This Stirling Gathers No Moss
Tannoy's new Loudspeaker is a not to the past and to the future
The Stirling III LZ Special Edition features an all-new Dual Concentric driver and a new cabinet design.
We're so excited about the launch of the newest iteration of this Tannoy legend. We love that, with this model, Tannoy is cementing its brand and reputation into the future. It uses all the best traditional designs and materials where they work best while modernizing exactly where needed in areas such as driver design and cabinet bracing.
The new Stirling III LZ Special Edition features the latest incarnation of Tannoy's 10” Dual Concentric Alnico Magnet design that has won critical acclaim over and over for 70 years.
Designed and manufactured in the UK, the Stirling III LZ Special Edition speaker is designed to reproduce music exactly as the artists intended it to sound. It traces a direct lineage to the Tannoy III LZ (Monitor Red) and to the studio monitor designs used to mix and master epic albums by artists such as Peter Gabriel, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Beyonce, and many more.
Tannoy constantly refines and improves its dual concentric designs, and the newest version uses modern ferrite with copper demodulation rings and a high-flux magnetic circuit. Together these perform even better than the original 1970s design. As with the original, it uses the PepperPot WaveGuide with the high-frequency driver merged into the center of the cone of the main driver. The Dual Concentric design was invented by Tannoy in 1947, and with this genuine point-source concept, the entire frequency spectrum originates from a single place, as both drivers are on the same axis. This approach ensures unmatched off-axis performance, as well as pristine phase coherence.
As with all classic Tannoy, artisan cabinet makers and joiners build the Stirling III LZ enclosure expertly. While the new cabinet follows some of the original III LZ design characteristics, it benefits from new high-density materials unavailable in the 1960s. The resulting design provides extreme rigidity to control low-frequency performance and boasts extensive bracing incorporating DMT (Differential Materials Technology) for proper driver coupling.
The front and rear panels and the port grilles are of MDF for maximum density and damping. The bottom panel is plywood. The bracing, top, and side panels are chipboard, and the horizontal and vertical rails are solid American walnut. It is finished with a solid wood oiled walnut veneer.
In order to be able to compensate for acoustically challenged spaces, the III LZ has a frequency control system on the front of the speakers. Front-firing bass ports allow the III LZ to be placed against walls or corners without sonic compromises.
David McCaffrey, brand category leader of Tannoy Lifestyle, says, “I am truly excited to see the launch of such a hotly anticipated new model. We have worked closely with our Super Partners to design this new Special Edition model collaboratively. It gives me great pleasure to see that we have looked back to the past and brought a much-loved speaker to life again, fully re-engineered to meet and exceed present-day standards.”
David stresses that while Tannoy has redesigned every element to elevate performance, it has remained faithful to the heritage of the original.
The Tannoy Stirling III LZ Special Edition will be available from Summer 2023 and will cost $12,500 for the pair. The frequency response is 29 Hz to 27 k Hz (-6 dB), with an 8-ohm nominal impedance and a 93 dB sensitivity.
At AXPONA? Come Visit Us!
Kat and Chris help attendees hear headphones dreams are made of in the EarGear Experience at AXPONA 2023
Upscale Audio is in three rooms on the 12th floor and at a double-size booth at the Ear Gear Expo.
See our AXPONA 2023 product lineup
In room 1244, peek at our static display of products from Cabasse, Tannoy, Sbooster, Pathos, Feliks Audio, and PrimaLuna.
Room 1243 is an active demo featuring, first and foremost, Tannoy and PrimaLuna. We are proud to host the North American debut of a new product from Tannoy. Most of the electronics driving the Tannoy loudspeakers are made by PrimaLuna: the EVO 100 Phonostage, EVO 100 DAC, and EVO 300 Hybrid Integrated Amplifier.
Sources are a Feickert Trio SE turntable and the new Lumin U2 Streaming Transport. Cardas has generously provided all cabling for this room.
Nearby, Room 1242 houses the Cabasse demo room. Jean-Michel Polit and Alexandre Paul from Cabasse are here to demonstrate two separate set-ups. The new Abyss streaming amplifier drives the beautiful Minorca MC40 speakers on one side of the room. Then explore even greater simplicity with Cabasse's new Rialto, an all-in-one system you must hear to believe.
Down at Booth 8211 at the Ear Gear Expo, we have some of the world's best personal audio products for demo. These include the Feliks Envy, Pathos InPol Ear, Feliks Euforia EVO, Feliks Echo MKII, Chord Hugo TT, and a PL EVO 100 Integrated. Headphones are from Sennheiser, Dan Clark, HiFiMan, Focal, Abyss, and Meze Audio.
We're Open on Saturdays
The Upscale Audio store at 2058 Wright Avenue in La Verne is open on Saturdays from 9 to 5. We will be running with a smaller crew, and there are a couple of important things to note:
1) As with all other days, you'll need to call ahead and set up an appointment for a specific demo. If you decide to drop by, you won't be turned away, but your auditions will be limited to our headphone station and—only if the rooms are free—whatever systems we already have set up.
2) The warehouse will be closed, so if you need to pick up something, please call ahead, and we'll ensure we bring it over by Friday. If you buy something while you're here, it might be cheaper to ship it! After all, shipping is free above $49, and you'll save a little on La Verne city tax. Unless you live in La Verne...
Please call 909.931.9686 to make a demo appointment.