Tannoy Eaton VS Harbeth C7ES-3 40th Anniversary - If you love Tone, Richness, Body and Warmth!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- #tannoy #harbeth #audiophile #hifi #stereo
Hello everyone, we hope you like our VS video between the Tannoy Eaton and Harbeth C7ES-3 40th Anniversary Edition. I really liked both of these speakers, but to help with more detailed comparisons I created a little chart below:
Audio Skill Harbeth Tannoy
Tone Draw
Treble Draw
Midrange Winner
Bass Winner
Richness/Body Winner
Detail Draw
Resolution Draw
Easiest to place Winner
Dynamics Winner
Imaging Winner
Soundstage Winner
Value (New) Winner
Value (Used) Draw
Easier to Drive Winner
Tested with:
Luxman 595ase
Hypex Nilai DIY Stereo Amplifier
Dynaudio Heritage Special
Atlas Superior Power Cables
Audioquest K2 Speaker Cables
High Fidelity RCA Interconnects
Zavfino Fusion MkII XLR Interconnects
Lessloss C-Marc XLR
KEF KC62 Subwoofer
Unlike 95% of TH-camrs, you speak about sound with substance and relevance. Glad I found your channel!
Thank you very much, welcome to the channel! 👍 😃
I love Dual concentric Tannoys, always have. I still use 12" reds from the 60's in wardrobe sized cabinets. There's a tactile quality to Tannoy's and they image like no other. Tannoy's are addictive. Anyone who says " it's all about the music" is kidding themselves. I always answer " well go and buy a Roberts radio then and save your money" We love gear and audio goodies and it's a harmless hobby. Love the channel, very good review of both.
Thank you 🙏 😊
Thank you for the 1-1 and I'm happy cause you kept the tannoys. I have a Cheviots and I must say that getting them away from walls, opening the distance between speakers, toeing them a little outside my ears and not inside like the manual advises, putting trebble level at +2 and trebble roll-off at -4, bi-wiring them and lastly using the grounding pole all made subtle differences that amounted to pure eargasms with them. I've upgraded from kef r3s and its like the best of the r3s but better, wider,taller, richer, with the vocals less recessed. The resolution is great I can ear subtle sounds in the mix, but I'm willing to try a more resolving dac to see if I can bring a little more detail.
Never heard the harbeths but I'm glad I'm not the only one to think that tannoys are truly special.
Amusing how you banter with yourself. Reminds me of Hugh Grant
Haha thanks 😝 👍
@Small Room Audio This was a very nice comparison video of those two very British speakers. In fact, I was in between those two. It was this amazing soundstage and imaging of tge Tannoy Eaton, which made me easily choose those. I couldn't be happier. That doesn't mean the Harberth are worse than the Tannoys. It's just my personal preference. Thank you very much for providing those nicely made videos!
If you like the soundstage of the Tannoys then you might dip a toe into the field of full range speakers. KJF Audio sells the Pensil 11MS kit (can buy fully built cabinets) and Pearl Audio's Sibelius is an alternative (not DIY, lovely oak cabinets, four times the price, drivers from same manufacturer, overall similar speaker).
The Markaudio full range drivers are so naturally sounding and much different to oldschool FR 'screamers'. Music detail is very high. And the soundstage depth and width is outstanding, as with all FR. I can say I'm glad I ventured into this field of Hifi. A true experience.
I think your advice about an open frame speaker stand and keeping the speakers about 2 meters apart is spot on. I tried my Spendors on different surfaces and at different heights and distances apart because I was interested in the results. Even tho these are different speakers, the build style is similar and has similar vulnerabilities. Definitely not a set it and forget it proposition
Had SHL5 Plus. Now use Eaton which is FAR superior in every way IMO.
I'd be scared to buy Harbeth just in case my Amp wasn't up to the job, plus the wife wouldn't understand me spending 5K on a pair of speakers. You should give Triangle Borea 10s a listen as these are what I did buy, you might be surprised !
I currently own the KLH Model 5's and wonder how the Tannoy Eaton's sound signature compares. I think the bump in the mid-range for the Harbeth C7's would not be to my preferences. I like a punchy bass, some sparkle up top, but a smoother midrange. Do you have any recommendations?
