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
Hey Gang. Interesting thread here. Plato... well said. To put it in perpective here: While I have never heard the new Yorkminster, I am very familiar with the voice of vintage dual concentric Tannoys... from the reds, the golds,on up to the modern prestige drivers employing the alcomax drivers. I personally use a pair of original Westminsters [circa 1984] with either vintage 60's Gold drivers or the original drivers that were employed with the speaker.Mine are heavily tweeked... crossovers were removed from the cabinets,updated with new wire, caps, precision resistors and in true bi-wire configuration. I have never heard a 15in Tannoy speaker that sounded harsh or incoherent on any decently recorded piano music and to be candid here... I believe the reproduction of the piano to be one of the major strengths of the Tannoy sound. Regarding large rooms?....another major advantage of the larger tannoys as they should have no problem pressurizing a very large room. Regarding break in..... a significant issue to be sure. That said: The NYAL deigned moscode amplifiers are rather mediocre at best: unrefined , unfocused and incoherent when compared to your fabulous Jadis's not to mention the colour of the CJ preamp. I have had your exact amps in my own system and they were nothing short of magnificient to say the least.While my rig has been voiced with vinyl as my primary source,like yourself, I too employ the Cardas golden reference IC's and speaker wire[on the tweeter]in my rig. Comparing the electronics and accessories that the dealer used for demonstrating the Tannoy to what your using,is like comparing a 1960's volkswagen beetle to a new model. Your own equipment is in a completely different leaugue altogether.
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.
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
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.
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.