JBL 4349 or Klipsch Cornwall IV

@ozzy62 What’s your take on the Cornwall, do you feel they are forgiving of less than stellar recordings? Tone recently published a review where they claim the Cornwall is slightly forgiving, if that’s true I’m definitely going for it. 

@8044drussellI It does have controls for both treble and midrange. Lowering the treble makes it more listenable but also makes it dull. I don’t think it’s the level of the treble that’s the problem, it’s the quality. Spoke to the salesman about it and he agreed, he did not like the midrange or the treble. But as he said, people buying them were quite happy. It depends on what you are are looking for, what music you listen to and how sensitive you are. 

Thanks for all the input so far! 
I do understand that the Cornwall IVs are more critical when it comes to amplifier matching, given that my current amps are a Mark Levinson 432 and a “spare” Bryson 4B-SST, my setup is likely a much better fit for the JBLs. It does however seem that there are good amps suitable for Cornwall IVs that are relatively inexpensive. The question is though if a Mark Levinson amp, albeit seriously overpowered for high efficiency speakers, is a poor match with Cornwall IVs? 

Cornwall IV seems like a good match for me, the fact that there’s not a lot of really deep bass is no concern, it might even make it easier to integrate the speakers in my room. On the other hand, what I enjoyed about L100 classic was the physical impact they had, not sure if the Cornwall IVs will give that (although L100 classic don’t have deep bass either). I’m not really looking for a forgiving speaker, too many forgiving speakers are just plain dull even with the best material. On the other hand, there are revealing speakers that sound really good with a few recordings in a certain genre. It seems though that Cornwall IVs manage the balance nicely judging from your input above. 
As there’s no way I can demo Cornwall IVs at the moment I’ve come to the conclusion that I will accept the offer to try the 4349 in my home, if I like them, they stay. If I don’t like them (maybe too much mid bass or whatever), based on reviews and valuable input above, I feel confident enough to buy Cornwall IVs unheard. In this case I can start with the Mark Levinson amp and upgrade later. 

@quad78 I enjoyed them with classical music mainly because of the scale and the lack of midrange warmth. Not sure if they were tonally correct but they were great fun. In my room they imaged surprisingly well and they had an open character that worked well with string sections (with some speakers you can’t tell if there is one violin or if there are 20) and choruses (I had these right before Christmas and enjoyed an old recording of Christmas carols with the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge). Jazz was also great fun (trumpet, saxophones) with L100.  They also managed very well with the complex Afro-bossa (Duke Ellington), my studio monitors (Genelec 8050) and my Dynaudio Confidence 20’s are not even close. 
With rock they were great with some recordings  (Deep Purple’s Smoke on the water was amazing for instance). I don’t think they were very engaging at lower volumes though, they need to be played loud to be really fun. The problem is that some records contain a lot of treble energy and that’s why I had problems with L100, playing loud the treble was too much for my ears occasionally. It’s not often I have experienced listening fatigue but I did with L100. This may be due to a combination of the speaker, my room (large window on the right side wall) and the volume. In another room they may perform differently. 
In addition, with Billy Joe Armstrong’s cover of Kids in America, they did not portray the rhythm as well as my smaller speakers. I did not think the speakers were great with Bruce Springsteen’s Western Stars, my monitors do a better job with that album. 
AC/DC (Back in black) is one example of where L100 were very exciting when played loud but in the long run caused fatigue.  
But again, impressions are based on auditioning them in my room (which of course is great), another room may interact differently with the speakers. 

Thanks for suggestions @dave_b and @russ69. I live in Europe so used Klipsch heritage speakers are rare, would have loved to try a La Scala though. 
I’ve now spent two evenings with the 4349 which I have on loan from my dealer. Brand new so they probably need a lot more time before they open up. Impressions so far: 4349 is a better speaker than L100, more balanced and a more refined treble. They seem a little shy in the bass initially, maybe because they are new. L100 had more mid bass immediately out of the box though, bass that was both heard and felt.
Voices are really good, better than they were when I tried L100. Overall a very good speaker. 
Still considering Cornwall IVs though. While I really like 4349 they are still quite bright and I’m worrying about fatigue. 
Not sure if Cornwall IVs are less bright and if I go for them I’ll need to buy unheard. Luckily I don’t need to decide yet, maybe someone has heard both JBLs and Cornwall IVs and can advice? 

I’m using Van den Hul speaker cables (D352). I don’t think they are bright but there may be better alternatives. 

@dave_b I enjoy live volume levels but for late night listening (out of concern for my family) I usually listen at lower volume levels. Ideally, the system should sound good at both low and high volume levels. 
So far, I find 4349 to perform better than L100 at lower volume levels and they are also better than Dynaudio Confidence 20.

