I have been in this hobby over 30 years and in that time have had the pleasure and good fortune to own many many high end components and gear. My goal in the past 6 years was to progress to a smaller footprint than my big Genesis speakers with Vitus monos, and still have great sound. I just didn't have the room in my new home for the big system AND all the boxes and crates! LOL.
I tried a number of fantastic products over those 6 years......Manley, Zanden, the amazing D'Agostino, Coincident, Backert Labs, Vitus, APL, Jeff Rowland, Emm Labs. I'm finally settled on my MSB/ EMM DV2 combo, with Absolare Stereo amp and Tannoy Speakers.........bit of a mix for cables, with Echole Omnia, TEO, Stage III Gorgon and Musica Bella Kuala2 power cables. Pics to come.
The newest and greatest from Tannoy, the Gold Reference series. Still breaking in the system but loving it!
Six years later, very very happy with these speakers. They gave me exactly what I was looking for stepping down from my 4 tower Genesis speakers. Still wanted great sound, emotion and soul and a much smaller footprint. On top of that they can pound out some unbelievable bass, and drums, when I kick things up. I've tried many different amps with these speakers, to get what I feel is right. I finally feel like I've hit a home run with the Absolare/Tannoy combo....just unbelievable.
Absolare Passion Hybrid Stereo
The latest amp from Absolare. Released end of May 2020. Just breaking it in. Fabulous tone and soundstage already. Added some NOS 12AU7 tubes from the 1950's and 1960's and this amp just loves them.
MSB UMT Plus
Plays and Spins everything digital, including 3D BluRay. Awesome.
MSB Technology Dual Signature Power Base
I was using a desktop power supply for my MSB UMT Plus. Switched to a new Dual signature power base from MSB. Love the improved performance.
EMM Labs DV2
Latest and greatest from EMM. Picked up new July 2020, with newly designed remote. Awesome unit. Improvement in Soundstage depth, tone, timing, bass, voice. Without a doubt my last DAC.
EMM Labs NS-1
Added the EMM Labs Streamer, NS1. This will be my 1st time steaming, looking forward to the convenience when not spinning discs.
Tripoint Troy Signature NG
This is the third Troy I’ve owned, amazing gear.
Stage III Concepts Gorgon Interconnect
Sold the Purist and moving to the Stage III Concepts top of the line Gorgon. It's on order and should be here within 2 weeks. Loved the Purist of course, fantastic cable! The Stage III stuff I'm interested in because of the body it adds, even moreso than the Purist. Love that big beautiful romantic sound......will see soon just how different it is from the Purist, or not!!
PS Audio P15
Added the PS Audio P15 power regenerator. Upgrade from the P12. Very very happy with the performance of PS Audio Regenerators. I have everything plugged into it.
Stage III Concepts Medusa Speaker Cable
Stage III Concepts Cerberus Jumpers
Best Jumpers Stage III sells……..the Tannoy Love them.
Musica Bella Kuala2 power cords
Design and build by Mike Vice with Bybee influence. Check out Clement Perry review.
Stand: Home made
I made my stand using a double layer of Maple, so it's 3.5" thick on the shelves. Weight is easily 300lbs. This made a serious improvement in the sound. Really seemed to literally anchor the music in place. Was a lot of work and it's not perfect by any means, but I'm very very happy with the results.
Critical Mass Systems Centre stage footers
IsoAcoustics GAIA
Put these footers on my Tannoy and the results are fabulous. The speakers now sound like they weight 1000lbs.
Walker Valid points
These were laying around doing nothing so put them under the digital gear. Not sure if they made much difference as I've had lots going on in the system lately, but I do love the look and extra height they give the gear for airflow.
QSA Black/Red Receptacle
Wow, love these! Thought I would try the Red Receptacle first, loved it so much I immediately upgraded to the black/red!!
HRS S3 Platforms
A couple of HRS Platforms for the EMM Labs gear.
Hemingway Creation Power Cord
I owned the Hemingway speaker cable and loved it…..thrilled to get some Hemingway back in the system via this Power Cord.
It always makes happy when I see another happy Tannoy owner. It would be enjoyable to be able to hear the Canterbury GR with the Absolare Passion amp, and the rest of the list of fine components you have at your disposal.
Bullot, another aspect of the Tannoy (HPD 315's, in my case), is that they perform so well with different amplification. I use Class D Audio, an SET 300B (my favorite), and an SET 845 amp. That provides welcome variations in how they sound, depending on what mood I'm in on any given day.
Bullot, better late than never! There's something about Tannoy Dual Concentric speakers, they have that special something that makes listening to them so rewarding. Many people seem to have the opinion that they are mediocre at best.
I beg to differ. After building my custom pair of 12" HPD's, I'm more content than ever. I don't need any more than that, and I'm not that easy to please.
bullot, I got to looking at your equipment stand, it's beautiful, and built like a tank. The amount of effort put forth to build to such a high quality is something to be appreciated.
It took me weeks to build the plinth for my Garrard 401, the twelve-coat gloss tung oil finish took what seemed forever (24 hours between coats), but it was worth it in the end. Doing such things on your system sure increases your enjoyment and appreciation of your system.
I've tried some very different amps with my Tannoys, 300 Wpc Aragon, Plinius SA 102, Pass First Watt M2, modified Assemblage SET 300B (upgraded caps and resistors, EML XLS 300B tubes), an amp I currently use when the mood strikes, especially with vinyl, and a Class D Audio CA 254, kit-built, with upgraded power supply, using two amplifier modules bridged to mono that delivers 500 Wpc into 8 ohms.
I do most of my listening using the Class D these days, the Tannoys seem to really enjoy having that much power available, and sound ridiculously good driven with such low cost amplification. Sometimes, curiosity and need combine, and leads to something great, even when not expecting such an outcome.
I very much appreciate the changes you have made, since I'm a Tannoy guy from way back (my first pair was in '71). I put together some very hot-rodded HPD 315's (12"ers from 1975), put hard edge surrounds on them, custom-designed and built crossovers, and very heavy and inert custom enclosures.
I haven't been able to hear them with the quality of amps that you have had access to, I can't imagine how good they might sound, they're pretty spectacular as they are.
Welcome to the Tannoy club. Tannoy (custom 12" HPD in my case), and tubes (300B SET), are a great combination.
The new GR version of the Canterbury must sound incerdible. Reproducing music at home can be challenging at best, but I've found that regardless which source I use, the Tannoys always seem to sound more musical than anything else I have tried.
