So, I took the plunge and my Stirlings were built in 10/21. The expressly claim to have been "designed, engineered and manufactured in the United Kingdom." I made that a specific part of my request. That said, I'm a little paranoid over that. Before buying them, I took my Leben CS600 and cabling to a friends with the same speakers built in 2018 and it sounded pretty glorious!
Mine have maybe 75 hours on them and are still squawking away even with the treble energy dialed as far down as they can get. Also, wiring them to the LF and jumped to the HF helped a good bit. The distortion is definitely bie present on everything mildly improved, but disappoint on most and verging on unlistenable with many. That also lends to them not feeling well integrated across the spectrum with the midrange getting shortshrift.
Can anyone (@veerossi ) offer experience on approximate time to get broken in and how far behind the nagging tweeter might be from the bigger diaphragm? And whether my experience is similar to theirs?
Once the ice and snow's cleared a bit, I could take my Stirling to my friend's digs to compare and contrast, too, I suppose....
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@pehare oooooohhhkaaayyy, then. thanks. I have some hologram ii biwire on the way, too, that may warm things up a bit. Sometimes patience is more of a virgin around here than a virtue.
The dealer in Canada tells me 250-400 hours. my wife tells me if I don't it down at night....well, you know. I'll keep playing them a much as I can.
I"m confident in knowing what I heard with my friend' was absolutely what I was looking for and sold my Devore Super Nines based on that.
A bigger house with room for two system would make the wait easier! Simaudio W5.3SE/Supratek Cortese/Dynaudio Confidence 3 please. A boy must have his dreams....
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Well, I'm told by the dealer in Montreal 250hr and by Upscale 300hr with some significant change at 100. Upscale is working with me to look into it. I'm dubious about taking them apart myself. The Montreal dealer wants a 25% restocking fee. As @mulveling says, I'm not a camper at this point, but the story's not over yet.
That kind of break-in has not been my experience with new Devore Super Nines or Dynaudio1.8mkII back in the day - they started out very good and wound up great. And, these Tannoy don't sound anything like my friend's - I bought these on my listening to his Stirlings with my Leben CS600 and wires. So, the only difference being our sources. His Linn/Adikt/EAR 834P vs my modded TT and same modded pre - Thorens/SME/Soundsmith/EAR. My digital source has always sounded great too....Music Vault Diamond/AMR DP777SE all guccied up with nice tubes, etc.
My suspicion at this point is that these are a faulty pair somehow and hope that it's not indicative of the overall line. If they don't fall into place somehow, I guess I'll have to eat the 25%....
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My pair was made 8/20 according to the signed booklet that came with it as part of of the groovy prestige package. Nice touch for sure...corny, but I like it! And, according to what info I can gather, were made in Scotland
Part of the story goes that Tannoy made all the pairs of Prestige, Heritage and Definition lines they could in Coatbridge before those Scotland doors were shut. That's what there is for sale now. In the future, those three lines will be made in Poland at the same factory where the cabinets have been made for several years once the factory there is up and running. The other Tannoy lines are and will continue to be made in China.
I'm told by someone I trust that they can arrive "tight as a drum" and start to loosen up at 100 hours with full break in around 300. That's a lot of hours on my getting rarer preamp tubes in the old Leben CS600, but in for a penny, in for a pound. Patience is often more of a virgin than a virtue around here, but I'll put in the time and report back. Fingers crossed once more unto the breach.
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Thanks for that @mulveling - I'll take it under consideration before tossing out the baby with the bathwater. My friend down the street w/Stirlings just told me he went through a similar experience, but blamed his midfi ss amp (probably not too far off the mark there!). He wandered around the hifi gear desert for long enough that by the time he circled back to Upscale for a PrimaLuna integrated, the speakers had settled into the pocket.
So, I have some new confidence that time is the antidote. Joni Mitchell Blue sounded pretty good last night - better than previous anyway. Granted, the treble energy is dialed as far down as it can go and they're still wired to the LF and jumped to the HF, but the grit was definitely downd and heading in the right direction.
I have a pair of AZ Hologram II biwire on the way that might also help simmer things down.
