Tannoy Gold Monitor 12” any experience?

[MadcapLaughs]

I’m getting ready to pick up a pair of original monitor gold 12 speakers locally this weekend. They have rebuilt crossovers and are situated in Tannoy Devon cabinets. Is it worth taking the plunge? I have a pilot sa 232 tube amp and a mac premap that will be driving them. Would they be an upgrade from my current Altec bolero 890c speakers? I know people love them with jazz, which I would as well, but they will be playing a good deal of electronica and prog Rock, etc.

I’m really wanting to hear the dual concentric design, but hoping these models are versatile enough for a variety of genres.

 

[Nyjblbob]

A few steps up from the Altecs.
A match made in heaven
Then you can have fun finding bigger Cabinets for them
Make sure the coils and cones are in good condition 1st

 

[Audio Fan]

Your ears may differ, but I greatly liked my Tannoy 10" over my Boleros, so I think your 12 will be even better.

 

[MadcapLaughs]

Thanks for the feedback

Your ears may differ, but I greatly liked my Tannoy 10" over my Boleros, so I think your 12 will be even better.

Anything in specific that you thought the Tannoys did better? I’m getting these tomorrow and they aren’t exactly giving them away.

also does anyone know in case issues ever arise with these dual concentric drivers where there are recone kits or repair shops that deal with vintage tannoy? Just curious.

 

[Audio Fan]

For me, I like a strong mid and the Tannoys excelled in this area (mine were in the Granada cabinet). I found the Boleros to be rather flat and unexciting by comparison.

But, as you state, Tannoys can be pricey, so if you are spending a good bit, there are many other great speakers to consider, although they may not be a dual concentric.

 

[MadcapLaughs]

Well the deed is done. I got Tannoy Gold monitor 12s in the House. They sound really sweet so far. Does anyone have any official specs on these original gold 12 drivers? It’s not as easy as I thought it’d be.

 

[Nyjblbob]

How do they compare to the Altec's?
Get some bigger cabinets!

 

[MadcapLaughs]

Ya I think I would like some bigger 12” cabs for these, I think they are a little undersized (tannoy Devon cabinets), but still they really sound good and still look sharp. I am curious how the sound stage would change in a larger enclosure. I have EV aristocrat matching cabinets that housed some trashed EV 15” drivers. But I think they may be too large, and are sort of an open enclosure, giant ports on either sides.

 

[Nyjblbob]

No good .
you need to get them up to head level.
Start researching all the Known Tannoy cabinet designs.
then look into X-over mods, and or replacements for truly world class sound

 

[MadcapLaughs]

Ya I’m thinking I want to find or replicate the tannoy chatsworth cabinets that these 12” monitors were originally sold in. Those would be perfect.

Also my current speakers have upgraded Manley tannoy crossovers, which were specifically as an upgrade on these drivers. But cabinets would be the next logical upgrade

 

[Nyjblbob]

Look at the Kensington 10"'s . My friend made a pair of Larger Cabinets to fit his 12"s. Simply Outstanding. Killer Bass as well as a great soundstage

 

[MadcapLaughs]

That sounds really awesome, I bet the bass could improve, but honestly even in these cabinets these speakers are throwing a crazy big soundstage out there. Compared to the boleros they are simply better speakers, I still like the altecs dearly, but the cohesiveness of this dual concentric design cant be compared. It’s like I forget there’s even a crossover in the system.

 

[Nyjblbob]

How are you liking your Tannoys?
you do know they play well with Tubes!

 

[Leviasean15]

Congrats on the Tannoy's! I am currently in the final stages of tuning and adjusting my diy cabinets for a pair 12" lsu/hf 12/8 rs (rubber surround) I picked up in the spring.

I would be more than happy to share my experiences in greater detail with you if you are interested.

I have not altered the crossovers yet, but I have replaced the 4-pin connectors with Mainley Tannoy cables.

I have also had the spiders replaced at Belisle Acoustics (Transparence) in Montreal and had them measure the T&S parameters as well.

The cabinets are inspired by the Glenair model and have an internal volume of 190L. They were designed so that the internal volume could be easily reduced to 150L or 130L by adding polystyrene panels to the sidewalls between the bracing. This way, I can fine tune them and also be able to accommodate a larger driver in the future. The cabinets are made of 1.5" baltic birch and are braced behind the driver and above the 4" ports.

I will abstain from any in-depth review of the sound until I have completed the fine-tuning and listened to the final version for a month or so. However, I have been listening to them for two months in (over-damped) 130L cabinets and I have already fallen for their sound.

Here are the T&S parameters of the 12" Golds as well as a few pics of my cabinets. I will post a proper thread once the tuning and cosmetics are complete!

Note: the RS (rubber surround) version is slightly different from the original version.

