Looking for opinions on Tannoy Prestige line.

I have been a Tannoy lover since discovering them in 1972. I have had 12" Monitor Golds in Altec Santana cabs since 1972,
SRM 15X monitors for a year, (15" HPD, 7cu.ft. cab) and just
received my Canterbury SE's 9 days ago. They have just started to relax and lose any artifacts of glare or harshness. I am using a Primaluna Prologue 5 amp with KT88's,
AVA Super PAS 3i pre with Amperex 12AX7 line tubes and Mullard 12AX7 phono tubes, NAS Interspace/RB250/Grado Gold1,
(well-tweaked), it is glorious and naturally musical. I have
a Robertson 4010 amp and a pair of Bottlehead 300B Paramounts which I have not hooked up to the Canterbury's yet. The 300B's are a little cleaner but challenged on orchestral/choral workhorses. The Primaluna has no neg feedback so is very good.

I value the 15" woofer a great deal, there is no problem at the crossover, and these are very modern speakers.

James63,
75dB is definitely lower than I listen, and I've got the system balance optimized for my (higher) preferred levels. Our ears' frequency response sensitivity changes with SPL (e.g. Fletcher-Munson curves), so I would definitely set the system up differently. That said, the Kensingtons are so responsive to upstream gear (e.g. tube changes) that this should be achievable.

My current system is built with an emphasis on a warm, sweet and prominent midrange, with smooth top end (that won't kill my ears) and strong bass. For lower SPL levels, I'd want to focus relatively more on treble & bass. At my levels, the bass feels deliciusly plentiful and powerful, with no artificial boost necessary. In other words, there isn't any 1 system configuration for any 1 speaker that will be optimal at different volume levels. That said, the Kensingtons are capable of superb bass reponse - and here you can truly say "excellent bass reponse" without the usual qualifiers: "for a small-ish floorstander" or "for a monitor". Anytime I see a qualifier like that, no matter how sugar-coated, I stop reading further! You need serious size for real bass quality & quantity; the Kensingtons are the entry level to "big boy" sizes, and Tannoy knows how to use it.

Going a step further - I know how you feel when you look at the Glenair 15" and start thinking it must have even better bass response. I've heard them on my own amp & preamp (though only for a couple of hours), and though awesome, they didn't fully blow me away. The slightly sweet midrange of the Kensington wins it out for me. I didn't hear it give significantly better bass response either; it may be (wild guess here) that more of that extra size went to efficicency rather than bass extension. I should also note that both the Glenair 10" and Kensingtons seriously hopped-up their bass response when driven by a super-powerful tube amp (Rogue Apollos). Also, a couple of my friends heard the same setup and feel that the midrange on BOTH the Glenair 10" and Kensingtons are superior to the Glenair 15". I personally didn't hear any anomolies that could be attributed to the crossover; I just liked the Kensigtons better. Didn't do quite enough comparison to formulate my own midrange opinion on Glenair 10" vs. 15"; but my feeling is that it's close.

I've also heard the Churchill Widebands in a fully different system, and now THAT'S where the Tannoy 15" shows superior bass response! Seriously, seriously wicked dynamics in that system - best I've ever heard. Clean and neutral overall tonality. But again, the Kensingtons have a touch of midrange sweetness that I'm just drawn to - like an RCA black plate 12AX7/12BH7 or a Koetsu Platinum. When I looked at the Yorkminster & Canterbury I wondered whether they would have the Kensington's mids PLUS the Churchill's bass and dynamics. However, my friend with the Churchills has heard the Yorkminsters, and says that the mids on the Kensintons are just unique - in fact he said his Tannoy contact said they've got the best mids in the Prestige line. This friend also recently bough the Kingdom Royals, which I'm going to have to hear soon :P

Mulveling,

Thanks again for another detailed responce. You have pretty much covered all of my questions. I think I will pass on the use Glenair 15" and keep an eye out for the Kensington or Glenair 10. It needs to be used though so I can sell it if I don't like it for minimal loss... I have no dealer anyway.

James63, I recently had exposure to most of the Prestige line so will be happy to share my impressions.

First up, a local dealer had taken on the Tannoy line and presented a demo session to our local audio club with the Westminster SE. I don't believe the room/set up was optimal (designed for home theater) but I was able to hear enough positive sonic characteristics to stir my interest.

Next a friend and audio buddy arranged for a home audition of the Yorkminster SE from this dealer. That was a far more rewarding experience, so good that I suggested to my friend that he could stop right there and never look back. Instead he later tried the Westminster SEs but apparently (I did not hear that trial) they overwhelmed his room and were not as well balanced as the Yorkminsters. But then he had the chance to hear the Canterbury SE in his home. They were the best match of all and he bought them. I will avoid the usual audiophile blabber and simply say they provide as much connection/emotion with a live musical event as any speaker I've heard.

Based on these auditions, I might suggest two guidelines -
* the size of the Tannoy driver/cabinet will be critical to the best match in your room/acoustic environment, and
* in spite of the efficiency ratings of the Tannoy models I believe both quality and power will be important in matching an amplifier. Some SETs might work but that would be conditional on your listening level and types of music. Since you enjoy hard rock I doubt a SET with <25 wpc would be satisfactory.

Best of luck in finding your answer.

Hi James, I have heard several members of the Tannoy Prestige family in different systems - the Turnberry, Kensingtons, and a couple of Westminister Royals. Being somewhat of a fan of high efficiency and dynamics, I compared them to Avantgarde horns.

The Avantgardes definitely sound more dynamic, but some among my group of friends thinks that the dynamics are exaggerated on the AVG's and the Tannoys are more realistic.

Where the Tannoys have it all the AVG's is coherence. There is no way to make a large multi-driver speaker like the AVG approximate a point source like the Tannoy dual concentric driver. This has attendant benefits on soundstaging and image size. The AVG's always sound too big and a tad overblown compared to the Tannoys.

The Tannoys have a warmer and more romantic tone than the Avantgardes. On every model I have heard, there is a rosy midrange coloration that makes the midrange sound fat. Not a good thing in my opinion, because I prefer my speakers to be more neutral - but certainly quite appealing with some types of music. According to one owner, this coloration is exaggerated with certain types of amplifier and can be "tuned out" by careful amplifier selection.

Tannoy makes and sells a super tweeter. If you do go down the Tannoy route, you should strongly consider getting one of these because it makes a hell of a difference to the resolution and soundstaging.