Tannoy Stirlings on the way!

Trentmemphis, that response was not directed at you, should have been more clear.

Or I could read more carefully.  My mistake.

I've been watching the meters on the 152.  I rarely get above 1.5 watts.  The 152 is a high-current amp, but I'm not sure how that would factor into the comparison.

@mesch 

That's some big doings!  Congrats on the house and the new amps.  A dedicated listening room is awesome.  Your Stirlings will thank you, I imagine.

I was sitting here thinking, "I wish my thread was getting as much discussion as that Tekton Design Moab thread."

Then I read a few pages of it.  I prefer silence.

Sugden has been building the A21 for like 40 something years! If you have doubts about the quality, then I’d advise you to read all the positive reviews on the A21 SE signature pure class A integrated. Better yet, seek one out to listen to. To me, it is a fantastic match for the Tannoys. Guess you would also frown upon some of the class A products from Pass?

I'm not frowning on things.  I just feel like I have a great all-round amp, already, in the 152, which has plenty of power.  If I were going to spend more money on amplification right now, it would be to get something that's more of a "specialist."  Something that really does one thing -- like soundstaging, for example -- spectacularly well.

As an owner of the Tannoy Legacy Arden I’m confident you will love the Stirlings. So classy. Congrats!

Heed Tannoy's suggestion on toe in. Mine sound most coherent when crossed a couple of feet in front of my head. Your mileage may vary. Let us know how it goes!

Thanks, yakbob!  I looked pretty hard at the Cheviots, too.  That Legacy line seems like it's got something special.  In the end, it came down to the throwback looks of the Prestige line, as much as anything.

The toe-in thing is going to be a bit interesting in my current room.  I'm practically nearfield.  We'll have to see how it all works out.

Got a pair of new Stirling GR's last year - you're in for a treat - they are my last speakers...congrats & enjoy!

Thanks!  Certainly sounds like you are enjoying yours.  Any tips or tricks?

Congratulations on your purchase. You’re going to love these speakers....that dual Concentric driver is very special, get ready for some long listening sessions!

Thanks, lalitk!  I'm really looking forward to doing some musical exploration with them.

Very curious. They were highly recommended to me...though I couldn't get to hear them and went with something else.

Yeah, I couldn't give them a listen, either.  It's an adventure!

The eagle has landed!

I haven't had time to unbox them.  Just get them off the pallet and rolled into my apartment.  But I can hear them in their boxes, already, asking about tea time.

@bond-san 

I was not able to compare to the Turnberry.  As I understand it, in addition to the larger cabinets that @lalitk  mentioned, the driver(s) are an upgrade from the Stirling as well.  Still a 10" woofer and the tulip waveguide, but the magnets or voicecoils or something are improved.

Thanks, @daniel_rusk !

lack of initiative on distributor part

That would be my guess, as well.  They just haven't been made available to the traditional outlets for review.

Hey, for premium prices, you ought to get something you like to both see and hear. The grills and general "old timey" looks appealed to me, too.

As you said, it’s a adventure! I don’t know if anything is ‘forever’ in this crazy hobby, but I do see myself living with my Tannoy Canterbury’s for a very long time. Once they are in your possession, you may realize that they are built to very high standards and worth every penny to hoard them in your permanent collection :-)
https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8046

Wow, my room wants to be your room when it grows up!  Those Canterburys must throw an incredible soundstage in that space, with lifelike dynamics, to boot.  I'm hoping to start building a house in a few years.  I've got a listening room in the drawings.  For now, it's the living room.

I'll be using REL subs with my Stirlings, as well.  A pair of T9i, in my case.  REL seems to have the reputation of being able to pair well with most anything, so they seemed like the right choice for somebody like me. :)  They've been working well with my Lintons.

My electronics are SS McIntosh, fed from Qobuz (via Roon) and a Michell Gyrodec SE.

Hey, thanks, @edunbar. I still like the idea of trying a Zen amp.  I'm just not comfortable doing business with a company that doesn't answer its email.