Excellent, I found this to be your most profound review to date! And good to see a reviewer not bamboozled only by resolution.
Thank you 🙏 😃 💥 🎵 🔈
Definitely interested in the Tannoys, the look is unique.
Hey, i am a tannoy😂😂😂😂😂
Very , very nice review and comparison pal.. I told you before you were getting better and better at this. Now easily my fav channel when it comes to audio / hifi equipment.
You deserve more subscribers and recognition.
In my book you seem to be the most honest and unbiased reviewer.. you just said your 10k luxman is bettered by some class D in your review.. i mean not a lot of people would make that statement out of pride of ownership for the Lux.
So that said , it would be really nice if you could make a video for interconnects /speaker/ power cables. Not necessarily a review, maybe a presentation of what you own and use and your thoughts about them.
Keep up the excellent work, cheers.
Thank you very much, those are very kind words 😊 Next up I’ll be looking at a few CD players, but I’ll have a look at the cables piece later in the year. 👍
All that talk and I know nothing more than I did before. Listen to what you hear, not what someone says, because there's more opinions than good advice.
Interesting comparison, but why not record a live comparison with a microphone? Let me understand what you are talking about! I believe what you say based on the knowledge you have, but there should also be a demonstration, in my opinion. On TH-cam, it's not just your friends who know you.
Tannoy forever❤
Probably a fairer comparison would be against the Harbeth Hl5 xd. I like your delivery and analysis. It's very informative, would be nice to support that with short musical comparisons. Very good though.
Thank you 🙏 😃
Автору - позор! Набрехал на 20 минут и не дал сравнить звук вживую. Реклама.
I wonder how these Tannoy Eaton's compare the new similarly sized, priced, and designed Fine Audio Vintage Classic VIII SM speakers? That would be an interesting comparison!
It would indeed! Just need Fyne to send me a pair!
Tannoy , It's like comparing Rolls Royce to Hyundai.
Tannoy didn't become a generic name for a PA just for the hell of it.
Great review….I’m a Tannoy fan…I purchased the EyrisDC-1 some years ago….I instantly fell in ❤…Recently I upgraded to the Eaton….I’m in ❤️all over again 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I listen nearfield, I need the Harbeth grilles in place. It smoothens the top end off a bit.
Soundstage can be great if you have a say 16’ x 24’ room. Speakers set 10’ apart and 10’ from back wall. One dealer has it and all speakers have a lovely holographic imaging. Vocals are floating in mid-space.
Would love to listen to Tannoys in my own room one of these days. Love the 70s look.
Try and get a 2nd hand pair of Vivid V1.5 speakers. The Vivids will give you the soundstage that you want, but they are extremely transparent to the source. IOW, they will sound like what your front-end sounds like. Hook them up to a good tube amp, and you'll get the tube sound. Hook them up to colder sounding solid state, and you'll get a colder sound. They don't sound metallic, just very real. My dream combo would be the Vivids with a Lampizator DAC. Amplification would have to be chosen depending on experimentation to see what sounds best. THB, I think something like an Audio Note 300B kit would probably be awesome as long as you don't want stadium levels, or maybe one of the Audio Note EL34 kits for a bit more volume. But that's just me. Either way, I think you might very well find your end-game speakers with the Vivids.
**eagerly awaits for the discovery of a single set of speakers that does the mids of the Harbeths, the soundstage of the Tannoys and the resolution of the Dynaudios**
Terrific review!
Thanks Chris! Does that speaker exist though, that’s the question!! 🤔
Buying used is a good way to not go broke getting good sound. Just found a pair of Proac 1SC/FE speakers used and they are stunning. I love them. Thanks for the review.
Thank you! Are those the speakers Tarun uses for his reviews as a reference over at the British Audiophile? I know he rates them very highly! 👍
@@SmallRoomAudio Close, I think his are older and the FE was a newer version. Build quality with rosewood is superb. They go for about $1500 used here and while I think my Special 40s are fine speakers, I prefer the Proacs. Interesting that they both weigh the same while the Proac is 40% smaller than the Special 40s and at least on specs, go 3db lower. Dont know If I've heard that particularly. Anyway, Love Tarun and he is spot on with the Proacs. Keep up the good work.
Those tannoys sound great with a sugden a21se class A. I don’t hear any issues with the mids...i think they sound plenty real. Lovely speakers...
