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  #31  
Old 08-07-2017, 06:56 PM
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Originally Posted by mulveling View Post
Awesome! Tell us more about what they bring to the table sonically. I've hooked up my ST100b again to the SE, while I wait on my GR.
Would like to hear more about the SuperTweeters sound signature as well. I wonder how they'd perform on SE's?
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  #32  
Old 08-11-2017, 09:53 AM
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Sorry about the delay. I’ve been on the road for the past few days.

The Tannoy Prestige GR SuperTweeters have been in my system for about three weeks now. I'm still in the early stages of tweaking and evaluating so please keep that in mind.

I'll start by saying the Canterbury GR needs no assistance in producing extremely enjoyable and satisfying music in a home. I auditioned a lot of speakers before purchasing the Canterbury and still can't get over how musical, dynamic and real-life they sound in my room. I'm more thrilled with the Canterbury’s today than the day I first unboxed them. I'm a Tannoy fan.

Since the GR SuperTweeter was designed by Tannoy just for the GR series, I wanted to find out for myself what they could do for the already outstanding Canterbury GR. That was my only reason for purchasing them. Their awesome good looks and off the charts WAF was not a contributing factor.

The first thing that I noticed after connecting the SuperTweeter's is how they make the Canterbury's sound a lot taller. Much more than expected. I've read where some Canterbury owners tilt the front of the speaker or raise the entire speaker to get the tweeter at ear height. In the short time I’ve owned the Canterbury GR's, I haven’t noticed anything that made me think they needed to be tilted or raised higher. The ST actually sits above ear level on the top of the speaker but since it’s designed to work seamlessly with the Canterbury tweeter, soundstage height is very natural. Upper frequencies come at you from a much taller and wider area with the ST. The entire soundstage is taller and wider and more detailed.

The midrange on the Canterbury GR is exactly what I wanted in a speaker. It's sublime. Voices are life-size and completely natural at any volume level so I didn't want to do anything that would alter the midrange. The GR SuperTweeter comes with Tannoy's recommendations for each of the Prestige GR speakers and an easy-to-use placement guide. After getting them placed in the exact right spot on top of the speaker, I started with the recommended Canterbury settings at 18kHz crossover, 95db sensitivity, but to me it was a little too obvious the tweeter was sitting on top of the speaker. It reminded me of my B&W 802/800D2s Diamond tweeter at that setting. Extremely resolving and accurate but with certain music just a little forward. I left the crossover at the recommended 18kHz but gradually moved the sensitivity from 95db to the lowest sensitivity setting of 89 db. At the lower sensitivity setting, the SuperTweeter disappears unless you should hear something in that frequency range. Leading edge of higher frequency notes sound cleaner and more detailed without altering or overwhelming the Canterbury tweeter. The overall sound has more detail but maintains the natural sound of the Canterbury. When you should hear something in the music, the ST is crystal clear but not out of place. I've replayed several albums that had excellent upper end on my 800D2s but to me the ST combined with the Canterbury sounds more like the sounds you would hear in a live setting.

In addition to the GR SuperTweeters, I added a pair of JL Audio Fathom f113's to the rear of our den listening room. Bass from the massive 15" dual-concentric Canterbury drivers is seriously plentiful, realistic and deep. As they say, there’s no replacement for displacement. With the f113s about 6 feet behind the couch, bass response throughout the room sounds much smoother. This arrangement is delivering the best low end I’ve had in my home. From the couch, bass comes straight at you in waves from the front of the room. The incredible dynamics of the Canterbury's with the STs and f113’s can produce an energy level that is quite impressive. At reference levels, it’s startling. Notes seem to just leap out of the Canterbury’s with unreal naturalness and presence. My wife still can't figure out how it's possible to have two big subs behind her yet all the sound comes from the front.

Overall, the sound is real-life in scale, extremely dynamic, musical and non-fatiguing. Much more than I ever imagined it could be in my home. Listening is pure pleasure.

Finally, adding SuperTweeter's, like subwoofers, will be loved by some and loathed by others. My impressions may not even be close to what others have experienced but then they are not in my room listening to my setup. It’s definitely room, setup and personal preference at this point. When I first connected the SuperTweeter's, I immediately started analyzing each and every note to determine what had changed or if I liked this or that. Typical audiophile stuff. After a few days with them in the system, I realized I was back to the thing I love about the Tannoy's - listening to music and not a speaker system. The SuperTweeter doesn’t seem to be doing much until you unplug the wires or toss a cloth over them. When that happens, you will want to reconnect the wires or remove the cloth. The combination of Canterbury GR and GR SuperTweeter is like a drug. It's terribly addicting. And very nice looking.

Hope this helps.

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Last edited by tweet; 08-11-2017 at 02:13 PM. Reason: sp
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  #33  
Old 08-11-2017, 11:20 AM
mulveling mulveling is offline
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Awesome write-up Terry, very informative. Thank you!

