advertisement


Life After Tannoys

mickhick1

mickhick1

pfm Member
I've had my Turnberry SEs since 2012, have thoroughly enjoyed them and still do. However, recently my wife has been intimating that she would prefer something a bit less imposing, so I am considering moving on. Speakers that is, not wife. That would be more than I want to spend.:)
I like what DC speakers do and like the look of the Tannoy XT8F speakers, but I haven't heard any yet. I'm obviously willing to consider other floorstanders, but not really sure what.
I would like to sell the Turnberrys and not have to spend too much more to get their replacements, so around 2 - 2.5K, maybe a bit more. Obviously the XT8F are £1400, so easily doable and might go for a Karousel on the LP12 with any residual cash.
Has anyone here any experience of the XT8F or could suggest alternatives?
 
What does she not like, the size or the aesthetic? I can understand the latter, though they are pretty small speakers as far as floor-standers go and not that much larger than a typical stand-mount on its stand. How about swapping them out for a pair of Cheviots, which to my eyes have a far sharper, cleaner and more contemporary look despite being much the same size? I have to admit I’m not a huge fan of the Tannoy Prestige range aesthetic at all, looks kind of ‘70’s Dynatron’ to me, which is odd as Tannoys always used to be quite contemporary throughout their history, e.g. GRFs, Lancasters etc perfectly reflected their 1950s era, as did the far sharper and more minimal ‘70s models like the Arden, Cheviot etc. That ‘70s range is my favourite aesthetic, with grilles on it is just timeless mid-century modern/form dictated by function minimalism. Unashamedly a loudspeaker, but elegant in form too.
 
Hi Tony, I think it's a combination of both size and aesthetics. I know what you mean about the Prestige look, but I actually like it, and TBH to you and me they may not seem overly large, but compared to what most people have in their lounge they are pretty substantial.
She has recently seen me looking at some old Goodmans Dimension 8s and commented that they look nice and I think it is because they are actually quite contemporary looking, particularly considering they are an early 70s design. So it could be more the aesthetics.
A bit leftfield but I quite fancy the idea of Klipsch Heresys, but again I've never heard them.
One thing for sure is I won't rush into anything, selling the Turnberrys is probably going to be quite difficult, but is necessary before committing to anything else.
 
Maybe some Fynes?

Fyne-Audio-F502-darkoak.jpg
 
mickhick1 said:
She has recently seen me looking at some old Goodmans Dimension 8s and commented that they look nice and I think it is because they are actually quite contemporary looking, particularly considering they are an early 70s design.
Click to expand...

Goodmans Dimension 8 are certainly very ‘mid-century modern’, I think they look great, but I’ve never heard a pair. Not small either. May open the door to certain vintage Allison floor-standers, Vandersteen, DCM Time Windows etc, all of which would likely need refurbishment. Gale 401s are always a damn fine design statement too!

Heresys are very much their own thing and play by their own rules. Set up well with ideal partnering kit (valve) they can sound superb, but they do need to sit on the floor and like to be near or against a wall. As such you very much look down on the performance from the balcony, which isn’t for everyone. I really like them, but as with all classic PWK-era speakers you do have to consider them a valve-era speaker, they sound far too dry and shrill on typical solid state as do many really high efficiency speakers. Heresys look stunning in a dark wood veneer with wheat grilles IMO, totally Eames-era retro.
 
Maybe look at new, bespoke, cabinets that SWMBO would like? At the end of the day, the drivers just need boxes of the right volume etc.

Life after Turnberry cabinets?
 
The XT8F's are pretty universally loved, but compared to the 10" (? 12? I forget) of the turnberry's I fear you'll be disappointed. The fyne's are also a good suggestion.

I don't know if this would help but perhaps some DC10A's?? Kind of the same thing in a sleeker cab. They had some b-stock floating around at whore-level prices a few years ago, you might find some circulating.
 
My wife demanded after 4 happy years of Martin Logan summit x towering over our small lounge that they must go

After a brief spell with some floorstanders some lovely tannoy Eaton legacy arrived. They are quite small but really pack a punch. Amazing imaging and that lovely non fatiguing sound. You can find a pair for about 2.5k. No need to give up your tannoys .
 
If you contact hi fi guy who are tannoy dealers I think you might get a brilliant trade in for some Eaton legacy .I certainly was impressed

Paul benge in Hastings
 
Don’t know what the rest of your system is but going active ATCs may be doable & has potential of reducing box count thus building up future brownie points.
 
Hi mickhick1,

I have the XT8F and I enjoy them quite a bit; I drive them with Onix and Naim and I think that they sound really good without being too dry or bassy. I listen mainly rock and its derivations, the room is average living room size without sound treatment. Have in mind that the drivers are more like 7" and not 8".
Correct me if I am wrong, I think the Turnberry use the tulip wave guide whereas the XT8F are using the new Torus-Ogive guide however they sound very similar to me (I had an older Tannoys with tulips).

Shout if you have questions.
 
I lived with a pair of XT8Fs for a while. Great fun, really communicative and very musical. I liked them a lot, but compared to others at their price point they could be a tiny bit crude, slightly rough round the edges. That said, I'd take that slightly unrefined but musical approach over something nice but unengaging, every single time. For a £1500 speaker, they did fantastically well, but coming from Turnberries I think you'd notice, and it'd bug you. Given that you have a bigger budget, I'd look a little upmarket. Something from the Fyne Audio range would also be my recommendation. They've taken the basic Tannoy concepts and run with them them in some very rewarding ways, including dealing with some of those rough edges but at no loss to the fun factor.
 
mickhick,

Can you borrow a pair of Tannoy Westminster Royal SEs for a weekend or two? After that, your Turnberry SEs will look like mini monitors.

Sorry, that's all I've got.

Joe
 
The simple fact of life is that anyone who is not a Hifi enthusiast will think of a pair of Turnberrys as massive, ungainly and dated in appearance. I had a pair of Briks for 20 years and after a bit of redecoration, Mrs Mick put her foot down and said the Briks had to go because they dominated the room. Working on the principle of "happy wife means happy life" I sold the Briks on and replaced them with a set of Shahinian Arcs which do look smarter and are much smaller. They do actually sound remarkably good and I cannot see myself ever replacing them.

If you want a world class s*** hot sounding system you got to have really big speakers with your listening seat placed in the perfect position which will often involve a less than attractive layout. If you are married or living with someone else, you have to have a bit of latitude and take their wishes into account. I now have an even more happy wife and with the Arcs being omnidirectional, I can sit where ever I like. It actually was a win-win event.
 
I've owned Dimension 8's and they are interesting speakers to listen to and cast an exceptionally wide soundstage that's great for off-axis listening, but I doubt they will be as resolving as your current Tannoys.
 
Since everyone else has the different Tannoys suggestions nailed, can I throw a couple of more curved ball suggestions into the mix?
Buchardt A500 active stand mount: https://www.buchardtaudio.com/products/a500-black-bundle
Darko seems to like his. A lot: https://darko.audio/2020/09/a-long-film-about-the-buchardt-audio-a500/

Another curved ball, just because I like omni speakers: Larsen model 4 or 6: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/larsen-model-62-loudspeaker/

Also, in a more Tannoy, DC vein, consider one of the newish KEF R5 or R7?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top