A good amp for Tannoy speakers


Hello

Looking for suggestions and advice on a good Tube OR SS amp for my recently acquired Tannoy Kensington speakers (10" dual concentric driver). I love the sound of tubes hence I would prefer tubes amps but I am also very interested in trying out a smooth and musical SS amp. My budget is <= $5K.
My present tube amp is the Audio Aero Capitol amp and it doesnt have the power and control for the Tannoys. I listen quite loud sometimes.

Thank You
nakolawala
McIntosh-Audio Classics sells Tannoy and are great people to deal with. They can answer your questions on which amp.
I am using a MC352 with Khorns and it is the most musical amp that I have ever owned. Best of luck! www.audioclassics.com
Hello Nakolawala. Even though the Tannoy's are a fairly efficient load with a relatively begnin impedance, they are rather sensitive to the choice of amplifiers, tube amps in particular as many don't have the grip or control over the bass driver that a good solid state amplifier will exhibit. Many tannoy users have discovered that a high current amp is a better fit. I too am a tube guy, voicing the tannoy with a solid state amplifier is a lot more complex in my honest opinion. High power is really not required if the amplifier has sufficient current. The Brystons work quite well and their smallest amp [the 2b]sounds better than their higher powered offerings on the tannoys. The older classe DR3 VHC is another good fit. In the tube amp arena.... You may have to consider choosing a higher powered amplifier or perhaps a tube amp with a stiffer power supply. Most el34 based amps are just not up to the task in the power supply department. I use the el-34 based Vac pa90c's with my Westminsters, however they push well over 100 watts with a huge power supply reserve. You may also want to consider bi-amping the Tannoys, running the Audio Aero on the top and a solid state amp on the bass driver. Best of luck!
Talk to EveAnna Manley; I think she uses Tannoy in her personal system, maybe even this model. Guess which amp?
Once you are addicted to the tube sound you will never want to come back to SS.
The speaker is very tube-friendly but it is also critical of the amp driving it. In addition I found it sensitive to the speaker cables! - literally meaning that I got bass with some cables and not others.

Keep the cables under 5 feet in length and they will work better. Long cables = no bass, at least IME.

They don't need a lot of power- most of our Tannoy customers use our M-60 amplifiers.
I agree with Aprica88 in that you shouldn't settle for SS. One tube amp that would drive them is the Art Audio Jota HC (high current) SET with KR 300BXLS. Power is 24 tube watts per channel (WPC), and most of the time you'll be using only the first, so there will be plenty of headroom and no clipping. Suggest you shop for a pair of used monoblocks.
I'm using PrimaLuna mono blocks and my speakers have a 92db sensitivity, and I'm quite satisfied. Yours have a 93db efficiency; I don't think 1db will make hardly any difference.
Atma-sphere m60's have good synergy with Tannoy, they are very musical amps. A couple of friends have it on their existing setup