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Thread: New Arrivals.... RFC Corner 'Rutland' Cabinets incorporating Tannoy 12” Monitor Gold

  1. #1
    Join Date: Mar 2016

    Location: Barnet, london UK

    Posts: 2,146
    I'm Adam.

    Default New Arrivals.... RFC Corner 'Rutland' Cabinets incorporating Tannoy 12” Monitor Gold

    New Arrivals....
    RFC Corner 'Rutland' Cabinets incorporating Tannoy 12” Monitor Gold drivers.

    I was running a stunning, very heavily modified 300b Power Amp, based on the WAD design,
    beautiful mesh plates, into modern Kudos C3 speakers and was a happy man.
    Well I thought I was!

    The Tannoy switch started after responding to a classified ad on here by Tom (montesquieu) offering a pair of early Tannoy 12” Monitor Gold drivers. I’d read lots about other Tannoy journeys on AoS with much interest. Anyway, an itch was brewing... Damn it!

    I responded to the classified that “alas, my 300b amp wasnt up to getting the best from such drivers, GLWTS”, something I had no experience of at all, but had gleaned from others that my 300b may struggle to deliver the bass from Tannoys. I had previously purchased a 300b from PetRat here on AoS, pricelessly because of this, his 300b struggled with his mighty Tannoy Westminsters, albeit, different drivers.

    Well Geoff (Walpurgis), promptly replied, “It would make sense to try your amp with these speakers if you have an interest, you may be surprised”. So a date was set and I headed with my amp & Mrs. Westlower to Berkshire. The speakers were in solid, but rough, Chatsworth sized cabinets and were hooked up to HPD Crossovers. We fired up the 300b, nice, very nice, but there was indeed a ‘lack’ of bass, these were sealed cabinet after all. Tom Swapped over to his Radford STA25, instantly the balance of controlled Bass, lush mids and a sweet treble came into focus. I loved the sound, and lovely Mrs. Westlower gave me that look!.. tbh, she was smitten too. Damn!
    It would mean a different Power amp.
    Anyway, I wanted that sound and so I purchased the speakers.

    At Tom’s, the two beautiful 'RFC' Corner Canterbury speakers which sit proudly at one end of the living room are simply stunning to look at, I loved the styling and quality. Tom fired them up. I sat quietly immersed in what was coming out of these beauties. It was a game changer. My head was spinning. It was a stunning system to experience, very well thought out.

    I enjoyed the rough ‘Chatsworth’ sized Tannoys back at home for a while and then commissioned some custom RFC Monitor Gold crossovers, from Paul Coupe, after hearing from others at the huge shift in performance they would bring. These were built to top quality standard and installed. The lift in SQ was night and day. More of everything and then some. Top Job, not cheap, but for what one gets, not too much either. A huge difference.

    I had already made my mind up to have quality Corner cabinet made, similar to what i’d seen and heard at Tom’s place, they would need to be scaled down slightly, as my Cottage living room is not huge, and I quite like being married!

    Time to speak to Paul Coupe who Tom collaborated with to design the ‘Corner Canterburys’ I’d been so impressed with.

    Firstly, Paul is an extraordinarily generous man with his knowledge, experience and time. After some discussions Paul got to work on designing a similar style cabinet based around the 12’’ Monitor Golds and my living Room. A very important factor.

    Fast forward a few months.... and the beauties are here.

    So how are they sounding?
    Buying in effect 'blind' like this is a nervous experience, you have to have faith in the designer, although a huge nod to Tom's RFC Corner Canterburys, these are a different speaker.

    Well, firstly i will say they exceeded my expectations in every way.
    The quality of the cabinets, the styling, the attention to the design of the construction and the tuning is just a joy. Paul really applied himself to these. Music from both Analogue and digital source simply renders me to paralysis. I sit for hours emersed in what they deliver. Every millimeter of the room is filled with sound. They don’t have to be loud to deliver detailed, textured tops, lush, unctious mids and a bass that you could read the notes with grip and feeling. With Acoustic Jazz, the Timbre is exceptional...With reggae, they go low nicely and controlled.
    But Tannoys don’t do bass... Utter tosh!!
    I can’t wait to get home every evening and be transported to audio bliss.

    Really, they are that good. I'm a happy Jazzer.