My favourite Genesis album is 'Foxtrot' I used to own a vinyl copy of 'Trick of the Tail' but never replaced it with a CD.
I parted with my vintage Tannoy FSMs in favor of the Fritz Carrera 7BEs. That speaker is the cat's pajamas!
My Audiovector R1 Arreté also has Grounding. Improves the sound.
Best speakers i ever owned
How about we get to listen. All I heard was you talk.
Great comparison video. I really wonder how the Spendor Classic 2/3 would fare against the Tannoys. Very few videos about Spendors out there.
Thank you 🙏 😊I’d love to try the Spendors, I think they’d sound great! 👍
I have the harbeth 5xds and pair it with a LTA Z40+ and it drives them well
I've sold my 7ES-3 and replaced it with the Dynaudio Special Forty. To my ears the 40's midrange, warmth and balance is equally amazing, and in every other aspect (resolution, treble, bass, imaging, soundstage, dynamics) they outplay the C7's. Plus they're easy to drive as well, so I kept my beloved Croft Integrated R.
Croft amplification is 👌 🎶 👍
18:48 good advice!
I would never part with my vintage Tannoys.
The sound is very pleasing!
Great review! Would you characterize the midrange on the Tannoy lean sounding compared to the Harbeth C7 midrange? Thanks
Thank you 🙏 😊 The Tannoy midrange isn’t thin, it’s still plenty juicy. It’s just not quite as real sounding as the Harbeth - small margins, but they can matter.
@Small Room Audio. Congratulations for the great review. I am really surprised how close your review was with my experience. At the time I had the opportunity to have a Harbeth SHL5+ anniversary and a Tannoy Eaton Legacy. The Harbeth needed a larger room, that I did not have. Also in my experience it worked better with open stands. The best amplifier with the Harbeth was a Primare class D. With the Primare The Harbeth had grip and opened up the midrange and the treble.
The best combination with Tannoy was also the Luxman, but with a slightly different experience. Although It played very well with the class A L-595A, I preferred the overall balance of the L-505ux. Also the Tannoy played as well good with the combo Cl-38 and Mq-88. I also choose the Tannoy for reasons similar to yours
Awesome! Thank you for sharing your experience 😃 Enjoy the music! 👍 🎶
Hi. A Trick Of The Tail is my favourite Genesis album. I have the original vinyl and the "Definitive Edition Remaster", made in Canada. This CD is excellent, stunning, clear, revealing...among the very best I own. Actually, that Genesis remaster series is excellent. One of the few remasters, reissues series that is, in my experience.
I like your take on gear and music. Your videos are excellent, like I am hanging out with friends kind of presentation. Cheers.
Thank you very much 👍 😊
I think you should try driving the Tannoy with a 300b SET amp and see what happens.
Absolutely! Funnily enough I was checking out some of those on eBay last night!
I nearly bought the Eaton, until I saw how the price had increased. They were 3K ish a couple of years back.
Tannoys certainly have gone up - look at the Kensington, double what it was in 2015 - lovely speaker though, I’d like one!
Both speakers are beautiful. Would love to see how the Tan always compete against Andrew Jones latest speaker the source point 10
Me too! I asked them to send me one for review, but I got radio silence, which is a shame.
I like your take on things. Nice channel.
Thank you, that’s very kind 🙏 😊 🎶
thanks fo comparing this two Britisch speakers.
How does the tanoy work outside the sweetspot in comparison?
It’s good, the concentric drivers help to make everything coherent. 👍
I have the C7-ES3 paired with a Topping PA7 Plus class D amp and a Topping D70 Pro Sabre and the sound is nicely balanced with more than enough power
I’ve had Eaton’s for a while now. The ‘slightly metallic twang’ to vocals as pointed out in this vid is more than slight to my ears, it’s a problem. Looking on the net others have noticed this and have sold them on for this reason. A lot of old favourite albums have become a little or very painful to listen to, Bowie’s vocals on Hunky Dory, Ziggy, Diamond Dogs now make me wince for example. Iggy Pop’s vocals on Lust For Life sound really bad and early Queen is unbearable. This is not on all albums I should add, there must be a certain frequency or frequencies that sets this off. Or possibly some distortion that sets this off. I have a McIntosh MA5300 amp driving them with vinyl and digital sources. I wish I could do something about this uncomfortable treble as I love everything else about the Tannoys and this vid describes them really well (apart from the smoothing over poor recordings comment I can’t personally agree with that). I wonder if it’s the design of the Tannoys or if my system is now highlighting flaws in recordings.. too much ? Or if the Tannoys are highlighting the etchy grainy sound some say is a quality of all solid state amps ? The treble controls have been up and down countless times. The speakers have been moved around my room endlessly, the grills have been on and off.. and that metallic treble will not go away.
