JBL 4349 or Klipsch Cornwall IV

Current klipsch speakers need make no apologies and need no tweeter mods. Listen for yourself and you'll see.

Oz

I own the JBL L100. Used to own Cornwall 2’s and Cornscalla B version and Klipsch Forte 3’s. I have not heard the Cornwall 4’s yet. I’m sure I would love them though. My only reservation is that they are very big speakers. The JBL’s (in my room) sing. I can play them crazy loud with no ear fatigue at all. Excellent soundstage and imaging too. They sound good with tubes and solid state. You might try playing with positioning if you listen to them again. They are one of the best speaker purchases I have ever made. 

The first time I listened to Cornwall's it was a pair of II's and I thought the highs were a little bit shrill and the overall sound seemed thin to me.

Last week, I listened to a pair of broken-in Cornwall IV's in a dealer show room that was 14W X 20L x 10H and treated with corner bass traps on the front wall.

The speakers were mated to an all McIntosh solid state front end including a receiver rated at 200 WPC into 4 ohms.

The speakers were two feet off the front wall with ten feet between their centers and ten feet to the listening position. 

My impression, after listening for about an hour and a half with 5 or 6 different CD's, was that the sound seemed veiled and not particularly resolving. I liked the palpability of the large woofer but kept thinking that I needed to sit further away from the speakers as I felt almost "overwhelmed" even at low volumes.

I am trying hard to like a highly efficient American made speaker and do not mean to disparage the Cornwalls.

Would a tube amp make that much of a difference or is it maybe I just do not care for horns?

Thanks for listening, 

Dsper

The “not resolving “ part is most likely due to the Mac equipment!  I owned their high end separates and although they had their positives, I could always hear a bit of a whitish veil over the music.

@dsper 

My first question would be how much toe in was used. Pointed right at you, the sound can be overwhelming. Positioned so that they cross a few feet behind your head seems to be the sweet spot. And you need to have a little distance between them and you for the drivers to blend.

As for the veiling, I can't answer to that. They seem to have very good resolution to me. There are other speakers that are more resolving and articulate, but those tend not to have the tone, texture and involvement that these do.

Oz