Confused about Tannoy

[hifinutt]

Having not heard vintage nor current Legacy Tannoys- the cult of Tannoy really is fascinating.

if you are ever in brum pop in .... you are welcome

 

[Locheeboy]

Every fan of hi fi should own a pair of "true point source" Dual Concentric Tannoys, sometime , if not for the rest of their lives - ah know ah will... . Problem is , those brought up on ipods then speakers the width of a fag packet with 3" drive units. are often uncomfortable with the likes of a pair of Ardens (for example). It takes many hours of listening as DC Tannoys sound like NO other speaker. Once yer ears have become accustomed to that sound, ye won't go back to any other speaker !

Ah have a pair of Ardens (1976), bought from a friend's dad...a great price, since ah knew him since childhood. He was the sole owner since 1976 and had them re-furbished twice in that time. they sound glorious. Gonna ask an undertaker tae fold me in half and bury me with them...

My Ardens have the pepperpots but, as importantly, IMO, the Alnico magnet . Interesting that Tannoy returned to Alnico and pepperpots for their flagship speakers. Don't think pepperpots are hugely better than tulips, (IMO they are better) they're just different. Let yer ears decide.

 

[Mick P]

I note Tony's point on 15" vintage and I also note Steven's point about the later models. The only way out of this is to have a good listen. Another complication is that I actually like the Shahinians, so it's got to be a listen to your ears exercise.

Visually I do like the Turnberry or Kensington the best.

One final question, would some Tannoys be ok being powered by a Naim NAP300 power amplifier or is it valve or nothing?

 

[FN19]

Based on my limited experience of tulips I'd argue the opposite. The tulip in my Autograph Mini sounds (and measures!) much smoother and open throughout its range and extends higher than any pepperpot I've ever heard. Probably not a fair comparison though given the smaller size of the HF diaphragm and waveguide in the Mini.

Fair enough, I just think the 5 pairs of all different tulips (including the minis I sold a few months ago) all have a signature hardness at a very certain point. Nothing really to moan about, but when I listen to the pp I have now, even though occasionally unforgiving, they have an extra dimension, much more lifelike and a much broader off axis image for want of a better description, kind of 3 dimensional, bigger.

 

[Tony L]

I note Tony's point on 15" vintage and I also note Steven's point about the later models. The only way out of this is to have a good listen. Another complication is that I actually like the Shahinians, so it's got to be a listen to your ears exercise.

The other thing I’d throw in is I personally don’t like Naim amplification with Tannoys or any other high-efficiency speakers. Any of them would likely send you down a change/upgrade path of some degree. The Shahinians are almost certainly a more synergistic match. You will find most Tannoy owners use valves or old Quads etc.

Also don’t assume the size difference is contrasting different eras, e.g. Kensingtons and Canterburys are the 10” and 15” of the current Prestige range, as say the 3LZ and Yorks were of the Red & Gold era.

 

[Mick P]

The other thing I’d throw in is I personally don’t like Naim amplification with Tannoys or any other high-efficiency speakers. Any of them would likely send you down a change/upgrade path of some degree. The Shahinians are almost certainly a more synergistic match. You will find most Tannoy owners use valves or old Quads etc.

Also don’t assume the size difference is contrasting different eras, e.g. Kensingtons and Canterburys are the 10” and 15” of the current Prestige range, as say the 3LZ and Yorks were of the Red & Gold era.

All of the Tannoy systems I have ever heard have been powered by various valve systems which would have been done for a reason, so it looks like a major change of system or stay put with the present set up.

 

[chiily]

I have heard 3 Tannoy systems and all of them did sound exceptional. The off putting thing was that they all were placed 2ft out from the wall which for the wife is a no-no. She will live with a big speaker as long as it is up against the wall.

Mick, one word, Cornwalls.

OP, excuse the thread deviation

 

[hifinutt]

I note Tony's point on 15" vintage and I also note Steven's point about the later models. The only way out of this is to have a good listen. Another complication is that I actually like the Shahinians, so it's got to be a listen to your ears exercise.

Visually I do like the Turnberry or Kensington the best.

One final question, would some Tannoys be ok being powered by a Naim NAP300 power amplifier or is it valve or nothing?

The tannoys i have ,eaton legacy have sounded good on nearly every amp i have tried ..maybe 50 to 60 amps including naim . They even sounded good with class d ! So yes a naim nap 300 will be fine

 

[Tony L]

I’ve found the Naim I’ve tried (JV-era stuff) to sound over-damped, thin and sterile into my 15” Golds. I like Naim a lot, just not here, and into Klipsch is even worse. That becomes an assault weapon!

