Any experience with Tannoy loudspeakers?


I need feedback fro Tannoy owners.  Did you satisfy with bass extensions   ? soundstage
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Showing 6 responses by cd318

I've heard many Tannoy speakers and generally they tend to have a family sound with generous midbass and a smooth, non-emphasised top end. This can sound slightly shut in compared to some rivals, but never thin.

I love this full (old fashioned?) sound on all the models I've heard (with the exception of one of the large Dimension models which took this fullness a bit too far in my opinion).

The M1, R3, and the HPD 385s all have that classic Tannoy sound. Even the floor standing MX3s sounded like Tannoys despite their elevated treble response.

I have read of complaints regarding sibilance on some vintage models and others seem keen on 'improving' the enclosures on the older models but I'd steer well clear of such ideas.

Its only the fully horn loaded Westminster, so beloved of the late Harvey 'Gizmo' Rosenburg that have elaborate cabinetwork. The rest seem very matter of fact, but this was quite intentional.
@ dan, you're a braver man than me and no doubt more knowledgeable in these matters.

Still, I hope you don't mind a few suggestions, that might be worth bearing in mind. The original Tannoy's all used chipboard as cabinet material, and to a large extent it works really well. With MDF I believe it is possible to get good results, but more care may be needed to keep those nasty resonances away from the midrange. 

Secondly, as is being appreciated more and more, the driver/cabinet coupling is all important, so it's well worth experimenting with the tightness of the driver bolts. I strongly believe that no more than finger tightness is required (for any large heavy Tannoy DC drivers). 

So it might be worth playing around with that too. Best of luck.
@johnrothschild, each and every Tannoy speaker I have heard R1, MX3, R3, DC6, Berkeley etc had a full sound never too far off neutrality. All of them good all rounders with plenty of Bass warmth.

However they would not be my first choice for Rock or Metal - there are better options out there for those genres. I’d start by looking at something from JBL, then maybe ATC, PMC etc.

In my experience those genres thrive primarily upon attack, dynamics and speed. Not especially subtlety and nuance.

Even some budget / party speakers can sound decent with Rock.
@skoczylas , I’m a big fan too. It sounds like you’ve arrived at one version of the state of the art.

I understand that not everyone agrees but I don’t think a better cabinet material for the midrange exists.

I just love that organic tactile clarity you can get with the birch cabinet/paper cone combination.
@atmasphere , like it or not, certain loudspeakers are better than others with certain genres.

Some are just plain better full stop.

Now don't bother me again, not whilst I'm listening to Queensryche and System of a Down on my beloved ESLs..
@johnrothschild, all the Tannoys I have owned MX3s (slim floorstanders), R3s (bigger floorstanders) and Berkeley’s (larger floor/standmounts) were voiced to sound satisfyingly full at low volume.

The vintage Berkeley’s are a dream at low volumes, like the R3s (but with a bigger/freer sound). It’s actually difficult to resist turning them up (unless it’s late of course). You can easily begin craving more of that sumptuous sound. Because of low distortion, you can end up going quite loud before they become ’shouty’.

Despite any obvious treble trickery, they somehow render vocalists more legible. There is some commonly used unit of measure for speech legibility, used in cinemas I think, but I can’t recall the name. Whatever it is the dual concentric HPD drivers have it in spades.

They don’t really come more alive at higher volumes like some speakers do (Ruark Prologues!). You just get more of the same. Like having 2/3 slices of cake instead of just the one.

Of course they are not perfect, far from it. I would always prefer a better transient performance/dynamics plus a smoother treble.

As for timbral expressiveness, I doubt I can ever get enough.

But are they high-end? I would say so.