An epic speaker battle is afoot: SF Guarneri vs. Tannoy Sandringham (take the poll)

[Tonepub]

I've heard them both. They are great amps and a ton of fun. The current Luxman I have in for review is cut of the same cloth. I also owned the DeVore speakers (both the 8's and the 9's) and know that John DeVore uses the Shindo stuff to voice his speakers - that's probably better synergy than anything.

It's just not my cup of tea. Did the Wavac thing too, that had it's own magic.

We all find our nirvana with different gear. That's why we don't proclaim this thing or that thing to be the best one month and then completely change gear the next month.

Just as you've found your slice of heaven with the DeVore/Shindo setup, I've found mine with the Burmester amplification and GamuT S9's.

And I've had a ton of fun with the Luxman. It's really warm and inviting. Personally, if I had to pick between warmth and resolution, I'd always go with the warmth, because it does a better job at making average recordings sound better than they should. Having a system that you can only play 10 audiophile approved records on is not for me.

If I had the space for a third permanent system, I'd definitely have this Luxman and my 805D's or a pair of Quad 57's or a Shindo. It's just not the flavor I'd pick for my daily driver.

[two dot]

Fair enough.

I have a TON of respect for your ears and the amount of gear that you have heard.


I really want to try the Luxman since you put it in the same category...

I will try the Class A low power offering at some point.


Thanks Jeff....

[Alberto]

... the Tannoy Sandringhams. But they are winner only in the sense that they get to stay home while the Guarneris are getting a new home.

So the AA crowd, who guessed Tannoy over Guarneri by a ratio of about 3 to 2 got it right.

Up the very last moment of listening, the Guarneris sounded amazing. As I mentioned in another post (a bit of duplication, but I wanted to make sure people reading this thread knew the ending) it was not a matter of better, it was a matter of:

1) I know the Guarneris inside out at this point, now I have a new speaker to explore - and that's always fun.

2) For the kind of music I listen to most of the time (rock and jazz) the Tannoys have a slight edge in both bass and more forgiving treble.

The smoothness and lack of grain in the Guarneri's midrange and upper registers is amazing - smooth as silk. But few recordings are worthy of such refinement. On audiophile recordings the Guarneris shine like nobody's business, but on average recording I am hearing things I'd prefer not to hear.

I will post more thorough impressions on the Tannoys as I get more "miles" on them.

Thank you for voting and participating in my quest - playing with friends is much more fun.

Alberto

[f1 fan]

Alberto...congrats! The Tannoys are wonderful speakers and will give you much musical enjoyment and a delicious sound to fill the room.

Dave