Tannoy Stirlings on the way!

TM-Steve Guttenberg visited Nelson Pass and did a 3 part youtube video

a couple years ago. 

Reason I mention it is that it you may help you decide on an amp.

 Hint- Pass voices his amps using modified Tannoys.

Pass also refers to his amps as somewhat  "tubey" sounding. 

Maybe the reason Steve at Decware did not respond is that his company

is working on a 800 unit backlog of orders last I checked. So if I was buying

from them now I would not be worried about an ignored email but rather

what stresses are added to his construction process and will they be detrimental

to the QC or SQ.

I had a Carey Tube amp and an Audible Illusions preamp powering my Tannoy

FSMs. Sound was great but while the one the amps was in for repair

I ran across a set of Pass Amp Camp mini Monoblocks-6 wpc- for $300 assembled.

After hearing the added detail I decided to buy an XA25 used. Loved it then

shopped for a pre and decided to just buy the INT25. Had it 14 months now

and do not think I need go back to the Tube grind.

Although you may lose some detail and bass with tubes, you do get some extra magic which sometimes makes me wonder. 

So I have a pair of stand mounts in on trial now. Thought was to a/b them 

to the Tannoys and see if I could enjoy some sort of a new "Beryllium" sound

and placate the wife with a smaller replacement. She bought in suspiciously

quickly.

FYI- I do employ a REL Tx5 sub with the Tannoys. Not so much for the extra depth

but for the enhanced soundstage. Love that little guy and it is so small the wife

hardly notices.  2 1/2 weeks left on the new speaker trial. May have to keep them

both. Will post again in early Feb. as deadline approaches.

One last thing for TM- The new Luxman INTs I have heard sounded pretty

darn good. Love to have someone a/b  Pass to Lux. on the Class A sound.

I wonder if your Mac and the Tannoy might be too warm/passing up too much

material? Not familiar with that Mac.

Sorry for the novel but I think I had something for several posters.

GO TANNOY!!!!

I own a Pass XA25 and it  has more than enough power to  drive my Sterlings.

@trentmemphis 

Have Cheviots with Luxman 590AX.

Lots of power. Smooth, but still a lot of punch when needed. Tons of versatility if that matters. Phono, separate, loudness, tone controls etc.

Regarding low-power Pass on Sterlings: I had an XA30.5  (and XP-10) with Turnberry. The combination was a bit on the anemic and slow side. I am now using Benchmark AHB2 and HPA4 with much better results. Far less strain, much bigger/taller images, etc.

“Accuphase kit interests me, but I've never heard any of it.  From what I've read/heard people say, it seems like they have an atypical class-A sound; cooler, flatter, a bit recessed by comparison“

@trentmemphis 

Accuphase sounds nothing like your generalization of a component you never heard. I can only speak to E-650 Integrated that I’ve come to treasure over past 2 plus years. To my ears, it has a slightly warm (SET like) sound that is smooth yet suave with unfatiguing tonality.

The E-650 liquidity with vocals in also unmistakable. I could easily pick out the dense texture and richness of vocal harmonies on one hand and its resolution and transparency on the other. The voices blends beautifully with arrangements without congealing; the rendering of space is exemplary not just in width and depth but more importantly in the precise placement of images within the soundstage. Notably, instruments are presented as individual objects spatially and texturally, making it easy to clearly hear individual parts within the whole. That’s one quality that a meticulously designed component does well; to hear it to this degree from an integrated amplifier is quite astonishing and rewarding. Once you hear the E-650 textural beauty, resolution and liquidity, it becomes very hard to walk away :-) 

Good luck with your journey!