Falcon LS35a to Tannoy Eaton

[hifinutt]

Do you think they can play to a similar volume as my current Tablette 10's? I'd probably get along with them if they can.

at the bristol show there was 2 big Ram floorstanders and playing next to them was the Falcon Ls3 speakers , most people thought it was the floorstanders playing. pretty big sound from them but of course they do have their limitations

 

[Tony L]

Do you think they can play to a similar volume as my current Tablette 10's? I'd probably get along with them if they can.

The Tablettes will have more volume capability, they have higher power handling and are more efficient. I’d expect them to match your Naim kit better too. Do you like the Tablettes? If so I’d be very tempted to look at the ProAc Response range. Just an inch bigger in bass driver brings a lot more surface area, so moving to a slightly bigger speaker will actually bring a lot more volume capability.

The LS3/5A is a special speaker for sure, but it really does have a tightly defined usage context and only really shows its full potential with a certain type of kit upstream IMO. To my mind its main selling point is you can use a really nice valve amp, and very, very few mini-monitors allow this. Move much outside of this near-field and valve/class A context and it starts to look quite poor value. It is a cult item because it fulfils a certain niche perfectly.

 

[Tarzan]

@Tony L How were the ProAc D1 may l ask- you do not see too much of them on the net.

 

[hifinutt]

yes very rarely mentioned on FB group either

 

[amazement]

The Tablettes will have more volume capability, they have higher power handling and are more efficient. I’d expect them to match your Naim kit better too. Do you like the Tablettes? If so I’d be very tempted to look at the ProAc Response range. Just an inch bigger in bass driver brings a lot more surface area, so moving to a slightly bigger speaker will actually bring a lot more volume capability.

The LS3/5A is a special speaker for sure, but it really does have a tightly defined usage context and only really shows its full potential with a certain type of kit upstream IMO. To my mind its main selling point is you can use a really nice valve amp, and very, very few mini-monitors allow this. Move much outside of this near-field and valve/class A context and it starts to look quite poor value. It is a cult item because it fulfils a certain niche perfectly.

My Tablettes are really good but I think the system upstream has more to show that the tabs can't reveal. I like how they produce a nice detailed image, don't sound bloated (sealed box) which worries me about ported speakers Tannoys included as I really don't get on too well with ports.

 

[Tony L]

@Tony L How were the ProAc D1 may l ask- you do not see too much of them on the net.

I liked them. Unfamiliar system, and heard in comparison with Kef LS50s. I preferred the D1, but the price difference between them is quite significant. To be honest I always like small ProAcs and always have done. As ever a lot depends on the room, the ProAcs are port-loaded and can boom in certain environment in a way a really good sealed box just doesn’t.

 

[Tony L]

My Tablettes are really good but I think the system upstream has more to show that the tabs can't reveal. I like how they produce a nice detailed image, don't sound bloated (sealed box) which worries me about ported speakers Tannoys included as I really don't get on too well with ports.

The bigger the speaker the less aggressive and intrusive the port loading IME. I have no idea about the Legacy Eton, but proper big Tannoys tend to be very well behaved despite a port. Small ported ProAcs want to be a long way from any boundary IME. I’ve owned both Tablette 50 Sigs and Ref 8 Sigs and both are certainly capable of booming in the wrong position, but sound great well away from walls. I used the 50 Sigs with a full Naim rig and they were very good indeed. I went to them after Isobariks as I wanted something a little more friendly for a That London flat. In that room they worked great, but moving back to a smaller room in Liverpool they were just hopeless, just constant boom as the port loading was on the room node. I’m a firm believer in picking a system that works in a given room, and I’d always change speaker before sticking a load of digital crap in the middle of an analogue signal path etc (not that it even existed back then), so they went and I used Kan IIs for a while. As such I’d just try whatever you can in your room with an open mind. Given you are listing current models I assume the idea is to buy new, so I’d try and get a few options on loan.

PS Please don’t fear ported ProAcs due to what I wrote above, if they suit the room they can be truly stunning.

