Time for a new pair of wardrobes.....

[Wakefield Turntables]

The old Tannoy's are going! I'm having some new cabs designed and it was time to remove the drivers so the new cabinet build could progress. I thought I'd
take a few pix. Here you can see the old cabinets with sexy external X-0. Opening the cab reveals a monster 15" MG driver. Finally a little porn for all you component geeks. Some wonderfully designed RFC reference external X-O's. The drivers and X-O's will be whacked into the new Wardrobes when they arrive from Russ Collinson.


. 1496714968149691497014971

This is part of a much larger development of my valve system!

[Ali Tait]

Any pics of what the new wardrobes will look like?

[DarrenHW]

Any pics of what the new wardrobes will look like?

+1, also I see in your sig you've got some ESL 57's too, have you extended your listening room?

[Wakefield Turntables]

Any pics of what the new wardrobes will look like?

I have no pics, only blueprints and I know that I'm not allowed to show you those, sorry. I will post some new pics as soon as I recieve them. Needless to sat the new wardrobes are (I think) bigger than a pair of lockwoods and have a larger litre volume, altough not be much.


+1, also I see in your sig you've got some ESL 57's too, have you extended your listening room?

The 57's sit on top of my Kallax units. I'll be setting them up tonight. Its the first time in ages that I've used them and I've never used them with my Croft so my time waiting for the new wardrobes will pass by experimenting with new speaker and speaker cable combinations. Life's hard. :eyebrows: Forget to mention, no, I haven't extended the listening room. It's still the small pokey place above the garage!!

[Ali Tait]

Cool, look forward to the finished article. :-)

[Gazjam]

Ali's got a thing for wardrobes...keeps his best frocks hung up in 'em. :D

[Ali Tait]

Sshhh!

Only coz yer there to see me swish.. :D

[Wakefield Turntables]

Wardrobe update! Met up with Russ Collinson today. Speaker drivers have been picked up and some small design tweaks to the cabs. I've now got to wait three weeks :D.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Nearing completion...!:eek:

[brian2957]

Lucky boy :popcorn:

[BTH K10A]

Are they bigger than these? :eek:

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?27339-BTH-K-10A-Exciting-dual-concentric-project-larger-than-big-Tannoys!

[Wakefield Turntables]

Are they bigger than these? :eek:

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?27339-BTH-K-10A-Exciting-dual-concentric-project-larger-than-big-Tannoys!

No, they are slightly bigger than Lockwoods and have specially designed to fit and work in my current listening room. I'll be posting pics when I get them delievered. ;)

[Wakefield Turntables]

Wardrobes are 95% finished. Here are some snaps


.15099151001510115102

Looking good. Still a few bits to add such as castors and dampening material but Russ has done a good job.

[struth]

Looking good Andy.

ps you still havent put your name in to your signature mate. as its a requirement would be obliged if you could get it in somewhere mate...cheers g

[brian2957]

Looking good Andrew . What are the dimensions of these cabs .

[Marco]

Looking good Andy.

ps you still havent put your name in to your signature mate. as its a requirement would be obliged if you could get it in somewhere mate...cheers g

Yup! Andy, I recently put your first name on your profile for good reason.

As you know, mate, we have a rule here where a member's real first name must appear somewhere on their profile. That means either on the bit after 'I'm', under you posts count, or in your signature (before or after your equipment list). Everyone else has to do it, so with respect. we can't have one rule for you and another for everyone else.

Therefore, please put your first name on one of those two places in your profile, next time you log in. Cheers! :cool:

Marco.

[Macca]

Bigger than Lockwoods is properly large. Fascinated to see how this turns out.

[Wakefield Turntables]

These should arrive next week. Will update when I have them.

[brian2957]

Yes please do Andrew .

[Barry]

Yes please do Andrew .

Hey that rhymes! :)

[struth]

workmanship looks top class.

[brian2957]

Hey that rhymes! :)

I'm wasted on here Barry :lol:

[struth]

I'm wasted on here Barry :lol:

and i'm just wasted ;)


joke!

[brian2957]

You partaking Grant :eyebrows:

[struth]

You partaking Grant :eyebrows:

Yup. but slowly so I stay sober. I have a tremendous resilience to alcohol due to my frequent acquaintance to the stuff ;)

[brian2957]

:lol:

[Wakefield Turntables]

Topic drift.... :steam:

[Barry]

Topic drift.... :steam:

It's just internet banter whilst we wait for the grand debut. ;)

[The Black Adder]

Topic drift.... :steam:

Do you like Peas? I like peas - lol ;)

[The Black Adder]

Very nice indeed, Andrew.

But, bigger than Lockwoods?

Which lockwoods?