 I guess Cornwall IV might be even better at low volume levels, most important is however sound quality when playing at higher volume levels, hopefully Cornwall IV can do a god job if powered sufficiently? 

Thanks for sharing your experience with these speakers, @ei001h. Do you know what amp that was used to power these speakers? 
I’ll definitely need a new amp if I go for the Cornwalls, the question is if it should be a new integrated, a new power amp or a new pre- and a power? 
I’m a bit puzzled by 4349, did you think they were appropriately powered when you auditioned them? They have a claimed sensitivity of 91dB but I need about the same level of volume on my preamp as I did with my 87dB Dynaudios (for the same perceived sound pressure). 

I’ve seen the 4429 (I assume you refer to these)  but  never heard them. I guess what attracted me to 4349 is (on paper at least)  better bass extension. They do work great with my gear and placement seems non-critical. There are however three issues with their performance so far, two are easy to live with but the third may be an issue. 

4349 do not have the same ‘live’ sound that the L100 had, but on the other hand they are much more balanced and do a better job with many recordings. 

4349 do not have the bass (so far at least) that can be felt

Like with  the L100, I do feel fatigue after a while. Not as bad as with the L100 and 4349 are much better at lower volume levels. Still, I do want to me able to listen at all volume levels without fatigue. 

 Not sure if Cornwall IVs are better, some say their treble is brighter than JBLs. Maybe I need to try a tube pre-amp or perhaps find a pre-amp with tone controls?

 @dsper I think I’ve seen a similar review on the Klipsch forum. Interestingly, my dealer had a visit by the Klipsch distributor last week. They demonstrated the Forte III and his impression (at least what he told me) was very much the same as yours. I know however that he prefers more analytical speakers so not sure what to make of it. 

@mike_f Totally agree regarding soundstage and imaging, I actually preferred L100 over Dynaudio Confidence 20. They had both height and depth, as well as width. My ears are however sensitive to brightness, this was probably made worse by playing them quite loud. I did not really appreciate their sound at lower volume. 

The 4349 has better midrange, treble is not as fatiguing and they are engaging also at lower volumes. What they do not have is the kick of the L100 (the bass is not as fun) and I also think L100 was more enjoyable with jazz and classical music. No question though, from a Hi-Fi perspective, 4349 is a better speaker. But if I had not experienced fatigue with the L100 that would have been my choice as they are cheaper and fun. 

The 4349 is in the same position as where I had L100. I have not seen any measurements but my guess is that the L100 has more mid bass output which made them exciting. 
In addition, I read a review of the 4349 where they concluded that there is a degree of compression in the bass when playing loud. This of course limits the physical impact of the bass. 
They are definitely lively, no question about that. Received them just a week ago (a brand new pair) so there will likely be improvements. 
I’ll be able to keep them until the beginning of next week, then I’ll need to decide on whether they stay or if I take a chance on the Cornwalls. 

Thank you dave_b! I had a look at Mapleshade today, seems like my speaker placement was ideal in terms of distance from the back wall. I have a very balanced sound without noticeable problems with standing waves etc.  Maybe credit should go to the 4349 which seem relatively easy to place in the room. 

They lack some warmth in the mid bass or lower midrange (at least in my room), this makes them sound bright with some recordings. They are very revealing, differences in recordings become clear through these speakers. 

Still have not not decided if I should keep them (they are very good and easy to place) or try the Cornwalls. Today I noticed the new Forte IVs are out as well, not as huge as Cornwall IVs and perhaps easier to place in the room. This is not going to be an easy decision. 

@snapoli2 That’s great news! Still have the 4349s on demo, have been thinking about sending them back and go for Cornwalls or maybe the new Forte IVs.

There is a brightness when playing loud that I do not like, other than that I really like the 4349s. Power is not an issue, my Mark Levinson is rated at 2x400W so I’ve been thinking that it’s either a matching issue or the speaker itself. I don’t find 4349 to be very efficient, the L100 played subjectively louder at lower settings, which has made me think that tube amps might not work very well (other than high power amps). 

The LM 845-Premium is rated at 30W, if that power is sufficient also for listening at louder volumes that is great news. It’s quite expensive though, have you tried other tube amps with the 4349s (I’m thinking PrimaLuna etc that are well built but not as expensive as the 848-Premium)? 

I’ve had my Cornwall IVs for over a year now. They shine with the same recordings as the JBL 4349s but the Cornwalls are better to my ears , with some recordings a lot better. I guess it comes down to what you value most, I definitely enjoy the dynamics (both micro and macro). JBL 4349 can go just as loud as the Cornwalls but they are not as dynamic and did not make me smile as much as the Cornwalls do.