Any experience with Tannoy loudspeakers?

I toe my Tannoys in a lot (I’ve owned 5 models now), but not enough to crossover in front of me. In my current setup they’re aimed to crossover slightly behind me. The positioning is a close to equilateral configuration, with each speaker some 9 feet away from me.

I tried the “cross over in front of me” setup some time ago and did not like it. This toe-in recommendation is written right in the manuals, and personally I find it a little baffling. It’s quite true that the sweet spots from my Tannoys have been relatively small, but oh so very very sweet. That works fine for my usage, with usually just one guest (my girlfriend) or just myself. They do get less impressive as you have more competition for the sweet spot. My guess is that the in-front crossover extreme toe-in might be a technique to expand the sweet spot size for a larger audience, spread over a larger area - but at the expense of the ultimate “sweeteness” in the single most optimal spot.

I don’t have too much space around my Tannoys, but enough to make them sound absolutely gorgeous. I do think it limits their ultimate soundstage size this way, though. They are amazing speakers! My girlfriend and I look forward to the all-night weekend listening sessions, all during the week. Just being honest about their limitations, in my experience.

I have the XT6Fs. Soundstage is very deep but not terribly wide. Bass extension is very good for their size, but it can sound unrefined at times. Still the best speakers I've owned under the $2K mark.

Mulvening hit the nail on the head. In my large room, at times I have to check to see if I'm actually listening to surround sound, the soundstage is that large. They image like crazy, and don't care what kind of music I listen to.

Dan

@islandmandan & @mulveling - for the benefit of the OP could you   provide the dimensions of your rooms please.

The room I auditioned them in was approximately 24ft x 22ft and the speakers were on the 24ft wall

FYI...
The only speaker (which I now own) that came remotely close to the gorgeous Tannoy sound are the "Sonogram" model from Gershman Acoustics. Unfortunately they are no longer made, also being built in Canada, they can be a little difficult to get. Their other models are very good, but there was something about the Sonogram's that drew me into the performance, just like the Tannoys did. The other Gershman models did not really do that.

The only speaker to date that I preferred over the Tannoy are the Avangarde Duo's,  They have a huge sweet spot, massive image and crystal clear delivery, but their price tag is a little bit steep for my wallet.

Hmmm - now I have a much larger listening room - I might just be tempted to try out the Tannoy's again.

Damn - I thought I was done :-)

@williewonka
My Tannoys are situated in a section of my living area room, backed into a little alcove (4 feet deep) that’s 14 feet wide and serves as the front wall for my setup. The length of the room in the other dimension is 21 feet. 10 foot ceilings. However, the left wall is only partial, and the right side opens up into the rest of the main living area - fully 30 feet in that dimension. So there’s effectively a bit more space around Tannoys than there would be in an actual closed 14’x21’x10’ rectangular room. The Canterbury is an excellent size for this space. I used to own Kensington SE, and their bass was a little lean in the same room. And the best bass I heard in this room was from Yorkminster SE, but unfortunately its midrange is not as beautiful as the Canterbury.

The bit of room asymmetry is not ideal, but the building construction is excellent and I’ll easily take a little asymmetry over a flimsy construction with bouncy floor and low ceiling under a drywall shoebox. No residential neighbors around, either, so late night loud listening is my favorite pass-time :) And my seating at midfiend/nearfield-ish, along with Tannoy’s controlled dispersion, largely mitigates the asymmetry effects. Sounds amazing! Total immersion into the musical performance, with good records.