Tannoy Stirling III LZ Special Edition Speakers Review

Tannoy speakers have to be one of the most iconic and legendary brands in the speaker industry today, originally founded by Guy R Fountain all the way back in 1926 and with so many defining moments in that time, with the name Tannoy finding its way into the English Oxford dictionary in 1946 for its definition of the Public address systems as Tannoy speakers were used in many government buildings, radio and for public events. One of the most important moments in Tannoy’s history was in 1947 when the incredible Dual Concentric Driver was first invented and launched and it’s still used in their brilliant designs today. Tannoy has been used to master music by many recording studios and artists with Abbey Road, Decca and Air to name a few, their speakers were even used by one of my favourite Prince to produce his fantastic Love Sexy album back in 1988 and Michael Jackson’s infamous Thriller album was also produced on Tannoy speakers that is how iconic this speaker company and brand is and continues to this day supplying recording studios and artists with their stunning range of speaker systems.

So this year I’ve managed to spend some extended time listening to Tannoy speakers at The London Audio Show 2024 where I got to listen to the Tannoy Stirling III LZ Special Edition speakers which I am reviewing here and also the SGM10 model and then later on when I covered the MOC High End Show 2024 in Munich with the unveiling of the prototype for the stunning new Autograph 12 speakers celebrating the Autographs 70th anniversary and getting to know the team at Tannoy responsible for creating and building this incredible new speaker and all of their speakers, I also listened at great length to the big SGM15’s which sounded superb.

This is my first full review of one of their speakers and I have been extremely fortunate to get the beautiful Stirling III LZ Special Edition into The Speaker Shack for review, listening at shows is great but never really gives me enough insight into a speaker’s performance as they do when they are in your own listening room. The Stirling III is the return of a classic which was first released back in the 1960’s the III LZ monitor has been totally redesigned and brought bang up to date with all the advances that Tannoy have learned over the many years with the refined art of speaker production.

Build Quality and Features

The Tannoy Stirling III LZ Special Edition speakers look absolutely stunning in the oiled Walnut finish that I have here for review and the build quality exudes a high end look and feel and even the walnut wood has the glorious natural wood smell which I love as it permeates the air in my room, for many years I have posted images of Tannoy speakers on my social media channels and always been in awe at the prestige and stately homes and rooms that they have always featured in so getting these in for review and into my room finally gives me a taste of this high end look and feel but it is not all about the looks even though they are absolutely gorgeous to look at but everything about this speaker is totally modern and the infamous concentric driver has been refined into the latest iteration, featuring a 250mm paper pulp bass/midrange cone with double outer roll surround and in the centre the 52mm aluminium/ magnesium alloy compression driver tweeter sits with the pepper pot wave guide which helps with the higher frequency distribution and also allows for a much sweeter sound in the top end, the single point source which is the dual concentric design means that Tannoy speakers do not suffer from the usual phase and time alignment issues that effects' other speakers and from previous experience allows for incredible imaging and much easier placement options as it allows for a wider sweet spot than normal speakers. The Stirling III LZ Special Edition is a floor-standing speaker measuring 855mm tall by 397mm wide and 368mm deep and weighs in at a healthy 33Kg so can be moved with 1 person but preferably a 2 man job to install and setup, the cabinet fashioned out of Walnut is such a beautiful sight to behold and the craftsmanship is truly exquisite but inside the cabinet, it has huge advancements in technology with their DMT (Differential Materials Technology) which couples the drivers to the cabinet and manages to absorb vibrations which can negate any colouration of the sound and allows for greater fidelity. The Stirling III is a ported design with slots in the front of the speakers which also helps with positioning and allows the speakers to have a frequency response which is an impressive 29Hz to 27kHz, it is an extremely efficient design with a 93 dB sensitivity which means that they can be driven with ease with a recommended amplifier from 20 watts to 250 watts and it does sound extremely special with tube amplifiers as I heard at the London Audio show 2024. On the rear of the speakers, it features an unusual 5 speaker binding posts with high and low frequency + & - terminals but also the 5th post which is a grounding post to ground the Stirling to your amplifier which Tannoy says improves the midrange response of the speaker. Included with the speakers is a beautifully packaged kit of accessories with spikes and feet for the big Tannoy speakers but also some wax polish to keep the Stirling's beautiful walnut finish looking pristine as well as speaker jumpers if using single-ended speaker wire and not bi-amping.