PS I suspect it is a trait of class B amp design and very high efficiency speakers. Naim are great amps, but they like to work a bit. Tannoys like a few class A Watts, ideally valve. Especially the vintage ones (up to and including Monitor Golds).

 

[ToTo Man]

The tannoys i have ,eaton legacy have sounded good on nearly every amp i have tried ..maybe 50 to 60 amps including naim . They even sounded good with class d ! So yes a naim nap 300 will be fine

If you've felt the need to try 50+ different amplifiers with your Eatons then perhaps your subconsciousness is trying to tell you something!

 

[hifinutt]

Ah no i just love trying different flavours of stuff ,, got several systems and they get swapped around . Recently best system is eix pre with f5 clones and thats been quite a while

 

[FN19]

I’d really like to hear the Eatons to see if they are different from the Arden Legacy. Have you heard the Arden Legacy?

Ah no i just love trying different flavours of stuff ,, got several systems and they get swapped around . Recently best system is eix pre with f5 clones and thats been quite a while

 

[hifinutt]

I have not sadly , they would be too big for my domestic lounge . However i and my grown up sons just love the BIG sound of these harbeth 5ls size enclosures ...when i pop my clogs they will both be arguing over them if still present .

Been here for 5 years now replacing verity audio ,summit x speakers .longest i have had a pair of speakers which is a miracle considering all the incredible stuff on pfm available ..

 

[hifinutt]

When i got my eix pre back in march i had to check the tilt settings to see if it was increased bass ( like a tone control) .it wasnt .certainly an improvement over the bc pre 3vbs with sean jacobs dc3 which was also good

 

[FN19]

I have not sadly , they would be too big for my domestic lounge . However i and my grown up sons just love the BIG sound of these harbeth 5ls size enclosures ...when i pop my clogs they will both be arguing over them if still present .

Been here for 5 years now replacing verity audio ,summit x speakers .longest i have had a pair of speakers which is a miracle considering all the incredible stuff on pfm available ..

The Arden’s are 180L of silky smooth goodness

 

[hifinutt]

yummy ... would love to hear them !!

 

[Steven Toy]

I agree, the pepperpot is much better through its range. The tulip can sound a little raggy or grainy at a certain point in the treble.

The Pepperpot costs a lot more!

 

[Steven Toy]

The other thing with Tannoys is the cone size makes a huge difference. The small ones (10” and less) have more midrange punch and presence as the crossover region can be higher and small cones are stiffer/lighter, arguably more clarity too, though they lack the weight, scale and ease, and to my ears realism of the big ones (12”, 15”). I’m obviously in the latter camp, but I do like all of them. There is no right answer here, just go with your ears.

Another thing to point out is vintage Tannoys don’t sound like generic modern hi-fi speakers, and once you get used to them other stuff starts to sound very wrong indeed. It is no secret I think most modern speakers are absolutely terrible. All those high-mass MDF cabs with multiple bass units, a mid and a metal tweeter lined-up on a tall baffle send me running from the room, yet this seems to be the high-end consensus in the 21st century. I can’t stand it. Give me proper vintage Tannoys, Quad ESLs or BBC monitors every time (I’d add big JBLs/Altecs and some Klipsch too, but my room isn’t big enough). As such read everything I say with a pinch of salt as my view is domestic high-end hi-fi took a wrong turn decades ago.

The Kensington GR's (10-inch driver) crossover is at 1.1 KHz.

 

[Tony L]

The Kensington GR's (10-inch driver) crossover is at 1.1 KHz.

Interesting, that’s lower than I was expecting. The classic 12” and 15” Tannoys cross at 1kHz, whereas the 10” 3LZ went higher at about 2.5kHz IIRC.

 

[Robert]

Based on my limited experience of tulips I'd argue the opposite. The tulip in my Autograph Mini sounds (and measures!) much smoother and open throughout its range and extends higher than any pepperpot I've ever heard. Probably not a fair comparison though given the smaller size of the HF diaphragm and waveguide in the Mini.

That's interesting and accords with my findings, albeit based on a small sample!

I have a pair of Tannoy Legacy Eaton and also a pair of KEF R3 Meta.
The KEF have arguably the more advanced HF driver but the Tannoy is cleaner, purer and less 'lispy'.

Having lived with ESL63s for a decade, pretty much everything else sounds badly compromised when it comes to purity and coherence.
The Eaton holds up surprisingly well.