Really enjoyed your review and presentation style, thank you.
Fantastic review. Do these Harbeth speakers sound the same as the older ones, slow as molasses. If you want a tonally rich speaker with soundstage and imaging in spades, try some of the higher end Totems. If you can snag a pair of the discontinued Mani 2 signatures, give them some serious power and you’ll be in for a treat.
I’ve got a Marten speaker in to test at the moment, it’s like a Harbeth but less fat. The ceramic drivers are nice and speedy! Should be a fun one to review too! 👍
@@SmallRoomAudio those Accuton drivers on the Martens have a density in the midrange that the harbeths cannot match. They are also higher in resolution & more transparent than harbeths.
@@ganck1147 I’ll report back soon…I’m looking at a pair of Duke 2 as I type! 😃
@@SmallRoomAudio oh the Duke 2s are superb. A friend of mine swears by the combination of Luxman 590II Class A with the Dukes.
Very interesting and well presented.👌
Thank you 🙏 that’s very kind 😊 👍
@@SmallRoomAudioyou're very welcome, it's deserved.
Watching your video for the first time, the name “Small Room Audio” got my attention. Which part of UK are you at? I am a headphone user with a small collection of headphones, DACs, Amps, tube amps, playing Apple Music or my collection of over 20TB of DSD, FLAC, WAV, ALAC, etc etc with my M1 MacBook Pro. I listen in my study room, which has a work desk on one end where I do my work on the monitors. I am thinking of getting a pair of bookshelf speakers for this small room of only 4.25 L x 3.15 W x 2.5H in meters (13’11” x 10’4” x 8’). I have a row of bookshelves along the length of the room. The speakers currently in this room is the Creative T4, a 2.1 speaker system but I am thinking of getting a serious pair of speakers that can rival my best headphones. Do you have a favorite pair of headphones?
I’ll be looking at your other videos and hope to get some advices from you. My room size is a “small room” so it’ll be great to hear from you. Thank you! 🙏🏻
Hello and welcome to the channel, great to have you here! I’m not a big headphone user but i do like all the different flavours of sound now available under £500 - my favourite of which is the R70x from audio technica - such a pleasure to wear for a long time, and sound that never gets fatiguing. In terms of speakers you have lots of choices, and it really depends on the sound signature you want to achieve and budget you have. Starting with some little Neat Iotas for a desk set up is where I’d look, or Triangle BR02 (budget dependent). Both work well with relatively modest amplification and are especially punchy when you pair them with a subwoofer like a small Rel. 👍 🎶 😃
@@SmallRoomAudio oooh, was hoping to know what headphones you like to calibrate between us but I have not heard the R70X. Yeah, I need to narrow down on my budget to come up with a list of speakers and then go on from there. Will check out the ones you mentioned.
Tannoy is wow.... what a stage, 3D, organic sound, lively... simply great.... I know the Stirling and have the Turnberry... you can use umpteen more expensive speakers as firewood 🙄😂.... Tannoy is currently bringing out new versions... for example the Stirling |||..... these cost considerably more, yes... but listen to this sound... much more expensive speakers are not even good as firewood. Joe from Heilbronn... Germany
Great review.
On the Tannoy Manual it shows the speakers crossing streams or tweeters crossing in front of listening chair. I wonder if that would change your opinion of the Eaton…I’m looking to one day own them. They are beautiful
If your interested tannoy if look in tannoy pro enton or chaviot built from same pro version drive (woofer) concentric tulip tweeter favourite as work pro technician sound im lucky v12 (basically enton ) once mouth
i have listened and had tannoy dual concentrics for over 40 years there is no audable phase errors that make the sound go brhind the speakers what do you think happends does the sound bend 180 degrees dedrees go back a few feet5 and bend 180 degrees and go forward to you again? harbeth yes because there are lots of phase errors in there as in all seperated drive units. but it does go a long way forward. you might be hearing lower bass as you cannot tell where below 400Hz comes from or a little bass boom from your room
I have a pair of the Eatons running off an audio innovations series 500 tube amplifier. 25W per channel. Sound great - full and warm no doubt.
