You are most welcome. Glad I was able to find it and help out. |
Hi All. I'm just writing to update
this thread and thank david_ten who recently shot me a soft copy of the user
guide for the Tanto v2. I haven’t had much time yet to
go through the manual, but it is more than a few pages and will be great as a
reference. I truly
appreciate David contacting me and taking the time to organize and send the
guide my way. THANK YOU, David!!!
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Also....I did finally hear from JP – unfortunately he does not
have any manuals for the Tantos and no info on where I may get a copy. So I’ll keep open the hunt.
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@trelja ,
Thank you so much for the kind and informative
response! Very interesting hearing your
experiences with JP and Robert Gaboury.
My email exchange with Mr. Gaboury showed him to be generous with his
time and supportive of my interest in the speakers even though I had bought
them used and the company had long since disbanded. I appreciated that.
I hear you about your impressions of the
Tantos. I'll need to spend time
treating my room before I can begin to make any real conclusions regarding their low end. They seem to have a powerful impact around
40hz and do go low even in my smallish room so there seems to be some potential. And I do like
their overall sound quite a bit.
If you have a chance, I am curious as to what
speakers you can “live” with? I am sure
they would be quite good.
Thanks again. |
@swingfingers thank you, as well.
Yes, I had a pair of the original Gemme Tanto. I didn’t have much interest in another pair of loudspeakers, and just sort of happened into them. I had a line of amplifiers, and at shows, you know it takes two to tango. Based on a friend involved in an ultra high-end amplifier company also in Quebec who also used them at the Montreal Show with his own side project line of loudspeakers, they approached me about a pair of tube mono blocks to use at the same show the following year. They liked them enough to ask to keep the pair, and show them with their loudspeakers going forward. In lieu of a cash payment, they offered a pair of Tantos, which I found a reasonable deal. At the time, I only dealt with JP.
I found their aesthetic particularly good. The piano finish on the attractive and unique veneer, small footprint, and silhouette all garnered praise from both me and my wife. You've probably noticed their surprising weight, due to the the unique cabinetry required to execute their bass alignment. In my system, they performed fine. I didn’t get the revolutionary / stupendous bass response claimed, but maybe because I’m used to actual serious bass response that come from far larger drivers. The Tantos definitely put out impressive lows for such a small driver. They require a good amount of power, which was no problem for me. I noticed many wanted to employ lower powered amplifiers with them, such as 211 / 845 SET amplifiers, which I remember as the type Gemme got from me. You make a good point in regard to their timbre. I found it disappointing so many highly regarded loudspeakers (and amplifiers) just cannot provide natural tonality. Overall, I found them a nice alternative to the overly forward, edgy sound so many products over the past two decades feature. I apologize if I don’t sound as enthusiastic as you may have hoped. I have to admit that for whatever reason having an overcritical ear when it comes to loudspeakers, and have not been able to live with all but a handful. For example, so far all of my experience with Magico leaves me with the feeling I would never want a pair. So it’s not related to cost. I kept the Tantos for a year or two, then sold them to a friend who I found out happened to want a pair. Again, right place at the right time.
I met Robert Gaboury a couple of years later, and we spent a fair amount of time together at an audio show over the course of the weekend. I found him an incredibly insightful, witty, and down to earth person. He mentioned moving cabinet production from Canada to China (Tanto v2), for reasons both of cost and quality. Sadly, that became par for the course with Canadian HEA manufacturers. Their logic, we just cannot build product profitably in Canada. I think it’s more a reflection of having lost their appetite for manufacturing. My experience has shown one of two things come out of that. Either the brand continues, though it seems without the soul the products possessed when made in Canada, or the brand stalls out altogether, which happened with Gemme.
In regard to your placement issues, I do hope JP comes up with something. It’s difficult to believe no one has a soft copy on a PC somewhere. Apart from what happens, VERY few loudspeaker manuals meaningfully help the customer with placement. I consider environment and loudspeaker placement at least as critical as component selection, and the most obvious reason all of us routinely hear more modest outdo far more expensive ones. Good luck!