    My thanks go to Tom for the original inspiration, his generosity of advice, knowledge and help it took to get to this point.
    Paul Coupe of Reference Fidelity Components, for designing such a quality product and his endless support and essential advice.

    RFC Rutland Tech specs:

    Distributed vent tuned, RFC constrained panel design, modelled on the RFC Canterbury, scaled down to suit MG12 inch drive units. Design aims to push cab resonances out of the critical mid area and uses sub panel harmonic frequency splitting to reduce resonance amplitudes. Corner design results in stiffer cabinet with fewer direct acoustic reflections through driver, keeping out of phase reflections lower than on traditional rectangular boxes. Internally damped....panels damped for resonance as well as using acoustic damping to absorb upper mid/HF frequencies. Extra-stiff and thick laminated front baffle and base/top sections. Internally braced.

    Cab Materials: Slow Grown Latvian Birch ply of various thicknesses. Sapele Wood Veneer.

    Frequency response: Approx: 39Hz to 20KHz (-6dB) (Actual extension may be lower in room).

    Mass: circa 50Kgs each..

    External overall dimensions Approx 1200 x 600 x 420

    Crossover: Externally mounted 2 pole electrical, LR4 acoustic, RFC designed, electrically compensated circuit equivalent to electrically flat autotransformer setting incorporating fully discrete point to point solid copper core wiring, high quality parts, RFC "HDF" inductors;
    Internal Wiring: 2.5mm2 OFC biwire cable terminated in gold plated and sprung 4 pin tannoy connectors.


    Cabinets: Design by Reference Fidelity Components. www.referencefidelitycomponents.co.uk
    "Reference Rutland"











    Last edited by WESTLOWER; 27-03-2018 at 14:47.
    "lack of passion is fatal"


    Vinyl: Thorens TD-124mk2 / SME-312 Aluminium 'special' / SME M2-9R / STEREO: Etsuro Urushi Cobalt / Shure M3D / Ortofon SPU A95 / Cartridge Man Music Master / Shure - SC35C (US) / SAEC C3 MC MONO: Miyajima Zero B 0.7mil mono / Miyajima Premium 1.0 / Amps & SUTs: Radford STA25 mk3 / AD Audio 'Satchmo2' pre & LCR phono / Hashimoto HM-7 SUT / ETR-MONO SUT Digital: Audio Note 4.1 (with DAC5 upgrades) DAC / Roon / Tidal Speakers: Tannoy 12" MGs' in RFC custom 'Rutland' Cabinets with RFC crossovers / Tannoy ST-100 Super Tweeters Cables: LFD Grainless phono / RFC Mercury / Duelund DCA16GA tinned copper / Kimber 12TC / SW1X Audio Design USB-SPdif / Duelund DCA20GA interconnects / SW1X Audio SPDIF Aero 6 / Mains Power Conditioner / Box Furniture rack / Audiodesk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner / a very beautiful & understanding Wife!

  2. #2
    Join Date: Feb 2008

    Location: South Wales

    Posts: 9,151
    I'm NotTakingLifeTooSeriouslyTheseDays.

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    Excelent!
    Great to see another satisfied Tannoy user, and a positive for Paul at RFC.
    A...
    "Today scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality"
    Nikola Tesla



    Its now a conspiracy theory to believe that the Immune system is capable of doing the job it was designed to do.
    A fish is only as healthy as the water its swimming in ! [Dr Robert Young]


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    Matthew 5:10

  3. #3
    Join Date: Mar 2008

    Location: Galashiels

    Posts: 13,669
    I'm inthescottishmafia.

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    Very nice!
    “Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel. I have always needed fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio”

    Hunter S Thompson

  4. #4
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

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    great craftsmanship as usual...
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
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    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

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    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  5. #5
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK

    Posts: 110,012
    I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.

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    Brilliant stuff, Adam!

    More people with a decent budget to spend on hi-fi should go down the high-quality 'bespoke designed' route, rather than buying commercially produced equipment and speakers from manufacturers with a so-called 'desirable badge', as in my experience that's where the *real* deal and most rewards (not just sonic) are to be found...

    Top notch craftsmanship again from Paul, who as a cabinet maker and speaker designer is certainly the real deal. Enjoy mate, and I wish you many years of fun and musical satisfaction with them

    Marco.
    Main System

    Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.

    Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.

    Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.

    CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.

    Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.

    Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.

    Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.

    Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.

    Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.


    Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!

    Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!


  6. #6
    Join Date: Mar 2016

    Location: Barnet, london UK

    Posts: 2,146
    I'm Adam.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Marco View Post
    Brilliant stuff, Adam!

    More people with a decent budget to spend on hi-fi should go down the high-quality 'bespoke designed' route, rather than buying commercially produced equipment and speakers from manufacturers with a so-called 'desirable badge', as in my experience that's where the *real* deal and most rewards (not just sonic) are to be found...

    Top notch craftsmanship again from Paul, who as a cabinet maker and speaker designer is certainly the real deal. Enjoy mate, and I wish you many years of fun and musical satisfaction with them

    Marco.
    Thanks Marco, you are right, no way could you get this level on a commercial route for the price point.
    I intend to enjoy these for many moons to come.
    "lack of passion is fatal"


    Vinyl: Thorens TD-124mk2 / SME-312 Aluminium 'special' / SME M2-9R / STEREO: Etsuro Urushi Cobalt / Shure M3D / Ortofon SPU A95 / Cartridge Man Music Master / Shure - SC35C (US) / SAEC C3 MC MONO: Miyajima Zero B 0.7mil mono / Miyajima Premium 1.0 / Amps & SUTs: Radford STA25 mk3 / AD Audio 'Satchmo2' pre & LCR phono / Hashimoto HM-7 SUT / ETR-MONO SUT Digital: Audio Note 4.1 (with DAC5 upgrades) DAC / Roon / Tidal Speakers: Tannoy 12" MGs' in RFC custom 'Rutland' Cabinets with RFC crossovers / Tannoy ST-100 Super Tweeters Cables: LFD Grainless phono / RFC Mercury / Duelund DCA16GA tinned copper / Kimber 12TC / SW1X Audio Design USB-SPdif / Duelund DCA20GA interconnects / SW1X Audio SPDIF Aero 6 / Mains Power Conditioner / Box Furniture rack / Audiodesk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner / a very beautiful & understanding Wife!

  7. #7
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK

    Posts: 110,012
    I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.

    Default

    Indeed, Adam. It's something you should appreciate and treat as unique - a 'one off' design, built specially for you. Such things should be treasured forever

    "No way could you get this level on a commercial route for the price point".

    Indeed not. However, you had the balls to take a risk, applied some lateral thinking and went with your gut instincts, - and you have been suitably rewarded, so enjoy!

    I only hope that others will take note and follow your example...

    Marco.
    Main System

    Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.

    Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.

    Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.

    CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.

    Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.

    Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.

    Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.

    Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.

    Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.


    Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!

    Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!


  8. #8
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: London

    Posts: 685
    I'm James.

    Default

    Despite the lack of success of Tannoys in my own living room this is a testament to 'horses for courses' and massive respect to you for following your instincts, and putting your money where your faith is.

    Your speakers look fab, if they sound even half as good they will be winners. I'm not too surprised given Paul's work on Tom's speakers, but delighted the success continues ☺

    Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

  9. #9
    montesquieu Guest

    Default

    I had the privilege of hearing these speakers on Saturday. I had a really fun afternoon and evening (six hours in total) - a proper listening session briefly paused for a fine curry cooked by Penny, Adam's other half.

    Adam's 401 that you can see in the pics is a real cracker - beautifully refinished in grey hammerite, with Russ Collinson Shindo-type plinth, and a superb high-mass Series 1 SME 3012 that's had a trip to J7's for rewiring and an all round fettle. With Adam's vintage SPU GE, there was a real 60s vibe going on - 60s arm, 60s cartridge, 60s drive units, 60s-design Radford Revival STA25 MkV, and the 60s Golds in 60s style cabs of course - with 60s jazz, an intoxicating mix. It all just sounded so 'right'.

    A big part of that synergy was, it seems to me, delivered by the AD Satchmo preamp/internal phono stage that Adam was running, paired nicely with my old Hashimoto HM7 (built up by Graeme 'Valvebloke') - the combo seemed beautifully balanced between detail, ambience and oomph - I was well impressed by that and a real match with the rest of his kit. This hadn't been on my radar before but it came across as very accomplished, with all the warmth and dimensionality you look for in a good tube pre/phono. Great choice.

