Amp pairing with Tannoy Turnberry?


Hi all!

Going to be picking up a pair of Tannoy Turnberry speakers in the near future, and was looking at some various options for integrated amplifiers. There are a couple on my radar and was wondering if anyone who owns the speakers has any insight. 

1. Primaluna EVO 300 or 400 - torn on whether the extra $ warrants going for the 400 over the 300. I had a Primaluna + Tannoy pairing some years ago and loved it, so immediately thought of this one.

2. NAT audio single HPS v2 - this is at the very top end of what I could consider budget wise. I have heard this amp, but not with the tannoys. It sounds incredible to me, but I'm not sure if it would play nice with the Turnberry speakers and don't have the ability to test one at home. 

From what I've hard of the NAT, I'm thinking it may be the better option, but maybe there is a better solid state in the price range I'm looking at. Ideally, I'd like to stay in the 5-6k range, but willing to stretch a little bit more for something I will be happy with for the forseeable future. 

Thanks for any insight.

mmcgill829

Showing 2 responses by mulveling

For warmer sounding amps (something that would complement the Turnberry), I would look for amps run will 6L6 or KT66 tubes. I would tend to avoid KT88 amps because the tendency to have a "hard" or "brittle" sound might exaggerate the slight tendency toward sibilance of the Turnberry. Of course a 300B pushpull or single-ended amp will have the right tonal qualities, but, the issue would be sufficient power. I personally don’t listen at very high volumes so my compromises would be in favor of low-powered alternatives, but, this is a personal decision.

These days, not that many amps are made with KT66 or 6L6 tubes because they have a lower output than other similar tubes making it harder to sell in a market driven by output specification. But, to me, they are the best sounding tubes of tetrode/pentode types. I also like EL84 amps, which are often the tube of choice in lower cost amps, but can still deliver lievly and punchy sound without being thin tonally.

This is a very good point. The Tannoy horn tweeters can get a bit sharp up top, especially on some vintage pop / rock vinyl. The KT66 / 6L6GC has a sweet sound that is a good complement, but the current hifi amp market largely ignores these tube types. I often use KT88 / KT120 amps on my Tannoys, but sometimes wish for something a tad sweeter.

I wish it were more common to see really nice modern amps (auto-bias circuitry, large transformers, premium parts, no 12AU7’s) made with MULTIPLE push pull pairs of EL34/KT66/6L6GC to hit say ~ 100 Watts.

My experience with EL34/KT66/6L6GC is years ago on Kensington SE (93dB). I had a few vintage amps restored, which used these tubes. Good for 20 - 35 Watts per side. Really sweet sound, but at the end of the day that's not quite enough power for me. I listen loud. Sure 8 Watts can get loud on SOME material, but the dynamics will be softened/compressed and you'll start to hit hard clipping on more dynamic recordings. 

If I were OP I’d be tempted to try the Manley Snappers for sale at TMR (probably listed here too). 100 Watts of sweet EL34, and Ms Manley herself is a lifelong Tannoy aficionado.

For what it’s worth I agree Tannoys can thrive with either tubes or SS. I’m still in love with what the Phison A2.120SE bring to the table for my Canterburys.