Out with the New, In with the Old. How to make Audiophile Friends & Influence Others.
In this feature I talk about Tannoy Loudspeakers and front-end synergy; however, underlying are Dale Carnegie’s principles of How to Win Friends and Influence Others. The greater audiophile journey is finding others who love gear and music just as much as us. That’s a real synergy and melodic adventure.
About the Legacy Tannoy Ardens, I wrote “Buy the best speakers you can afford and be done.” I eat my words, in the audiophile journey, done doesn’t exist.
Legacy Series Tannoy Arden Loudspeakers on AAE Arden stands with Stereo JL Audio E112 subs, Hegel H90 integrated amp, Bluesound Node digital source & Rega P1 turntable.
After selling the Ardens and upgrading to vintage Tannoy HPD monitors in 360 L Onken cabinets with custom outboard crossovers, I found less audio bliss. It took me over a year to admit it, but these speakers weren’t performing in my room or with my gear. This is so disappointing because they were stunning in the former owner’s room.
Tannoy HPD 385 in Onken 360L Cabinets, Threshold S/550e power amp, Sonic Frontiers Line 1 preamp & exaSound e62 DAC
HPDs in their previous room, my God it was good!
So, what’s next? What should I do after pouring so much money into this solution?
I gave away my speakers!
I gave away my speakers!
For an audition, for a month, and with a price tag to an audiophile I’ve only met on Instagram. I’ve discovered audiophiles to be some of the best people on the planet, so after a quick convo and sharing system photos together, we made it happen. A friendly way to start.
Load them up & of they go. That van!
Making audio friends is easy; begin friendly, share some gear, a beer, or music. Start with hello.
I wanted someone else to enjoy the HPDs in their room with their gear, and maybe buy them. What would I replace them with, hmmm, so many good options! This is Audiophilia… this is fun.
Ryan, the auditionee, discovered the same limitations I did.
So, I had to break it to Julie that the HPDs were returning home, and we negotiated where I would “store them”. The spouse acceptance factor is low on dishwasher sized loudspeakers. Dale says “show respect for other people’s opinions”.
Moving 300-pound speakers is no easy task. I asked Ryan if this effort was in vain because they were not for him. He was happy to experience them, and I was happy to listen to them in a different room on different gear. Effort not in Vain.
Up, up and away!
Audio friends are great, check out Ryan’s Klipschorns.
Ryan’s man cave
Once upon a time there were a set of Avantgarde Duo Grosso G2s for sale in Calgary on Canuk Audio Mart, or CAM. I emailed the seller stating that I could not afford them yet, but I’ve always wanted to listen to Avantgarde. Stephen is now a life-long audio friend and we frequently listen and talk about audio together. When you put out good vibes, usually you get good vibes. Just saying hello is magic.
Avantgarde Acoustic Duo Grosso G2 are Primo.
Back to the HPDs, now I’m stuck with speakers and no synergy, what’s next? Enter 300B territory.
Slovakian JJ-Electronics JJ322 parallel twin 300B 20 WPC vacuum tube amplifier
When you know audiophiles you get access to listen to all kinds of crazy gear. I had a moment just like the time when I decided to purchase the HPDs, listening to them, and receiving an offer to buy now. That’s exactly how I ended up with the JJ322 300B vacuum tube amplifier. My audiophile friends want their used HiFi gear to go to good audio homes, like mine.
The room in which I listened to the JJ322 first. Note the one piece design Klipsch La Scala.
What happens when you pair 300B with HPD? Pure sonic magic! From “for sale” to “not for sale”, I’m in love with this synergy. Even after listening to Avantgarde, there is something familiar and sweet which I now appreciate on the Tannoy.
The music is perfect although the JJ might give up a little control in the low frequencies. I do have some unmeasured and uncontrolled room modes to contend with. Reservation, they are not the perfect speakers to play TOOL Forty Six and Two, the Ardens SLAYED that track.
Newfound synergy is simply beautiful
But this newfound synergy doesn’t resolve the spouse acceptance factor, how can we manage that?
Step one, we agree the HPDs are “stuck” with us until they sell. Step two, the huge cabinets have been extended against the side walls which creates less interference with the TV, a requirement of sharing space; actually, this positioning sounds better too. Step three, after time away without tunes, Julie appreciates the sonic richness of the Tannoy especially with the JJ322! She also loves the humidor style appearance of the amplifier.
Nothing doesn’t sound so good!
But can a 300B be a daily driver for TV too ? No, it’s reserved for music only. Hence the Tannoy Autograph Mini with a solid state Yamaha stereo amplifier. Speaker stands to come soon, but despite the looks, it works.
What’s next? The HPDs are keepers! We both agree.
My original plan to veneer the Onken cabinets are restored, maybe in a red rosewood to complement the JJ322, similar to that of the Sonus Faber Stradivari G2!
As you can see, Dale Carnegie’s rules helped me make new audio friends and influence Julie to LOVE the system again.
Did you know that Nelson Pass uses Tannoy HPD 385s to evaluate amplifier design? It’s not because they are perfect speakers, no, it’s because they reveal what’s in the signal chain. Steve Guttenberg made a video with Nelson about this.
Maybe I need to try a super tweeter next!
“This is the reference standard speaker at Pass Labs, when we have to be listening to stuff we know that we’re all listening to the same system. These are simply just tools. These aren’t the best speakers that you would ever want to listen to. They are, in fact, the most revealing of amplifier characteristics.”
Gallery
Discover a lot more about Tannoy HPD & Onken here on A Bigger Audio Bliss!