 

[hifinutt]

My Tablettes are really good but I think the system upstream has more to show that the tabs can't reveal. I like how they produce a nice detailed image, don't sound bloated (sealed box) which worries me about ported speakers Tannoys included as I really don't get on too well with ports.

the eatons have front ports ... not once had to use bungs or anything . extremely well controlled bass . when i get some dosh i may well get some nice sa-01 monoblocks from stefan . hope a demo unit will come soon so i can report back . the tannoys thrive on class D

https://www.hifiwigwam.com/forum/topic/148258-new-kjf-audio-amp/

https://www.kjfaudio.com/product/sa-01-mono-power-amplifier/#amp-module

 

[John]

If you like the characteristics of Tannoy, why not consider the smaller ones? I’ve got 15 and 10 inch versions but would have considered smaller ones for my other applications. These look interesting:

https://mediadl.musictribe.com/media/PLM/data/docs/P0D9V/TANNOY_REVOLUTION XT 6-GB P0D9V_Product Information Document.pdf

 

[Goat]

I think a very basic thing to consider is what sort of music you listen to, small monitors like the Falcon are really the preserve of small scale music, I wouldn't bother considering them for anything else. I tried Spendor sr3 once, I couldn;t believe how dead they sounded, then went up to SPendor a4 floorstanders, not much better! It really is all very music dependent. If your tastes are broad, I would say Tannoy, but why not widen your search?

I used to assume this was the case. But now owning some Spendor 4/5s (regrettably not heard an actual LS3/5a like the Falcons), then my eyes were opened to how satisfying they are on unlikely genres like electronica and pop. There's decent enough scale, particularly near to near ish field (I sit 6ft away in a 4x4.5m room), but the speed, tautness, cohesiveness and imaging make pop and electronica utterly engaging, and just easy to listen to.

And obviously on acoustic or smaller scale music more traditionally associated with them, they are magical, particularly in relation to tone and colour.

The only genres they could do with a bit more oomph is on rock and big orchestral stuff. But even then, they still produce a really enjoyable, engaging rendition.

Glowing review of the Falcon LS3/5a Gold Badge in January issue of Hi Fi Choice, worth a read.

 

[Elephantears]

I use RFC modded original Eatons in a 4.5 x 3.5m room, firing down with more than a metre behind them. This makes the set-up somewhere in between near and mid-field. For me this has the benefits of near field, but with just enough bass to get some impact. I get far better scale than I would with mini-monitors, but just as good imaging. It's a good compromise for my modest room. With your 5 x 4m room I suspect Cheviots would work well, but it all depends on layout and placement. If you've already covered this, apologies for not reading the thread thoroughly, but perhaps say a little about whether you are firing down or across, how much room you have to bring them into the room etc.

Unfortunately I'm also skeptical about the Eatons with Naim amps, but perhaps with the legacy Eatons it might work ok. I heard mine with a Supernait briefly and didn't like it, but that was before I had essential mods done. The original Eatons are very studio-like in their FR balance and really need some attention to a notch between 3-4Khz. So it might have been that this was the worst possible match with Naim, which I think tend to add a little spice in the presence region. From what I've read about the Legacy Eatons, and the graphs I've seen, they seem to be a little subdued in that region, IIRC.

 

[Seanm]

yes timber was Wickes hemlock staircase bannisters , easily available and easy to cut to correct size

then 4 argos chopping boards again , cut to size . these were actually made for the shl5plus but i adapted them . all you do is screw in the legs to the chopping boards and several layers of briwax and elbow grease

P1050197 by , on Flickr

P1050204 by , on Flickr

P1050199 by , on Flickr

Ingenious. But do you mean the staircase spindle?

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Contemporary-Hemlock-Spindle---41-x-900mm/p/128401

 

[amazement]

I use RFC modded original Eatons in a 4.5 x 3.5m room, firing down with more than a metre behind them. This makes the set-up somewhere in between near and mid-field. For me this has the benefits of near field, but with just enough bass to get some impact. I get far better scale than I would with mini-monitors, but just as good imaging. It's a good compromise for my modest room. With your 5 x 4m room I suspect Cheviots would work well, but it all depends on layout and placement. If you've already covered this, apologies for not reading the thread thoroughly, but perhaps say a little about whether you are firing down or across, how much room you have to bring them into the room etc.