Cheers and thanks,, 🍻😎👍
As always, thank you for watching and being a loyal subscriber and friend to the channel 👍
@@SmallRoomAudio 💖💖💖
That was enjoyable. You didn't mention placement for the Tannoys. Where would you have them with respect to the back wall and distance apart?
Thank you 😃 Good point about Tannoy placement. when I chat to camera without a script it’s easy to miss things! The good news is that placement is also quite easy. I’d give them at least 3ft from the back wall to avoid bass boom, but placing near a side wall isn’t much of an issue with a bit of toe in. The horn is fairly directional, so there isn’t a huge amount of sound splash - that said, first reflection point absorption is always a winner. The Tannoys need at least 1 metre apart, the concentric driver actually makes it quite a good (if a bit crazy) nearfield listening experience! 👍
@@SmallRoomAudio Thanks. I may be embarking on my 'gear head' stage as I've had my current set-up for almost 2 years and a change is needed!
@smallroomaudio, thank you very much for your review. I’ve been looking forward for your Nilai review. Could you please share which preamp you used here with the NAD power amplifier? Thank you. Cheers
Thanks for the message and thumbs up! Unfortunately personal circumstances have meant the channel is paused at the moment - but hopefully back when things calm down! My advice for the Nilai is that nothing touches it at the price (assuming you need that much power). Purifi is better if you want to go the home theatre route simply because the bass has more punch. The M23 is the refined version of purifi and I’d take that over the base Nilai, but only if they were the same price! The Nilai is more natural sounding to my ears, dead quiet and undoubtedly the future of class D. I would use a nice preamplifier to tweak the sound to taste. I’ve tried it with a few, and do like a chunkier meatier tube pre like a Prima Luna, audio note - however - it also sounds fabulous with a passive pre such as my Kosmo, then it’s utterly pure and clean. A great bit of kit and I highly recommend it.
The preamps for this review (from memory) using my Luxman 595 pre-outs, Kosmo passive, Schiit freya+, various dacs and streamers direct into it, including bluesound etc. I really liked the two extreme ends of the scale - either passive for purity, or tube for meat on the bones and lushness. Your speakers and taste will dictate which way to go. Hope that helps!
@@SmallRoomAudio thank you ver much for thaking the time to getting back to me. I’ve recently acquired a pair of Harbeth 30.2 XD and am now on the hunt for an amplifier and class D comes to mind but the prejudice concerning it sound signature is a concern. Thank you for sharing your passion with us. Cheers
@@SmallRoomAudio again, thank you for sharing this. I’m in fact seeking a solution for audio only. If going down the power amplification lane I will start by using it with a passive pre or direct into Eversolo A6 Master Edition. In the future I think tubes pre will be my way to go as I lean towards a more “romantic” sound instead of the analytical path, hence my questions on the class D sound signature. Enjoy your time off. Thank you. Cheers
I have about 1.000 to spend after cleaning out old loudspeakers and adding a little. Can you recommend something on my budget?
I would say Graham audio ls8/1 will give you both mid magic and imaging.
Did you try listening to any electronic music with the Eatons? The review of them on AVForums mentioned that it was their weakness.
I do listen to electronic music on them and like the sound. The amplification and dac used can tweak things to be more incisive. The speed and attack isn’t like a Klipsch, but the scale and enjoyment is fantastic 👍
@@SmallRoomAudio thanks for the input, I’m going to try to hunt some used Eatons down to pair with my Luxman 507uxii! Hopefully it will be a good pairing.
@@SmallRoomAudio Managed to get myself a pair of used Eaton legacy. I’m in love with them. They have a nice warm low end, excellent imaging, all while straying away from being harsh. My prior reference point are the KEF R3s. I love those as well but brighter recordings really bothered me on them. These Tannoy’s take the KEF’s excellent imaging but combine it with a warmer (yet sufficiently detailed) presentation. Think these will be staying with me for life. Thanks again for the video!
