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Tannoy Westminster amp matching question.

Hello again everyone. Its been a while but I'd like your advice if possible.

I'm waiting for a pair of Tannoy Westminster royal SE's to arrive ( end of dec ). And I'm wondering what to amps to match them with. I have very limited funds at the moment(budget of 3k or so), having lashed out on the speakers, and I'm thinking I'd like to go SET power amps again. So looking at second hand bargains. At the moment I'm thinking Sophia Electric 300b or Art Audio symphony II. Alternative suggestions please !!!!

To give you an idea of my tastes. The system I've put together, that I enjoyed the most, was Avantgarde Duo's and Yamamoto A08s. Loved it. I listen to all sorts of music: Rock, choral, opera, jazz. Love well done female vocals :-)

Thanks for your time.
borg7x9
borg7x9 OP
86 posts
 
Hi Wylmars. Of the amps you mention above I'd love to hear the Viva's . Listening to my 845 based amps
(http://www.psvane.com/?Jkg/t845/) .The pictures don't do them justice. I think that when I've nailed the pre-amp issue They'll be fantastic. You could also consider the KR Kronzilla series of amps. I very much empathise with your predicament. Its very frustrating worrying about making the best decision you can. It can easily spoil the experience. If I were to say one thing from my recent experience, I'd say that you need more control for the bass than my 8 watt per channel 300b amp gave me. To get that "high efficency" freedom feeling I seem to need more power. Good luck. I'd been keen to hear your findings as well.

Just one last thing, Jeff Day remarked that the Tannoys are very forgiving of amplifiers and you can get great performance with a wide range. I think he's probably right.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
6,996 posts
 
Wylmars,
I think that's a good list of potential amplifiers to use . Since you're seeking suggestions I'd choose the Viva Aurora 845. It's a beautiful sounding amplifier and would drive your Tannoys well.
Regards,
wrm57
629 posts
 
Hi Borg7x9,

Have you looked at VAC preamps? Although it is out of production, the Phi Beta will drive loads as low as 200 ohms, according to its manual. The Signature 2A, which is the basically the same circuit and is still in production, should do the same. Neither are cheap but do come up on the used market. I have a Phi Beta and it is a great piece. Might be worth a quick call to VAC.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
7,068 posts
 
Borg7x9, it should not be that big a deal to change the input impedance of the amp. It may be that it has an input transformer- this is not all that strange in the world of SETs. It might be that the transformer has to be replaced. That is not all that hard- I am sure Lundahl or Jensen makes a suitable transformer.

If the input impedance is set by a resistor it will be a piece of cake!

Our preamps can drive higher impedances with no worries.
borg7x9 OP
86 posts
 
Hi Wrm57,
you are right.... looking at their web site the more costly VAC pre-amps recommend an input impedance of >300ohms, which would work for my amps. Thanks for your response.
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