 

[MadcapLaughs]

Very nice project, I’m certainly jealous of your craftsmanship and don’t think I’m capable of building a cabinet that would be worthy of the Tannoys. I have noticed after listening to these over the past few days that they aren’t quite as efficient or as sensitive as my Altec boleros. Certainly a nice sound, but it definitely takes turning the knob past midnight on these to put out comparable volumes that the altecs or even my Polk monitors did at say 10 oclock. I’m wondering if maybe since there are no treble and bass pots on these if maybe the drivers aren’t fully “opened up” so to speak. They don’t sound damaged or anything, but I’m a little surprised by there lack of output, it seems like they need a big power amp to get them moving. Maybe it’s the size of the cabinets they’re in? I’m not sure. But definitely nice sounding, it seems like somethings constraining their full potential. I’m mostly referring to the midrange and treble. The bass is actually more than enough for my tastes, it seems that the argument for a larger cabinet is solely to increase bass extension. Again though this is my more nuanced critique, everything sounds coherent and fully functional.

 

[GabeD]

Congrats on the Tannoy's! I am currently in the final stages of tuning and adjusting my diy cabinets for a pair 12" lsu/hf 12/8 rs (rubber surround) I picked up in the spring.

Do you have a thread anywhere about the cabinet build? I have a pair of Tannoy Lynx 12" PA speakers that sound great but are lacking in bass response because of the cabinets. I'd be curious to know what DIY options are out there.

The thread about figuring out what they were is here:
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/tannoy-lynx-restoration.898613/

 

[Leviasean15]

Very nice project, I’m certainly jealous of your craftsmanship and don’t think I’m capable of building a cabinet that would be worthy of the Tannoys. I have noticed after listening to these over the past few days that they aren’t quite as efficient or as sensitive as my Altec boleros. Certainly a nice sound, but it definitely takes turning the knob past midnight on these to put out comparable volumes that the altecs or even my Polk monitors did at say 10 oclock. I’m wondering if maybe since there are no treble and bass pots on these if maybe the drivers aren’t fully “opened up” so to speak. They don’t sound damaged or anything, but I’m a little surprised by there lack of output, it seems like they need a big power amp to get them moving. Maybe it’s the size of the cabinets they’re in? I’m not sure. But definitely nice sounding, it seems like somethings constraining their full potential. I’m mostly referring to the midrange and treble. The bass is actually more than enough for my tastes, it seems that the argument for a larger cabinet is solely to increase bass extension. Again though this is my more nuanced critique, everything sounds coherent and fully functional.

Thank you for the complement but the cabinets were designed by me, but built by a wonderful retired cabinet maker! The Tannoy's are pretty sensitive at 93db which I believe is similar to the Bolero's so it seems as though there is more at play. There is a Tannoy Yahoo group I would strongly recommend joining as well as consulting Han's website https://www.hilberink.nl/speaker.htm

You mentioned the lack of bass and treble pots. The crossovers should have two of them to control the treble energy and roll-off. I never had the original plastic boxes for my crossovers so I built butyl lined pine boxes for them and mounted the treble controls and speaker terminals on a 1/8" aluminum plate. Do you have these "pots" with your crossovers?

 

[Leviasean15]

Do you have a thread anywhere about the cabinet build? I have a pair of Tannoy Lynx 12" PA speakers that sound great but are lacking in bass response because of the cabinets. I'd be curious to know what DIY options are out there.

The thread about figuring out what they were is here:
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/tannoy-lynx-restoration.898613/

Hey, sorry, I haven't put together a complete build thread yet, but I did create a few threads regarding the build and finding the speakers. I will post a link to them shortly. If you are looking for a good starting point for DIY ideas, I would strongly recommend reading over this site https://www.hilberink.nl/speaker.htm

 

[MadcapLaughs]

Thank you for the complement but the cabinets were designed by me, but built by a wonderful retired cabinet maker! The Tannoy's are pretty sensitive at 93db which I believe is similar to the Bolero's so it seems as though there is more at play. There is a Tannoy Yahoo group I would strongly recommend joining as well as consulting Han's website https://www.hilberink.nl/speaker.htm

You mentioned the lack of bass and treble pots. The crossovers should have two of them to control the treble energy and roll-off. I never had the original plastic boxes for my crossovers so I built butyl lined pine boxes for them and mounted the treble controls and speaker terminals on a 1/8" aluminum plate. Do you have these "pots" with your crossovers?

Actually mine have updated crossovers. There are no controls for adjusting the levels any longer. They are also currently situated in Tannoy Devon cabinets. This is what the previous owner had advertised them as:

“the crossivers are made by Mainely Tannoy of the UK at a cost of 300 bucks plus...if you know Tannoy you know these crossovers and what they bring to the table”

anyways, I don’t want to undersell just how nice these sound, it’s hard for me to imagine there’s any issues with the crossovers or drivers, it just seems that maybe there might have been a more forward sound presentation with the original crossovers. Also I was curious if these drivers were running “open” so to speak, with the new crossovers, or if there are resistors in place which have modified the sound in some way. It could be for better or worse, but these are keepers.

 

[Leviasean15]

I apologize, I had forgotten that you had mentioned the Mainly crossovers. I was looking at them as well bit I decided to keep them stock for the first year or so. I did replace the original 4-pin connectors out of necessity. It would be interesting go do a comparison of sound between the two crossovers! Sorry that I can't offer any insight on the Mainly crossovers. I would have to assume that the reduced sensitivity you are experiencing is probably due to the custom crossover, but if you are enjoying their sound and your amplifier can accommodate, rock on good sir