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@Velocio
Yesterday I auditioned lots of things.
The shop (AudioGold in N8) did not have Rogers LS3/5A in stock so we tried a pair of the Stirling LS3/5A paired with a Leben CS300XS. This combination... too bright and splashy in the mid/high.
We swapped the amp for a Copland CSA 100 as the Leben is known for being bright... but nope, it was the speakers, the sound of the LS3/5A is not for me, I dislike the mess at the upper end and on some of the more challenging shoegaze music the guitar, cymbals and parts of the voice are just a mess.
We swapped the LS3/5A for LS5/9 but to a similar effect. Moved onto the Tannoy Little Red Monitors... these were much nicer, tighter in the upper end and it cleaned up the sound there. But with both these and the Tannoy Legacy Eaton I found that they had too much boom, what they gained in the mid-high, was overpowered by the low. Don't get me wrong, I loved the sound of them and in a large space I think that these would be perfect, but in a small space the low end was too present and distracted.
Still on the Copland amp, we tried a pair of the Tannoy Autograph Mini-OW https://audiogold.co.uk/product/tannoy-autograph-mini/ now these definitely have a love/hate aesthetic being an almost toy size reproduction of Tannoy Westminster cabinets. The Autograph though... damn, all of the great mid-high of the Eaton, but the low end was proportional to the volume... it felt balanced at lower volumes and remained balanced going to higher volumes. I suspect in a really large room these speakers would disappear, but in the shop (which is roughly the same size as my front room) they did a superb job.
Just to be sure I also listened to some PMC DB1 Gold, and some Klipsch RP-500M... but nope, the Tannoy Autograph bested them each time... on the incredible high end and also on how balanced and full the low end was throughout the volume range.
So... speakers mostly chosen, the Tannoy Autograph. Though it comes with a caveat... rear ported and needing some space which I won't have unless I reconsider placement.
As for amp, I really liked the Copland. We went back to the Leben, still too splashy... and then onto a 1970s A60... this was nice, tight, punchy... but the Copland was slightly better in how it sounded and how it felt. Of course this is when I learn they're out of stock on it, and the one I've been using is their shop floor reference and they're awaiting a new batch (no date for it). I probably don't need the Copland CSA100 as the CSA70 would suffice... but it's not like they had one of those in stock either (not even as a shop demonstrator).
The speakers then... 80% sure it's the Tannoy Autograph, but will need to overcome the placement and also figure out the amp (if the waiting time is long).
In the meantime I've got RCA to XLRM adaptors arriving today that will let me put my PSI Audio speakers in the front room so I can try them out in that space. I still find the PSI Audio speakers to have a better sound, more detail, accuracy but also life... but so far my experience has only been in the very near field, barely 1m distance. I'll try them out in a larger space and will see if they retain the qualities I love in them.