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Dilemma: Klipsch Cornwall IV vs Tannoy Kensington SE

Juancho said:
Hi Mike
I would strongly suggest you audition the Orchard Audio GAN stereo or monoblock amps. These are the closest thing to a high class tube amp you’ll find but run cool and hardly use any juice. They run my upgraded Mastersound PSE Monoblocks very close. OK, they’ve got far more potential watts than you’ll ever need, but they need 5v for full output so they work a dream with my tube preamp which is set for around 3v output giving good range on the volume pot. I'm driving them with my own brand NOS DAC and tube preamp so they are fed a very quality source.
As you may recall, I built some Neurochrome 686s but these are very pedestrian by comparison to the Orchards and the formers feedforward system gave some strange artefacts to the music. The Orchards just play tunes and reveal timing, inner detail and musicality in abundance. They are available on sale or return basis so nothing to lose by trying.
As I said in the other thread, do try a T Amp. My 2005 Charlize runs the Orchards close but of course has less depth in the lower regions and less dynamics.
Looking back at the beginning of this thread, you mentioned the Cornwalls having less warmth than the Tannoys and I would urge you to upgrade the crossovers-caps resistors- and add damping on the mid and treble horns as I did. This turns a great speaker into an extraordinary speaker.

David
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If I wasn't so deeply into building my own power amps, I would be serious considering the various GAN amps, as everyone seems to rate them very highly. As it is, I'm pretty happy with my DIY efforts, which is why I was pleased to discover I could go back to using my own power amps, with the tube preamp sitting up front.

And yes, I do intend to do that crossover upgrade eventually. I'm in the middle of a bunch of projects right now, but once some of those get done, I'll get started on those mods to the Cornwall IV.

Finally, I do intend to experiment with some of the other amps around the house, just to see how they fair. I remember being very impressed with a certain quality of that cheap Sonic-T amp, which I think is still kicking around somewhere. :)
 
Locheeboy said:
Vintage Tannoy Ardens coupled with Prima Luna pre and power amps (mono blocks). Ye can take them to the grave...and they last forever...so mebbe not need the grave...:cool:
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I did audition one of the bigger Prima Luna integrated amps, comparing it against the Cary. If it presented the "house sound", then my ears prefer something different. 🤷‍♂️

Its presentation was very "beautiful", but completely bereft of rhythmic flow and energy. The fellow who brought it for the audition said the Prima Luna would have faired better if it had the same KT150 power tubes that the Cary does. However, that's what I wanted to get away from when considering the Prima Luna as an alternative.
 
Mike Hanson said:
If I wasn't so deeply into building my own power amps, I would be serious considering the various GAN amps, as everyone seems to rate them very highly. As it is, I'm pretty happy with my DIY efforts, which is why I was pleased to discover I could go back to using my own power amps, with the tube preamp sitting up front.

And yes, I do intend to do that crossover upgrade eventually. I'm in the middle of a bunch of projects right now, but once some of those get done, I'll get started on those mods to the Cornwall IV.

Finally, I do intend to experiment with some of the other amps around the house, just to see how they fair. I remember being very impressed with a certain quality of that cheap Sonic-T amp, which I think is still kicking around somewhere. :)
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Orchard do a DIY version of their GAN amps. Nothing you have previously built will compare believe me.......
 
Mike Hanson said:
That's also why I don't play vinyl much. It's a total PITA. I realize there are some who love the ritual, but I just want to cruise through my music collection, and not think about everything. Once I futz over getting everything setup, I don't enjoy ongoing hassles. ;)
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I can understand this, I sold my tt, all my vinyl collection which was started 50yrs ago, best thing I've done. My system is a 2nd system in our household, so have tried to simplify as much as possible, but I've gone down the valve route and Quad 57's. Recently purchased an Eversolo A8 to replace my A6, but still to compare the internal dac with my Soekris 2541. The A6 goes with me when I go abroad, I have a small set-up which is left there, but won't have to be brought back next time I go.
 
Mike Hanson said:
I've compared the Modulus-686 against Avondale amps many times now, and the differences are really clear. As you noted, the 686 has an astonishing ability to present details seemingly perfectly; it delves deep into the bass with an astonishingly articulate grip. Unfortunately it doesn't have the "boogie" factor of Avondale amps.

In comparison, even though the SE200 is a more fun and enjoyable experience, it doesn't do some things as well as the 686 (as noted above). Given the choice between the two, I usually prefer the SE200, but whenever I switch to it, I do feel bad for losing those benefits.

Given I keep leaning towards the Avondale presentation, I continually debate with myself whether I should just sell the 686, and it's not gone yet. ;)
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Yes I know what you mean

Been listening to the SE400's in my test rig for the last few weeks now and the sound signature would be very hard to give up. Switching permanently back to other amplifiers, for example the NCC220's, SE200's or the internal amplifiers in the Naim Atom (which incidentally are pretty good despite their rather meagre 40W of output) would be hard to do. The SE400's have the bounce or boogie factor that you talk about (in spades) but also the levels of detail/soundstaging/bass delivery that you associate with a really good system. Whether as good as what you hear in your modulus amps I don't know but as a package the SE400 is very good indeed.
 
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