Tannoy Westminster amp matching question.

Gentlemen,

I was wrong about previous judgement on BAT / Tannoy Westminister compatibility!

Changed the Nordost Flatwyre - biwire version out , replacing with normal audio shack grade wires and the sound substantially opened up.

BAT can complement Tannoy!

Art80342, I have Tannoy Canterbury SE'S and was driving them with an older LFD Mistral, which I still use for my TV setup.It's a nice little integrated. I recently hooked up a pair of de Havilland Aries 845 monos and the difference is shocking.I'm now getting thunderous bass along with a rich midrange and even a more detailed treble than with the LFD.The dynamics are in another league altogether. You should try to get a listen to one of the deHavilland's and see for yourself.Of course, the price differential makes this an unfair comparison.

To agree with Atma-Sphere, a high damping factor amp is not necessarily the way to go with the Westminster Royal SE.

If you want to get the full bass potential of this speaker you do need the right amp. And with such a glorious, detailed, natural, open bass it is worth getting it right, believe me. I'm not a rocker or a blaster but I won't give up the great bass this speaker is capable of.

I wish the Atma-Sphere MA1 got it all but it does not in the bass. The speaker sounds light with it, and does not go down with realism in the deepest bass. I love Atma-Sphere and Ralph's dedication so this is no slam on either.

I would focus on what works for Westminster owners as that rear loaded folded horn bass presents a different load to the amp than other Tannoys. It's just a different beast.

There's a manufacturer who won't want to be quoted by name but his Westminsters sound powerful, seductive, rich, natural, dynamic, with deep bass, using a CAT amp. I heard classical, drum demo reoords, organ, rock, vocal, jazz and contrary to what an above poster says, you can get it all with one amp on the Westminsters. I am an SET triode guy with extremely efficient speakers but I would try the Westminsters after what I have heard many times at his place but I don't have the room for the Westminsters.

And, I am considering a CAT to replace my SETs. Do a search on the CAT JL2 and you will see other guys who say it sounds like the good parts of SETs but with power and bass drive.

Very interesting commentaries ... Based on much experience.

I owned Tannoys System DMT 15 MKIIs for about ten years. This is a studio monitor .... While rated at 98db efficient, I found that they sounded best with high current amplifiers. My journey began with George Wright 3.5 single ended 2a3 monoblocks. Wonderful tone, poor timing. Next we're a pair of (Harvey 'Gizmo' Rosenberg recommended) Sun Audio 300b push pull monoblocks with a likely 20 wpc. Those amps were a fine match ... very much a 'classic' sounding combination ... certainly not 'monitorish' sounding.

It was when I was persuaded to follow Tannoy's recommendation of higher powered transistor amps that old assumptions about the superiority of tubes began to be questioned ... at least for these monitors. The Naim 250 was a good match. But my final amp for those Tannoys was designed and manufactured by a small but renouned shop in England called Avondale Audio. I used their 'standard' stereo amp for the last 7 years. It is truely extraordinary sounding, at a moderate price. They also make monoblocks, whose owners totally rave over. Check out their site, and do a search on the Pink Fish audio site in Great Britain.

I recently moved, resulting in the sale of my beloved Tannoys. They've been replaced by refurbished Quad 57s. The Avondale Audio electronics remain.

WTS

I've heard the CAT amplifiers on several occasions and can understand their appeal (depending on system needs). It's a very accomplished high power push pull amp and offers near universal flexibility for speaker choice. I don't honesty hear much similarities to SET amplifiers. They sound very different to me, this is aclear case of listening preference and system matching. These speakers can sound fine with either type of amp, it really depends on what sound presentation you want . Neither is better than the other, it just a issue of taste.
Regards,