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Cornwall IV – new amp vs crossover upgrade

I recently bought Cornwall IVs and basically I´m very happy with them – they just sound very pleasant. And I haven´t even upgraded to another amp yet which seems to be the next logical step. When I was in the store I tested them with a class AB and a hybrid amp and I could already tell that the hybrid made them sing. Currently I´m using an old, small Rotel amp and they do sound great with it but I know there´s plenty of room for improvement.

Having read a few things here and there, I´m wondering which has the bigger impact: a new amp or a new set of crossovers. Sure, it´s all individual but with people raving about non-Klipsch-crossovers and other improvement (for example damping the horns as suggested by the Boston Audiophile), I´m not exactly sure what should be next. Would a nice tube amp make a crossover upgrade unneccessary? It´s hard to tell from what I´ve read.

As much as I like them, I feel right now they are lacking a bit of overall warmth. On the other hand the highs are a bit too pronounced and detailed for me which led me to turn down the highs on the amp a bit. There are some recordings that just match the current setup and listening to them puts a big smile on my face. And I just feel that this can be extended to more albums.

Thanks in advance for help and suggestions!

chmaiwald

Showing 2 responses by smatsui

smatsui
166 posts
 

The Enleum 23R is the opposite of analytical, think rich organic sound.  It performs on a higher level than the tube amps that I tried on the CW IVs.  I use the 23R as a power amp with my Van Alstine FET Valve CF vacuum tube preamp.   I also use a REL S5 subwoofer that blends perfectly with the CWs.  Two of the most difficult instruments to reproduce, piano and the human voice are sublime in my setup. 

I recommend that what ever amp that you buy, you either trial it first in your own system or buy it from a dealer that will allow you to return it.   All the amps that I tried sounded quite different from each other.  The amp that I thought would be my favorite match with the CWIV, the McIntosh MC275 VI (I used to own the V5 of this amp), was probably my least favorite.  The Rogue Stereo 100 was to forward and aggressive sounding even with my vacuum tube preamp.  The BoyuuRange A50 mkIII was soft and too laid back.  The Van Alstine 600R hybrid amp (NOS Mullard 4024 input tubes and MOSFET output) was excellent and only topped by the 23R.

 

 

smatsui
166 posts
 

I've tried driving my Cornwall IV with a McIntosh MC275 VI, Rogue Stereo 100 with Dark upgrades, BoyuuRange A50 mkIII 300B amp, my Audio By Van Alstine 600R hybrid amp, and my Enleum 23R.  I own the last 2 and the Stereo 100 and the 300B amps were my friend's amps.  The MC275 VI was borrowed from a local dealer.  My 600R beat all the amps except one, the Enleum 23R.  The 23R was a class above all the others in terms of transparency, image clarity, soundstage width and depth, and musical engagement.  This amp has an organic sound unmatched by any other amp that I've tried. 

I won't go into details about its design because you can get that online and in several reviews.  John Darko recently posted a YouTube video rave review on the 23R.  Other reviews include 6 Moons in which Srajan said the 23R is the best solid state low powered amp he's ever tried.  As a bonus, it's a state of the art headphone amp as well.  It's not inexpensive and there's a wait list to get it but it's worth it imo.

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