Right now the Eatons are in a 3m triangle with listening settee, speakers have 1.2 m space behind and 2m from side walls. Settee is 1.5 m off back wall. Toe in crosses just in front of settee (as recommended by Tannoy). Will experiment more once they're fully run in.
Another week in (now 4 weeks total) and added 40+ hours played on the Eatons - seem to be getting more synced on treble now too and had to dial back the energy by 1.5db - may need to do it again once higher stands arrive in 6 weeks and cones will be at ear height. Playing The 3 Sounds 'live at the lighthouse' and its like being transported to the gig - wonderful! Meantime anyone else noticed run-in changes to treble on their legacy? Or maybe its the improving mid/bass allowing more treble through?
I have Turnberries and ended up with just a slight toe in after starting with the Tannoy recommendation. Much better soundstage in my room. YMMV but worth a try!
I should add that this was discovered by accident when a friend brought a toddler over and I moved the speakers to make more room for the baby. Afterward I turned the stereo on without moving the speakers back to the Tannoy recommended position and really liked the sound improvements.
Wrote this on another thread and thought be a good update here: Tannoy legacy eatons initially sounded boomy and treble was rather hidden - took over 2 weeks before these traits had mellowed and considered them worthy of continuing the trial, then another 2 weeks of 3 to 4 hrs a day playing with lots of position changes and adding some isopucks between speaker and stand before deciding they're keepers. A further few 100s of hours with some micro positioning and any changes have been along the same lines but far less pronounced. Now they're on 600mm stands at a height where centre HF tulip is at ear level, the treble energy and treble roll off tuning can be both dialled back to 0db and -2db respectively. Great tonality across bands - Mids are warm, punchy and expansive. Bass is now snappy and controlled from 40db up and with a nice digression to circa 28db. Treble is all there, not harsh or one dimensional, and floats outside of the speakers. Overall soundstage is immense and holographics wonderful. Sweetspot is a large sofa width.
Thanks for sharing that. Because I didn’t play them loud, it took months to break my Revolution 8’s to open up and jeeze, reduce the kabooom! Kaboom! Kabooom! I finally let them play loud, left the house while they did. After I got home? Oh. My. God.
I’ve had my Cheviot Legacies for about 6 months now and still love them very much. My only complaint is that I find my neck hurting from all of the head bobbing I’m doing while listening… I guess that’s a good sign overall! I’m still in the process of tweaking my system (speaker cable upgrades, room treatments and maybe a DAC change down the road), but the Cheviots are keepers in this room.
I had a set of custom wood stands made for my Vintage Cheviots. Guy does super nice work. Cost me about $250 for the pair in satin black.
Honestly, it is not quite as good. These were my old solution: Those hollow wooden boxes were unsteady and unsightly, but the speakers simply sound best on them. It kind of allows them to sort of “float” around up there, which either allows the box to breath a bit OR it’s because it better decouples the box from the floor. Honestly, I don’t know the answer. My new wood stands are much more rigid and supportive than those boxes. They sound better than the metal stands I had made (which sounded bad whether spiked or not), but just not quite as good as the hollow wooden boxes.
Based on the first pic you posted, those new stands might have some vibration issues being on that tiled floor. Have you tried moving the stands out so that they are resting solely on the wood floors instead?
Try isopucks between speaker and stands? Really sorted the bass / low mid boominess and treble balance when installed between my Eatons and wooden stands - and have read other DC Tannoy owners using Gaia feet or isopucks to good effect.
I would normally not recommend things like this but by far the best value amplifier I have heard for Tannoys is the Chinese Dartzeel NHB 108 copies.There are a few different versions of these but basically the more you pay the closer they are to the real thing.These use zero negative feedback which seems to suit the Tannoy tweeters best. I do prefer my Bakoon AMP 5521 but it costs about 5 times as much.It also has no negative feedback. I have tried a few push pull valve/tube amps and they sound good but not as good as those two SS amps.Please bear in mind though that they are two very unusual SS amps and not typical of the breed.
Actually, my preferred amplifier is my home brew 6V6 push pull dual mono. You can just see a bit of it in my first pic. Otherwise I run Leben phono stage and Leben CS300XS. But my scratch built 6V6 betters the latter.
Well, I like the 6V6’s better than both the EL34 and the EL84, though I like the EL84 better than the 34. I have never gotten along very well with the el34 class, nor do I like the ktXX (or, kt88, KT77, etc). In a push pull configuration, old or nos 6v6’s (RCA, Sylvia is, Magnavox) are the best tubes I have heard in PP configuration. (For the record, a new pair of JJ’s sound just terrible). They are punchy and sweet like el84’s, with a bit more nuance. The el34 sounds overblown and bloated to me, darker as well. The 6V6 lights things up better, which I like. But you have to be happy with 12 to 15 watts per channel. The only tubes I have heard that give the 6V6’s a run for their money in PP configuration have been 7591’s (in a MAC 1500 I had). But you don’t really find 6v6’s or 7591’s in Hifi gear anymore unless it’s home brew or vintage. Although I do think Shindo currently makes a grossly overpriced 6v6 amplifier.
Confirms my thoughts that EL34s do not combine so well with Tannoys.There are some Chinese 6V6 amps including some based on Dynaco designs.Best tube amp I have used was probably an EL86 but not enough power for the Tannoys.I had an EL84 and an EL86 version of the same amp and much preferred the EL86.
