2. amps-preamps
  3. 1355653102

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
tboooe's avatar
tboooe
1,009 posts
 
05-15-13: Borg7x9
Just a quick update... I tried an Einstein "the tube" last weekend. It was fantastic. Full, tight bass. Imaging left to right and back to front much better.

I love Einstein products. When I had my larger system I auditioned their pre and amp. Now that I have downsized a bit I am looking at their integrated.
borg7x9 OP
86 posts
 
Tboooe, yes I don't know how they do it. I know this sounds corny but I listened to the Einstein in a couple of different systems and in each system it was like an extra layer of sound was sort of revealed. I don't know if this is because it is so quiet ? maybe. But the bass seemed to go so much lower ( but still tight) and the highs more extended ( but smooth ). It's a bit of a conundrum. The mids were balanced and very natural. I liked it a lot. If only I could afford one :-).
art80342
65 posts
 
Came across a thread on upgrading the 'inferior components' within the latest tannoy westminister se and the author claimed to have obtained no official response from the maker but had shared the full procedures online - and the v positive results after swapping out the 'cheap' components - thereby totally eliminating the muffled sound...

Am trying to google for the above ...
borg7x9 OP
86 posts
 
Art80342 if you check out Jeff Days blog. http://jeffsplace.me/

You will find the link to that and also a more up-to-date, crossover upgrade project that he's going through with Duelund cast caps. Looks amazing. It is a gold mine of information for everything WRSE. Have fun.
borg7x9 OP
86 posts
 
After much wailing and gnashing of SET's . I have come to the conclusion that the Westminsters love big power. The Sophia electric 300b's didn't work for me, and the parallel mono block 845's didn't work very well either. Right now however they are sounding fabulous. With a Plinius sa250 in class A/B mode. Sounds much nicer than when in class A. Seems odd to me. I will qualify this by saying I've moved house and have the Wests in a better room so they sound very different anyway. So if anyone was to ask my advice in driving these speakers in the future I'd be recommending bigger amps. Just based on my personal findings. Thanks all.
More to discover