    I brought four cartridges round and we had a bit of a play - the Royal N was a great match with the Series 1 3012 and an interesting 'modern' update to the SPU GE. (It certainly demonstrated that the 401/3012 could do detail with the best of them including Adam's other TT, a top-spec LP12). I also brought both mono Miyajimas (0.7 Zero and 1.0 Premium) which worked well too - Adam's system really brought out the benefits of running a mono cartridge, even against the Royal N, which while fab with stereo presented mono as a bit narrow, whereas the Miyajimas broadened the sound out across the whole space. In Adam's intimate setting it felt like being at a gig (in fact, more like a gig than it did in stereo). Glorious. We also had a bit of fun with a Tonar Diabolic E I picked up recently - hilariously good on Adam's heavy arm for the £50 that it costs and really not so far behind the SPU GE.

    Adam is a true music enthusiast (as anyone who has been following the jazz music thread would realise) and his record collection is superb (and enormous) - I enjoy jazz but I don't know that much about it, but Adam was pulling out some really cool stuff. (Dr John? Awesome). Nice to have my horizons expanded.

    But I guess along with Adam's music, the star of the show was the speakers. I just love the proportions of them (possibly more aesthetically balanced than mine with their tall, slim looks) - they have the real look of vintage corner Tannoys and are a wonderful match for the 12in Gold driver. They sound superb in Adam's space - sweet, punchy and with great atmospherics - and I was most surprised at the in-room bass response - definitely the best I've heard from 12in Gold. The tuning sounded absolutely spot-on for the room, so Paul has clearly done his usual trick with the maths.

    The cabs themselves seemed really well sorted - well damped and braced, no resonances or other nasties. Paul's speciality of course is his crossovers, and Adam went for his top-end ones - so the clarity is amazing. (No Tannoy honk or grainyness - Tannoy skeptics really owe it to themselves to hear some of Paul's crossovers).

    But the biggest impact was from the synergy of the way it all worked together - Adam was looking for something that reflects his passion for 50s and 60s jazz, and I can hardly imagine a better set up - from the cartridge through to the speakers - to achieve that. Really impressive.

    But of course I couldn't go without trying some of my own stuff ... a Bach cantata and some Schubert Lieder, natch - needless to say they handled this music with aplomb as well.

    Anyway, thanks to Adam (and Penny) for being such super hosts. It's fantastic to see someone create a system like this, each part sourced with thought and care from the artisan ecosystem that surrounds and supports our wee community. This is my way of doing stuff too (as it is for many here) and it's so fab when it all comes together.

  10. #10
    Join Date: Mar 2016

    Location: Barnet, london UK

    Posts: 2,146
    I'm Adam.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jazid View Post
    massive respect to you for following your instincts, and putting your money where your faith
    Thanks but the real leap of faith was Tom contacting Paul at RFC and putting forward his idea of updating the original
    Corner cabinets. I was very grateful to have Tom's Canterburys as a reference point, without which I'm not sure I'd have
    Stumped up completely blind.
    "lack of passion is fatal"


    Vinyl: Thorens TD-124mk2 / SME-312 Aluminium 'special' / SME M2-9R / STEREO: Etsuro Urushi Cobalt / Shure M3D / Ortofon SPU A95 / Cartridge Man Music Master / Shure - SC35C (US) / SAEC C3 MC MONO: Miyajima Zero B 0.7mil mono / Miyajima Premium 1.0 / Amps & SUTs: Radford STA25 mk3 / AD Audio 'Satchmo2' pre & LCR phono / Hashimoto HM-7 SUT / ETR-MONO SUT Digital: Audio Note 4.1 (with DAC5 upgrades) DAC / Roon / Tidal Speakers: Tannoy 12" MGs' in RFC custom 'Rutland' Cabinets with RFC crossovers / Tannoy ST-100 Super Tweeters Cables: LFD Grainless phono / RFC Mercury / Duelund DCA16GA tinned copper / Kimber 12TC / SW1X Audio Design USB-SPdif / Duelund DCA20GA interconnects / SW1X Audio SPDIF Aero 6 / Mains Power Conditioner / Box Furniture rack / Audiodesk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner / a very beautiful & understanding Wife!

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