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Amp for tannoys part2

I’ve had my DMT 15’s for 12 years and they have performed well with both an Exposure 15 integrated (Class AB) and now Sonos Amp (Class D).
 
Old Shatterhand said:
I'm really wondering how you come to this sound impressions. I know we have had this before but because you recommend Sugden in every "what amplifier" thread and for every speaker. I feel free to post my impressions to for a balanced point of view.

I have had the completely opposite impression from 3 different Sugden amplifier (A21SE, Masterclass AA Monos + PRE, Optima 200). None of them was very fast nor very dynamic or with grunt.

I also have never ever read any review or post from another person (except you) who described Sugden with this attributes. :eek:

.
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I found the A21SE to be a fast and dynamic amp, far more so than the A21 or A21a. I'd probably choose an A21a over the SE with the Tannoys, but what do I know.
 
It is all relative, if I compare to Naim or my sold B.M.C. CS2. If you compare to a valve amp the dynamic might be very good in comparison. But again, no offense because the Sugden AMPs have also strengths in sound for me as described.
 
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Marchbanks' Radford STA15/25 valve amp sounded smooth and spacious driving 15" Amesburys, IanW got an amazing sound from his Copper amp into Canterburys....
 
maccar said:
@Rockmeister, did you check out that Accuphase E470 I mentioned earlier?
Mac
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Thank you Mac yes...is it yours or are you an Accuphase pimp? :)

As mentioned upthread, for a month I'll be building the speakers, and a month after that listening to the Luxman 505 to see if that works well.
It'll be April before I start to search out a shortlist to audition.
Class A. MM or MM/MC phono stage, integrated and somewhere between 20 and 35wpc.
probably :)
 
The amps I most enjoyed with my Chatsworths were Eastern Electric Mini Max pre and power. Only 8 watts but sounded beautiful. Very underestimated amplifiers in my opinion.

I’d probably stick them on my increasing long list of hifi I should not have sold/would like to own again.
 
Some days I fancy a 60's / 70's pre power valve combo, all glowy and romantic and lovely.
And then on more pragmatic days, and remembering I'm now old and lazy, I fancy something new, easy, reliable and functional :)
To be honest you are right about the 550/590. I heard them a few times and they are at least = to Accuphase, have a phono stage and a headphone amp and tone controls and meters, and
cost about 1/4 to 1/3rd less.
But one has to experiment a bit. It's good for the soul:)
 
Rockmeister said:
Thank you Mac yes...is it yours or are you an Accuphase pimp? :)

As mentioned upthread, for a month I'll be building the speakers, and a month after that listening to the Luxman 505 to see if that works well.
It'll be April before I start to search out a shortlist to audition.
Class A. MM or MM/MC phono stage, integrated and somewhere between 20 and 35wpc.
probably :)
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No, not mine mate, but I did used to own an E470 and could easily still be using it, but had an offer to exchange for Accuphase pre/power and yes I'm a pimp lol!
Mac
www.realmusicnet.wordpress.com
 
I have posted this before but if you own vintage Tannoys it is essential reading.If you want to get the best out of them you need to use amps which are more current drive than voltage drive.As the article says nearly everybody will prefer the sound of current drive.Unfortunately most speakers are not designed to be used with current drive amps.But the vintage Tannoys are.So you should do yourself a favour and use that type of amp.
http://education.lenardaudio.com/en/12_amps_8.html

The Tannoy Monitor Gold 12 has a near perfect impedance curve--basically flat 10 ohms through the entire bass region.That sort of curve is perfect for current drive /highish output impedence/low damping factor type amplifiers .
 
jtgofish said:
I have posted this before but if you own vintage Tannoys it is essential reading.If you want to get the best out of them you need to use amps which are more current drive than voltage drive .
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Can you list half a dozen ‘current drive’ amps, valve probably or SS , integrated, with a MM phono stage and in budget for me to hear?
 
I'm a bit late to this but here is my two penneth .

I had 12" MG's ( rubber surround ) in Chatsworth cabs . I found they hated modern high damping factor solid state amps , I tried Luxman L550 A2 and Sugden masterclass pre power amps .

I had a love hate relationship with the Tannoy / Luxman combo , glorious mids but the bottom end seem to be strangled and disjointed . The Sugden was terrible all round , this is not to say they are bad amps both sounded lovely with the a pair of Sonus Fabers I had at the same time .

I Found that using solid state amps from the same era were a better match , I had great success with an Accuphase E203 , some early Sansui's sounded nice too . If I did it all again I would like to try Tannoy's with Pass amps .
 
Rockmeister said:
Can you list half a dozen ‘current drive’ amps, valve probably or SS , integrated, with a MM phono stage and in budget for me to hear?
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Well there a plenty of old 1960s valve receivers and integrated amps with built in phono stages.A reconditioned Sansui, Pioneer,Sony,Fisher,Trio etc would be worth a try.
But what is wrong with using a separate compact phono stage?
 
early said:
I'm a bit late to this but here is my two penneth .

I had 12" MG's ( rubber surround ) in Chatsworth cabs . I found they hated modern high damping factor solid state amps , I tried Luxman L550 A2 and Sugden masterclass pre power amps .

I had a love hate relationship with the Tannoy / Luxman combo , glorious mids but the bottom end seem to be strangled and disjointed . The Sugden was terrible all round , this is not to say they are bad amps both sounded lovely with the a pair of Sonus Fabers I had at the same time .

I Found that using solid state amps from the same era were a better match , I had great success with an Accuphase E203 , some early Sansui's sounded nice too . If I did it all again I would like to try Tannoy's with Pass amps .
Click to expand...

I have tried using Pass Labs/First Watt amps with Tannoys.By no means bad but you can do a lot better.The First Watt F5 was OK but pretty boring and lacking in vibrancy and bass was over-damped.the First Watt SIT amps could be OK.People have commented on them being close to the Bakoons in sound.
 
It would mean three boxes rather than a single box but.... if I had £5k to spend I'd go for something like a restored Radford STA25, partnered with a second hand Music First Audio TVC passive pre, leaving you with maybe £1500 to spend on a very decent phono stage of your choice.

You'd have to go a helluva long way to beat that IMHO!
 
early said:
I'm a bit late to this but here is my two penneth .

I had 12" MG's ( rubber surround ) in Chatsworth cabs . I found they hated modern high damping factor solid state amps , I tried Luxman L550 A2 and Sugden masterclass pre power amps .

I had a love hate relationship with the Tannoy / Luxman combo , glorious mids but the bottom end seem to be strangled and disjointed . The Sugden was terrible all round , this is not to say they are bad amps both sounded lovely with the a pair of Sonus Fabers I had at the same time .

I Found that using solid state amps from the same era were a better match , I had great success with an Accuphase E203 , some early Sansui's sounded nice too . If I did it all again I would like to try Tannoy's with Pass amps .
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Early is late again :)
Sry.
Is the Pass comment because you know that the Pass damping factor and etc should suit? Or just an educated guess as to sound quality?
 
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