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Tannoy Cabinets

davstev

davstev

Well-Known Member
I have a pair of Tannoy Gold 12" speakers.

Can anyone tell me what the sonic disadvantage of a vintage Tannoy cabinet, that looks like this (link below) is? What does it not do for the sound, or how does it negatively affect the sound?

http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649313317-vintage-tannoy-cabinets-for-12-drivers/

I love the look of these vintage cabinets but I wonder if they are actually bad for sound quality vs. a cab design with a taller cabinet incorporating some port holes below the speaker, like this:

http://www.audionostalgia.co.uk/gra...closures/tannoy_grf_enclosure_building_14.jpg

Thanks for any input. If I am not ruining the performance of the Tannoy's by putting them into a nice vintage cabinet, I'd like to. I am sure the ported design is better, but how much?

David
 
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The first cabinets are infinite baffles and depending on the resonance of the speaker the bass will roll off prematurely above resonance of the speaker cone but will extend the furthest below the resonant frequency. In this configuration with the right room placement you will get the best extended bass. The second enclosures are horn loaded and depending on the length of the horn and the size will give you more bass to resonance but will roll off faster below resonance. Because its a tuned horn the bass will be over emphasized at the tuning frequency making a lot of the notes sound the same. In addition the cone will continue to ring at or near the tuning frequency of the horn degrading the transient response of the system. Plus there will be very narrow anomalies in the bass response where the front out put of the woofer over laps the out off the LF horn. HArmonic distortion tends to be higher. too. I would want to add internal bracing to the first enclosures to reduce resonances in the cabinet. Another trick is to hang a curtain of insulation 1/2 way back in the cabinet to reduce standing waves in side the enclosure.
 
I use refurbished JBL Bazilay cabs that look like your first link as woofer cabs only. Back then they didn't raise drivers up to ear level. The second link "can" have issues when the forward signal hits the back loaded signal and you'll get a cancellation dip. I had that with my JBL Scoops. The best approach is to run your driver through WinISD to get the best volume, then build tall cabs that will put the center of the driver at ear level. If you like the 50s look, make them look like that.

Also, go here for ideas. Click on DIY Cabinets.

http://www.hilberink.nl/speaker.htm#cabinet
 
This is interesting and there is a lot of technical info to chew on here. Thanks to you both.

I am not hearing either of you saying that the standard 'box' design (my first link), is necessarily a bad one, but rather that you give and lose something by choosing either design.

If I were to acquire the vintage Tannoy boxes, I would try to raise it to ear level or tilt them slightly upward, since they are a dual concentric design. I also like the idea of the hanging curtain halfway back.

Thanks again, I will give this a think and read up on it a bit more.
 
Tannoy put the same driver in different size boxes so I don't know if the box in the link is the optumum size.
 
Well, I am going to take a chance on these. They are in fabulous condition with a really nice original brass badge on each.

http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649313317-vintage-tannoy-cabinets-for-12-drivers/

The seller has made ported backs for each, in addition to the originals.

Am I crazy to pay $750 for the pair? Is that an outrageous price, considering the inflated cost of all nice audio gear these days? I know it's a lot, I am just wondering if I am loony to be paying this. Can't find many references to current market value for these.
 
Hey
They look cool. Pretty expensive. Pretty rare. I'm glad they are far from me. That way I don't have to make that decision .
I recently stumbled onto a pair of Cheviot's. Had to have them re-foamed and decent terminals installed . So for the time being I'm enjoying them in their factory enclosures .
When I first got mine home I went on a researching frenzy . My brain started aching and I desided to chill and take the path of least resistance .
Pretty happy at this time.
Please keep us updated on your decisions. I'm definitely interested . Eric
 
davstev said:
Well, I am going to take a chance on these. They are in fabulous condition with a really nice original brass badge on each.

http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649313317-vintage-tannoy-cabinets-for-12-drivers/

The seller has made ported backs for each, in addition to the originals.

Am I crazy to pay $750 for the pair? Is that an outrageous price, considering the inflated cost of all nice audio gear these days? I know it's a lot, I am just wondering if I am loony to be paying this. Can't find many references to current market value for these.
Click to expand...
I think that price is way out of line for empty cabinets.I'm no Tannoy expert but did have a pair of 12"Reds for a short time.Sold the drivers and when I asked the seller if he wanted the cabinets he said "no put them on the curb".I don't know how knowledgeable he was but he indicated that most if not all Tannoy cabs were not right for the speakers.
 
superdog said:
I think that price is way out of line for empty cabinets.I'm no Tannoy expert but did have a pair of 12"Reds for a short time.Sold the drivers and when I asked the seller if he wanted the cabinets he said "no put them on the curb".I don't know how knowledgeable he was but he indicated that most if not all Tannoy cabs were not right for the speakers.
Click to expand...

Well, I can see how you might think it's a bit expensive, but they are in great shape and they are rare. And yes, probably a bit overpriced, but I might just do it anyway 'cause I am a sucker for my hobby. I have seen 12" golds in vintage cabinets (in great shape) selling on US or Canuck Audio Mart for $1800-2000. Several listings like that, and I reckon the speakers account for about $1200 of that, leaving the cabs at about $600. So in fact $750 is probably only moderately overpriced.

