Which Tannoys, folks?

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Originally Posted by montesquieu

And the effort to turn lumps of silver into workable annealed wire, and wind it, and select and create decent core material, not to mention the initial transformer design, that's free is it?

To say there's £600 silver in it therefore it's a ripoff is rather an extreme over-simplification. I'm sure no company would want to launch anything that expensive on the market without SERIOUS R&D behind it which is hard to recoup on small volume production.

Market positioning via pricing is also Marketing 101 BTW and your point there about price and desirability is pretty much a given.

But anyway the point I was making was all about artisan vs mass produced construction, you may not like AN but even you would surely concede that not all of their kit, both low volume high and and mass-produced ordinary gear, is made to the same standard (let alone by the same people).

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Hi Tom



I think that you are under the spell and you misquote me. What I am saying is that AN use the silver price to justify high costs but it does not even come close to doing so. I have heard AN gear sounding good but they don't even provide decent design and casework for the extortionate prices they charge. The marketing is however very clever. All customers are "friends" so knocking AN has all the appeal of kicking the family dog "I got such a good price". It feels like betrayal and makes changing horses very difficult for incumbent owners.

I know of only one (correction three) UK manfacturers who I would genuinely trust in terms of their pricing and genuine commitment to their quality to their customers and AN isn't one of them.

Kind regards

David

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Originally Posted by tannoyman

I know of only one UK manfacturer who I would genuinely trust in terms of their pricing and genuine commitment to their quality to their customers and it isn't AN.

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HI David

I think you are very unfair to AN. My experience of AN has been of exceptional service, extreme friendliness (not just PQ but anyone else I've dealt with) as well as some pretty good deals on s/h kit particularly.

Just wonder how many times you've actually dealt with them to come up with this opinion?

That's not to do down other UK manufacturers, but from my experience (of Linn, EAR, Sugden and others far smaller) they are easily one of the best.

PQ is a nice fella, spoke to him quite a few times... But I do think the prices are a bit last decade. They seem to never change... lol Saying that. They have a fantastic brand and no matter what their kit does sound really cool.

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Originally Posted by The Black Adder

PQ is a nice fella, spoke to him quite a few times... But I do think the prices are a bit last decade. They seem to never change... lol Saying that. They have a fantastic brand and no matter what their kit does sound really cool.

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Hi Joe

You are right it can sound good but you should qualify by adding "when its working" My secondhand info would indicate that it often isn't.

David :)

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Originally Posted by tannoyman

Hi Joe

You are right it can sound good but you should qualify by adding "when its working" My secondhand info would indicate that it often isn't.

David :)

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How much of your info is actually first-hand, Dave? Kind of has a bearing on how seriously we should take your pronouncements on the subject.

As I said my info is secondhand in that I do not own, and am unlikely ever own AN kit. However I have a number of friends who do and two of them have had to get their stuff back to Brighton for the kiss of life in the last year for issues which imo they should not have had.

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Originally Posted by montesquieu

How much of your info is actually first-hand, Dave? Kind of has a bearing on how seriously we should take your pronouncements on the subject.

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Originally Posted by tannoyman

As I said my info is secondhand in that I do not own, and am unlikely ever own AN kit. However I have a number of friends who do and two of them have had to get their stuff back to Brighton for the kiss of life in the last year for issues which imo they should not have had.

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Sample of how many then?

Jeez.

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Originally Posted by montesquieu

Sample of how many then?

Jeez.

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2 out of 3 that I know of. The 3rd would not own up even if he had issues. I would also say that in spite of their problems they remain comitted to AN

I can see you are a bit steamed up over this but whatever you might think I am only commenting on the basis of what I have seen. I would also say that I am just a critical of other manufacturers including kit that I own or have owned when I think it is warranted. I am also happy to draw attention to the good things I see.

As an AN devotee you will no doubt look down your nose at my next comment but nonetheless I make no apology for it. One company I would praise highly would be Icon Audio. Great products at realistic prices and exemplary service (and silver wired, except transformers - even the base models) I have had 5 of their amplifiers in my music room over a 5 year period and all have been superb and on a couple of occasions when I experienced problems they were solved quickly and efficiently. On one of the two occasions that included replacement output valves delivered by hand to my door the same day at no cost.

This kind of site has no value if we all view the world through rose coloured glasses. Tell it as is and shame the devil. Nothing will improve if we don't.

David ;)

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Originally Posted by tannoyman

As an AN devotee you will no doubt look down your nose at my next comment but nonetheless I make no apology for it. One company I would praise highly would be Icon Audio. Great products at realistic prices and exemplary service (and silver wired, except transformers - even the base models) I have had 5 of their amplifiers in my music room over a 5 year period and all have been superb and on a couple of occasions when I experienced problems they were solved quickly and efficiently. On one of the two occasions that included replacement output valves delivered by hand to my door the same day at no cost.

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I know the Icon stuff well ... I have heard quite a bit of it including assorted phono and power amps in my own system - indeed I currently have MB845 Signature monoblocks in my system on loan.

It's excellent for the money but it has its limitations .. for example, while beefy and powerful, with the 15in MGs I found the MB845s don't have nearly the subtlety of the Tube Distinctions KT88 amp I have, which is just as good in the bass, and overall the MB845 sound can be a bit on the 'thick' side. I found this same comparative lack of subtlety with some of the other Icon kit as well (I guess it depends on the quality of your sources and what music you listen to whether you hear this, or whether this bothers you or not).

Both Icon and AN have quite a wide range in price and positioning .. Icon do have some modestly priced stuff but the 845s are about £7k new now, hardly cheap - they started at under £2k a few years ago so obviously having built the brand, they are going for higher prices too.

I agree with you the Icon stuff is good kit for the money but it doesn't quite reach up into the AN high end space, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't claim to.

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Originally Posted by montesquieu

I know the Icon stuff well ... I have heard quite a bit of it including assorted phono and power amps in my own system - indeed I currently have MB845 Signature monoblocks in my system on loan.

It's excellent for the money but it has its limitations .. for example, while beefy and powerful, with the 15in MGs I found the MB845s don't have nearly the subtlety of the Tube Distinctions KT88 amp I have, which is just as good in the bass, and overall the MB845 sound can be a bit on the 'thick' side. I found this same comparative lack of subtlety with some of the other Icon kit as well (I guess it depends on the quality of your sources and what music you listen to whether you hear this, or whether this bothers you or not).

Both Icon and AN have quite a wide range in price and positioning .. Icon do have some modestly priced stuff but the 845s are about £7k new now, hardly cheap - they started at under £2k a few years ago so obviously having built the brand, they are going for higher prices too.

I agree with you the Icon stuff is good kit for the money but it doesn't quite reach up into the AN high end space, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't claim to.

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Hi Tom

We should simply agree to disagree on this. You love AN. I do not.

David:)