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Tannoy Canterbury, KEF Reference 5, Fyne Vintage Twelve, SF Serafino

Hi guys,

 

So I currently have a setup with KEF R900 + NAD T758 + Musical Fidelity M6PRX amplifier and a KF92 sub. I also added a KEF center channel directly wired to the NAD (speakers are wired to the musical fidelity amp). 

 

I'm looking to upgrade as I'm moving to a new apartment soon. The space is 21x13 with a lot of glass windows and is assymetric shaped. 

 

A few questions:

 

1. Stick with a high quality 2 channel integrated amp like NAD M33, or worth upgrading the NAD to a higher quality AVR (and still using the musical fidelity m6prx for the speakers). I do enjoy the clarity of audio from the center channel when watching movies or Netflix. Also, feel given the room layout, a DIRAC might be helpful. 

 

2. I narrowed it down to four speakers - really based on reading reviews and aesthetics. Love the vintage Tannoy / Fyne look, but also love the SF aesthetic. KEF is different but also looks amazing - very clean looking for a NYC apartment. I'll try to listen to the sound before buying, but unsure if I'll be to demo all four. Any thoughts on speaker choice, esp given the assymetric room with lots of windows? 

 

Really appreciate the help! 

128x128kmalhotra
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,852 posts
 

Canterburys should be fine in that room. In general, the Tannoys / Fynes are room friendly due to the dual concentric drivers and controlled dispersion. If you do run into issues, going closer (mid-field or even pseudo-nearfield) works well with these speakers, and can help. As always, bass response will come down to positioning of speakers and seating. You also get a little more control over bass with Canterbury’s adjustable venting. I guess I don’t fixate on room & treatments as much as others since Tannoys are more easy-going here.

The 15" drivers like Canterbury will have a tighter, smaller sweet spot than the 10" and 12" drivers. If you can't always sit in the sweet spot you'll be better served by a 10". Maybe even the dual 10" like Fyne 703.

The NAD "M" series class D amps are excellent. Their digital preamps however - not so much a fan of those. But then I don’t do HT or the room correction stuff - just pure 2ch.

kmalhotra's avatar
kmalhotra OP
4 posts
 

Thank you!

I saw a McIntosh MA12000 on sale at a local dealer. Think going to get that one. 

 

How do you feel about SF Serafino/Amati G5 vs Tannoy/Fyne. I have a hard time finding a Tannoy dealer here in NYC, but I'll keep looking.

mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,852 posts
 

How do you feel about SF Serafino/Amati G5 vs Tannoy/Fyne. I have a hard time finding a Tannoy dealer here in NYC, but I'll keep looking.

Couldn't comment on the SF's - it's been ages since I heard one, and it wasn't at the level of what you're looking at. Beautiful speakers!

I wasn't sure if you were looking to buy used Tannoys - on new ones, the drivers have been made in China since 2020-ish. Cabinets made in ???. The Scotland factory was closed down. I haven't yet heard one of the China-made Prestige Tannoys. The prices didn't go down with this significant change in manufacture, either (you can get Kevin Deal's made in China scratch-and-dent leftovers at a *slight* discount). So honestly I'd stick to used Tannoys or new Fynes if going that route.

grislybutter
2,805 posts
 

Fyne is much better value than Tannoy. I would also look at KLH model 5 and Monitor Audio https://speakerchoices.com/

 

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