THE PROBLEM WITH THE 2k is the line array can put groups that are closely miked in your lap and the high end is very ragged making it edgy. The Tannoy can be overly bright if you listen to the speaker to closely, but adjusting the crossover can almost take care of any situation. The Altec just doesn't have the bottom end of the of the big Tannoy, but for the difference in cost you can add another 416 in the right enclosure and tri-amp and give the Tannoy a run for its money using a large infinite baffle enclosure. For a friend of mine I built a 12 cu ft tower with a 604 HPLN, a 811 horn with a 908 driver for the midrange and an extra 515g. The system was tri amped with a Rane processor and Mac amps was fantastic. I think Tannoys sound best with Mac tube amps. 275 and 2301. Wonder what they would sound like with a 3500. Not for power but for quality. Xrt290's have a totally different sound from the Tannoy and 2k. They aren't ragged and edgy like the 2k and they aren't as bright as the Tannoy with the crossover set flat. At a longer listening distance the 290 will blow away the Tannoy, but you need a lot of power for the 290. It would take a MC 601 with the 290 to keep up with the Tannoy and a MC75. I have 15" tapes I made using DBX with an Ampex 300-4 using Maxell Tape and the sound was so smooth when Played with Mac Xr-7, XRT 22, and 290 you'd swear you were there for the original recording. An ATr was a special deck with very low wow and flutter, but a tuned up 300 modified with a single bias oscillator with noise reduction easily put the Atr in second place.
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