Tannoy Prestige Stirling Gold Reference Opinions

[walpurgis]

To my ears, Tannoys give a considerably better sense of a point source than any dual cone (whzzer type) drive unit I've heard. They also seem to portray image depth better too.

[farflungstar]

The Kensingtons certainly have a following - from the write ups they have all the qualities im looking for - but I doubt I'll find a pair on the used market and 12k is a lot of moolah.

[pgarrish]

I think you'll struggle to beat a pair of 12" dc's in a custom cab with bespoke x-over. 4K should get that

[farflungstar]

I think you'll struggle to beat a pair of 12" dc's in a custom cab with bespoke x-over. 4K should get that

The problem is I wouldn't know where to start. scratch

[pgarrish]

The problem is I wouldn't know where to start. scratch

Buy a pair of cheviots or similar with 12" hpd, preferably recently refurbished. Contact paul at rfc for cross overs then paul (again) or speedy steve for cabinets, or a cabinet maker to veneer the cans you have. Whichever cabs you start with get the cone centre up to ear height.

[walpurgis]

The problem is I wouldn't know where to start. scratch

There are many here who have knowledge in that area. Just ask.

[Sherwood]

I think the important point is how they sound and in my view it would be difficult to beat any Omega model at its respective price point. In terms of value for money, you are getting high spec Alnico drivers and a hand-constructed cabinet with extensive bracing and damping. That take a lot of hours of work. The cabinets are indeed beautifully finished, but that simply reflects the quality of workmanship that goes into all stages of the Omega process. The fact that they do not contain a bundle of expensive crossover components is one of the reasons they sound so good rather than a cause for criticism.

Geoff

I'm not keen on either. The Tannoys are the model below the Turnberry, which are not bad but don't have all the qualities of the 12 or 15 inch speakers. I thought they were rather unimpressive for the price.

The Omegas are not dual concentric, they use a full range driver with whizzer cone and the same driver without whizzer to do bass from 200hz down with just an inductor to roll of the HF. They are massively expensive for what they are in terms of actual sound-making materials (yes, they look beautiful but so what?).

For the money you could get some properly sorted vintage 12 or15 inch Tannoys. Yes, you would have to drive to UK or pay someone to deliver them, but that isn't impossible. It would be worth the extra effort involved IMO.

[farflungstar]

I know you're going to point at me and laugh - but I don't quite understand how a whizzer works at producing extended clean treble.

[Macca]

I think the important point is how they sound and in my view it would be difficult to beat any Omega model at its respective price point. In terms of value for money, you are getting high spec Alnico drivers and a hand-constructed cabinet with extensive bracing and damping. That take a lot of hours of work. The cabinets are indeed beautifully finished, but that simply reflects the quality of workmanship that goes into all stages of the Omega process. The fact that they do not contain a bundle of expensive crossover components is one of the reasons they sound so good rather than a cause for criticism.

Geoff

Well, for a single driver speaker you need to have a good quality driver. In fact the driver needs to be amazingly good if the speaker is to be even remotely hi-fidelity. The advantages of using Alnico in the magnets are at best doubtful and at worst just marketing. Beautifully finished cabs (which I agree, they are) won't make any difference to how the speaker will sound but they do cost a lot, and if sound quality is a priority and the budget is not unlimited it makes no senses to me to pay for such wonders unless I am primarily buying an item of furniture first and a loudspeaker second.

In other words I'm not suggesting the speakers are expensive compared to the build cost. If I thought they were a rip-off I would just say so. I'm saying they are expensive because money has been spent on stuff that doesn't matter to their primary purpose.

[Macca]

I know you're going to point at me and laugh - but I don't quite understand how a whizzer works at producing extended clean treble.

'Extended clean treble' and 'whizzer cones' don't really go together in the same sentence. Although I don't have a downer on them like some people here. I used to have a set of Audax single range drivers with whizzer cones that I stuck in some Lowther Acousta cabs, and they were pretty good, no problem with top end 'sparkle'. They won't do much above 15khz and it won't be a flat frequency response either but whilst these things look bad on paper, in practice it isn't always the case.