete Klipsch Cornwall Test Report on http://www.belgaudio.com - website of Belgian Audiophile School.

All the stenghts, are there! Everything nice center speaker!

I didnt buy this first!

This academy in connected to my new Harman Kardon AVR 120, along with 4 cornwalls!
Very nice system, although i think the center channel on the Harman Kardon should be louder, but thats ok!
I can hear it fine!
Im ganna move it from the very top of the entertainment center, to above the TV!
I think thats where the flaw is!
The Academy, is the collectors center speaker from Klipsch, and i can see why, very nice indeed, i love it, if you see one, get it, but make sure you have the room!

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KSC-C1 center

Volume

Sound Quality

These speakers sound good for club music, but I think that any Cerwin Vega with a 15" would still have more bass than these. I use these speakers for stereo war purposes with my neighbors, but that is all they are good for. Sound quality isn't anything special and neither is the bass.

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Forte II's, Cerwin Vega DX Series

Sounds like music - rock, jazz, classic, and my son's video games all sound great

MUST USE QUALITY SOURCE - PREAMP - POWER AMP AND CABLES

I AM USING AMC TUBE GEAR WITH THESE - AND THEY ARE GREAT. IF YOU USE RUN OF THE MILL ( EVEN ADCOM/NAD LEVEL ) EQUIPMENT, YOU ARE DOING THESE SPEAKERS A DISSERVICE. THE PREVIOUS REVIEWER MENTIONED CERWIN-VEGA BEING SUPERIOR - NOT TRUE WITH GOOD EQUIPMENT. THE PROBLEM IS THIS : YOU CAN BUY THESE SPEAKER FOR UNDER $1000 FOR THE PAIR USED, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T GIVE THEM THE SAME QUALITY EQUIPMENT THEY WOULD A $5000-$10,000 PAIR OF SPEAKERS. TRY THEM THIS WAY - YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. BY THE WAY - I PURCHASED AN AMC CD-8 CD PLAYER , 1030 PREAMP , AND 2100 AS POWER AMP FOR APPX $1500 FOR ALL THREE - ALL TUBE GEAR. FOR $2250 INCLUDING THE CORNWALLS, IT COMPETES WELL WITH MY $ 18,000 SYSTEM. SO WAS I SMART FOR BUYING THE SECOND SYSTEM , OR DUMB FOR BUYING THE FIRST ??

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EVERYTHING FROM BOSTON ACOUSTICS TO VMPS - OVER 50 PAIR OF SPEAKERS OVER THE YEARS

Efficiency and great sound

Size and weight

I generally dont take the time to write reviews. I should because I always read reviews before buying anything. I feel compelled to write this because of a couple reviews I read on this speaker. We all have individual tastes and will not all agree on the best sounding speaker. But anyone who gives this speaker less than 4 stars should be pittied because that individual had a hearing problem. I have 3 audio systems. I use a pair of $12,000 Vandersteens for one. I use a $7,000 pair of Maggies with a Vandersteen sub woofer for the second. My third system uses a pair of Cornwalls. They are driven by dual 260 watt power amps. I can listen to any type of music at any listening level and feel I have the best sound available for the money. My system with the Cornwalls can actually rival the sound of both of my other systems at 1/10th the cost. Maybe not quite as good, but a whole lot less money. If you can get a pair of these for less than $1,000 IMHO you would be buying one of the best sounding speakers for under about $6,000 (the price of new K-Horns). The beauty of these is you can appreciate their great sound in a very small room or a very large room. My Maggies require a large room to appreciate them. The Vandies wont fill as large a room as the Cornwalls. These are not only great sounding, they are very versitile. They are large enough to put great looking stuff on top of them to dress up the room they are in. As with any high end equipment, dont match lower end equipment with it. Your sound will only be as good as the weakest component in your system. At least the Cornwalls can make low powered amps sound their best. For those of you who dont like the big sound of Cornwalls, there are a few other great speakers out there that will satisfy your needs and I would encourage you to shop till you find what you think is best for your ears. For those of you who give these speakers unrealistically low reviews--YOU ARE MAKING YOURSELVES LOOK VERY FOOLISH AND UNEDUCATED.

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Too numerous to note

Klipsch Cornwalls - NO speaker is the best. NO one will agree on whichsounds better than another (unless they are of course Stereophile readers).

Sound and speakers are personal. You must listen and decide.

With all that being said, I have listened to EVERYTHING for over 30 years.
I love rock and roll, jazz, classical, SOME country, and SOME new
alternative. I love music and listening. Cornwalls are the best (stock)
Klipsch speakers at image, period. Look at the driver positions, drive
them with QUALITY amps and S-T-A-N-D-B-A-C-K! Quads image the best.
Planars all do real well with image too. Small dynamic time alligned
speakers with attention paid to difraction and internal vibrations and
dampening are amazing at creating a seakless panorama and staging, ok?

If you can sit down and listen to a set of proporly set up Cornwalls with
a great amp chain and audiophile quality material and you conclude that
you "CANT STAND THOSE @#$%^&*# HORNS", wait to learn more about live music
and replace that for reproduced references.

Klipsch Cornwalls (pre 1986) are among some of the best bets for you to
find on the net. We have a pair that my 20 year old son listens to in
his system. Bought them (stole them) for $350 the pair in birch a couple
of years ago. Driven with an old QUAD 405 and a modified Advent 300 (thanks
Mr. Holman). THEY SOUND WOUNDERFUL !!

I HAD A PAIR FOR 15 YEARS AND THEY PROVIDED SOME VERY MEMORABLE TIMES. BUT THE TIMES HAVE PASSED. THIER STRENGTH WAS IN THIER HIGH EFFECIENCY. THEY WERE GOOD PERFORMERS ACCROSS THE BOARD BUT CANNOT COME CLOSE TO MY B&Ws OR HALES. I KNOW MY NEIGHBORS IN THE MANY PLACES I LIVED WISHED I DIDN'T HAVE THEM. THEY CAN PLAY LOUD BUT NOT REALLY PRECISE OR VERY TIGHT BASS. THE HIGHS WERE LIMITED BUT NICE. THE VOICES SOMETIMES SEEMED CLOSED IN. ALL IN ALL STILL A NICE SPEAKER FOR PARTIES.

Years ago I picked up a pair of these monster sized speaker and heard bass that could neuter a cat at 100 feet. These were lease breaking speakers!!!
The mids sounded like you had the band in your livingroom. The dynamic range was the best. The highs were good, but I believe that they could be great if they had the right wire...and at that time state of the art wire came on a roll from Radio Shack.

The imaging could be better, but following the rule of thirds your listening space would have to be big (read barn) to get the imaging happening.

There may be better speaker today. But very few speakers deserve the label "awesome".

Klipsch there is no subsitute! This a speaker where size doesn't matter...butthese are HUGE! The first time I was introduced to my future Cornwalls, there
were 4 in this little apartment. Yes 4, literally a wall of sound! To say the least I was drooling. These speakers have amazing clarity, you will hear parts of your favorite songs you have never heard before!! And the bass? the bass is brutal! When we walked out of that apartment my ears were the least of my worries...I felt like I just got jumped! With the bass these Cornwalls produce I could feel my organs dancing! I got beat up by bass! Anyway years later when he said he was thinking of selling 2 them I jumped on the opportunity. Now I beat my neighbors!