By the way, going back several posts, I looked into getting a Decware tube amp. Or I tried to. If I got one, I’d want to try it alone and as the high-frequency amp in a bi-amp situation with my MC152. To do that, I needed to know the voltage gain, which isn’t listed on their site. I emailed them to inquire. Never heard a peep back.

You hope that’s not because Steve Deckert is ill or something. I get the impression it’s kind of a one-man operation, other than an administrative assistant. Either way, you can’t do business with a company that doesn’t answer email. If I want to try tubes, I’ll have to look elsewhere.  (Or find a used one here, maybe. I'd still be pretty hesitant to buy something made by a company that doesn't answer questions, though.)

@aj523 They do have a certain romance about them. What did you end up getting?

FSM model from the mid 80's

Ah, the '80s.  That's just about when the audiophile bug bit teenage me.  I'd been reading Stereo Review for a while, then I discovered there was another magazine called Stereophile and laid my hands on an issue.  (I don't remember how.  Did they advertise in the back of SR?)  There was this whole world of gear I'd never even heard of, much less heard!  Heady times.

The ones I linked to. :)  The  SE84UFO2.

The Stirlings are rated 91, which in my room should make the Zen sufficient on the wattage front.

Good to hear, @foschino.

 Bring in the Zen, you’ve got MC152 on hand for comparison

Exactly.  It's not like the 152 is going anywhere.  I've also got an old (vintage?) Acurus A150 that's not doing anything at the moment.  I might try that with them at some point, too.

The thing that interests me about the Zen is the soundstage depth, which everybody seems to rave about.

I have never heard any Tannoy’s but am truly excited for you. New speakers are always a blast.  Like you, I cannot part with most of my older friends- Bose 901 series 1, Klipsch Heresy and Chorus, Infinity Preludes, Ohm’s and Thiel, NHT’s.......let us know how the Tannoys sound. My wife might require a thinning of the herd but a new speaker sounds pretty exciting. Good for you and enjoy.

Thanks!  That's a nice collection.  I kinda wish I'd snagged a pair of NHT monitors, back in the day.  Just didn't have any money at the time.

I finally added some rake because I constantly felt like I was peering *down* into the soundstage.  I had to get it up to ear level somehow, and I didn't have a good option for stands.  I just experimented till I found something that worked for me.

Add my thanks, @mulveling !

Now what's all this about the future of Tannoy?

Happy and excited for you. New gear setup can be an awesome experience.

Thanks, @ovinewar !  Yes, it can be.  Rediscovering music you've heard many times is a big part of the fun.

Wish I could figure out the REL issue, though.  Their customer support is stumped, as well.

Any update on your delivery date?

No date, yet.  Looks like the truck left the dock this morning.  So, depending on how many stops he has and so forth, early next week, maybe?

I've wanted to hear Tannoy GR speakers forever and never have. I hope they are your last speakers!

I haven't heard them, either, jond.  You would think Memphis, of all places, would have some decent hi-fi dealers.  Nope.  Our last one shut down about 10 years ago.  At this point, I live in the middle of a big hi-fi desert.  I just have to do a lot of research, then buy online and hope.

These definitely won't be my last speakers. :)  I'm too much of a speaker slut.  That doesn't mean I won't keep them in the collection forever, though.  We'll see about that.

Thanks!  Yeah, those Kensingtons were calling my name, too, but the leap to those from Stirling/Turnberry territory . . . the heart was willing, but the bank account was weak.

Will do, paul.

GREAT speaker bless you enjoy very much

Thanks, ebm!

Trent when the Stirlings are in your system you need to setup a virtual system here so we can see them!

Will see what I can do.

As a Tannoy owner, as you see from my avatar, I can state without
reservation that you will love them!!

Those look like some doozies!

@chorus I currently have a McIntosh MC152.  Over the years, I've had everything from a Yamaha integrated to Electrocompaniet monoblocks, but I'm pretty happy with the Mac right now.

