Tannoy or Volti


I have a friend who has the Tannoy Prestige GRF 90 for sale he is moving out of the country for half price, he paid $29000 in around 2020 not made in China. I am upgrading my Forte IVs, I am also considering the Volti audio Lucera…anyone that has heard the Tannoy and any other suggestions which will be better would be appreciated….I have a few first watt amps and several tube amps…plus Jeff Rowland and Pass Labs amps..

charles007100

I like the JBLs because they produce a more linear sound without any obnoxious peaks. And they don’t really suffer from horn coloration the way Voltis, and to lesser extent, the Tannoys do. 

Your amps would have no trouble driving the JBLs to high levels. 

Caveat here is that everyone has different ears and preferences. I would try to audition the JBLs somewhere beforehand or buy them used. Some listeners prefer the sort of exaggerated dynamics that a non-linear speaker like the Voltis produce. I get some of the same phenomenon from my Borresens. They are not very linear but that’s what makes them sound so nimble and dynamic. The JBLs produce less of that but are a technically better speaker. 

@earthbound 

I was just over reading the post you put in and you definitely have the right amp and preamp, I almost bought his gear. There is a Audio Note  dealer close to me,I loved the sound but for me I would have to go all in with Audio note amps, dacs everything otherwise it didn’t do anything for me switching up with other brands to go with the Audio note speakers if that makes sense. 
I am sitting here drinking my morning coffee and my mind is swimming thinking about the sound of the Volti,I haven’t experienced this before. I won’t buy anything with out spending a lot of listening time, if I buy Volti or anything else I am going to buy a plane ticket. That’s my advice don’t buy without listening in person..

charles007100

A couple of points:

The Volti's are NOT a sideways move from Klipsch, they are brilliant in every way in my experience; especially the Luceras and Rivals. I get to hear them regularly at my friend's house, the Luceras 99db are in his family room driven with Aric Audio Motherlode II preamp and a First Watt amp (I can't remember the model at time of this writing). The Rivals 100db are in his dedicated audio room driven by Don Sachs/Lynn Olson's Raven preamp and Blackbird monoblocks,

If you want Scottish gear, I'd definitely consider Fyne Audio over Tannoy. Maybe Tannoys were the gear to have in year's past, but most of the major creative team from those years have been at Fyne since 2017....including Dr. Paul Mills. Even Upscale Audio's Kevin Deal has dropped Tannoy (thus the huge discounts) in favor of Fyne Audio

@helomech Thanks, I will definitely listen to them before buying anything.

I actually had a pair of JBL, L100 I think around early 1970 …I really appreciate you chiming in, several people have said the same thing about the JBLs..I will find a way, to listen to them..

I've heard most of the Volti Line going back to when they were made in Maine as well as most of the "still made in Scotland" Tannoys. All lovely but for less than your $16k budget and in a similar category I'd be looking at Devore O 96's.