iMac with Shindo

[Cucumber_Jones]

tannoy prestige mini autograph

[dirtbag]

Originally Posted by Cucumber_Jones

tannoy prestige mini autograph

I think I remember they are about $2000 pair.

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by Cucumber_Jones

tannoy prestige mini autograph

Ouch !
I had those for a few years. Although not at the same time than the Apetite, I really do not believe they would be a good match with the Apetite.

[Jerome W]

The Apetite is a super beautiful gem. My wife loved it.
But if you want easier matching with speakers and sources, the Leben CS300 is also very cute, and sounds warmer.
The transparency of the Apetite is incredible.
It will make you hear all the defects of the source or the speaker associated, with no pity for them.
It sounded really good with my DeVore Super 8's but I do not use this system enough to justify it. Reason why I sold it to someone who uses it everyday.

[Shindoug]

Wouldn't the Devore 3XL be the perfect speaker? Small , beautiful , and we all know it matches fantastically well with the Apetite. That's what I would look at first.

[dirtbag]

I have to agree with Jerome, the Leben 300 is a real beauty. I listen to mine every day and it sure is sweet sounding with my Devores.

[Alberto]

Ron,

First of all, I love what you are doing for your wife.

I listen near-field a lot these days with speakers on my desk. Here are some critical lessons I've learned for such a situation, which I assume also implies relatively low volume.

1) Point-source speakers. Either a coaxial driver, like the Tannoy or a single-drive speaker work best when they are positioned so close to the ears.

2) Tone/loudness control. I know this is a sticking point with me and this is a very polarizing topic/suggestion. But even a great amp + speakers at low volume can sound very unsatisfying due to the way our ears perceive difference frequencies. I find music played at 60dbs or so on desktop speakers very thin sounding and some amount of bass boost is, IMO, necessary to make it sound more "delicious". This is particularly true because the high-frequencies make a beeline to your ears without a lot of "air" in the middle to disperse and diffuse them. This is great for, say, studio monitoring/mastering (I had a recording studio for a few years) but a bit too intrusive for the usage you describe.

3) The Apetite is a "lively little fellow" it's quite resolving and revealing. Great properties for some listening situations, but I am not sure that they are ideal for the situation you describe. Especially if the amp is going to be driven by a digital source. After years of experimentation, I found that SET amps work best, at least for me, in such a scenario.

But of all of the above, the ability to boost the bass a bit and tame the treble a bit are probably the simplest thing to address.

Of course, we all hear differently, and your wife might not have a problem with louder volumes or might not be troubled by such a direct and revealing sound.

I hope this helps. Best wishes to both of you.

Keep us posted.

Alberto

[Alberto]

Originally Posted by Cucumber_Jones

There are some tannoy desktops - not sure of the price though.

I have a pair of these.



They look and sound fantastic, especially in a near-field/desktop scenario.

But, particularly if paired with a lively Apetite, they might be too much of a good thing at close range. See my previous post for possible solutions.

Alberto

[Alberto]

Originally Posted by Jerome W

The Apetite is a super beautiful gem. My wife loved it.
But if you want easier matching with speakers and sources, the Leben CS300 is also very cute, and sounds warmer.
The transparency of the Apetite is incredible.
It will make you hear all the defects of the source or the speaker associated, with no pity for them.
It sounded really good with my DeVore Super 8's but I do not use this system enough to justify it. Reason why I sold it to someone who uses it everyday.

Once again, I agree fully with Jerome. I did not have an Apetite, but spent a lot of time with the Montille (which, I believe, is the power amp version of the Apetite.) Very transparent.

The recommendation for the Leben is GREAT. Especially since it has a bass boost to address the "loudness" issue I discussed in a previous post. Plus, it would look awesome and match the brass/gold accents on the Tannoy Minis.

Alberto

[Alberto]

Originally Posted by Shindoug

Wouldn't the Devore 3XL be the perfect speaker? Small , beautiful , and we all know it matches fantastically well with the Apetite. That's what I would look at first.

The only caveat I can see with the Devore (a favorite of Shindo/Leben Aficionado) is that the drivers, though close to each other, may still not be far enough to integrate properly in a desktop situation. This is not an audiophile issue, but a listening fatigue issue -- at least for me.

Alberto