Setting up was fairly straightforward with the Stirlings and placed where I had the AVID speakers which is my usual positioning and favoured due to where my seating position is and with some slight toe-in to sharpen up the imaging, I did play around with the settings on the front of Tannoy's for treble energy and roll off but in the end, I found that leaving them in the level position gave me the best sound in my room, obviously, this is all down to taste and dependant on room and size.

For partnering equipment, I am using the AVID HiFi Integra Integrated amplifier for powering the Stirling's and for source equipment I am using my Cyrus Audio CD8SE CD player and for streaming the Bluesound Node connected to the Chord Electronics Hugo TT2 DAC and M Scaler for number crunching duties, for vinyl, I use my Denon DP400 turntable and all cables are from the Chord Company with Epic X speaker cables and Interconnects. I also use the brilliant EE1 in-line noise isolator from English Electrics and a Chord Power Aray plug to absorb any noise from the system. I listen to a huge variation of music whether it be on vinyl, CD or streamed via my Bluesound Node from Tidal, Spotify and also music stored on my NAS drives.

Sound Quality and Performance

For my first album, I am listening to the stunning album from the Fone label and Henry Mancini's legendary The Pink Panther and Friends with various artists playing his iconic music, this is an album I own and have listened to it on many different systems in the past and it is the high resolution 24bit 96kHz version from Native DSD. There are seven tracks titled The Pink Panther from various artists all with different takes on this legendary music from the master Mancini, Track 1 Pink Panther by S.Hamilton, P.Birro and A.Kramer features the piano, drums and Saxophone being played to this iconic tune and the big Tannoy’s produce a stunning image of the music being played with superb instrument separation and all within their own space, the spaciousness to the sound is excellent and with great depth to the soundstage, the drums and the brush sticks movement can be felt with each thwack and the cymbals shimmer with stunning clarity, the Saxophone takes centre stage with the piano notes playing off in the background underpinning this famous piece of music, the Tannoys manage to produce such crisp and wonderful music with incredible definition and a richness which sounds so perfectly natural. Track 2 Pink Panther by P.Alfonsi and S.Maiore is played with the double bass and acoustic guitar and every movement of the double bass can be felt and heard moving up and down the frets with stunning separation of the musical instruments and a wonderful image portrayed by the Tannoy’s. Track 3 Pink Panther has R.Zegna and G.Casati playing the piano and trumpet with the piano off to the right of the soundstage and the trumpet centre left of the stage, each piano note is defined beautifully and the trumpet has real power to the sound with the Tannoys producing such great music. Track 5 is my favourite from this album and features the electric guitar by F.Mesolella and sounds simply glorious with incredible bass from the lower notes of the guitar and some great pedal effects played and reminds me of something Pink Floyd would create as it has some epic guitar playing, the movement and strumming of the guitar has an almost tangible feel to the sound, the echo produced from the guitar playing reverberates around my room but with such an immediacy you could swear the artist was in the room playing, the power that the Tannoy Stirling’s manage to portray with the music being played is so real and having heard this track played on so many different systems over the years this is easily the best I have heard it sound, I am in love with how good this track sounds through the Tannoy Stirling III LZ Speakers.

