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Thanks for the good points.

I actually did my homework and researched Klipsch before I bought them. The positive reviews I read on several sites, including the one at Klipsch, gave me the courage and curiosity to experiment with them. I did post a thread here at speaker asylum last week in anticipation of receiving some helpful input from our fellow inmates. Given the solid state vs. tube debate, and in light of strong opinions of these speakers that can be at the far end of dislike or passionate love, I was prepared to be surprised either way. However, I was not willing to completely adapt my thousands of dollars in audio investments made over the past twelve years around these speakers. Either there was some synergy with what I already owned or I would sell them to people who were already lining up to buy them for what I paid. A safe and interesting audio experiment that cost me a total of $750.

I certainly wasn't prepared to experience the entire range of feelings from strong dislike to pleasantly engaged within a one day period. But this is exactly what happened. I took a completely smooth system that provided me with enjoyment and inserted the Cornwalls. The result was physical pain. Within an hour my ears were ringing and I had a headache. My test CD is John McLaughlin, "The Promise." So it wasn't a matter of me waiting to see if I could grow into the Cornwall sound. I didn't want to blow my nerve endings.

Being a Fried Speaker Products fanatic of sorts with ten pairs in my house, it reaffirmed just how smooth sounding and forgiving these speakers can be. I was running two matching Legacy (Coda) Amps from the dual outputs of my Legacy (Coda) Preamp into a set of Fried R\4 and a set of Fried R\5, slightly differently configured three-ways with the exact same drivers. With the R\4 I ran Elco Audio silver ribbon to coax mid and high detail, and with the R\5 I ran Kimber 4TC shotgunned for bass reinforcement. I could push most of the 440 combined watts into this setup for a full rich sound without fatigue.

I ran the Cornwall's solo with just one amp. But I couldn't raise the volume to move the 15" woofers without ripping my ears apart. I settled down the next day and gave them another chance. I replaced my cables and wire with Monster crap and the result was boomy bass, muffled midrange, and weak treble. So I knew that wires alone could ultimately control the way these speakers behaved. I don't know why, but just replacing the speaker wire to a heavier gauge Kimber 8PR worked magic. It could very be the speakers needed a break-in period from sitting unused for several years.

So now I can come out and say that I am impressed with the Cornwalls. Maybe the quickest turnaround on Speaker Asylum to date but I stand corrected. And I will come out and say that they sound excellent on my solid state system with a good share of 220 watts moving through them. If it is true that tubes sound superior then they have the potential to be considered excellent speakers and thus their designation as a classic that retain their value and appeal. So many debates are raised by these speakers: tubes vs. solid state, old vs. new, and affordable vs. overpriced. Someone asked me yesterday if I ever listened to Magnaplaners. With a sigh I admitted no and confessed they will have to wait until later.

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