Tannoy Turnberry SE Imaging and Breaking In


So I just replaced my Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor Ms with a new pair of Tannoy Turnberry SE with plans of possibly going SET. They have maybe 12 hours on them at this point and coming from the Auditors, which produce very precise, realistic images, I am finding that attribute to be lacking somewhat substantially. Particularly with orchestra, I can't seem to place violins front-left, trumpets center-rear, percussion rear-left, cello/bass right, etc. nearly as well as with the SFs. Images are also more diffuse and less well-defined and soundstage is not as wide. Does this get a whole lot better with break-in? I have played with varying degrees of toe-in from just a bit to crossing over in front of the listening as recommended in the manual but it doesn't change things a whole lot. The sound is also less clear and transparent than the Auditor M, though in my experience this is something that does improve greatly as speakers break in.

Now, that aside, the tone, texture, and body of instruments is incredible! This makes the speakers so musical, expressive, and just plain addictive. I actually get a real sense of a violin bow bouncing on the strings, which is something I've never experienced. And piano... wow. The sounds are not as sweet or saturated/dense as the Auditors, but definitely more "organic". Perhaps these traits come with the pepperpot/alnico models?

Overall I feel this move will bring me more enjoyment as it is, but I do hope I can regain a lot of that "in the room" presence.
eugene81
My experience has been to put them a foot or so out from the wall. I used to toe in toward each ear but Jim Smith (Get Better Sound) taught me that much less toe in yields better
imaging, so now I use about 10 degrees. You do not need to
play music 24/7, but I prefer more complex music with good bass to exercise the speakers. Enjoy!
Peter Lanzilotta gave me good advice on toe-in. Angle them so that the tweeters cross slightly behind your head at the music listening chair.
Thanks, Jburidan. One more question, has anyone tried Pathos TT on Tannoy Turnberry?
Actually the manual suggests toe-ing in so that the tweeters cross right in front of your face. I usually don't toe-in much, but this worked out better for me with these speakers. They are pretty sensitive to positioning, contrary to what the dealer told me, so play with it.