Need Some Answers Building My First Home Audio System, and using Cornwalls


I have a few questions for you audiophiles out there. I am new to this forum, and I am a music hound and vinyl collector, but as yet not exactly an audiophile, and I definitely lack much knowledge.


I just moved into my first/new home and, in a stroke of luck way beyond my wildest dreams, my new neighbor - in order to "empty out his garage" - gave me two very old, 60's looking 100-watt Klipsch Cornwalls (floor speakers) from their Heritage line (see pic). These are the ones that are 35.75" H x 25.25" w (15.5" deep) and have a titanium tweeter, 1.75" titanium squawker, a woofer and a front-ported cabinet.


My living room’s dimensions are very large, as we blended our kitchen and dining room into it, and took down all non-structural partitions - about 60 feet in length by 35 feet at its widest point.


First I wanted to check on a few things, such as whether these speakers work at all, and I can do that only once I get a receiver (right?). I also need new, less dated grill cloth - I did locate a guy/make a call about that, but I am holding off until I know whether/how I can remove the frame from the front of the speakers. The frames appear nailed in at the front, but the back looks screwed in.

*My turntable (technics 1200-MK2) will be going through this pre-amp (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007DB5IDS/ref=ya_st_dp_summary)

*It’s important you know a.) I don't yet want a tube amp and b.) what besides the speakers will need to be powered through the receiver:

-4K TV

-1 Turntable/Pre-Amp (mentioned above)

-4K Ultra HD bluray

-cable box

-iPhone lightning cable and 3.5 mm adaptor for phone/other sources

-2 Klipsch Cornwall speakers


Questions:


A.) I don't need tons of power. All floors are hardwood, with some rugs here and there but can anyone recommend something around 100 W? (I called Klipsch to ask their tech specialist about my speaker details, and the guy said staying at the speaker wattage will be smart, so as not to blow them out) and he said they are 100w. Would like to stay between $200-$500 and get something like a Denon, Onkyo, Yamaha... I suppose it could be used...I obviously want to optimize sound quality. Perhaps your suggestions are contingent on my remaining questions:


B.) Recommendations on a particular Bluetooth-enabled AVR? As much as I love hifi sound from a record on the turntable, there are times when I want to walk In the room and play a recent track from my phone. Also, this is not my private set up - it’s for the whole family, so needs to allow for a range of things, as well as efficiency/convenience. However, I don't use Spotify, Airplay, Sirius, XM, Pandora, DLNA, TuneIn, Tidal, etc. I would only play from actual files on my phone or laptop. (as noted, I will also have a jack coming out of one of the AVR inputs to for my phone to hardwire it sometimes also (in fact, 75% of the time, unless I'm not home for long between work/errands. If you have recommendations on those cables, please let me know.


C) My wife and I got an Alexa for Xmas. Any AVR's work with them? I've read about Smart Home automation and will eventually do the whole thing, but for now it's just music and movies.


D.) i - How do I remove the frame from the front of the speaker in order to replace the cloth? The guy I called about the speaker cloth (Bob Crites, got his name from the Klipsch forum) could tell from the pics that somebody custom made them.


ii- Does anyone recommend removing the cloth altogether and not replacing?


E.) i- Are XLR jacks better connections than just regular wire, or did I misread this?


ii- If so, would the difference in sound be negligible to average ears, or substantial? FYI, I did buy 16awg copper flat wire from Monoprice (pictured) and I imagine that can be connected to XLR's by myself, yes?


iii- speaking of which, how do I actually connect the wires to the Cornwalls? It's a very basic question, but I've never had proper speakers like this, and I don't want to screw it up. Is there a particular technique or nuance?


F.) We may eventually buy a whole-home bluetooth and/or wifi speaker system to bring to our master bedroom and two other bedrooms, so it will have to allow for that.


I think that's all. Sorry if I've overwhelmed anyone.

Thanks in advance and happy new year.


128x128djniteline

Showing 20 responses by djniteline

Thanks, all. 

So, I would be getting a dedicated integrated amp and THEN a receiver later on?

@lowrider57 is this one you mentioned?

how many other devices can I hook up to this?
I don't know the minimum power but when calling Klipsch, he recommended a 100 watt receiver.

Any other resource for finding the precise min wattage needed? Here's the spec sheet for the Cornwall 3 - http://assets.klipsch.com/product-specsheets/70th-Anniversary-Cornwall-III-Spec-Sheet-v01.pdf

Also, my speakers are 8 ohms per speaker?

@lowrider57 In any case, you mind putting up the link for the 50 watt amp? This is also a pre-amp, correct? So theoretically I could replace my aforementioned Pro-ject pre-amp with this one, or no?
Thanks, everyone. 

@tls49 serial is 3L716

@mesch I think a 2-channel system is fine. As long as I can somewhat augment my TV/solid state video/cable. I'm a bit of a cinephile also, but I don't need crazy 7.2 or anything, just quality audio. And I agree that 50 wpc does sound adequate as, again, I can't blow the roof off my living room. There's lots of glass and hard surfaces everywhere. 

I would like the C326BEE but I need Bluetooth. Does something like this exist for the same price point? 

I would build in the future, when I have more time to learn, but for now I need a decent quality system.

@elevick @mesch @tls49 @lowrider57 @uncledemp @mb1audio02

A couple more things. The following features are not offered by the NAD326BEE:

-Built-in DAC (Digital to Analog Converter):
What does this mean? I Googled it but I am still a bit confused. Is there an add-on I can get which is good quality?