The Stirling’s look similar in size to my Berkeley’s, but with better cabinets. I have to put mine on small wooden benches to get the tweeters up to ear height, at around 6 inches from the front wall.

I asked the dealer about that very thing -- the tweeter axis.  He at first said, yeah, he'd try to help me find a pair of stands of suitable size.  The next day he called back and said the feet had enough adjustability to tilt the speakers to the proper axis.  That sounds okay to me, since the drivers are coincident.

If they have that classic in-house Tannoy sound they should sound more like real music than any of your previous speakers.

They’ll never be the most accurate speakers or the ones that image or disappear best, but they should be amongst the easiest to relax and listen into.

To my ears there is something so correct about the Tannoy ’olde worlde’ paper coned dual concentric presentation that is very difficult to find elsewhere.

That's kind of what I wanted.  Something very different from what I have, and easy to kick back and luxuriate in. 

I do care a lot about imaging/soundstage, though.  For me, that musical illusion is a huge piece of the enjoyment.  From what I've read elsewhere, it sounded like Tannoys are rather excellent at that, due to the driver design.  That's not your experience with your Berkeleys?

should sound nice with your McIntosh gear.

Thanks!  I hope so.

Wow! Great choice! I’m sure you will love them. I own the Tannoy Legacy Eaton standmounters, the biggest stand mount speaker I’ve ever seen lol.

Haha.  Yep.  The Eatons are actually where my Tannoy shopping started.  Like I said, I was looking for something different, but I have limited space, and if I turned my Linton stands sideways, the Eatons would fit just about perfectly. :)  Then I eyed the Cheviots.  Then I thought, "Hm, it wouldn't be TOO much trouble to just move those Wharfedales..."

 

Man, they sound terrific, especially paired with a nice class A amp/integrated. Try the sugden A21 SE if you have the opportunity, it’s a great match. My eatons will most likely be my rest of life speakers..I still have my wharfedales, but these tannoys are in another world or league. Made and designed in the UK, Scottland.

I imagine I'll be sticking with my MC152 for a while.  Haven't had it long.  I've avoided McIntosh gear for a long time, but I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about, and got the 152 and a C49.

This is an excerpt from a review of the Tannoy Eatons, which will most likely apply to your tannoys as well....
"in Ravel’s Nocturn from Daphnis and Chloé (Serge Baudo, Czech Philharmonic) the view of the pastoral landscape was portrayed so seductively that I froze in the listening chair - the space was literally walkable for hours."

And another....
"And I especially fell in love with its depth - imagine deep and absolutely clear water, everything is moving, smoothly and continuously, you see colors and clear outlines to a depth of a few meters and you have an immense desire to dive to that depth."

I'll have what those guys are having!

I liked the one at AVSForums (I think?), where the guy said he felt like he could get up and walk around the lead singer.

I went from the Tannoy XT8F and wanted the Arden’s, but the shop I bought from asked me as many questions as I asked them. Finally, we determined the Turnberry GR would be a better fit for me than the Ardens. I’m must admit I’m happy as a Lark. The imaging is fan-frickin-tastic. Phantom center is locked-in. Great depth and throws a big soundstage. I think these do all the "tricks" rather well. Someone mentioned toeing them in. I tried none, a little and a little more and they do sound better with some toe-in. I’m not sure where you got them from, but hopefully they told you they need a long break-in. When I got mine, I thought I made a very expensive mistake. They sounded very thin and no bass, but after 50 hours or so of listening, they came alive! Now they just get better and better. I was gentle on the break-in and just let music play even when I was in the next room. I did notice after 10 hours, the sound was much improved and keeps getting better. I think I probably have about 200 hours now.

Those Ardens seem like big boys.  The dealer did not mention a particularly long break-in.  I pretty much ignore most of what I hear from a new pair of speakers for a good while.  Like you, I'll be playing them in the next room a lot.  Easy to do when I'm locked up at home.