Dimensions please.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Bigger than Lockwood majors. I wanted as many litres in the cabs as possible whilst still being able to properly listen and use the cabs within the confines of my listening room. They have been tailored for my listening space and properly braced to minimise resonance in the cabinet. The XO will be mounted on the underside the minimise taking up space in the listening room and they will also behind from springs to minimise vibration getting into the XO. The castors allow easy movement around the room, they weigh a ton and enable the drivers to be mounted at exactly ear height from my chair. A lot of thought has gone into them. Paul also designed the cabs to be tuned properly and work with my current design of xo. They should sound bloody lovely when I get them.

[brian2957]

Nice one Andrew , really looking forward to your impressions , and the pictures of course :)

[Marco]

Wardrobes are 95% finished. Here are some snaps


.15099151001510115102

Looking good. Still a few bits to add such as castors and dampening material but Russ has done a good job.

Those look fab, Andy, although (perhaps it's just the pic), but they appear taller than my Lockies, but not as wide. If you've got the dimensions, I can compare? Regardless, though, I'm sure they'll sound fab! :)

Marco.

P.S Thanks for putting your name on your profile - much appreciated :thumbsup:

[DarrenHW]

Those look fab, Andy....

+1, love the period appropriate veneer.

[The Black Adder]

ah.. righto. :)

Don't forget the rail inside. lol

Nicely done, plenty of bracing too, that's always a good sign.

[RobbieGong]

Nice one Andy :thumbsup: You seem able to fully indulge your hifi desires which is great.Looking forward to your thoughts once you've got down to some critical listening :)

[Wakefield Turntables]

Nice one Andrew , really looking forward to your impressions , and the pictures of course :)

Yep so am I. They've been a long time in coming. I pissed around looking for some Lockwood cabs and then decided just to get some made to my requirements.


Those look fab, Andy, although (perhaps it's just the pic), but they appear taller than my Lockies, but not as wide. If you've got the dimensions, I can compare? Regardless, though, I'm sure they'll sound fab! :)

Marco.

P.S Thanks for putting your name on your profile - much appreciated :thumbsup:]

I'm not sure I can give the dimensions as they are Paul's design. They are taller and deeper than your Lockwoods that much I can confirm, although not by much maybe a few cm's. Certainly not enough for me to get my knob out and start willing waving about my cab size. :eyebrows:


+1, love the period appropriate veneer.

Thanks Darren. They match the 301's veneer whilst retaining the 70's vintage.


Nice one Andy :thumbsup: You seem able to fully indulge your hifi desires which is great.Looking forward to your thoughts once you've got down to some critical listening :)

Well I'd also purchase the Audio note cart I see advertised elsewhere on the site, but generally with a little careful thought and saving like mad I can every so often get a piece of kit that I've lusted after. The next will be a Hashimoto HM7 based SUT for the ortofon carts I own. :eek:

[Audio Advent]

I'm not sure I can give the dimensions as they are Paul's design. They are taller and deeper than your Lockwoods that much I can confirm, although not by much maybe a few cm's. Certainly not enough for me to get my knob out and start willing waving about my cab size. :eyebrows:

? Surely every cm counts? If it's bigger, it's bigger!

[Marco]

I'm not sure I can give the dimensions as they are Paul's design. They are taller and deeper than your Lockwoods that much I can confirm, although not by much maybe a few cm's. Certainly not enough for me to get my knob out and start willing waving about my cab size. :eyebrows:


Hehehe.... Don't doubt the taller and deeper thing, but the 'girth' isn't quite there, and as all girls know, wide ones do it best :D :eyebrows:

I'll have to pop round for a listen when they're done!

Marco.

[The Black Adder]

I'm sure Paul wouldn't mind releasing the top secret dimensions... lol - Or do I need to sign the OSA?

What are you going to use with them, the Radford or something else?

[Wakefield Turntables]

Hehehe.... Don't doubt the taller and deeper thing, but the 'girth' isn't quite there, and as all girls know, wide ones do it best :D :eyebrows:

I'll have to pop round for a listen when they're done!

Marco.

You can have a listen if you want. Not sure my stuff will be as good as yours.


I'm sure Paul wouldn't mind releasing the top secret dimensions... lol - Or do I need to sign the OSA?

What are you going to use with them, the Radford or something else?

Well, it's more a respect thing Joe, he's done the work, it's his design, it's his (c) I s'pose. I'm sure if you contact Paul he'd divulge the cabs dimensions. The Radford will initially be driving them and then I'm going to start looking at some monster SS power amps, and possibly valve monoblocks. :D:D

[Marco]

You can have a listen if you want. Not sure my stuff will be as good as yours.


