Tannoy Canterbury, KEF Reference 5, Fyne Vintage Twelve, SF Serafino

I have Kensingtons in a similar size room with one REL S/812.  I loved the Canterburys when demoed, but the dealer thought they might be a bit much for my room, though I must say they really energized the dealer’s listening room.  I often wonder…though I do love my Ks.  

I have Kensingtons in a similar size room with one REL S/812. I loved the Canterburys when demoed, but the dealer thought they might be a bit much for my room, though I must say they really energized the dealer’s listening room. I often wonder…though I do love my Ks.

@cantorgale Well it’s not so simple. Canterbury throws a bigger image with more energy for sure; very impressive. That said, the Kensington has its good points too. C’s sweet spot is rather small, probably because the 15" woofers are somewhat beaming at the crossover frequency. The smaller dual-concentrics seem to have a bigger sweet spot. On top of this, the K is particularly coherent and beautiful in midrange. In more modestly sized rooms, the K is a real banger. And you don't need to raise or tilt K up to get them at ear level. K even had me thinking Tannoy’s modern 10" alnico might even be the sweet spot for midrange - but then I heard the DC10A’s (supposedly with the SAME driver as K), and didn’t like it at all. Bright and aggressive...

I did the upgrade from K.SE to C.SE years ago. Then again to C.GR. Love my Canterbury’s - but miss the Kensington’s at times ;)

Also, the C.SE is a little on the dark side, and benefits from Super-Tweeters more than most (the Tannoy ST has very noticeable output in the audible treble range). This was rectified with the C.GR revision - they don’t need ST, IMO. Or if you do use them, you should dial them WAY down to the lowest settings. I couldn’t stomach K.SE w/ ST, unless the source was tape with some significant HF roll-off.

Tannoy was really wild with the different voicings across their models. Honestly that’s one point which gives me pause on exploring Fynes (besides their prices) - I look at those 700 and F1 series cabinets, and it makes me think of that DC10A.

@mulveling Thanks for a very thorough post. I’m sure you’re right re comparative sweet spots. I wasn’t able to A/B Ks and Cs at the same dealer. (Although I remember distinctly disliking the GRFs. Didn’t have that Tannoy midrange “magic” to me.). Met a Tannoy guy at AXPONA a few years ago. He suggested the smaller K driver was the “sweet spot” in the range. Consistent with your observation about K’s sweet midrange.

Interesting comment re STs also

All I know for certain is that my journey from Focal to Harbeth, back to Focal, then Rockport, and now Tannoy has me a confirmed fanboy for the Tannoy house sound

(Although I remember distinctly disliking the GRFs. Didn’t have that Tannoy midrange “magic” to me.).

That's funny, because the GRF is basically a repackaged Yorkminster SE - same specs, driver, and porting - and I felt exactly the same about York SE as what you wrote about GRF (haven't actually heard a GRF yet). The bass was amazing, though - even better than Canterbury. I remember wanting to wave a wand and get York bass with Kensington midrange. 

@mulveling I couldn’t A/B the GRFs with the Ks bit the dealer had smaller Wilson’s. Sasha’s I think.  They really didn’t sound much different at all from the Wilson’s - pretty clinical and not at all the warmth I had heard from my Mini Autographs and which I was trying to find in a larger Tammy.  I knew I wanted off the Focal/Rockport/Magico merry go round.  They had a pair of Turnberrys, which although too small for my room did sound more like Tannoys than the GRFs.