VERY happy to hear about the imaging/soundstage.

Next project is I’m going to make some nice stands to get them right at ear level. They sound great, but I think ear level will be better.

As mentioned above, I asked the dealer about that very thing.  They told me the feet adjust to provide a backward tilt that should be enough.  Are you finding that's not the case?

I hope someday I can step up to the Canterbury, but if not, these are just fine and I’d be happy with them.

Why stop there?  Westminsters for everybody!

Congrats trentmemphis! I hope you enjoy them Tannoy’s as much as I do mine.

Thanks!  And congrats on yours, as well.

Westminster are beasts! I can only imagine the incredible soundstage. For my room, Canterbury’s are perfect. If this is going to be your first experience with a single driver, make sure you play with front feet adjustments to give you that required ‘tilt’. Depending on the height of your listening chair, the height of the mid-section of the Dual Concentric driver should be at your ear level. I was able to obtain better treble tonality and imaging with a slight upward tilt. If you want dead center pin-point imaging, toe-in your Stirlings.

I do indeed want pinpoint imaging, but I don't want EVERYTHING shoved to the middle, like a mono recording.  I've found a bit too much toe-in can cause that, so I generally apply toe-in in very small increments over the course of weeks. 

My current Lintons are ever so slightly toed in, and I find they can do rather better than advertised (or reviewed) at imaging and soundstage, with the right recording. 

Where is your electronics rack? It was my observation that placing equipment rack beyond 22” height in the middle of speakers ‘interfered’ with imaging and messed with my illusion of DK playing in my room with her piano :-)

I'm set up in my living room, so the 2-channel has to share space with the tv, etc.  The rack for my 2-channel equipment is more or less behind the left speaker, then there's a credenza next to it that stretches across to the right speaker.  All of this is about 2 feet from the backs of the speakers.

I've had a bit of a wild hare thought.  What do you guys think of the DecWare Zen Triode as a match to these guys?  Or perhaps a pair of them?

Congrats... Like @yakbob I have arden legacy in my main lounge 7m x 5.5m and its dreamy. I don't cross over in front but toe in so it crosses just behind me.... But depends on room (I used cardas method for perfect placement) also depending on floor I would suggest isoacoustics gaia under feet.... Elevated speakers to a whole new level. Enjoy

Thanks!  I'll keep the Gaia pods in mind.  I don't imagine I'll be doing a lot of tweaking till they've settled in and I've gotten accustomed to them, but it's good information to have, especially from somebody with similar speakers.

Somebody will have to tell me how to get the @ thing to work.  I've tried it a couple of times, but no luck.

I am looking forward to you thoughts on your Sterlings once you’ve had time to get acquainted with them. Was thinking of pairing with a Pass XA25.

Yeah, I considered something from Pass, as well, but I'm not ready to move on from the Mac just yet.  It seems like it would be a good combination, though.  

My estimate on my delivery date was off by a bit, @lalitk .  They're arriving tomorrow afternoon!

follow the unboxing instructions closely...I watched a video or 2 on youtube which helped beforehand and enjoy!

Thanks for the tip, @pehare .  I did.  Unboxing and basic setup went like a breeze.

These are lovely objects, indeed.  Very 1940s.  I can't decide if they look nicer with the grills on, or off.  I really like the grills (they're one of the reasons I went with these instead of something from the Legacy line), but they're dead sexy without them, too.  The engraved logo, the treble plate, the drivers, of course.

I've been listening for the past 3 hours or so.  I hear the potential in there, but they definitely need some breaking in.  The highs are a mite sharpish in my room, and the low end is a bit . . . hmm . . . I think "oversprung" is the word I'm looking for.  The suspensions needs to loosen up.

I played with toe-in a little, but it's WAY too early to draw any conclusions about that.  I think break-in will change the soundstaging, as well.