Side-note: I'm sitting here at home, took the day off work, waiting for my GR's to be delivered in a few hours...and for the SE's to be hauled off down the block to my dealer's

I'm definitely a "tilter" with the SE, using plain hockey pucks, but I've thought about something more solid like the HRS Nimbus. The height of stage, as you noted, is just 1 reason why I need to either tilt or engage supertweeters.

The ST100b is something I use only sometimes with the SE. When I can sit directly in the sweet spot, they aren't as necessary, plus the overall coherence & musicality of the Tannoys is best (by a hair) with them disengaged. However, the ST does seem to extend the sweet spot a bit, which helps when it's both my girlfriend and me listening. I think it's pretty clear that top-end extension and off-axis response are slight weaknesses of the Canterbury SE -- exacerbated by the lower-than-ear-level horn tweeter!

The Canterbury GR probably changes the game a bit with its better extension up top; not sure how well they'll work with ST100b -- and I'm sure the new GR ST has a much smoother, cleaner response too (plus they look so cool). At least I know I'll definitely have to dial ST's down from the 14kHz / 95dB recommended for the SE (a bit hot even for SE, but usually I'm off axis when they're engaged anyways).

Love that you run 2 big subs with the Canterbury (Jim Smith of Get Better Sound Fame does this with his SE); that will be something else for me to consider in the future!

Last edited by mulveling; 08-11-2017 at 11:27 AM.
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  #34  
Old 08-11-2017, 12:44 PM
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Mike,
Wow, this is an exciting day at your place. Unboxing new Canterbury's is quite the experience. Can't wait to read your impressions as a long-term Tannoy owner.

I've followed Jim's journey with Canterbury's for some time now. I saw he recently traded his REL B1's for a pair of 212/SE's. I considered those as well and pretty sure they sound outstanding in his room. The JL f113's are fantastic subs and very musical with the Canterbury's so no regrets. I'm very happy with them.

Keep us posted and enjoy your first day with new Canterbury's!
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  #35  
Old 08-11-2017, 08:09 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tweet View Post
Mike,
Wow, this is an exciting day at your place. Unboxing new Canterbury's is quite the experience. Can't wait to read your impressions as a long-term Tannoy owner.

I've followed Jim's journey with Canterbury's for some time now. I saw he recently traded his REL B1's for a pair of 212/SE's. I considered those as well and pretty sure they sound outstanding in his room. The JL f113's are fantastic subs and very musical with the Canterbury's so no regrets. I'm very happy with them.

Keep us posted and enjoy your first day with new Canterbury's!
I've only had a few quick listening stints, and not all from the sweet spot, but boy - these speakers sound fantastic right out of the box!!

I won't be having any SE regrets. The GR's kept all the musicality and coherence Tannoy is famous for is intact, and perfectly integrated a dose of modern hi-fi technical acuity. Very clean, well-balanced and dynamic. Notably more punchy, snappy sounding than the SE's. Notes hold more weight and have more clearly defined edges. Great imaging. No supertweeters tried yet; not sure I'll even need them in my room and listening spot. Took some fighting with the SE's to open them up and push the top-end. Not here.

Also not sure yet whether I hear any improvement from the new AQ Niagara 7000 (installed after 1st listen to the GR) -- but the GR definitely sounds different than the SE, LOL!

On its way next 2 weeks: CMS Maxxum rack (3 levels is all I can afford, and then some), Clearaudio Innovation Master turntable, Rogue Apollo Dark monoblocks. I've been on quite a run, but don't worry -- next month I'll be firmly shackled back into the galley-slave slot of my working-class life!


Last edited by mulveling; 08-11-2017 at 08:16 PM.
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  #36  
Old 08-11-2017, 10:44 PM
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Mike,
Congratulations! Wow, glad to know the Canterbury GR's arrived and you enjoyed them right out of the crates. You already know this better than me but they take some time to loosen up. Those big 15" drivers need some shaking to get their voice. I think mine are still changing or at least it sure seems that way. They definitely get better as the hours roll up.

You are on a roll. That's a nice list of new gear heading your way. Sounds like you will need some time off work next month to play before they put you back in shackles. Look forward to reading more about your new setup and how the Canterbury GR's are sounding. Post some pics when you get it all together.
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  #37  
Old 08-11-2017, 11:00 PM
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Terry.......That is an enjoyable review of your new Tannoy Super Tweeters. You explained the impact in an inciteful way that was easy to understand. It is abundantly clear they are there to stay. I am happy you were successful integrating the super tweeters into what is already an outstanding speaker system. I have been a Tannoy fan for many years. If I had one more room in my home where I could squeeze another sound system, I would love to give a pair of Canterbury GR's the opportunity to shine. Happy listening for the both of you.
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  #38  
Old 08-12-2017, 06:56 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tweet View Post
Sorry about the delay. I’ve been on the road for the past few days.

The Tannoy Prestige GR SuperTweeters have been in my system for about three weeks now. I'm still in the early stages of tweaking and evaluating so please keep that in mind.

I'll start by saying the Canterbury GR needs no assistance in producing extremely enjoyable and satisfying music in a home. I auditioned a lot of speakers before purchasing the Canterbury and still can't get over how musical, dynamic and real-life they sound in my room. I'm more thrilled with the Canterbury’s today than the day I first unboxed them. I'm a Tannoy fan.