In terms of how it affects sound, that's a bigger concern. What would anyone say negative about such cabinets and how they affect sound? They don't seem flimsy, they are lined with proper deadening material. I play my music at normal listening volumes....
 
davstev said:
Well, I can see how you might think it's a bit expensive, but they are in great shape and they are rare. And yes, probably a bit overpriced, but I might just do it anyway 'cause I am a sucker for my hobby. I have seen 12" golds in vintage cabinets (in great shape) selling on US or Canuck Audio Mart for $1800-2000. Several listings like that, and I reckon the speakers account for about $1200 of that, leaving the cabs at about $600. So in fact $750 is probably only moderately overpriced.

In terms of how it affects sound, that's a bigger concern. What would anyone say negative about such cabinets and how they affect sound? They don't seem flimsy, they are lined with proper deadening material. I play my music at normal listening volumes....
Click to expand...
Visually I like those cabinets.I guess If they are factory they must be ok.My thoughts come from what I have read about Tannoy cabinets and that the general consensus is Tannoy drivers need a better cab.Like I said I'm no expert...just from what I have read.I don't think I have ever seen empty cabs sell for that much.
 
superdog said:
Visually I like those cabinets.I guess If they are factory they must be ok.My thoughts come from what I have read about Tannoy cabinets and that the general consensus is Tannoy drivers need a better cab.Like I said I'm no expert...just from what I have read.I don't think I have ever seen empty cabs sell for that much.
Click to expand...
Jimi... I mean superdog... thanks for the input. I think the reason that I asked the question in the first place is because I have a nagging suspicion that I am paying too much, and that maybe the cabinets are not optimal for the speaker. Maybe I wanted someone to tell me otherwise. Despite, I am foolish enough to do it anyway, I guess that I care as much about how they look as how they sound. I will post an update when I get them mounted and have a listen. Cheers.
 
Eric n Kc said:
Hey
They look cool. Pretty expensive. Pretty rare. I'm glad they are far from me. That way I don't have to make that decision .
I recently stumbled onto a pair of Cheviot's. Had to have them re-foamed and decent terminals installed . So for the time being I'm enjoying them in their factory enclosures .
When I first got mine home I went on a researching frenzy . My brain started aching and I desided to chill and take the path of least resistance .
Pretty happy at this time.
Please keep us updated on your decisions. I'm definitely interested . Eric
Click to expand...
Will let you know. Enjoy the Chevriot's.
 
davstev said:
I'm paying too much. hmph. Well, I inherited the 12" golds, so I guess that is how I am justifying it.
Click to expand...
Talk him down.There can't be too many willing to pay that for empty cabs and if not....well enjoy your setup.Should be pretty nice.
 
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twiiii said:
The first cabinets are infinite baffles and depending on the resonance of the speaker the bass will roll off prematurely above resonance of the speaker cone but will extend the furthest below the resonant frequency. In this configuration with the right room placement you will get the best extended bass. The second enclosures are horn loaded and depending on the length of the horn and the size will give you more bass to resonance but will roll off faster below resonance. Because its a tuned horn the bass will be over emphasized at the tuning frequency making a lot of the notes sound the same. In addition the cone will continue to ring at or near the tuning frequency of the horn degrading the transient response of the system. Plus there will be very narrow anomalies in the bass response where the front out put of the woofer over laps the out off the LF horn. HArmonic distortion tends to be higher. too. I would want to add internal bracing to the first enclosures to reduce resonances in the cabinet. Another trick is to hang a curtain of insulation 1/2 way back in the cabinet to reduce standing waves in side the enclosure.
Click to expand...

When you say "the right room placement", what would that be, in order to get the best extended bass? I think i need to learn about resonance. I don't really even know what that refers to, and it's a central point of your commentary....

And when you mention adding internal bracing, I can imagine what you mean, something like the way an acoustic guitar is reinforced?

So, in your opinion, it's quite possible that these cabinets (first link) sound ok?
 
Most vintage Tannoy cabs are sub-par at best. Even the great old GRF corner and rectangle cabs are pretty much useless for any type of quality bass output. The mids and highs will always be the mids and highs but getting an enclosure to smoothly go low is the key here.

Poke around the link below and know that any design can be modified to accept a vintage looking grill by recessing the front baffle. I believe the general goal for 12s is around 150L internal volume.

Also, for $750 you can get an extremely nice pair of cabs made out of 25mm baltic birch ply built by a competent professional.

With a big square box like the one linked above, dead center is the absolute worst place to put the driver anyway. I can see that being extremely muddy and smeared. Bad news...

http://www.hilberink.nl/speaker.htm
 
I have a pair of Tannoy Devon speakers that have 12" HPD drivers. The cabinets are way too small for the drivers. At some point I'll build birch cabinets for them. My plan is to make them relatively tall and skinny to get enough cabinet volume for good bass, raise the tweeters to ear level, and have them fit in my smallish living room.

As others have suggested, you could probably have someone build you better cabinets for the same money you'd pay for the ones you're looking at. Let us know what you do.
 
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