+1. In fact any of the Quads from a trusty old 303 up will suit them well. The 303(and later405) Tannoy HPD combo was pretty much a recording studio staple back in t'day..
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A nice healthy divergence of opinion going on here! ;)
Indeed, and for 'sound-per-pound' value, that's probably the way to go. However, for me, vintage Tannoys (HPDs or MGs) still sound best on the end of a top-notch, reasonably powerful push-pull valve amp, with good grip and control, whilst also delivering the beguiling musical qualities of tubes.
However, such valve amps cost a lot of money (as it's mostly in the quality of the transformers), so Mike, unless you've got a minimum of £5k to throw at things, forget it and stick to SS.
Marco.
Lots to think on, which is what I wanted. As mentioned already I'm in no rush so I'll just keep watching the classifieds and try and organise demos of kit if I can.
Gary at Audio Emotion is very good and local to me so I'll be watching his used list closely, the same with Jordan's who are 5 minutes from me too.
My EWA M-50 Power Amp is a powerful great sounding amp on the Tannoys and will take some beating, I had Autobahn by Kraftwerk playing for my dad before the recone and it was like we were back in the Usher Hall listening to them live. So I more than likely should keep the EWA and match it with a pre amp, I might just demo/borrow some pre amps in the first instance.
My Quad QMPs produce an excellent sound through my Ardens (even better since snagging Jerry's L10) & I think I'm right in saying they're a similar design to the 909?
In the 70s when running a Nelson Jones 10+10, I chanced on a 303. It lasted 1 day, the bass was woolly and undamped.
The 405 is not much better IMO, but the 909 is very good.
The Quad 405ii has much more control than the original 405.
I upped from the 405 to the ii and consider it to be the first real hifi amp that I owned.
I consider selling the Croft back to you, if you were interested.
Mike,
What about a EWA pre to match the power amp....makes sense!
If you fancy trying tubes I will lug my Kel 84 power amp and mono blocks across.
Ive got the monos plumbed in using the TQ as dac/pre-sounds lovely.
Can bring the tvc/tissie and bte to let you try some passives.
Try to persuade Brian to bring is croft pre /power.
As a left field I can also bring a few t amps-mini t/temple audio bantum/mono blocks-they can really surprise just how good they sound.
The scottish mafia is hear to help!!!
Good shout, Tony. I think Mike should hear those in his system. For me, every Tannoy DC aficionado should hear his or her speakers with both tube and SS amps, before making a final decision on which way to go, as the difference in sonic presentation is marked :)
Marco.