For my next album, I am listening to Jordan Rakei’s latest album The Loop, I own so many of his recordings but this one is streamed via Tidal in 24bit 44.1kHz resolution. I am seriously tempted to purchase the full album in high resolution just to add it to my collection. Track 1 Flowers starts with some dynamic punchy bass from the drums and the Tannoys produce this with great effect Jordan Rakei’s vocals emerge centre stage with amazing clarity and stunning imaging, his vocals and voice sound sublime with such beautiful tonality and realism with such a sweet-sounding top end. Track 2 Freedom sounds glorious with his vocals centre stage and Freedom echoing out around him and then the bass which is absolutely thunderous and powerful, turning the volume up they just go so loud with amazing clarity, definition and control, those big 10” drivers energise my room with absolute ease and with such musicality that my feet can’t stop tapping to this beautiful music such is the pleasure that it brings and the stunning performance of the Tannoy speakers. Track 4 Forgive starts off with the electric guitar playing and the bass guitar underpinning the music to the right of the stage before the vocals emerge dead centre of the stage, the outright resolution that the Stirling’s managed to produce of this music is just so good with incredible instrument separation and imaging which spans my room, and sounds move around at lightning speed with incredibly fast transients. Track 10 Cages sounds magnificent with some thumping bass and footsteps stomping to the rhythm and beat of the drums, Jordan’s Rakei’s vocals sound so natural with such a soothing sound, the top end of the Stirlings is just so sublime with all the detail and nuances intact projected out into my room, I have literally fallen in love with how good these speakers sound in my room and I always knew they were good when I heard them at the London Audio Show 2024 but getting to listen to them at home in my room has elevated my opinion and regard for this gorgeous speaker from Tannoy!

My final piece for this review is by brilliant artist Paradoks and 4 tracks from different EPs produced by him if you follow me then you will know how much I love electronic music and how influential it has been for me and I listen to a lot of it and thankfully some brilliant artists are producing such great music that the list is endless but for this review, Paradoks is featured. Track 1 Depth Above is such a beautiful track with a great bass line that the big Tannoys absolutely love and it shows in the power and impact and how those big 10” drivers deliver the bass with a stunning and dynamic performance, the ambient effects that these DJ’s put into these tracks sound so good and it doesn’t matter what type of music you play through the Stirlings they just reproduce it faithfully and how the artist intended. Track 2 Heal is another dynamic and fast track that the Tannoy Stirling speakers produce brilliantly with bass that is so fast and dynamic but with a real visceral power that you feel in your chest, what with the stunning imaging and ambient effects it just makes you want to turn the volume up as it just sounds so good. Track 3 Sense of Wonder is such a fast-moving piece with a thumping bass line, and they do not disappoint moving plenty of air in my room which you can really feel, the top end is crystal clear with tons of detail and with sounds echoing from left to right and around my room. Track 4 which is my favourite track Eternal sounds sublime and at nearly 8 minutes long I can feel the bass through my armchair inducing a huge grin on my face as I crank the volume dial up and can imagine this one playing out in the clubs, the synthesised sounds whizz across the soundstage from left to right at lightning speed. The Tannoy Stirling speakers make easy work with all of the music I have played, and it plays electronic music with ease, and not once do they ever feel pushed and it is only my ears that will give in first as I have not found the limits of these speakers not by a mile.

My time with the Tannoy Stirling III LZ Special Edition speakers has been so much fun they have performed flawlessly in my room and given me a real insight into how well they can perform and with all the different types of music I have played and no matter what they gave an utterly brilliant performance, whether it be jazz, acoustic, rock or electronic music everything just sounds so right and musically adept and engaging.

Conclusions and Final Thoughts

 

 

The Tannoy Stirling III LZ Special Edition speakers have to be the most gorgeous looking speakers that I have had here at The Speaker Shack to review, finished in the beautiful oiled Walnut they look absolutely stunning and exude such a high-end look and feel with incredible build quality, the sound and performance that they produce is also one of the best I have had in my listening room and considering the price they really do give a totally superb performance, if you are looking to upgrade your speakers and are looking to step into the world of Tannoy then I suggest you take a serious look and listen to the Stirling III LZ Special Edition speakers. I would like to thank Symphony Distribution and Tannoy for allowing me to review these beautiful Stirling speakers.

 

The Speaker Shack awards these incredible speakers with an Editor’s Choice award thoroughly deserved for what is a stunning design!

 

 

Price at time of review £11,995

 

Web - https://www.tannoy.com/

 

Web - https://symphonydistribution.co.uk/