Hi Whart - I am hearing something that smacks of IM. It may just be a tube in the REF 5. The tubes are <200 hours old. I'm adjusting to the difference in sound reproduction. To me, the sound of electro-statics are forward in the soundstage. My impression of the Westminister speakers is the sound is 'pushed back' (?) further. My experience with ES speakers is the need for big powerful amps with tubes somewhere in the food chain - like tube pre-amps. The thought came to me that maybe Westministers are the reverse, optimizing with tube amps and solid-state pre-amps. I really don't know what to expect with the big Tannoys.
Tannoy Westminister Royal SE Pre-amp Preference?
For thirty years, I have been a proponent of electro-static speakers. Six weeks ago, I acquire brand new Tannoy Westminister Royal SE speakers. My electronics have been tailored to electro-statics; powerful solid-state power amps (Classe Omega Omicron) with tube pre-amps (ARC REF 5). Now it seems low-power high-quality tube amp(s) are in order with the Westminister speakers. My question is simple (hmm ...): should I consider using a high-quality solid-state pre-amp with equally high-quality tube (Viva Auroa) power amps? Or, should I retain the ARC pre-amp for use with tube mono-blocks/amp?