Hello… excellent review… thank you!
Have you compared the shl5+ 40th anniversary and the XD? If not … are they supposed to sound very similar? I heard that the xover was reworked. Thanks again.
How about a room tour video?
If you check out some of my shorts you’ll see more of the room. I might do a dedicated ‘how to make a small space sound better’ video in the summer . 👍
I'm a gear first swapping and tweaking audiophile, too. It's been hard for me to remember and even more to structure music (artists, releases, styles, genres) ever since. Within two decades I barely made any progress. Once logged off from bandcamp or Qobuz it's almost all gone. Even though I enjoy listening right at that moment. Most likely it's limited by mental and-or social capabilities. But it certainly does not require that knowledge to evaluate and compare speakers.
Good video and info.
Thank you 🙏 😃 🎶
Talk talk talk, let them hear how they sounds.
Would u be looking into a vintage 35a?
If you want to know how these speakers sound, just listen to them in our own space with your own set up. You never ever can tell how speakers sound by listening to a man speaking about them.
Then why are you here?
Thanks for these honest reviews.
I’ve had my system for 4 years and fancy a change. I’ve always liked the imaging and speed of bookshelves, Epos s11, among others and now have Quadral Galans, which have a ribbon type tweeter so are very open with an incisive top. I’ve always fancied a pair of Tannoys but wonder if they’d be going from one extreme to the other? Love sound stage and imagining but am quite sensitive to timing. Mmm
Tricky one, the only real way to tell is to get a demo, although there don’t seem to be tons of Eatons out in the wild!
@@SmallRoomAudio Yes indeed, there aren’t that many around and £3k is a sizeable chunk of change. Would you say the Dynaudio Heritage you like, a safer bet?
@@jim586 The Heritage Specials are definitely a better speaker, but you have to run a very nice front end to get the best out of them. The nice thing about the tannoys is they sound great with fairly budget gear, and aren’t fussy about placement or music genre.
@@SmallRoomAudio I’ve a Pontus11 with reclocker and Gyrodec so not a bad front end. Keep up the good work and really looking forward to the upcoming amp review.
Be good.
The torus ogive omnimagnet re-design of the Tannoy dual concentric sounds far superior than these speakers. Dr Paul Mills said this has a profound effect on stereo imaging compared to the previous tulip wave guide. The American "Absolute Sound" said they had a virtuoso mid range.
I haven’t heard those speakers, but I’ll be sure to check them out 👍
Fyne review
Like it - I really want to review the new retro Fyne range actually, they do a little speaker that I saw at Bristol that was super cute!
I heard huge Tannoys with Luxman integrated andsounded good but a wee bit lean. Fyne were bright but they were using a top Yamaha integrated.
You need to play sound clips so we can hear the difference
I’d like to, but three problems: 1. My microphone set up isn’t good enough to do it justice, 2. I’ll likely get a copyright strike 3. I’ve got a new baby, so don’t have the time to sort 1 & 2 out!
Tannoy 💎
Danke!
Thank you very much for the Super Thanks! That’s very kind of you, it’s very much appreciated 👍 😃 🔈 🎶
@@SmallRoomAudio You're dearly welcome!
I am so disappointed one can present 2 speakers for 20 minutes without letting us earring the difference between them. Because at the end, only my ears dictate my choices.
Here’s a thought then…Go to a HiFi shop and audition them…
@@SmallRoomAudio ... or find an other TH-cam Chanel.
Harbeth has a flat frequency response!
As I said in the video, I’m describing what I’m hearing - it’s mid forward. But thanks for the angry comment, always a pleasure to be told you’re wrong.
@@SmallRoomAudio sry but I didn’t wanted to be angry. I think it is important to explain that mid „forward“ is because of a flat FR response. Measurements show that and Harbeth is famous for it. Is it good are bad…personal taste. cheers
@@thomasfi1275 Ok cool 😎
Yep, anything labelled as a monitor, these were used as BBC monitors
Really wanted to see what was up with the speakers but holy crap this guy loves to hear himself talk
I really wanted to engage with nice people in the audiophile community, but holy crap, this guy loves to troll 🧌
@@SmallRoomAudio :-) I like the info but geez!