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100.1.46.96
I found a pair used on Audiogon and pulled the trigger, unseen and unheard. With their Scotland factory shut down by Behringer, which bought the company last spring and promptly fired everyone, there are precious few dealers with any stock left, and none in the northeast U.S. that I could find.
I'm in a temporary rental, so don't have any of my usual gear.. Rather than wait a couple weeks to get them set up properly, I grabbed a Kenwood A5070 receiver for fifty bucks off craigslist, some 18 gauge zip cord, and a cheapie mini-headphone to RCA I.C. The source is a 2009 Macbook Pro. The Macbook's DAC is borderline decent, it's headphone amp... less so. But even with this barely mid-fi setup, the Tannoys are in some ways exquisite, and in other ways, frustrating. But personality they have in spades.
First, they are extraordinarily beautifully made. The joiner work and finish on the cabinets are just outstanding. A pox on Behringer for destroying a company that dedicated such talent, care, and passion in the products they built.
The sound:
The presentation is Row A. If you don't like your music from the front row, these aren't for you. Close-mic'd piano sounds like your head is under the lid. Mids and highs are extremely smooth, natural, and very extended. The Tannoys give all the detail a mix or mastering engineer would love, but without any screechiness or glare, and without seeming hyper-detailed. It's all musical, and you *will* hear details you probably never noticed before. Low-level harmonic detail is exquisite. They play at low levels better than any moving-coil speakers I've heard. No, they're not Quad 57's, but they're pretty close. Like other efficient speakers, they are punchy as hell, and go *very* loud with no change in timbre. Think Klipsch, but with a very extended smooth, fast, high end. Cymbals and bells will give goosebumps, over and over. That's fun.
The mid/high detail is seductive. Even as I felt they were too much in my face, they drew me into the performance as few other speakers have.
The bottom end is another story. With this crummy setup, they have a pretty big ported-speaker bump about 80 Hz, which I didn't expect on speakers this big. EQ-ing that down improves things somewhat, but the bottom is pretty wooly. And they do not plumb the depths at all; they are down 6 dB at 38Hz, and as the bass rolloff is a 12 dB/octave cliff. I'm guessing the bottom is usable to the low 40's or so, which again is about what Klipshorn owners get. In the next few weeks we'll see how much a good room tames that bump, which is a deal-killer for me.
Dispersion seems pretty narrow vertically, and OK horizontally. You definitely want the drivers aimed exactly at your ear height.
Imaging is superb. With good recordings you can stare down the speakers, but hear the music coming from a beautifully defined sound stage floating between them. Tannoy certainly something had good going with their dual-concentric technology.
I suspect the Tannoys will benefit from as much space as you can give them. Perversely, they can also be near-fields. Pointed at your ears from about six feet away, the imaging and visceral involvement is intense.
If any of this intrigues you, grab a pair. UK dealers have lots of 'em, and with the Pound continuing to roll down the hill, buying from a dealer there and shipping is not prohibitive. They're not for everyone, and I'm not sure they're for me, but listening to them even with this crummy setup, I get why they are legendary.
Behringer says they will resume production in China, but I don't believe him. Even if they do, there is no way they could duplicate the dedication of those Scots who lavished such love and care on the work they did. (The owners manual has many photos, and it looks like the average age of the Tannoy worker was somewhere in the late sixties. Experience counts.)
More to come. Stay tuned.
WW
"A man need merely light the filaments of his receiving set and the world's greatest artists will perform for him." Alfred N. Goldsmith, RCA, 1922
Follow Ups:
All problems were the cheapie receiver. Once I got moved in and got the old VTL preamp and Manley monoblocs out, all is changed. Bass is quite deep, slightly lean in the middle/upper bass (which I like), very fast and hugely dynamic. Mids and top end magical. Haven't dug out the other gear, so this is still coming from a Macbook Pro, which doesn't have the last word in DACs.
Ah, that's better!
WW
"A man need merely light the filaments of his receiving set and the world's greatest artists will perform for him." Alfred N. Goldsmith, RCA, 1922
It's what keeps the hobbyist in me going.
Good for you :)
Down 6dB at 39hz is per specification, though. Setup away from front wall, and away from side walls, if possible. Angle them so that beams from compression drivers cross just behind your head at the listening chair. My chair is back about 8.5 feet from the speakers.
I use 24 wpc single-ended tube monoblocks (Art Audio Jota HC) but my speakers' efficiency is well over 100dB. With your speakers, I'd use push-pull KT88 amps with at least 40 wpc. I use traps on the ceiling and side walls, but not on the rear wall behind my chair which is at least 15 feet away from the rear wall.
It's a shame about Behringer :(
Do you have trouble aiming them at your ears without the help of risers?I'm also wondering if risers might help in tightening up the bass.
Edits: 10/25/16
Have you listened to older Tannoys, and how do they compare? I Have 15 inch HPDs in my Montreal home
I heard Churchills ages ago. My lousy memory says they went deeper, had the same sense of speed and dynamics, and perhaps, maybe, slightly gentler highs. (Of course these will have gentler highs with good gear in the chain.) I will probably use my old ACI subwoofer with them, as it is also very fast. I think I even know which of the 143 boxes contains the SPL meter.
Moving day is Thursday, so Unpacking the Gear Day is Thursday.
WW
"A man need merely light the filaments of his receiving set and the world's greatest artists will perform for him." Alfred N. Goldsmith, RCA, 1922
Just listened to the Von Karajan/Berlin Tchaikovsky 4th. Not in your face at all; more like row ten. Nice sound stage between the speakers, with good depth. Really beguiling image specificity. I haven't heard violin plucking sound like this since the Maggie 1's. Excellent sense of hall acoustics. Massed violins nice until the volume rises, when the laptop DAC turns them all gritty. Ouch! Solo flute and oboe hang with a wonderful sense of air. Moral: don't use these speakers with crummy stuff in the chain. This is getting better.
WW
"A man need merely light the filaments of his receiving set and the world's greatest artists will perform for him." Alfred N. Goldsmith, RCA, 1922
Congratulations! I hope they will please you for a long time. The latest from Tannoy is that they will continue to make the Prestige models in the UK (Manchester)?. They have been making the lesser models in China for some years now...
I personally think that the MUSIC Group should change their name to the MONEY Group and be honest, but we'll see what happens.
Behringer are moving the R&D part of Tannoy to Manchester. They say that manufacture of the Prestige models will remain in Scotland and that this will involve a new, updated, plant. However although closure of the existing Coatbridge factory has been confirmed there is so far nothing about any new factory beyond the aspiration.
That is good news. I was just doing some work with Mavis Staples' "Have a Little Faith" playing in the next room and I had to go in and listen. Never heard it so good. For the time being, am using about -4 dB at 62Hz on the Vox player. The acoustic guitar and B3 give goosebumps.
Nothing is ever simple. That's generally good.
WW
"A man need merely light the filaments of his receiving set and the world's greatest artists will perform for him." Alfred N. Goldsmith, RCA, 1922
Great! you got a pair. Odd the description of the Box works being V good.
In the past.. Tannoys were the other way around.
Exquisitely made drivers in poorly made boxes.
GRF stated that they Were Speaker makers.. Not furniture builders.
The earlier DC's are even better sounding.. true.
However you now have your own pair.
No doubt they will please for many years to come.
Have had Mine since '72 and have yet to hear something that would make me want to upgrade /replace them.
Typical of DC's is their surprising ability to give audible result to even the tiniest of quality upgrades in their downstream gear.
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