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Tannoy Stirlings on the way!

Hi, everybody.  Longtime member, first time caller.

I just ordered up a pair of Tannoy Stirling GR floorstanders, and, frankly, I'm looking for people to rejoice with!

I'm a speakers guy, through and through.  I've got Dynaudios, Focals, B&Ws, Totems, Wharfedales, Klipsches, and even my old Polk 5Bs, the first speakers I ever bought, way back in the '80s.  I wanted to try something very different, and the Prestige line Tannoys really spoke to me.  The coincident drivers, the old-school-ish paper cone, the old-school cabinets and ports.  I'm really looking forward to hearing how they soundstage!

I thought about getting the Turnberrys, but the Stirlings should be just about the perfect size for my [extremely irregular] room.  Especially since I already have a pair of subs.

I'm pretty chuffed.
trentmemphis
trentmemphis OP
282 posts
 
Wow! Great choice! I’m sure you will love them. I own the Tannoy Legacy Eaton standmounters, the biggest stand mount speaker I’ve ever seen lol.

Haha.  Yep.  The Eatons are actually where my Tannoy shopping started.  Like I said, I was looking for something different, but I have limited space, and if I turned my Linton stands sideways, the Eatons would fit just about perfectly. :)  Then I eyed the Cheviots.  Then I thought, "Hm, it wouldn't be TOO much trouble to just move those Wharfedales..."

 
Man, they sound terrific, especially paired with a nice class A amp/integrated. Try the sugden A21 SE if you have the opportunity, it’s a great match. My eatons will most likely be my rest of life speakers..I still have my wharfedales, but these tannoys are in another world or league. Made and designed in the UK, Scottland.

I imagine I'll be sticking with my MC152 for a while.  Haven't had it long.  I've avoided McIntosh gear for a long time, but I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about, and got the 152 and a C49.

This is an excerpt from a review of the Tannoy Eatons, which will most likely apply to your tannoys as well....
"in Ravel’s Nocturn from Daphnis and Chloé (Serge Baudo, Czech Philharmonic) the view of the pastoral landscape was portrayed so seductively that I froze in the listening chair - the space was literally walkable for hours."

And another....
"And I especially fell in love with its depth - imagine deep and absolutely clear water, everything is moving, smoothly and continuously, you see colors and clear outlines to a depth of a few meters and you have an immense desire to dive to that depth."

I'll have what those guys are having!

I liked the one at AVSForums (I think?), where the guy said he felt like he could get up and walk around the lead singer.
trentmemphis OP
282 posts
 
Trent when the Stirlings are in your system you need to setup a virtual system here so we can see them!

Will see what I can do.

three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments
2,097 posts
 
should sound nice with your McIntosh gear.
trentmemphis OP
282 posts
 
I went from the Tannoy XT8F and wanted the Arden’s, but the shop I bought from asked me as many questions as I asked them. Finally, we determined the Turnberry GR would be a better fit for me than the Ardens. I’m must admit I’m happy as a Lark. The imaging is fan-frickin-tastic. Phantom center is locked-in. Great depth and throws a big soundstage. I think these do all the "tricks" rather well. Someone mentioned toeing them in. I tried none, a little and a little more and they do sound better with some toe-in. I’m not sure where you got them from, but hopefully they told you they need a long break-in. When I got mine, I thought I made a very expensive mistake. They sounded very thin and no bass, but after 50 hours or so of listening, they came alive! Now they just get better and better. I was gentle on the break-in and just let music play even when I was in the next room. I did notice after 10 hours, the sound was much improved and keeps getting better. I think I probably have about 200 hours now.


Those Ardens seem like big boys.  The dealer did not mention a particularly long break-in.  I pretty much ignore most of what I hear from a new pair of speakers for a good while.  Like you, I'll be playing them in the next room a lot.  Easy to do when I'm locked up at home.

VERY happy to hear about the imaging/soundstage.

Next project is I’m going to make some nice stands to get them right at ear level. They sound great, but I think ear level will be better.

As mentioned above, I asked the dealer about that very thing.  They told me the feet adjust to provide a backward tilt that should be enough.  Are you finding that's not the case?

I hope someday I can step up to the Canterbury, but if not, these are just fine and I’d be happy with them.

Why stop there?  Westminsters for everybody!

Congrats trentmemphis! I hope you enjoy them Tannoy’s as much as I do mine.

Thanks!  And congrats on yours, as well.
trentmemphis OP
282 posts
 
should sound nice with your McIntosh gear.

Thanks!  I hope so.
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