Which Tannoys, folks?

[montesquieu]

With deepest respect and totally academic now, I worry a bit when I read that the SHL5 has a forward midrange!

Dave you seem to be taking the fact that Turnberrys do some things better than the SLH5, and that consequently Paul sold the SHL5s to buy Turnberrys, rather personally.

In fact you are coming across like you can't let go of the fact you lost the argument, and are over-compensating by talking down like you think your are on Mount Olympus or something dispensing godly wisdom to mere mortals.

No-one is affronting your manhood here, they just prefer a different speaker. The 'reason' doesn't need to be because they are deaf or because the amps are wrong. Your preference is your preference, there are no absolutes here.

I can appreciate the nice stuff Harbeths do as much as the next man, but they don't light my fire emotionally either, give me a Tannoy any day.

[DSJR]

I've also compared the two together, side by side not days apart and stand by my opinion, which is totally irrelevant now in any case. Time will tell. Lost the argument? Well, I thought it was a robust discussion of two speakers costing well over two grand the pair (the Tannoys now retail at £3500) and in the same way the OP is now changing amps at a rate of knots to get the speakers to perform the way he wants, the SHL5's were used with an amp that I think was the wrong way round (should have been an R preamp with standard 7 power for example, since the R version of the pre brings subtlety and finesse that is diluted in the otherwise excellent stock model).

Yep, I know shouldn't give a toss what other people do and, as Jerry will confirm, I have difficulty with serial box-shifters too Each to their own and I'm trying to understand it. I've just had too many experiences with myself in the past, blaming what turns out to be the least problematic part of a hifi and changing it, causing ever more problens subsequently. It's a bit like a reformed smoker evangelising about not smoking, if you see what I mean.

All this is after the event. The OP has made his choice and must live with the consequences. No doubt the source, cable and amp journey now embarked on will prove great fun, if costly

That's it. I'm done.

[montesquieu]

That's it. I'm done.

Didn't you say that before?

[Marco]

That's it. I'm done.

I suspect merely 'medium rare', rather than all-out crispy!

Marco.

[Reffc]

I've also compared the two together, side by side not days apart and stand by my opinion, which is totally irrelevant now in any case. Time will tell. Lost the argument? Well, I thought it was a robust discussion of two speakers costing well over two grand the pair (the Tannoys now retail at £3500) and in the same way the OP is now changing amps at a rate of knots to get the speakers to perform the way he wants, the SHL5's were used with an amp that I think was the wrong way round (should have been an R preamp with standard 7 power for example, since the R version of the pre brings subtlety and finesse that is diluted in the otherwise excellent stock model).

Yep, I know shouldn't give a toss what other people do and, as Jerry will confirm, I have difficulty with serial box-shifters too Each to their own and I'm trying to understand it. I've just had too many experiences with myself in the past, blaming what turns out to be the least problematic part of a hifi and changing it, causing ever more problens subsequently. It's a bit like a reformed smoker evangelising about not smoking, if you see what I mean.

All this is after the event. The OP has made his choice and must live with the consequences. No doubt the source, cable and amp journey now embarked on will prove great fun, if costly

That's it. I'm done.

With the greatest of respect Dave, cobblers

There will be no change of cables, sources, fuses, or other hifi related regalia.

Just because you don't agree with what others have found regarding Tannoys doesn't make you right, no-matter how firm your opinion is. What's more, you really have no idea of what I paid for them (another preconception of what might or might not have transpired financially speaking).

The Croft standard preamp is a gem, and whilst the micro25R is even better, to suggest that the micro25/7R pairing was "odd" or even "wrong" for the Harbeths or the Tannoy is no more than your opinion since just as many folk recognise just how good the standard Croft preamp is and have exactly the pairing I have.

Yes, this is the 2nd speaker change this year but so what? I can afford to do this, I love my music and having heard the Tannoys, they floated my boat far more than the Harbeths did. I am more than happy that there will be no more loudspeaker changes since I now have something that works for me. I am not a serial box swapper by any stretch of the imagination although I have swapped a few components out this year, but even if I were, it's part of a hobby and so what if some folk just like listening to as much kit as they can as part of their hobby? That's not a description of me as I do not fall into that camp. I have secured what I believe will be the last loudspeaker change I will make, it is a "destination" loudspeaker for me and of that I have little doubt.

This is a nonsense debate since it factors around your affirmation that from on-high you are being fairly disingenuous not just towards a pair of excellent loudspeakers but also towards the owner of those and the conclusions you jump to are without any basis except your own prejudices and opinion.

Tom has repeated more or less what I've already said, so I'm not alone in saying this again:

Harbeths are great, Tannoys are great, but they are very different and I personally prefer Tannoys for listening pleasure, end of. I am really not interested in anyone else's opinion of them. You should also know better having been in the trade, that knowing Tannoys as you should, that they are more amplifier fussy than Harbeths, and searching for the right amp pairing is essential to get the best from them. Tom I know has had the same journey and can equate with this.