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Trelja, I do like the Tantos, thanks for asking. Although I don’t have a ton of experience
with true hifi speakers, I like the Tantos’ overall timbre, clear sound, largish sweet
spot, soundstage, and ability to go down low.
(Based on all the positive reviews on their bass response, I believe the
bass null I mentioned above is likely due to the interaction with my room.) Did you own them at some point? What did you think?
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@swingfingers thank you. Hopefully, something turns up with JP.
From your OP, it looks like you feel very happy with the Tantos. Is that true? Regardless, I wish you the best with them
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trelja, that is a great idea! I emailed Jean Pierre Boudreau and he got back to me saying he would look for a manual. I'll report back when I hear from him one way or the other. Thanks! |
I owned a pair of the original Tantos. Don't remember the manual, so as others have said, it likely didn't provide all that much help. Surprised Robert Gaboury cannot provide a soft copy, that seems strange.
Gemme was a partnership between Robert and Jean Pierre Boudreau. You may want to take a chance in reaching out to JP, as he's known
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yakbob and david_ten,
Thanks for the comments. It’s funny that you both used very little toe
in. Mine are toed in quite a bit! I found it helpful in my situation because I
need to place the speakers along the long wall in a room that is somewhat shallow
(15'x12.5' minus a lot of bookshelves/furniture), and I want to make the
listening spot as wide as possible to accommodate an awkward listening position
and potential “guests”. I experimented
quite a lot with placement, but you’re inspiring me to explore some more. Unfortunately I have some real issues with a deep and wide bass null - probably due to room acoustics. I’ll be experimenting with some bass traps
but I can’t fit that many….
BTW, yakbob, I think
you suggested the Tantos in a thread where I was asking
for speaker advice so I owe you the credit for
turning me on to them!
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I agree with @yakbob My V2s were about 2 feet from the front wall (to the rear of the speakers) and I also preferred them with NO Toe In. I did not utilize the plugs. |
I remember wording around placement from the rear wall being important due to the pressure levels emitting from the rear port. (at least 2' in my case). The V2 also had an adjustable port (spacer), which I don't believe is available on the V1. Personally, I found the Tanto needed zero to very little toe in. The sweet spot for that speaker was almost as wide as the whole room I had them placed in. I had mine set up on the long wall of a 13'x18' room and at about a 10' listening distance. It was an amazing little speaker with big sound and thanks in most part to the cabinet design. As you're aware, the driver selection is fairly basic...which I think is awesome as a consumer.
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yakbob,
Thanks very much for the response! My reasons for looking for a manual do include
helpful hints on speaker positioning that may be specific to the Tantos (or Gemme
line family). If you happen to remember
anything of note, please let me know. Also,
you never know what useful information a manual may provide! I have found they often come in handy, and as
the speakers were a major purchase for me, I was hoping to ensure I had
everything covered, so to speak.
It is good to know, however, that if I never
find one, at least I am not missing much! Thanks also for offering info on potential driver replacements. Fortunately,
Robert Gaboury was kind enough to provide me with this. Unfortunately, though, he didn’t have any
leftover manuals available.
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I had a pair of the v2 Tantos, and regret having sold them. While I did have the owners manual, it was fairly light on details. Meaning, there was some speaker placement suggestions but not much else.
Is is there specific information you need, or is it just a matter of completing the set? If you need driver replacement information, I may be able to help, I bought spares just in case when I heard Gemme was closing shop. |
Just reviving in case anyone may have this manual? |
Thanks very much, david_ten, I appreciate it.
In case david_ten does not come across it (moving can be crazy), if anyone else may have one or know where I could find a copy, please let me know - either via this thread or PM.
Thanks!
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I have the 2s, but we've been moving and most of my 'stuff' is still in boxes. If I come across the manual, I will PM you. Best of luck.
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