Since the GR SuperTweeter was designed by Tannoy just for the GR series, I wanted to find out for myself what they could do for the already outstanding Canterbury GR. That was my only reason for purchasing them. Their awesome good looks and off the charts WAF was not a contributing factor.

The first thing that I noticed after connecting the SuperTweeter's is how they make the Canterbury's sound a lot taller. Much more than expected. I've read where some Canterbury owners tilt the front of the speaker or raise the entire speaker to get the tweeter at ear height. In the short time I’ve owned the Canterbury GR's, I haven’t noticed anything that made me think they needed to be tilted or raised higher. The ST actually sits above ear level on the top of the speaker but since it’s designed to work seamlessly with the Canterbury tweeter, soundstage height is very natural. Upper frequencies come at you from a much taller and wider area with the ST. The entire soundstage is taller and wider and more detailed.

The midrange on the Canterbury GR is exactly what I wanted in a speaker. It's sublime. Voices are life-size and completely natural at any volume level so I didn't want to do anything that would alter the midrange. The GR SuperTweeter comes with Tannoy's recommendations for each of the Prestige GR speakers and an easy-to-use placement guide. After getting them placed in the exact right spot on top of the speaker, I started with the recommended Canterbury settings at 18kHz crossover, 95db sensitivity, but to me it was a little too obvious the tweeter was sitting on top of the speaker. It reminded me of my B&W 802/800D2s Diamond tweeter at that setting. Extremely resolving and accurate but with certain music just a little forward. I left the crossover at the recommended 18kHz but gradually moved the sensitivity from 95db to the lowest sensitivity setting of 89 db. At the lower sensitivity setting, the SuperTweeter disappears unless you should hear something in that frequency range. Leading edge of higher frequency notes sound cleaner and more detailed without altering or overwhelming the Canterbury tweeter. The overall sound has more detail but maintains the natural sound of the Canterbury. When you should hear something in the music, the ST is crystal clear but not out of place. I've replayed several albums that had excellent upper end on my 800D2s but to me the ST combined with the Canterbury sounds more like the sounds you would hear in a live setting.

In addition to the GR SuperTweeters, I added a pair of JL Audio Fathom f113's to the rear of our den listening room. Bass from the massive 15" dual-concentric Canterbury drivers is seriously plentiful, realistic and deep. As they say, there’s no replacement for displacement. With the f113s about 6 feet behind the couch, bass response throughout the room sounds much smoother. This arrangement is delivering the best low end I’ve had in my home. From the couch, bass comes straight at you in waves from the front of the room. The incredible dynamics of the Canterbury's with the STs and f113’s can produce an energy level that is quite impressive. At reference levels, it’s startling. Notes seem to just leap out of the Canterbury’s with unreal naturalness and presence. My wife still can't figure out how it's possible to have two big subs behind her yet all the sound comes from the front.

Overall, the sound is real-life in scale, extremely dynamic, musical and non-fatiguing. Much more than I ever imagined it could be in my home. Listening is pure pleasure.

Finally, adding SuperTweeter's, like subwoofers, will be loved by some and loathed by others. My impressions may not even be close to what others have experienced but then they are not in my room listening to my setup. It’s definitely room, setup and personal preference at this point. When I first connected the SuperTweeter's, I immediately started analyzing each and every note to determine what had changed or if I liked this or that. Typical audiophile stuff. After a few days with them in the system, I realized I was back to the thing I love about the Tannoy's - listening to music and not a speaker system. The SuperTweeter doesn’t seem to be doing much until you unplug the wires or toss a cloth over them. When that happens, you will want to reconnect the wires or remove the cloth. The combination of Canterbury GR and GR SuperTweeter is like a drug. It's terribly addicting. And very nice looking.

Hope this helps.

Congrats and thanks for sharing your experience Terry, the GR's are beautiful speakers and the GR SuperTweeters appear to be an excellent complement! They certainly look amazing. I moved from B&W Nautilus to Tannoy as well. I'm sure you'll enjoy them. With your comments and Mulveling upgrading from SE's, I'm tempted to give them an audition but I've promised myself that I'm going to stay put for a while.
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  #39  
Old 08-19-2017, 04:26 AM
mulveling mulveling is offline
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Maybe a dozen or so hours into my new pair...the Canterbury GR is such an amazing speaker! Not gonna make a concerted effort to burn these in (I don't even have a digital source in the main rig); I'm just gonna soak up the listening bliss 1 hour at a time!

Last edited by mulveling; 08-19-2017 at 01:11 PM.
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  #40  
Old 08-19-2017, 08:23 PM
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Mike,
I'm very happy to know you are enjoying them right out of the box. I agree with you 100% - the Canterbury GR's are an amazing speaker. Mine were so good the very first day I stayed up until almost dawn listening to one album after another. It was a marathon session that should have been a warning of things to come. I'm still having a terribly hard time turning my system off at night.

Enjoy racking up the hours. It gets better and better with each one.
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