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Better than Tannoys...?

I do like Harbs. They are a very very good compromise speaker (all speakers are some sort of compromise) for the domestic environment. Probably the best I've heard overall in all honesty, but they never, ever really made me smile. The Tannoys make me 'emotional'
so. That's what it's all about maybe?

Amp is a Luxman 505 and was for the Harbeths too. Room is 18x13 but double height. I’ll try to post a pic tomorrow.
 
Brilliant , worth knowing you can delete you name from the bcc code on flikr to preserve your privacy if you want
 
Rockmeister said:
Right now I'm wondering if the really like 125watts of class AB and might be glad to receive far less from some valves.
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My MG15s are definitely happier being driven by the valve Luxman LX-380 than the muscular class A L-590AX that I used previously. I have always liked the combination of Luxman and Tannoys but the current pairing is spectacular. I think if you can organise a home demo of an LX-380 you'll be bowled over. With lockdown lifting from Monday, you're welcome to visit if you fancy a trip up the road. :)
 
Rockmeister said:
Here, the half finished cabs, by Harbeth HL5+ for scale. (From the listening position)
IMG_0161 by John Dutfield, on Flickr

some idea of the room....listening chair bottom left
IMG_0102 by John Dutfield, on Flickr

and roughly where they are now

Tannoys toed out by John Dutfield, on Flickr

or like this works well

alternative listening seat by John Dutfield, on Flickr
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looks good!
so, how do they compare?
Ive actually also did the same swap, shl5+ to Tannoy gold 15"s with upgraded XO. Personally, i just dont like the tannoy treble, grates on me. The bass is godly though and the mids good but gawd ive had 4 pairs of vintage tannoys and I could never live with that treble. how do you like em?
 
Ayya Khema said:
looks good!
so, how do they compare?
Ive actually also did the same swap, shl5+ to Tannoy gold 15"s with upgraded XO. Personally, i just dont like the tannoy treble, grates on me. The bass is godly though and the mids good but gawd ive had 4 pairs of vintage tannoys and I could never live with that treble. how do you like em?
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What don’t you like about the Tannoy treble?
 
What's better than Tannoys?
A kick in the nuts with steel capped boots.

I'm not a fan, you might have guessed.

They can be superbly open and dynamic, with amazing bass depth and definition. And the larger ones can move an astonishing amount of air.

But it's the treble, and the upper mids.
I hear a grainy overlay to the sound that makes them unlistenable for me.
Think of Nicola Sturgeon saying Loch. The chhhh sound is everywhere.

I've heard many Tannoys but would never own a pair. They all suffer (and so do I) to a greater or lesser extent.

(Most) other folks obviously don't hear them this way at all.
Very strange.
Maybe there's an off-spec teeny weeny bone in my ears which just happens to resonate with dual concentrics?
I hear a similar colouration with full range driver cones fitted with a 'whizzer'.

Still, there's lots of other choices out there, so no worries if you hear things as I do.
Amazingly subjective, this hobby.
 
hermit said:
My MG15s are definitely happier being driven by the valve Luxman LX-380 than the muscular class A L-590AX that I used previously. I have always liked the combination of Luxman and Tannoys but the current pairing is spectacular. I think if you can organise a home demo of an LX-380 you'll be bowled over. With lockdown lifting from Monday, you're welcome to visit if you fancy a trip up the road. :)
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Many thanks :)
I sold it's brother, the SQ 38u about 4/5 years back to drive the Harbs! What goes ariound! Have been eyeing the SQ N150 with interest.
 
Answering AYYA, and Jandl and Cookie, imagine them in a hard sounding room!

Furnishings help...many trad homes with big Tannoys are overstuffed with thick carpets and huge curtains and settees etc etc and that must help. Keeping the grilles on helps, and as Cookie says -1 is essential all the time. Also OFF axis listening makes a difference. Given all that they become a 90% perfect speaker, where what they do well easily outshines some hardness and oh, I forgot, tone controls...thanks Luxman. And valves? And.....

And a 90% perfect speaker is as good as any speaker I ever heard.

I mean come on lads, even Monroe had her faults. It's just a matter of concentrating on the 'important' bits.
 
Sometimes a single fault, that may be minor or almost sortable for some folks, is a complete show stopper for someone else.

I'm that someone else. :)
It's OK, it's not a problem.
There are other speakers that do provide me with a wonderful 90% and a livewithable 10%.
 
On the subject of the treble quality, i'd also add that alignment of the aluminium driver makes a massive difference to the amount of distortion you get - it's not hard to adjust, but I found it was a back and forth process using measurements to get the distortion down to reasonable levels. I managed to knock 20-30db from the 2nd and 3rd harmonic distortion figures by tweaking the screws.

So, if you hear an old pair and decide the treble isn't for you, it might just indicate they need a service.
 
Cesare said:
On the subject of the treble quality, i'd also add that alignment of the aluminium driver makes a massive difference to the amount of distortion you get - it's not hard to adjust, but I found it was a back and forth process using measurements to get the distortion down to reasonable levels. I managed to knock 20-30db from the 2nd and 3rd harmonic distortion figures by tweaking the screws.

So, if you hear an old pair and decide the treble isn't for you, it might just indicate they need a service.
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How are your cabinets looking Cesare? Have you posted any pictures anywhere?
 
sideshowbob said:
How are your cabinets looking Cesare? Have you posted any pictures anywhere?
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There's a thread somewhere - yes, coming along nicely. I've ended up reconing them back to HPDs, and the cabinets are still my mockup ones made from cheap ply:

PXL_20210126_173024022 by Cesare Ferrari, on Flickr

Ports are on the bottom, as are the controls and speaker terminals which is one less thing to try and route cleanly given my limited woodworking skills and patience.
 
I have only listened to one Tannoy speaker, and it was immense. I have tried to find an image but cannot find anything that looks the same.
Fairly sure it was a concentric speaker, and must have been 15”+, cabinet was a very large box.
I have never seen a speaker so large in a home before, or heard anything soo loud (at 01:00 hrs.)

None of the images so far have been close to the size of the thing.

This was in Bristol, early nineties, having dinner and drinking at the home of John, who had played guitar in The Pop Group and a few A. Sherwood collectives. I presume the speaker was something he had used on stage (?) - he only had one. It wasn’t against a wall.

I don’t know about better, but I haven’t heard louder.

Unable to comment on the quality of the sound, or even what was playing, I was quite tipsy, and it was ages ago.
 
Rockmeister said:
Have been eyeing the SQ N150 with interest.
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I'd imagine the SQ-N150 would do the job nicely with 12" drivers.

My journey last year was Luxman L-590AX to Leben CS300XS to Luxman LX-380. What really drew me to the LX-380 was the combination of Luxman's LECUA technology and valves. In addition to controlling the 15" drivers better than the EL84 Leben, I also felt the LX-380 was cleaner sounding than the little Leben. I think LECUA brings a real transparency and purity to the sound.

If you can arrange it, perhaps demo both the SQ-N150 and LX-380 at home. You may well find with 12" drivers that the smaller amp does all you need. It would be an interesting comparison.
 
hermit said:
To anyone concerned about Tannoy treble glare or hardness, I would recommend RFC crossovers. The treble I enjoy is detailed and extended but in no way harsh or bright.
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They are wisely 'set' at the -1 energy setting...as are these
https://www.jkwynn.co.uk/Project_Images/HPD/mkIV_X_Over.pdf
as is the Paul Mills circuit.
I'm in the process of building some hard wired external xovers for my K series drivers and again the -1 energy level tap is best/preferred to my ears at least.
 
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