Tannoy Westminister Royal SE Pre-amp Preference?

Fantastic speakers! One good preamp choice is the Canary C900 four-chassis monoblock preamp, comprised of two power supplies and two preamps. Works especially well with complex symphonic and choral music.

I used electrostats pretty much exclusively from around 1973, until I switched to horns (Avantgardes) in around 2006. The amp change sounds right to me; on the preamp, I think it's all about synergy, why not try the Ref 5 for a while, and see how it works? It sure isn't a bad place to start and I gather that the upgrade for the Ref 5 is sonically worthwhile. Once you settle in with your new system, and get set-up nailed, you can easily experiment with a few other line stages, and you are not forced to evaluate too many variables at once. Just curious why you are contemplating a solid state line stage in the first place (not that there is anything wrong with that :)). And, what phono stage will you be using?

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.

Wylmars - I own have owned Tannoy's for 20 years. I use tube preamp with solid state power amp. I would suggest you try some alternatives out - do not assume anything. The Tannoys are very revealing of amplifiers, many highly regarded amps both tube and solid state have been seen off by "lesser" amps in my experience. The less forward presentation you describe is the Tannoy 15" sound with most amps. Personally I only use tube preamps but dont mind solid state or tubes for power amps provided they are transparent and maintain excellent timing and coherence with the chosen speaker.

Wylmars,

First off, I congratulate you on your Westminister Royals. While I have never had the chance to hear the Royals, I have been using Tannoys since 1971. My first pair were 12" Monitor Golds, back in 1971, and most recently, HPD 315's (12" Dual Concentric, ca 1975), which have been optimized with custom cabinets, crossovers, and woofers upgraded to the current Prestige "Hard Edge" surrounds.

I have used various combinations of preamps/amplifiers, most recently a transformer-based passive line stage, in conjunction with either a VAC PA 35.35, (a push-pull EL 34 amp that has had factory upgrades), and a Plinus SA 100 MKIII amp.

I find the VAC much better paired with the Tannoys than the solid state Plinius.

I point this information out to show that Tannoys can be used successfully with many different combinations of preamps/power amps. You pretty much have to work at it, to have an unsatisfactory result.

Dover's advice is on the money. Enjoy trying out different combos until you find what best suits you. You will be in store for many, many, years of musical bliss.

Best regards, and enjoy,
Dan