klipschorns & cornwalls/ alk crossovers

Definitely read the Klipsch Forum's as Jwc37 suggests. You can read my comments on MY experience and opinion of the ALK on my LaScala's by reading my comments on my Virtual System. In a nutshell, I prefer the Klipsch AA's, but if you like a cleaner focus at an expense of soundstage width and depth go for the AlK. YMMV though and it is well worth getting more input. I think it is pretty unusual to find that any of the Klipsch heritage products fall short in the midrange. Are you sure all your horns are working properly and that you have not blown out a diaphragm, or have a bad crossover, bad oilcap, loose wire, etc.......have you gone through everything on the Cornwalls? If you pointed to one of the extremes (high's or lows) I would not be as surprised, but the Klipsch Heritage speakers are midrange champs, especially with tubes. You start out by saying it's the mids that are lacking and later on mention the "top end". Which is it? Are your Macs tube or SS? If they are SS, well then, my truly jaded opinion is that you are wasting a pair of good horns. I have only heard these speakers sound harsh with SS amplification. With tubes they are heavenly to my ears. If it's the mids you are lacking in, I would check those drivers, crossovers and connections and make sure that's all working before taking more expensive actions.

Marco

If you like the sound of your amps with the Khorns they shouldn't really be night and day difference over the Cornwalls since they use the same drivers, albeit in an entirely different housing and crossover. Still, the sonic signatures in those examples I've heard side by side are pretty similar, with the Khorns having far more full-body and authority when done right. The Khorns, if placed well (in your room in the corners), are not going to be equalled by the Cornwalls in terms of how they sound overall and the balance of the acoustic spectrum. As far as X-overs, the wiring stuff should be pretty self-evident if anything is loose or worn. In terms of actual testing of the individual components you'll have to consult someone who knows better than I. I'm sure you'd just need a digital multimeter to do it. Obvious things to check for are oil leaking from the capacitors (those big mettalic towers on the X-over). If leaking you might see an oil stain beneath them on the wood. Rebuilding them with original parts may be difficult as some of the parts are no longer available and you'd have to find substitutes. There are threads on the Klipsch forum that address those substitutions and folks there who could help for sure. Other than that you could always keep an eye out for a pair on eBay, but that could be hit or miss too. AlK does provide plans for building his crossover....they may be on his website. I think the Klipsch forum will garner more information than you may get here on such a specific Klipsch question.

Also, this could be an entirely room-related problem. You did not mention whether these are in two different systems, or are you comparing them side-by-side in the same room. The room itself can make a whole world of difference in how a system sounds and could certainly account for the discrepencies. Just a thought.

Good luck Joe!

Marco

Haven't been there in a long while BigJoe, but last time I was there there were plenty of folks who knew of what they spoke. Sorry to hear it may have gone downhill since then. A scenario as you describe would send me running for friendly grounds too. I've still puzzled over your midrange woes (at least I think that is what you are saying), and have come up with no better answers than I've already suggested. Again, I've never heard horns sound good with SS, but that's not to say that it cannot sound great to someone else. Perhaps the AlK would help, but that's an expensive experiment if it does not. If you build them yourself perhaps you could break even.

Good luck....let us know what you figure out.

Best,

Marco

Exertfluffer - You can find more information about AlK crossovers for several of the Klipsch Heritage speakers which were designed by Paul here. You can also read a review of them by one reviewer on EnjoytheMusic site here. I personally did not care for them on my LaScalas in my room, but YMMV, and there are plenty of folks who love theirs. My very biased and strong opinion about the Klipsch gear being produced by the company today is that it doesn't hold a candle to the gear designed by Paul (they are still producting both the LaScala and Khorn but IMO with lesser parts and quality control in production than those of the vintage build - still those designs are certainly worth consideration though I'd go for vintage before buying new). Labor and parts are currently being outsourced all over the world. I ordered a replacement passive woofer for a pair of Forte's I owned a while back and the replacement was horribly constructed with very sloppy glue application and no gasket. It was assembled in Mexico. I phoned to complain and after several calls got someone to agree to take it back at my shipping expense. The replacement they sent was not much better. Their current product line (with the exception of Pauls designs) is more in the mass-market category as opposed to high-end. Stick to the vintage stuff designed by Paul and built in the 70's and 80's.

Hey Bigjoe - glad you figured out the problem and it was a simple one! Enjoy the speakers!

Best,

Marco