This is such a great thread, with lots of great tweaks. I bought new Cheviots 5 years ago. I mostly stream Roon/Qobuz, and play some SACDs. (Nothing beats the sound of DSD files or the DSD layer off SACDs.) I stream with Sonore ultraRendu and server into all-PS Audio electronics -- DirectStream DAC, BHK Preamp, BHK 25o Amp. I play SACDs on PS Audio Memory Player. I use a PS Audio PowerPlant 12 power regenerator. All electronics bought new with the Cheviots. My current room is medium-sized/carpeted with high ceiling and an open room behind my head, speakers are about 7 feet apart and 9 feet from my listening position, Tannoy spikes into carpet, no room treatment. I follow Tannoy recommendation and use "extreme toe-in"-- both aimed just in front of my face. Overall my summary of Cheviot's key attributes -- easy to position, huge sweet spot, fantastic dispersion, extremely coherent (miles above any 3-way tower I have ever heard, i.e., no phase or timing issues). As with almost any speaker I have ever heard, the biggest test is with piano and violin, if they are not superbly recorded (as with Rudy Van Gelder) I often hear piano/violin "smear." I detected no weakness in Cheviot's HF, mid-range and lower end. Very balanced and astonishing with female voice and jazz. Wide, precise soundstage with adequate depth. My first room was larger and wood floors -- isoAcoustic GAIA II feet worked great. My new room with spikes on carpet is a bit less effective, I lose some preciseness. Here are my tweaks in order of degree of improvement: (1) REL T/7i sub wired via hi-level connection -- just astonishing in overall "improved bigness and soundstage," I did not expect this. Shocking improvement. (2) Tilt back about 8 to 10 degrees improves bigness and soundstage even more. (3) Bump up HF adjustment one notch for more/better HF. This might be my old ears with average HF loss for a 68 year-old. (4) Ground speakers to amp and Biwire for a slightly blacker background and a bit more detail/speed. I am totally happy with my Cheviots. Totally. But since Cheviots are so efficient, I am considering tubes via an integrated amp, either (1) Prima Luna EVO 300 Integrated or (2) Linear Tube Audio Z10 Integrated Amp (currently 10% off). What do you think? "Dual concentric" is the answer for my ears. I also love my KEF LS50W's for my second system and Tannoy Gold 7's for my desktop system -- one of the best values in audio. My theory is that some people's hearing is very sensitive to phase/timing issues inherent in 3-way tower speakers. Source recommendations: (1) The sound quality of Roon + Qobuz is astonishing and I feel no need for LP's -- instead, put your money into a good player like the Sonore ultraRendu or opticalRendu. (2) And don't give up until you can play native DSD recordings, not just DoP. It's such a great time to be an audiophile. Happy listening...!
They're rather good, aren't they? It was originally Cheviots I wanted but I got the new Ardens for less than the retail price of the Cheviots, and I got seduced by the 15" driver . The only tweak I've done recently was to add Tannoy ST100 super-tweeters, since - in my room and to my ears - I always felt that the Ardens could do with a tiny seasoning of treble energy and extension but at a higher level than could be achieved using the Arden's variable crossover. Having found a slightly scruffy pair at a good price, and then done some mild restoration on them, I'm very pleased with the end results. I suspect that in most rooms the ST assistance wouldn't be necessary, but my room seems to be treble hungry, or is it my ears are starting to decline? Probably a bit of both!
I run my Cheviots with a PL EVO 300 and it’s an awesome combination. I also initially paired it with a PS Audio DirectStream DAC and loved the presentation.
Avidly reading this thread as I've got a large (20'x37') listening space/living room/kitchen with speakers at one end on a short wall. I would like to be able to really feel the music in the kithen at the other end of the room. I started a thread at Audiogon, and got some good recommendations, Tannoy being one of them. So, with a space that size, would Ardens be the right choice. I'm seeing a lot of Cheviot users on this thread, but taking the room size into account, would they work? Also, should say that 95% of my listening is at low to low-medium souund levels, and I've had Cornwall IV's recommended over Tannoy because of their low volume listening prowess. Comments appreciated!
If you're seriously considering Cornwalls, then you should really listen to those and a set of Ardens to compare. They're different presentations altogether and you may have a clear preference for one over the other. The Cornwalls will likely excel in low volume listening, efficiency and overall dynamics. The Tannoys, however, just bring such a great sense of cohesiveness, musicality with no listening fatigue... it really is about the music more than anything with the Tannoys. Steve Guttenberg did a review on the Cheviots last year and compared them to the Cornwalls. He's a huge fan of the Klipsch Heritage line in general, so he has a bias, but I think he raised some good points for each. That video may be helpful for you. If you end up liking the Tannoy presentation more (which would be my choice), then the Ardens would be fantastic with that size space. My room is only half of that size and I have some difficult room layout issues, so the Cheviots were as big as I could go. I would have loved the deeper bass extension with the Ardens if I had that freedom.
@OC Zed Thanks for your thoughts. Yea, you’re right, I need to hear some Tannoys; I’ve already heard the CW’s. Anybody in N.C. With a pair? I’ll bring refreshments!
Upscale Audio provides the 30 (60?)-day trial at home in case you aren't able to find anywhere else local to hear them. I had good customer service from them when I purchased this spring.
