Tannoy Canterbury GR

[jdandy]

Terry.......Did you stay up all night listening to your new Canterbury GR's?

[Garytn]

Way to go Terry. Now is the time that break-in is really annoying. Can't wait to hear you review.
Gary

[tweet]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Terry.......Did you stay up all night listening to your new Canterbury GR's?

Dan,
You know it! The new Tannoy Canterbury GR's are so good I just couldn't bring myself to shut down. I jumped right back up early and started again. The sound right out of the box was a huge jump over my last setup (not even close) and is getting better by the hour. I'm afraid audio is really going to hinder my other activities. Such is life when you have new speakers in the house...

[tweet]

Originally Posted by Garytn

Way to go Terry. Now is the time that break-in is really annoying. Can't wait to hear you review.
Gary

Gary,
Thanks. I'm working hard on the break-in period. As soon as those big drivers get loosened up a bit and I have a better feel for the sound I'll post my impressions with a few more photos. If they get any better I may retire earlier than planned.

[jdandy]

Terry.......The Tannoy Canterbury GR is a beauty.

[tweet]

Dan,
The pictures just don't do it justice. In the flesh it is stunning in every detail. When we first removed the protective cloth after unboxing, my wife stared at it for a couple of seconds and then said that's the most beautiful piece of stereo equipment I've ever seen. Scotland certainly knows how to do woodworking. The Canterbury GR walnut woodwork is a thing of beauty from any angle.

[mulveling]

Well - in the time since my last post I'm now happily in a position to consider upgrading from my SE to GR. You happen to have any information, anecdotal or 1st-hand, on how the SE might compare to the GR sonically? Even my Tannoy dealer doesn't have any of the upper line models on hand anymore (maybe a Definition 10A, bleh) -- I was shocked when he brought the Canterbury SE in 5 years ago.

[tweet]

Mike,
Sounds like you're in a great position. If you find a pair of Canterbury SE and GR's in the same room, please let me know. I traveled all over the east looking for Canterbury's to audition but never found the two anywhere near each other. I did audition both speakers over a period of several months so my take is likely not much help.

I seriously considered a pair of lightly used SE's with ST-200 super tweeters. I was a fan within seconds of the first track. The price wasn't great so I kept looking and finally had the opportunity to listen to GR's for a couple of hours. My search ended that day.

To my older ears, the GR seemed to have a more natural midrange. Voices are sublime on the GR. Higher frequencies didn't sound like they rolled off as quickly as the SE. High end on the GR was similar to the SE with ST. Bass seemed to be a lot faster and tighter as well. The GR just feels more punchy and powerful. That said, both the SE and GR have seriously good bass. Again, these listening sessions were not same day/room comparison so may be way off the mark in reality.

I also purchased the new Prestige GR SuperTweeter for my GR's but we're remodeling so they are not in the system yet. I'd like to get to know the sound of the GR before any additional components are added. I'm also adding two JL Audio F113's. I joked with my wife that I'm assembling a poor man's version of the Kingdom Royal. Not sure how that will turn out yet but it's a fun experiment. If it's a total fail, I'll still be thrilled with my GR's and not the least bit disappointed. The Canterbury GR is fabulous and needs no assistance in bringing music to life in your room.

Hope this helps. Best wishes on your decision. Feel free to reach out if you have more questions.

[mulveling]

Originally Posted by tweet

Mike,
Sounds like you're in a great position. If you find a pair of Canterbury SE and GR's in the same room, please let me know. I traveled all over the east looking for Canterbury's to audition but never found the two anywhere near each other. I did audition both speakers over a period of several months so my take is likely not much help.

I seriously considered a pair of lightly used SE's with ST-200 super tweeters. I was a fan within seconds of the first track. The price wasn't great so I kept looking and finally had the opportunity to listen to GR's for a couple of hours. My search ended that day.

To my older ears, the GR seemed to have a more natural midrange. Voices are sublime on the GR. Higher frequencies didn't sound like they rolled off as quickly as the SE. High end on the GR was similar to the SE with ST. Bass seemed to be a lot faster and tighter as well. The GR just feels more punchy and powerful. That said, both the SE and GR have seriously good bass. Again, these listening sessions were not same day/room comparison so may be way off the mark in reality.

I also purchased the new Prestige GR SuperTweeter for my GR's but we're remodeling so they are not in the system yet. I'd like to get to know the sound of the GR before any additional components are added. I'm also adding two JL Audio F113's. I joked with my wife that I'm assembling a poor man's version of the Kingdom Royal. Not sure how that will turn out yet but it's a fun experiment. If it's a total fail, I'll still be thrilled with my GR's and not the least bit disappointed. The Canterbury GR is fabulous and needs no assistance in bringing music to life in your room.

Hope this helps. Best wishes on your decision. Feel free to reach out if you have more questions.

Thanks Terry,
Your perspective is much appreciated. I absolutely love the Canterbury SE midrange and very much like its bass -- but treble does indeed roll off a bit early, and I always find that the older ST100b/ST200 supertweeters fix that while imposing a slight penalty towards the musicality and coherence of the SE alone. I always end up with supertweets disabled, Canterbury SE tilted up (slightly) towards me, and 1kHz+ energy level at +1.5dB (with a Koetsu cart; would certainly switch to 0dB if running an Ortofon Windfeld or A95). These speakers also do exceptionally well in near-field, for when I end up listening in front of my girlfriend, seated on the floor!

I definitely remain very interested in the GR after reading your impressions. My dealer also says that "we have to get you into a set of Kingdom Royals", but at 80K list, he must have mistaken me for a richer man!

[NZ421291]

"I end up listening in front of my girlfriend, seated on the floor!"

I used to worship the ground my wife walked on, now I have to worship the ground in front of her!