2. speakers
  3. 1123959946

just auditioned tannoy yorkminster

heard them at a dealer with moscode amp, conrad johnson pv-12 preamp, bat cd player, and unidentified vinyl gear.

the yorkminster with super tweeters were very revealing, transparent, truly full range, had great retrieval of details, but somehow not as engaging/musical as my setup. female and male voices were clear and smooth. full orchestras and small jazz ensembles sounded very natural and lively. but of the 2 piano recordings we've heard (including one of mine), none connected with me. my piano cd sounded choppy, incoherent, and harsh through the yorkminster, but never through my system.

perhaps:
1. i am too used to my system's warm and golden sound
2. my room is much larger
3. my cds were not well recorded and my system is too forgiving
4. the yorkminster is not fully broken in yet
5. the dealer's electronics were not on par

i am still a tannoy fan. i was also a bit surprised how reasonably priced the legendary westminster royal ($24k) is comparing to the yorkminster ($14k) and the likes of b&w original nautilus ($40k), jm lab grand utopia be ($70k?), acapella (rocket lift off)...

sorry for the rather inconclusive, unscientific, baseless report : )
scottie
szutinglee
szutinglee OP
91 posts
 
Plato, i totally agree with you. i went to the audition with very high expectations and hoped to be blown away. well, the experience was not enough for me to bring the big speakers home to try (even if the dealer would let me). i wish the dealer would invest in better electronics.

Ecclectique, thank you for your kind words. i aspire to hear the westminsters in their full potential one day.
audioi's avatar
audioi
3 posts
 
We currently have a Demo pair of Tannoy Westminster HE on display and could connect them to the New McIntosh Reference system for audition.
e-me for more info mike@audioclassics.com
Mike
rilbr
99 posts
 
The Tannoy speakers with dual concentric drivers normally sound excellent with turntables and reel to reel decks. This has been confirmed a few times over. CDs are flawed, but some of the newer digital gear may sound good with the Tannoys.
jeff1225
172 posts
 
It's the super tweeter! The smooth musical nature of the Tannoy's is ruined by the super sweeter IMO. Original Autograph's with Lamm's cannot be touched in terms of musicality.
aprica88
92 posts
 
I heard some people said that the Kensington and Canterbury are better than the yorkminster.
More to discover