Unfortunately I'm also skeptical about the Eatons with Naim amps, but perhaps with the legacy Eatons it might work ok. I heard mine with a Supernait briefly and didn't like it, but that was before I had essential mods done. The original Eatons are very studio-like in their FR balance and really need some attention to a notch between 3-4Khz. So it might have been that this was the worst possible match with Naim, which I think tend to add a little spice in the presence region. From what I've read about the Legacy Eatons, and the graphs I've seen, they seem to be a little subdued in that region, IIRC.

If I go Tannoy I’d be looking at new legacy Eatons.

 

[Elephantears]

If I go Tannoy I’d be looking at new legacy Eatons.

Then I withdraw those two paragraphs. In fact I refute their existence entirely.

 

[hifinutt]

Ingenious. But do you mean the staircase spindle?

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Contemporary-Hemlock-Spindle---41-x-900mm/p/128401

that is the one

 

[hifinutt]

Was thinking of getting some Tannoy Eatons - legacy - myself,but about half of what I listen is not what I'd call typical audiophile music, stuff like punk, I do listen to a fair amount of jazz as well, though this is not as easy going as people assume, with high peaks in the horn instruments. I tried Audio Note Js, but found those a tad bright, or is it revealing? How do Eatons compare?

eatons can play anything and sound good. I play classical, dub step, electronica, jazz , vocal

 

[Tony L]

Was thinking of getting some Tannoy Eatons - legacy - myself,but about half of what I listen is not what I'd call typical audiophile music, stuff like punk, I do listen to a fair amount of jazz as well, though this is not as easy going as people assume, with high peaks in the horn instruments. I tried Audio Note Js, but found those a tad bright, or is it revealing? How do Eatons compare?

Again I can’t speak for any of the Legacy range as I’ve not heard them, but the vast majority of UK punk and new wave will have been recorded and mastered through proper big Tannoys as they were the industry standard in the UK at that time period. You will find very little UK music between the 1950s and mid to late ‘80s that sounds wrong on them. I have a large new-wave collection with a fair few punk records and they tend to sound great. There is something about the simplicity and punch of these recordings that really shines through big Tannoys. Gang Of Four, PIL, Slits, Magazine, absolutely anything on Factory etc really sounds superb. As does jazz, and I’ll happily listen to Coltrane’s Ascension, Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz, Anthony Braxton etc, so not ‘easy listening’. They are truly great speakers. Not perfect, no speaker is, but they certainly get the important bits right and believable.

 

[hifinutt]

Playing George Benson the ghetto , the drums have that superb realism, that lovely ring. His voice is balanced and real , instruments have lovely separation and so non fatiguing. Really bounces along with boogie factor .

I suspect the modwright modded valve dac assists in all this , but certainly the eatons are singing. !!!!

 

[hifinutt]

Yes I use a bel canto pre 3 with a Sean Jacobs dc3 psu which has made a big difference into some humble class d icepower monoblocks . It should not sound as good but it does !!!

I have to confess the eatons are not as good as the Martin Logan summit x that used to reside here !!! But then they cost about 4 times more , are 6 foot high with massive soundstage and bass to die for .....anyway swmbo ( my phone wants to put Rambo!!) Had her sweet way and so the more wife friendly eatons have been here a few years now

Only some verity audio personal anniversary would replace these Eaton but I think they are 20k ish....

 

[Tony L]

Not sure if you've heard any Audio Note or Snell type speakers,if so how do Tannoys compare? I find AN Type k/j a bit on the lean side, which emphasises the treble, so at times they sound bright and hence fatiguing, also not great which big orchestral.

Again, bare in mind my Tannoys are huge Lockwood studio monitors, I haven’t heard Legacy Etons. I like the Snell-derived Audio Notes, they are nice speakers, the Audio Note room always sounds amongst the best at shows etc, but beyond that I have no comparison for you.

Others who have heard the Etons can make far more sense of things. My only word of caution is the small Tannoys I do know (LRMs, LGMs etc) can sound very bass-light in some systems. To my mind Tannoys are big speakers, and I have to admit if I was looking at the new range I’d be paying the most attention to the Arden. I also suspect it is by far the best value. When I first saw the pricing my reaction was that the Eton was rather expensive and the Arden rather cheap. I’ve no idea how that plays out in practice as I only know the ‘70s HPDs upon which they are loosely based.