I appreciate that some of your opinion or confusion is perhaps charitable by nature since you don't obviously want to see someone going down an endless path without a destination in sight. That is, however, not the case. There is one final tweak to make and I'll have everything as I want it, end of journey as far as I am concerned.

[DSJR]

Not cobblers at all sir! Am I not allowed an opinion either?

We'd better agree to strongly disagree 'cos this will get us nowhere. I'm not going to back down from my assertion that the SHL5's are in fact the better product (and a grand cheaper too if bought new), but it's not my money or taste we're talking about.

I DO know the current Croft stuff rather well, but couldn't understand why you went for the "inferior" preamp but went with the more expensive (and un-necessary with SHL5's) power amp instead. Surely an "odd" choice from my point of view. I mean, a Series 7 standard model easily reproduces the differences in subtlety of all the preamps, from basic to RS - and this with humble sources as well, the better preamps bringing more "expression," "passion" and "feeling" into a suitable recording.

Marco, I'm not so much "done" as burned to a crisp on this, but I'm not changing my mind. Mind you, all this waffle will enable the Turnberry's currently on fleabay to sell more quickly and that's not a bad thing.

Enjoy your Turnberry's and hope you find an amp that does the business for you. The EAR899 was rather nice with them I recall...

[Reffc]

One other thing that needs clarification David.

You said:

"Anyway, "we've" moved on now. Enjoy the journey. Maybe turning up the tweeter level by a notch as I believe Steve Toy has done with his may offer a slightly different perspective."

Steve hasn't actually touched the tweeter level since having his speakers . It remains in the centre position. His view is that if you have to fiddle about with the "treble energy" control there is a problem elsewhere in your system. I tend to agree having left mine in the centre position.

You're probably right though David about the EAR. The 899 is a very fine amplifier. They don't come up that often though and when they do, they're far from cheap.

I don't think language like "strongly disagree" makes any difference since you either agree or disagree, and in this case you disagree. I have no problems with that as it's your opinion, and despite the debate, I do respect your opinion as what you genuinely believe. What I do have a problem with though is your assertion of your opinion as "fact" when its nothing of the sort. You are right though, there has been an awful lot of waffle

You don't like Tannoys..fair enough. You don't rate Turnberrys...fair enough. You prefer SHL5's...fair enough. That's your choice. Having owned both, I have exactly the opposite opinion to you. I have no idea why you think that this thread will help sell some speakers on Ebay as that has nothing to do with anything (what an odd thing to say). This was started initially as an enquiry for those with experience of Tannoys, including Marco and others, to give me their opinions on which might suit my preferences and some good advice was offered.

I listened to various set ups and compared them against the Harbeths following which I could have kept the SHL5's. I chose to buy Turnberrys as I preferred them and by some margin. All you've done ever since that has happened is chipped in to tell me (and others) how "inferior" they are, plus questioned my choice of amplifiers, my motivation and made some personal remarks and observations which are, quite frankly, none of your business. I do not have to justify to your good self why choices were made. This was meant to be a friendly and informative thread about Tannoy loudspeakers,but instead has been hijacked because of your personal dislikes and I have to say, it has soured what was otherwise panning out to be quite an enjoyable thread with some great contributions from others.

You do have a bee in your bonnet, please let it out. Its only hifi and not worth raising your blood pressure over We've already agreed to disagree

[The Black Adder]

My old SHL5's didn't sound very good on one type of valve amplifier (P.L Prologue 2 I think) but on the end of a Radford it was a different kettle of Carp. I still like the sound of the SHL5's but my speakers are now 3x the size of them so differences would be quite obvious. Then again SHL5's and Tannoy DC's are like chalk and cheese in just about every way so I couldn't compare them equally.

[montesquieu]

My old SHL5's didn't sound very good on one type of valve amplifier (P.L Prologue 2 I think) but on the end of a Radford it was a different kettle of Carp. I still like the sound of the SHL5's but my speakers are now 3x the size of them so differences would be quite obvious. Then again SHL5's and Tannoy DC's are like chalk and cheese in just about every way so I couldn't compare them equally.

Hmmm 3-1 for Tannoy vs Harbeth here and I can think of two more at least from other forums, flogging off Harbs in favour of DCs seems to be a bit of a trend ...

[The Black Adder]

Hmmm 3-1 for Tannoy vs Harbeth here and I can think of two more at least from other forums, flogging off Harbs in favour of DCs seems to be a bit of a trend ...

lol.. in my experience Tannoys do something other speakers can't. Maybe it's the driver being so central that everything sounds so clear and natural?.. I dunno... Pixie dust?

When I heard Tannoy's I just had to have em.