Which ones should I choose? Tannoy Kensington Gr or B&W 804 D4

@duckworp 

thanks for your advice. What amplifier did you pair with Tannoy? Did you have problems with bass for this room size?

@stevevn - a Naim 552/250 pre/power was the amp.  They sound more forward than your amp. I have massive bass problems in my small room (4m x 4.5m). The 804 was really the only decent speaker that worked well in the room without bass issues (till I got my latest pair which are semi-active with the active bass having dsp to allow me to tame the bass frequencies that trigger in the room.) 

@stevevn 

Thanks. Your point is also my concern. It seems that people prefer tannoy to B&w.

You are welcome. I’m not down on B &W speakers and I know that many people like them. I have no idea what your listening bias are (We all possess them). I just tried to answer your inquiry between the two choices presented. Tannoy will offer the opportunity to use a wider variety of amplifiers more successfully. 
 

Tannoy is both higher sensitivity and have a more amplifier friendly speaker impedance load characteristics. Their implementation of concentric drivers have stood the test of time. Personally I believe that you will get a more natural sound quality with the Tannoy. I understand that others may disagree with this. This is simply my opinion/perspective. Best wishes in your decision making.

Charles

Tannoy, of course :)

I’ve heard a lot of Tannoy speakers, including Turnberry SE at a friend’s. I’ve owned a lot, including Kensington SE, but have not heard the GR series Kensington nor Turnberry. Of note, the Kensington model is where they start using the special pepperpot / alnico divers - almost 10x more expensive if you look at replacement driver costs! These models have a more vibrant, rich midrange and provide more "jump factor". In the right system they "breathe" better and music just flows effortlessly. The Kensington midrange in particular, is quite spectacular. The 10" alnico driver just NAILS the midrange, at the expense of some bass power.

The downside is that the alnico/pepperpot’s treble isn’t the smoothest on record - you’ll need *some* care in gear matching to not push it over your comfort zone. If you pile on bright & harsh components (I mean, why would you though) you’re gonna have a bad time! Quite frankly the cheaper ferrite/tulip drivers (a more recent design) may be easier to tame up top.

Interestingly, Tannoy once did a VERY limited run of Turnberry LE with the Kensington alnico driver! They wouldn’t have done that if it wasn’t the better overall musical driver.

Whatever you decide, match them with two REL subwoofers.  They need to be large enough and dialed in to avoid over driving the bass.  Bass frequencies fall like a rock with volume.  Having subwoofers, will allow them to fill in the bass frequencies at lower volumes.