-Optical audio inputs: Really? I feel like even basic AVR's have this, although I've never done optical before Is it worth it?? Does it have Optical OUTputs? 

The bluetooth receiver I get will have an optical out. Should I get it anyways?

-High-resolution Audio Playback? Is this necessary? Sounds gimmicky. Remember, I do have large-format AIFF files on my phone and will want to hardwire them through the receiver/3.5mm jack through my phone or another dedicated drive.

Thanks again, all.
@mesch Thanks! Which of the Schitt do you recommend? I think they would look great in my system, given their look.

I just bought the NAD! Very excited. Will keep all posted on the developments of my audio setup and results.
Oops, meant to add this:

so, it seems that you are saying the quality of the digital audio is dependent on the Bluetooth source?

Is there a recommended USB hub with a small screen that people use for home entertainment? This way I won't have to dedicate a computer. 

Thanks again. 
So I should get DAC's for every individual digital source?

also, I just set up my speakers, NAD, preamp and turntables the other day and although the first couple days sounded great, last night a "buzz" started happening. 

It stopped for the time being but has me a bit worried. (Otherwise the vinyl has sounded pretty nice and warm. )

How do I fix?
Thanks, all. Ben very busy.

Problem has stopped for the time being. If it arises again, I'll pay attention to the circumstances and report accordingly.
First of all @mesch, the turntable is grounded but I am pretty sure my speaker wire could look less messy and I'm quite sure the way I wrapped it around the posts is dead wrong. This brings me to last night.

**Last night, I had two problems with my speakers. (Please see pics of wire terminals) The first one happened when I went from TV to turntable. I went from AUX (I picked up a cheap Insignia analog-optical adapter and cable for the time being; there is no analog out of my TV) to CD (my turntable is assigned to this) and there was a very deep bass wave happening. It was very powerful and a bit scary.The volume was still up, but not much.

The second problem happened when I reversed the previous and went back to TV (optical). This is when the sound from the previous post happened again, a harsh, rapid oscillating sound.

Perhaps I should POWER OFF when switching from one input to another. I hope these new speakers aren't broken. They do sound great.If you don't mind, please provide links and/or pics of things I need to fix this problem.

The cords and everything looks like a rat's nest also, but I am also waiting on a proper media console to lay/conceal cords.

Could someone advise on how much bare wire should be exposed and how I can better connect everything?

Also, @atmasphere - interesting. When I called Klipsch, the man discouraged tube amps. Maybe that's because I prefaced our conversation with the word "affordable". (I'm still outside of year-long complete house remodel.)

What does "clean" sound mean? Why is what a tube amp can do better than clean, or more desirable? 

P.S. I just found someone local who can come to my place and help me in person, but he is on vacation and won't be able to get here for a couple weeks.

Thanks again.
http://http//www.showmecables.com/product/Spade-Plug-Metal-Gold-2-PK.aspx @atmasphere Thanks very much. I needed the lesson and hope you'll have more for me later.

When you mentioned that the music shouldn't sound loud, that clicked. Because although I seemingly had a problem with my speaker the other night, I was enjoying the color and breadth of the sound. Indeed, it sounded rich - it DID NOT sound loud until the interruption happened, which may well have been caused by the lack of spade plug Mesch mentions, or the overloaded circuit.

What is a tube amp you'd recommend for $400 or less? Should I sell my newly purchased NAD 326BEE? (which I just bought, as was the purpose/genesis of this thread)? I was also looking for a bluetooth DAC anyways, and someone made a great recommendation, but it seems Monoprice also makes a cheap tube/bluetooth combo that has great reviews - https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=16153

@mesch do I need one pair of spades for each side of wire at each point of connection, aka 4 pairs?

I have isolated the receiver power to a separate outlet and will try it later.

I have noticed the quickly oscillating, metronomic buzzing occurs usually after going from another input like AUX (where my toslink/optical adapter is from TV) or from the POWER OFF position.
@atmasphere so, will the tube amp completely replace my integrated amp or will the IA be used for all of my other inputs?
@atmasphere per your previous comments, after giving my serial # in a previous comment, I was told my Cornwalls are from 1973, not the 60's.
@mesch Bought them, thanks.

I did not disconnect Aux input, because I wanted to see whether my circuit/amp isolation worked. It seems it did, at least for the time being. I played a song from a record ("CD") and then turned off the turntable and switched to the TV ("Aux"), which is where I usually experience the hum.

There was no hum. I will see whether it occurs in any other scenarios.

I will have to stick to my current amp for the time being. I have a big trip coming up and don't want to incur any other expenses until I'm convinced the tube amp is the best choice for me.
one more thing - do you recommend I use either of these features of the amplifier:

-soft clipping
-tone defeat
@lou_setriodes thank you very much!

A.) Can you recommend a model or a quality brand? What is "SE"?

B.) is the tube amp in addition to (as in, not replacing) my NAD integrated amp? I guess so, as I still need to get audio for my cable/TV
@mesch and @lou_setriodes  thanks again for your helpful input.
As for the time being, I am still having trouble connecting my speaker wire to the back of my speakers. Somebody recommended spade plugs to me, and then I bought them, and they were too thick. They don't fit on either the back of the speakers or the back of the amp.
To remedy the connection to the amp, I have now come across these banana plugs, but I still need a solution for connecting to the speakers, unless the naked cable is fine the way it is. 
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=2801