I don't remember what the efficiency on the Lintons is.  I thought it was reasonably high (87? 89?), but the difference is VERY noticeable.  With those, 35% on my C49 was a typical listening level for me.  35% with these babies is on the loud side.  I expect I'll be living closer to 30.

So, fellow Prestige line owners, did you polish yours right out of the box?  I noticed the manual said the packing material can dry the wood, but it doesn't express an opinion on whether you should go ahead and give them a polish.

I know it's not going to hurt them, but what did you guys do?

Not particularly, but I don't really know what they're *supposed* to look like.  Thanks for the link!

I figured out why the low end seemed overly tight.  Nothing to do with break-in.  My REL subs aren't firing anymore.  Have to figure out what's up with that.  Maybe something came loose when I was switching the cables from the 4-ohm taps to the 8-ohm.

After letting them play in the next room all day and evening, I sat down late last night to do a little listening.  The sharpness in the treble is gone, hallelujah.  Still puzzling over why the subs stopped working.  I've reached out to REL, and turned them off in the meantime.

I sampled several things in my listening session.  The one I ended with, though.  That was magic.  It was Murray Perahia's recording of the Goldberg Variations.  When I put that on, the Stirlings dis. uh. peered.  Like vanished.  There was just the piano, hovering directly in front of me, well back of where the speakers were, and about 2 feet above them.

I've never had the disappearing speakers experience before, and I've had (and still have) some darn fine speakers.  This was the only recording the Stirlings did it on (or have done, so far), but still.  Holy cats!  I sat up till 3 in the morning listening to it.

Still getting acquainted.  I've moved them a couple of feet farther apart than I had my Lintons.  It's less convenient from a living space perspective, but I wanted to see how big a soundstage I could get in my room.  Still fiddling with it, but the signs are promising.

I found something that fixes my subs, but I'm not sure why.  Still puzzling over that one, but, in any case, the bass is back to more of what I'm used to.  Need to do some tuning for the Stirlings' greater output in those frequencies.  I may push the couch (my listening seat) back some and see what that does.

I ordered up some room treatments from GIK.  Found out today those won't be here till late October, though.

Nice.  I ordered some of the Impressions panels.

I think it's safe to say they're fully broken in, at this point.  I still have the tweeter set to flat, and I've decided I like them best with the grills on. 

I've been experimenting with toe-in. Those of you who said to pay attention to what's in the manual -- i.e., cross them just in front of the listening position -- were 100% correct. Holy cats! They don't disappear (except with the Perahia recording I mentioned before). Sounds near them tend to stick to them, and I get the sense of things coming from outside them every now and then, but not often. But, man, the stage between them is incredible. In particular, I notice *depth* that I've never really heard before.  On something like the Buena Vista Social Club record, I can hear things coming from way back behind the main performers, 3 or 4 layers deep.

I have the fronts propped up on books to give them some rake, which helped a lot getting rid of the feeling I was peering down into the soundstage.  They could still stand to come up some, but I'm not really comfortable raking them back any further.  I'd like to find some stands -- more like cradles -- to lift them about 4-6 inches and keep the rake angle I currently have.  I know this place at least *used* to have several people offering custom woodwork for racks, platforms, turntable plinths, speaker stands, etc.  Is there anybody still around who might make the kind of thing I'm talking about?

Thanks, @lalitk !  I'll look into that.

Still just really digging these things.  I think that low crossover point to the tweeter really works for them.  Everything is so coherent.  Vocals -- especially female and most especially choral -- really sing through them.  The detail is excellent without being at all harsh, and they have real, effortless thump.  That 12" driver in the Kensington, along with the larger cabinet, must really be something.

And they just look the absolute business.

I've had zero buyer's remorse.

I would imagine you do!  Someday maybe I'll have space for something on that scale.  I still plan to look into getting some stands made for mine.  That would be my only complaint, I guess.  I'm not sure what they were thinking with the vertical tweeter axis.

I guess I've lost everybody else's interest. lol  I'm just recording the journey in case it's useful to somebody down the road.