As a KEF Reference One owner, if you go that direction it might reveal the limitations of your preamp. A good preamp is critical for good sound. I am not very knowledgeable about home theater gear, but a maybe investing in a higher end AV preamp/processor would give you the flexibility and sound quality that you are looking for, and then add a small lower cost amp for the center channel.
Tannoy Canterbury, KEF Reference 5, Fyne Vintage Twelve, SF Serafino
Hi guys,
So I currently have a setup with KEF R900 + NAD T758 + Musical Fidelity M6PRX amplifier and a KF92 sub. I also added a KEF center channel directly wired to the NAD (speakers are wired to the musical fidelity amp).
I'm looking to upgrade as I'm moving to a new apartment soon. The space is 21x13 with a lot of glass windows and is assymetric shaped.
A few questions:
1. Stick with a high quality 2 channel integrated amp like NAD M33, or worth upgrading the NAD to a higher quality AVR (and still using the musical fidelity m6prx for the speakers). I do enjoy the clarity of audio from the center channel when watching movies or Netflix. Also, feel given the room layout, a DIRAC might be helpful.
2. I narrowed it down to four speakers - really based on reading reviews and aesthetics. Love the vintage Tannoy / Fyne look, but also love the SF aesthetic. KEF is different but also looks amazing - very clean looking for a NYC apartment. I'll try to listen to the sound before buying, but unsure if I'll be to demo all four. Any thoughts on speaker choice, esp given the assymetric room with lots of windows?
Really appreciate the help!
6 responses Add your response
The older I get, the more I start to notice how big of an influence the room makes to my sound. Don't get me wrong I love tweaks and swapping cables and such. But unless you have your room sorted with treatments, it probably makes a bigger difference than any modest gear upgrade. Factor in the part where you watch movies and Netflix, that room correction is going to be very helpful. Probably more so than the differences between a quality AVR versus stereo integrated. Some room correction is better than others though, I think Dirac is one of the better ones up there with Anthem. I would be concerned about any pair of main speakers if I couldn't get a matching center channel, or at least a pretty close match from the same brand. Not sure all the speakers on your list offer that. |
Canterburys should be fine in that room. In general, the Tannoys / Fynes are room friendly due to the dual concentric drivers and controlled dispersion. If you do run into issues, going closer (mid-field or even pseudo-nearfield) works well with these speakers, and can help. As always, bass response will come down to positioning of speakers and seating. You also get a little more control over bass with Canterbury’s adjustable venting. I guess I don’t fixate on room & treatments as much as others since Tannoys are more easy-going here. The NAD "M" series class D amps are excellent. Their digital preamps however - not so much a fan of those. But then I don’t do HT or the room correction stuff - just pure 2ch. |
Couldn't comment on the SF's - it's been ages since I heard one, and it wasn't at the level of what you're looking at. Beautiful speakers! I wasn't sure if you were looking to buy used Tannoys - on new ones, the drivers have been made in China since 2020-ish. Cabinets made in ???. The Scotland factory was closed down. I haven't yet heard one of the China-made Prestige Tannoys. The prices didn't go down with this significant change in manufacture, either (you can get Kevin Deal's made in China scratch-and-dent leftovers at a *slight* discount). So honestly I'd stick to used Tannoys or new Fynes if going that route. |
Fyne is much better value than Tannoy. I would also look at KLH model 5 and Monitor Audio https://speakerchoices.com/
|