Experience with Tannoy Westminster Royal Gold Reference

From the reviews i’ve read, the holy grail to match with these speakers is the Kondo SET mono blocks if you have the coin. Otherwise Audio Note make some very nice mono’s at a more approachable price. For a front end, I really like the Kronos Sparta or Reference tables...great decks. Btw, Kondo make some nice cables. Personally I use Jorma Design which sound natural and harmonically rich.

Hddg, the Tannoys are highly efficient speakers aren’t they? If you’re looking for SS amps which sound musical & tube-like, i’d check out Vitus Audio Signature series and Pass XS series. Dartzeel also make some nice gear.

hddg OP14 posts10-14-2016 7:23pmI guess the likes of FM Acoustics and other very good AB amps are the exception to the rule, but again the prices are stratospheric. I heard the best of Ayre, very good amps but does not beat the Coincident Dragon MkII, so that would not be an upgrade!! I think Vitus, Pass, Boulder, Gryphon, Soulution and the likes will be the way.
Can we agree on this??

From all that you’ve described hddg, and having owned or heard many of the amps you mentioned, I think you would most like the Vitus SS-103 - http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/172886/vitus-ss-103-debuts-at-munich-high-end, or a 2nd hand Vitus SS-102 - http://www.vitusaudio.com/en/114879-SS-102. Vitus aims for a sound which offers the best of both worlds between tube and ss which is non-fatiguing and natural. That is a good summary. If your finances don’t reach that high, I would look at a new Wells Audio Innamorata Signature -  @$15kUSD which is a very musical sounding amp.

Hddg, that does sound like a good deal on the Gryphon Mephisto mono's. And no question they are great amps. Though I don't agree the Mephisto mono's are a grade superior to Gryphon. I can tell you, Vitus's factory is SOTA, and arguably superior to even Boulder. Virus designs his gear to achieve a sound which offers the best of SS, Class A, zero NFB design, with a natural/organic tube-like quality. He also designs his amps to be non-fatiguing. 

Fyi, Vitus will be releasing new SM-103 mono's, probably by early next year based on the SS-103 stereo amp which should be around $60kEUR. Like the SS-103, they will operate in pure Class A with Zero NFB & feature Intelligent Class A bias' & two tunable modes 'Classic' and 'Rock'. They will absolutely compete with the Gryphon amps on any metric. Though I wouldn't pair Vitus monos with a tube preamp. Rule of thumb: Vitus sounds best with Vitus. Sound-wise, I think you'd find Vitus sounds more organic and tube-like compared to Gryphon, but still with PLENTY on control, speed and resolution. Just with a more natural presentation. Just another option to consider...

hddg OP15 posts10-17-2016 6:59pmThanks Melbguy1. I can go to some USD60k, and actually i am having a great and rare opportunity around that price for a pair of brand new Gryphon Mephisto Solo (230V) from Europe, that’s the monoblock version, with 200W ClassA with zero NF

According to XE.com, $60,000 USD = €54,511.64EUR, so he is not far off the mark. Also, Vitus is made in Denmark so he would be able to access better pricing than in the US. Besides that, personally given the choice I would prefer to own a Vitus SS-103 & SL-103 preamp over the Gryphon Mephisto solo & Pandora pre. But in the end, this is all subjective.

Hddg, I think that is a pretty safe deal on the Gryphons as even if you later sell them, you should not lose much money. As I said, they are great amps. I was just trying to let you know that Vitus should be releasing new SM-103 mono's early in the new year which will be more powerful, faster/more dynamic, more resolving etc, and a bit more neutral than the SM-102's. MSRP doesn't dictate the performance or musicality of an amp. Just sayin'. Enjoy the Gryphons..

hddg, if you pick up the pair of Mephisto amps up FS on the ’Gon right now, you will do very well. They are great amps as I said & will sound great for many years to come. I just had to correct some apparent misconceptions about Vitus amps which I know are equally, if not even better engineered than the Gryphon amps & have equal merit depending on one’s tastes and equipment of course.

JF runs a business, and as you correctly pointed out, some reviewers ’get in bed’ with manufacturers for what I would describe as mutual back scratching. Nuff said. Enjoy the Gryphons!

hddg, First of all, Is Jeff Fritz and this loyal followers the "many" people to which you refer who prefer the Mephisto solo amps over the Vitus MP-M201 mono’s? Lol! I like Jeff, but let’s just say you only have half the story. There is a very specific reason why JF doesn’t review or praise any Vitus products, but I’m not going to go into that here. Let’s just say that his views on Gryphon vs Boulder are not objective.

Re: The release of the SM-103 monos, yes they incorporate much of the Masterpiece series technology, but also some new technology which is now being ’filtered up’ to the MP series. Hence the Masterpiece series will still remain VA’s flagship line.

Pass XS series is good, but they are not on the same level as Vitus or Gryphon.

No I have not personally heard the Gryphon Mephisto solo amps. Nor have you heard the Vitus SM-102 monos or MP-S201. But we can agree MSRP does not dictate how musical an amplifier may sound in a given setup.

Hddg, they are dream amps! Congratulations. In my apartment situation, I have some space limitations, so I have a relatively simple, high quality system comprising a pair of Magico S5 Mk2's, Vitus SCD-025 Mk2 (cdp/dac), Vitus SIA-025, Gigawatt conditioner, Stillpoints & Jorma Prime/Statement cables. I've got upgrade plans for next year on the amplification side, AC power and isolation. So my system is a work in progress.

Ps: Yes I would go for the euro example even at a premium. Will you be posting a 'Virtual system' when your new amps are installed?

@hddg, I plan to finish my Virtual system on here once my current system is setup after a long break (hopefully in the next few wks).
Good supports are important. I use Taoc ASR series II racks with FE Cerabase Classic feet & heavier SCB-RS-HC50G boards for my amp & cdp, alongside Stillpoints Ultra 6’s, Ultra LPI’s & Ultra Mini’s for my Oppo. I’ve found Stillpoints very effective in my system. They work very well under my Vitus gear, improving bass, image focus & resolution. I’ve also found they are neutral (ie: they don't have any tonal color of their own like Harmonix devices tend to).
I’ve got exciting plans for 2017, but just have to enjoy the present! Anyway, this thread is about Experience with Tannoy Westminster Royal Gold Reference speakers...back to usual programming.