It's also good to see the evolution of your loft space - my room is similar old world construction and 14x15x10 - and dream of some Kensingtons. They look fine! If the house were mine and mine alone (but "it's his, his and hers alone"), the Canterbury could just ride....
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Omystarsandgarters. So much for the understanding of those who believed they were "in the know". I wonder when that is supposed to have started. And, sort of, if the splitting of the lines for production holds any water - or consequence, really. Maybe the supposed Polish factory would also be problematic. Sigh. Such a bummer...
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As a follow up, after 100 hours or so the Stirlings have calmed down quite a bit. Still tough for moderately long listening and I'm pointing my finger at my source....although the same defect is true with both my digital and vinyl. Finding time to play at moderately loud volumes is a little hard around here, so break in is slower than I'd like, but Acoustic Zen Hologram II biwire helped (they are breaking in as well). I've been able to move the treble energy to -1.5, so that's moving in the right direction anyway. They are more musically involving (for me) than my Devore which seemed to check off a lot of boxes and were much better in many ways, but left me at a distance. An audio friend described them as "fauve" and I think that fits.
I'm going to stick with this for now and am considering a full reconstruction back to SS and inefficient speakers - like Gamut or Plinius power and Supratek Pre driving Dynaudio Confidence 3 or 5. That's my most familiar ground and sticks in my memory as a sonic delight.
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Checking back in. I found some of the same. The Stirlings sound MUCH improved at 150-175 hrs. They started to change for the better around 100hr. What a relief!
My Leben CS600 at 30wpc is underpowered. It's an amazing sounding piece of gear, but won't suffice. It's hard to judge with the underpowered dynamic compression and it does still fall apart with complex passages. I imagine the class A Primaluna and Pass would take care of that and, to my ear, that's the case with them driven by my friends Primaluna EVO.
The Tannoy are super engaging with whatever that indefinable draw of involvement is that I just call 'musical' for want of a different term. So, I'm thinking of (GULP) selling my Leben....
Pass seems like a good match - I'm consider the INT 60 or a First Watt J2 with a Supratek pre...if the impedances match well. I haven't finished my research there and am open to suggestions!
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@leotis I was (pleasantly) surprised at the improvement after 100hours. The falling apart continues to come back together, even after 150-175 hours. It's a crazy torture for sure. The low crossover also felt like a potential contributor, so Robert Lee at Acoustic Zen was kind enough to chat me up and send a pair of Hologram II biwires designed for lower crossover speakers. They made an immediate difference, smoothing things out and make the spectrum more coherent. I'd recommend them (and him!) very highly for the speakers!
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Thanks for that @yakbob - interesting quick read. Actually seemed to point me towards the Cheviot as the writer enjoyed the legacy series Arden as more expansive over the almost twice as expensive GRF! Closer to wall is helpful in my case, but not a decision making requirement....
I get the more and impactful bass, I'm particularly curious around stage/image, details/vocal and high end/extension presentations/perceptions. And maybe versatility with different music genres..
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Correct height then! I haven’t had the chance to bend Kevin’s ear over this one yet, and I definitely agree that his advice is solid.
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Thanks, @russ69, I spoke with them last week and am looking for some real world experiences. They're pretty straightforward and helpful though and if you're lucky enough to get Kevin on the phone, pretty dam entertaining to boot.
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Thanks, @sandthemall, for your insight there. My initial search was for the Stirling and I got a little thrown off when some Cheviots appeared. After sitting with it for a while, my gut choice is towards the Cheviots. That said, I know I like the articulation AND the bass response along with my tendency to read and ask and gather info, them be impetuous over whatever comes available! So, @raysjazz, used (or nicely discounted) has always been the way I've bought my gear. And Scotland made would be my preference for sure.
@alan60 My room is basically 14X14 with two opposite wall having large 8 foot openings - french doors on one end and a bay window on the other, so some room to move. That said, it's a common area room and hard to leave speaker, a chair or cough too far off the wall - but our kid is off to college and there's more room at the inn.
Over Thanksgiving, my son had a few friends over to hang and it was both nice and fearful to hear low res digital hiphop blasting out of my system....eyerolls, laughter and the practice of letting go!
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