Tannoy Kensington SE vs Magnepan 20.7

Musicophile,

Mcintosh C48 preamp, Clearaudio Concept turntable with Artist v2 Ebony Cartridge, Oppo BDP-105, Manley Neo Classic 250, Nordost Frey 2 XLR, RCA & A/C. Nordost Valhalla speaker cables. Just waiting for my Tannoy Kensington GR. I hope they already shipped from UK.

Interesting experience you, Larry, have with Kensington. I can recognize that Kensington have a very high transient speed in the midrange, but I have never had problems with sibilance. This may have been a problem with matching amps and cables?

Sorry for the double posting.

Wow, S1nn3r, you have some nice gear! Manley and Tannoy are a raw combination. And, you do not need to worry about enough power. I use only 11 watts of Manley power on the same speaker:-)

Musicophile,

I used to own the Manley Stingray 2 and fell in love with their sound. Just couldn't find the right speakers for it. Heard about good Manley and Tannoy pairing so I went for it even with out auditioning before buying. Are you using the Manley Neo Classic 300B? Cause their website recommends at least 50watts for the Kensington GR.

S1nn3r: Yes, I use the Neo-Classic 300B, almost every time in single-ended configuration, with only 11 watt. Even if I like soul, rnb, hiphop (besides jazz, rock and sing-and-songwriter), there is seldom any problem with power reserves. The beauty with Neo-Classic is that you can tune in the optimal amount of negative feedback in the amplifier that matches your specific speaker. With Kensington the best result is driving them with 3-5 dB negative feedback. Compared to zero feedback you can hear that the bass get controlled, dynamic, fast and tuneful. And, the adverse effect in the midrange is almost not noticeable at all. However, if I use 6 or more dB negative feedback the musical experience suffer. Thus, I think Tannoy's recommendations for at least 50 watts is a general statement when you do not take into consideration how the amplifier works. Manley 300B is no problem, it is just musical bliss.