Volti if you must choose.
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..
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I have not heard either, but noticed Upscale Audio is selling all of their Tannoy at close-out prices, with the GRF priced at $12,500/pair (half price), so maybe you can use that as leverage to get the selling price down on the used Tannoy? Both should be great speakers. If your room size is not particularly large, or if you sit closer than 10' from your speakers, the dual concentric drivers of Tannoy may be a better fit for your room. |
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@charles007100 speaker choice aside, why would you consider buying the Tannoy's at 50% of $29,000 when they can be had for $12,500 for a new pair at Upscale?
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@charles007100 you’re better off with a pair of JBL 4367 |
I disagree that Volti is merely a lateral move- I believe that they are sonically superior to Klipsch and less colored as I have demoed both at several audio shows. Volti designs their speakers to compete/beat Klipsch offerings. I own the Volti Rival. Volti vs Tannoy is primarily a subjective preference - best to demo yourself as we cannot tell you what you’d prefer. |
Probably. But I have some China-made Kensington GR drivers that actually sound better than an earlier UK-made set of the same. Couldn’t tell them apart visually, except for stickers. Quailty doesn’t necessarily suffer from the origin. I used to be against the China-made Tannoys, but this opened my eyes. Cabinets are still made in Poland, same as they always were (excellent quality). Final assembly - who really cares; a trained child could do it. Either way, 50% off full MSRP for a used set isn’t a very friend-ly price. Far from it. |
It's nice to have a full complement of amps. Klipsch is or has upgrading the LaScala and Klipschorns. The changes look very positive. Otherwise Volti Rival. I am told the Tannoy has a very warm sound. I only heard a smaller one, Cheviot or Arden. Any of these should do a lot of things very well. Otherwise, I always hear Joseph Audio praised very highly. Other end of efficiency but not that hard to drive.
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@bodega Greg has a deal on his website for the Lucera, have you heard the difference between the Razz and Lucera? No audition period, |
Yes I have heard both. A couple of models from Volti and many Tannoy over the years. Iif you like horns then the Volti sound like a good horn speaker. Better than Klipsch but still a horn with all the advantages and warts of this type of design. I really dont like speakers with the general design characteristics of Tannoys. To me a very odd sound. Hard to place with a kind of weird presence that is hard to get to go away. I can embrace horn sound in a few areas, I cant embrace much if anything about the larger models from Tannnoy. Many of the head people at Tannoy left and started another company of similar design out of Scotland I believe. I havent talked with anyone that prefers the Tannoys to the offerings of this new company which I think might be Fyne Audio. |
@audition__audio lets forget horns and the Tannoy…what would a different approach be…something non-fatiguing…any ideas?…what do you have?… My amps, Pass Labs preamp Pass Labs XA-25, Pass Labs X250.8 First Watt Sit-3 First Watt SIT-1 Decware, Cary, Alan Eaton tube amps Jeff Rowland 125 |
I have the XA25 with horns after 5 years, I have everything sounding pretty good. But I am used to it I guess. I go way back, almost. Advents, etc Here is what I've heard myself and read. I assume other models would have a similar sound signature. Joseph Audio. Most widely praised speaker here. IMO. I have not heard. Magnapan 3.7. Always beautiful, natural sound. Your x250 would drive them. Imposing size. Wilson. I didn't care for those. Sasha DAW with audio research monoblocks. Distant and dull. Revel. These have a very appealing sound with nice bass. The ones I heard may be too high. I always liked the big Dunlavy sound. My memory may be crossed but I think Legacy would be worth a look. Wide price range. The list is all over but you're on square one, again. Good luck
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I have heard several models of Tannoy Prestige and for whatever reason they did not attract me to them. Volti are very nice sounding speakers and are have been slightly better but a bit too laid back in the high frequencies. The ones in this category I really like the sound of are the Fyne Audio Vintage series. The Vintage 12 is a spectacular sounding speaker that plays super smooth, vividly clear and BIG. Seriously check them out. |
@charles007100 still the JBL 4367 |
@kofibaffour I definitely have the JBL 4367 on my must listen to list…I did have the L100 back in the early 70s…don’t remember the sound though.. |
@charles007100 Lots of good advice here. As I mentioned to you yesterday, I would give Greg Roberts a call. In fact, if you are spending $16K I'd go to Baxter and spend a day with Greg at his shop. He and his wife hosted me twice; let me sleep over on a bed in his shop. We auditioned all of his speakers and I brought my Klipsch Belles with me and we compared them to Razz, Luceras and Rivals. I then picked the veneer I wanted from his large inventory and 6 weeks later I had a beautiful pair of Rivals made just for me. I have driven them with my solid state amps (XA25 and SIT 3) and tube amps; Cary CAD300SEI (WE 300B), Quicksilver MidMonos (EL34) and Tool Shed Transcendence (WE 300B). All sounded great but my favorite set-up is the QS mono blocks fed by a PrimaLuna Dialogue Pre. EL34s just sound sublime with the Rivals. I'm awaiting delivery of a Tool Shed preamp so I'm hoping the Toolshed combo will outshine everything. I have a 2x12" 1,000 watt subwoofer that has been collecting dust since the Rivals arrived. My Klipsch Belles needed subwoofer support but the Rivals low end is super defined and deep. Good luck and happy listening!
