Tannoy Dual Concentric

[mr_RBG]

Do they really SO good? Never had one, but, probably, my most desirable speakers ever. Please, crash my dream, tell me they are terrible!

 

[apachef1]

Horrible sounding! especially the GRF Autographs - Not so, the current Prestige series are some of the best sounding. Find a dealer and go listen well worth the effort.

 

[michaelhigh]

I had a pair of their insignificant-in-their-historical-pantheon concentric monitors in the 90's, and recorded my first solo album on them. I'd love to have them back, to properly biamp them with a crossover I can control and extensive equalization (Klark Teknik maybe, something high-end) so I could see exactly what they were capable of...mm hmmm.

 

[apachef1]

Only thing about them that can be an issue, if you want to push them with a lot of power some models do tend to develop a "honking sound" notorious to Tannoy So if you do audition them give that a consideration if you plan to use them in a large room requiring power.

 

[hionfi]

I had a pair of 15" Silvers and with 5 tube watts driving them and I've never heard anything better. I wish I'd hung onto them but I couldn't pass up the money.

 

[michaelhigh]

Boy, it must be hard to sell the speakers that sound (never better)...I'd hate to be in that position, to have to make a choice like that. Hope you've recovered...

 

[fretbuzz]

I have Tannoy 611`s and sound incredible with El 34 tube amp!
Also have 10" monitor golds which sound fantastic also!
Listening to vinyl is amazing!
So far I have`nt heard a bad one, when used with the right equipment.

 

[vtomike]

Have owned 15in silvers, 15in reds and 12in reds. Sounded good but never had a good enclosure to hear them.

 

[TankPopper]

I'm building a pair of 3809 from the 80's as we speak. There's tons of information about this speakers online and the consensus is that they are some of the best speakers ever made.. what i noticed is that they make all other speakers sound kind of off, even really good ones. Ones you get used to them you can't listen to any other speaker.

 

[sealy]

Depends on the vintage. The collectible old 15 in. Tannoys that cost a mint have a tubby mid range, limited bass and rolled-off highs, as well as limited power-handling capability. You can't mate a 15 in. woofer to a tweeter and expect a woofer of that size to produce adequate mids. And anyway, the cones are too shallow to produce a quality mid range. The smaller coned drivers(in the 10 and 12 in. range) are more cohesive in the mids, but have the same problems in the treble. And if you like excellent top-end response, you're going to have to spring for a set of those ridiculously expensive Tannoy super tweeters. I have a friend who has 4 pairs of vintage 15 in. Tannoys. He has equipped two pair with super tweeters.

Many of the newer Tannoys, around 1990 vintage and beyond, have a much steeper angle to the cone that flares out nicely, allowing much better reproduction of the mids. The newer treble drivers are also much better than those of 40 years ago, no super tweeters needed. Tannoy products of today might look similar to yesterday's versions, as is indeed the case with the Westminster and the Churchill. But due to improvements in manufacturing, technology and materials, they are a different animal than their predecessors. I've had several pairs of Tannoys, so I've had a chance to compare different genres. The above comments are based on those observations. I once bought a pair of 1970's vintage Tannoys for cheap and thought I had the bargain of the century. I took them home and compared them to a pair of 1991 Tannoys. There was no comparison. The vintage Tannoys were out the door a few weeks later.

 

[doucanoe]

Yesterdays arrival: The Tannoy Monitor Gold 10 LSU/HF/III.LZ/8. Today, up and running for a function test down in the bowels of the Wankderosa.

These are going to get a complete crossover recap and possibly a network re-design. They are a tad rugged cosmetically but from a functionality standpoint, all systems are go.

I've owned Ardens (HPD 385's) and Mallorcans (Monitor Gold 12's) in the past but this is the first pair of Gold 10's ever to show up around here.


RC

 

[Redboy]

You should plug in all those tube amps and speakers at the same time. Look around - I think there's a thread somewhere about how to do that.

 

[doucanoe]

You should plug in all those tube amps and speakers at the same time. Look around - I think there's a thread somewhere about how to do that.

No kidding? I always wanted to do that but didn't know that the topic had been covered once.

RC

 

[budgetaudio6]

mallorcans over here, and yes they sound great. when ever i want a more refined musical presentation i switch them on.

 

[barredowl]

My System 800 8 inch dual concentrics with a small M & K sub have cured my searching for better speakers, after having had dozens of other speakers including Linn, ADS, JBL studio monitors (also very good), old Ars, Advents, Mission, Polk, Paradigm, etc, etc.

So yeah I would say at least the modern Tannoy DCs are that good.

 

[mr_RBG]

Ok, thanks guys, I see. Looks like ones from '80-'90 are better, but they have much lower sensitivity IIRC. I was thinking of something 92-95db. I am looking for something to match a SS 10-25w SE class A amp, and thought that Tannoy's is the way to go. Especially, I always wanted them so bad.

 

[doucanoe]

Ok, thanks guys, I see. Looks like ones from '80-'90 are better, but they have much lower sensitivity IIRC. I was thinking of something 92-95db. I am looking for something to match a SS 10-25w SE class A amp, and thought that Tannoy's is the way to go. Especially, I always wanted them so bad.

I would suggest you listen to them for yourself (old and new) when the opportunity arises before rushing to any conclusion based on opinion.

RC

 

[Beanstocks]

I recently got a pair of SGM 3000s Tannoy monitors which are quite large. They sound great--smooth thru out the range and for now a bit boomy in the bass area. The sweet spot is deceptivley small because those mid treble center horns can be abit harsh if pointing straight at you. Sound is surreal especially for trio or quartet jazz. However for speed and detail my Yamaha 1000ms reign supreme. Will be adding large floor spikes and upgraded speaker terminals as minor mods to help clarity and bass. Yahoo Tannoy group esp. helpful.

 

[Marcadam]

I have a pair of Tannoy 12 DMT II studiomonitors, they sound incredibly good, both for playing samplers/synths or for listening to music. They have pressure, bass and dynamics. But I don't know modern speakers by Tannoy, especially the hi-fi line. If I could get just 15 inch concentric woofers for an acceptable price, I would build the speakers myself.

 

[Sam Cogley]

The early ceramic magnet models (K series, late 70s/early 80s) used crossovers that were based on the physical design of the old Alnico magnet models. As I understand it, there are several aftermarket options that offer a great improvement over the factory crossovers on those units.