Klipsch Cornwall IV


Hello all,

I'm interested in what people who have heard the speaker feel about it. I currently run spatial M3 turbos and have an all tube analog setup ( line magnetic, hagerman ) with an oppo 105 being the digital front end.


Previous speakers have been acoustic zen, reference 3A, Maggie 3.6, and triangles. I am more concerned with a huge immersive sound stage than I am with pinpoint imagery. I have a big room and have plenty of space between the back wall and my speakers if I need it.


Any thoughts?
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I got my pair of Cornwall IV's last week, and am still breaking them in, but very impressed.  I have been a long time Devore fan, with dabbling with various Harbeths, and others.  I like to swap gear in and out, including speakers.  That cannot be easily done with these, so these require a more serious commitment than usual.  Even my largish o/93's were movable.  So these feel a bit like a marriage, rather than my usual gear swapping.
Out of the box, they sounded a bit stiff, very slightly harsh, and a bit constrained.  Imaging was not the best.  The tonality was not super accurate.  Even with these observations, there was something about them I really liked, and even had they not improved with run-in, I would have felt them worth the price.
I set about running them in, and they improved fairly rapidly, and became dramatically better.  They sound pretty natural now.   Imaging, depth, detail, and transparency, are all excellent.  They are a bit addicting.  I have zero desire to move the Devores or Revels back in.  The bass has thankfully improved immensely.  
I estimate I only have about 100 hrs on them.  Like many, I bought them with a return option.  But there is no way they are going back.  
I have run them with several quality tube amps and a couple solid state amps.  The Cornwalls very clearly identify the characteristics of each amp, yet they sound great on all of them.  There is no sense of the horn origin of the sound.  They just sound like excellent speakers that happen to also have great dynamics and huge scale.
Mine are in the Cherry finish, and look gorgeous.  They are HUGE, so pretty big in my 16 x 14 room, but they work very well nonetheless.
For those considering these, add me to the many who say these are the real deal.  Superb.  
Thanks @dbarger for the report. Some here have been clamoring for a Devore vs Cornwall comparison.
@ozzy62; @dbarger, thanks for your informative, honest posts on these most incredible speakers. You can put me squarely in your camp with these as well. I purchased a pair in American Walnut, and run them with my restored Marantz 2385. I have a Technics 1200g w/Ortofon 2M Black. The sound was actually fairly smooth right out of the box, and they continue to improve the more I listen. They are, as everyone knows, pretty big, but so is their soundstage. Count me as another satisfied customer.
it would be very cool to have an even handed, objective comparison of devore 0-96 vs cw4 vs top spatial like x5 or even m3...  hard to make happen i suspect...
I have new CW4 and my experience is much like dbarger’s. Mine have around 75 hours of playing time on them and they have changed dramatically from day one. The bass, which was initially anemic, has filled in; the highs, strident at first, have smoothed out. Despite these initial sonic issues they were always expressive and dynamic; now they are becoming remarkably coherent and musically satisfying.

I’ve run the CW4 with a range of high-quality amps: 3.5w 2A3 SET, 18w PP 6l6GC, 36w PP EL84; 120w class A solid state. They sound very good--and very different--with all of them. They image and soundstage and do the audiophile stuff surprisingly well. But their quality of dynamic presence and musicality, like a live performance, is what really hooks me. My wife, too, despite their girth.

I bought them fully expecting to return them--even got a freight shipping quote in advance. My main system is mature and finely tuned--a hard lineup to break into. One week in, I do not think they’ll go back. I even cleared out my stereo closet so I can tuck them away when I want to listen to my other speakers, which might never happen. Little pads for furniture make it easy to slide them on hardwood flooring.

As for a comparison with Spatials, I can add that I bought X5 last month and returned them after 2 weeks. To me there’s no comparison in coherence and lifelike musicality. Clayton’s speakers are intelligently thought-out and well-designed, likely an endgame choice for many. But the CW4 make me want to keep listening whereas the X5, not so much.