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Tannoy Westminster amp matching question.

Hello again everyone. Its been a while but I'd like your advice if possible.

I'm waiting for a pair of Tannoy Westminster royal SE's to arrive ( end of dec ). And I'm wondering what to amps to match them with. I have very limited funds at the moment(budget of 3k or so), having lashed out on the speakers, and I'm thinking I'd like to go SET power amps again. So looking at second hand bargains. At the moment I'm thinking Sophia Electric 300b or Art Audio symphony II. Alternative suggestions please !!!!

To give you an idea of my tastes. The system I've put together, that I enjoyed the most, was Avantgarde Duo's and Yamamoto A08s. Loved it. I listen to all sorts of music: Rock, choral, opera, jazz. Love well done female vocals :-)

Thanks for your time.
borg7x9
borg7x9 OP
91 posts
 
Yes I am enjoying them much more now,

Thanks all for your contributions to this thread. Its been fascinating.

Just for info I've just ordered a pair of Devore Fidelity Orangutan 96's it'll be another interesting journey finding my way around them. Hence my renewed interest in SET amps. maybe I'll end up with Shidno like everyone else ;-). But I'm not going there straight away. At least I don't think I will.

More fun and frustration to come I'm sure.

hddg's avatar
hddg
123 posts
 
Dear borg7x9,
I am a very recent owner of the Westminster GR, and was looking out for amplifier matching from experimented owners.
Don't know if you are still active on this forum, but if so, would like to hear from you, what have you come up with, and which amps have given the best results.
Thanks.
borg7x9 OP
91 posts
 
Hddg, sorry I've been away a long time ( not for any criminal reason :-). ).

my personal, overall findings were that the Wests just liked being driven by beefy amps. The plinius sa250 with Einstein pre amp worked the best for me. I didn't try any super amps, but none of the tube power amps I tried worked very well. If I were to have my time with them again, I'd probably try the pass labs xa30.8 or further up that line if I had large pockets. Together with the best tube pre I could find. Others still love them with SETs. But that's what is so great about out interest isn't it. We all find beauty in different things. It's been almost a year since you asked your question..... what are your findings ?? Sorry for my late reply.

Myron.
analogluvr
859 posts
 
 I have had Tannoy Yorkminster's, Tannoy golds, Tannoy Sterling and Tannoy 383 sixes.  The best amp I found for them out of the ones I've tried is Sophia 845. I found 300 B to be short on power on all but the 3836s as they are 99 DB efficient. I have found Tubes to be a must however. I think atmospheres OTL's would be a great match as well!   If I tried solid-state I found them to be a little too edgy 
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
2,190 posts
 
I’m still driving my Tannoy Canterbury with 275 Watts/ch push-pull tube power (Rogue Apollo Dark monoblocks), and have absolutely no regrets! Amazing sound; highly dynamic and "live" sounding, while perfectly maintaining a neutral/natural balance across the spectrum. It has touches of warmth/sweetness just where it’s needed, without drawing attention to itself. I recently upgraded from Canterbury SE to GR, and that was a huge improvement across the board. I would’ve gone for the Westminster GR too, if I had the room.

And I can be content that 275 Watts here is already way more than ample for this application, and I don't need to entertain silly upgrade ideas of bi-amping, bridging (2 upgraded Zeus amps), etc. 

Certainly, there will be other great options, especially with the extra efficiency of the Westies. But I’m very happy with my arrangement!
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