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@whiteknee I see Greg has a used Lucera at a marked down price and also a Razz marked down…how close is the Lucera to the Rival?…the Alan Eaton 2A3 monos with the Meitner MA3 Dac is my favorite set up…will I be kicking myself if I don’t go all the way with the Rival… |
@charles007100 That's a bridge I had to cross too although I came in with the Rivals in mind. 40 years ago I ordered the Klipsch Belles which were slotted between the Khorns and the Lascalas. They were less expensive than the Khorns but had similar drivers so it was the logical decision at the time. While I loved the Belles I always second guessed myself for not spending the extra cash to go with the Khorns. I didn't want to make the same mistake again. The Lucera's are super nice (his newest design) and just a cut below the performance of the Rivals, but may be a better fit for your room. Look at it this way, you can always trade up if your curiosity gets the better of you. Sounds like that is what the person did with the used pair. If you like the Tineo veneer, go for it. Here are my speakers in Greg's room prior to me picking them up. https://www.instagram.com/p/C-F2SCbREss/ I wanted the Type 1 design where the veneer is on the front with no grill cover. These are in a funky Red Gum that I hand selected. Call Greg and go listen to them. Cheers! |
Couldn't agree more with @whiteknee I am a proud owner of a pair of Razz that I had Greg add some custom veneer and grill cloth. If one is interested in the journey of auditioning speakers, then a conversation and trip to meet Greg and have a listen is completely worth it. (He also happens to be a great guy to hang out with, listening to great music and eating killer Mexican food). For me My Volti check all the boxes, and they are hand built in the US. I have always been a fan of Tannoy, I've owned a couple different pair. I was also very impressed with all of the Fyne speakers I've heard at various shows. Still for me there's no moving away from Volti at this point. |
There precious few Klipsch speakers that I would consider very good (maybe none). Klipsch was designed in a time long ago when Amps had no power and the only criteria was loudness. Not much has changed with their designs because the purists demand nostalgia. Volti is a better speaker in every measurable way from driver quality to cabinet construction, etc. If you like Horns, the Volti is a good choice and you can call the designer up on the phone and have a conversation with him! That in and of itself is gold in my book. No offense intended to the Klipsch faithful, I just think there are much better speakers for the money. |
I haven’t heard either of the two models you mention @charles007100 . I do have a pair of Devore Fidelity O Baby’s that I love. For your budget you could look up some of the higher end models. And if you are willing to look outside of the US I also have a pair of Qualio IQs from Qualio Audio, Poland. Semi open baffle. Excellent sound. Between the two, the Devores are my favourite. |
Don't rule out Pure Audio Project speakers. I have the Trio15 with the Horn1 and an in heaven, driven by a 2A3 tube amp. Sensitivity 96dB. No sub required for music IMO. Plays all genres superb sound. Clean, clear, organic. Love the natural sound of the OB bass via dual 15" drivers per side. And the horn provides all detail sounding natural. |
@charles007100 why have you stopped pursuing the Tannoy? |
well there you go. You didn’t like it so I guess you move on and find another set that works for you. Understandable. Don’t get guilt tripped into buying something you don’t want @charles007100 |