Lol - not bothered about that. It ain't a competition... I'd just like to hear the speaks as an interested fan of big Tannoy DCs. I also rate Paul's designs. Maybe I'll hire a van, bring the Lockies round, and we can do an A/B? :eyebrows:

Marco.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Lol - not bothered about that. It ain't a competition... I'd just like to hear the speaks as an interested fan of big Tannoy DCs. I also rate Paul's designs. Maybe I'll hire a van, bring the Lockies round, and we can do an A/B? :eyebrows:

Marco.

That would be a very very tight squeeze in my room! We could possibly do it at a bake off one day. :)

[Marco]

That would be a very very tight squeeze in my room!

It would be an impossibility in mine - if we both wanted to breathe!! :D

Realistically, that ain't gonna happen anytime soon. Just give me a shout when your new speakers are finished and I'll drop by for a listen :)

Marco.

[Wakefield Turntables]

We could have done this easily if I had organised the Yorkshire based audio club that I had planned. Life, took over and I had a daughter. I still intend to do the audio club thing as things are getting a little easier. Can you imagine too massive pair of wardrobes plotted against each other in a massive hall! WOW, :eek:, that would be a day to remember.

[Macca]

. Can you imagine too massive pair of wardrobes plotted against each other in a massive hall! WOW, :eek:, that would be a day to remember.


Sort of like Godzilla versus Mothra. But audio-related.

[BTH K10A]

Can you imagine too massive pair of wardrobes plotted against each other in a massive hall! WOW, :eek:, that would be a day to remember.

Sounds reminiscent of a visit to IKEA to me ;)

[Macca]

We could try stacked Lockwoods....see if we could actually demolish the venue using the power of SPL

[Wakefield Turntables]

We could try stacked Lockwoods....see if we could actually demolish the venue using the power of SPL

Now that brought a smile to my face!

[Wakefield Turntables]

Wardrobes arriving this Thursday.

[brian2957]

:uhho: :popcorn:

[Marco]

We could try stacked Lockwoods....see if we could actually demolish the venue using the power of SPL

:lolsign:

Quality... We *must* do that sometime. It would commercial audio shows in comparison very much for pee-soaked weenie boys! :D

Marco.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Wardrobes have arrived. Excellent craftsmanship from Russ Collinson. They are massive and make my old Lancaster cabs look like a pair of JR149's! Only listened to two songs so far but they already do that fantastic trick of just disappearing when they start playing Miles Davis. :eek:

[Macca]

What's happened? Camera broken? ;)

[Audio Al]

:worthless:

+1:)

[Wakefield Turntables]

Nope I took a morning off work, I've had to go in for a few patients, back tonight, camera at ready.

[DarrenHW]

:popcorn:

[Wakefield Turntables]

WOW, these have changed the presentation of the 15"MG drivers. I'm having too much fun listening to these. I'll post some pix later. Now must turn the Sade over on my 301. :eyebrows:

[The Black Adder]

LOL... Ahh! - The sound of properly sorted Tannoy's - It's addictive isn't it. :) I know I am...

[walpurgis]

LOL... Ahh! - The sound of properly sorted Tannoy's - It's addictive isn't it. :) I know I am...

Yes. I've been addicted to them for forty years. :D

[PaulStewart]

Yes. I've been addicted to them for forty years. :D

+1

[Andy831]

Patiently waiting for the reveal :popcorn::popcorn:

[Wakefield Turntables]

Sorry guys, child duties are on going at the 'mo. I can post a few thoughts on the presentation. Cue a zillion cliche's the soundstage has a very deep and pushed back presentation. The size and feeling of width and depth has changed beyond all recognition when compared to my old Lancaster cabs. The 15"MG's now have more litre's to breathe in and boy can you tell. The drivers now sound like they have fully woken up whilst previously they appeared not quite to be firing on all cylinders, not anymore :eyebrows:. I had a brief listen to Holst's The Planets (Previn, HiQ label), usual fair, Mr. Mars bringer of War and all that. WOW:eek: never sounded as deep, forceful, detailed as that before. The 15MG's are not the last word in neutrality and have always failed pretty badly when given complex pieces of Dream Theater to contend with, I'm used to listening to big active ATC's that can handle dream theater with one hand tied behing their back. The MG's have improved massively and I can now listen and enjoy Dream Theater on the big wardrobes. My listening room has taken a hit on space and I think I need to upgrade my house to get the best out of these babies. I'll try and get some pics up tonight, promise. :)

[Audio Al]

Prediction , next thing the camera battery will be flat , You tease :)

[Wakefield Turntables]

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OK, crap photo's. Cross over mounted on springs to the underside of the cabs. The castors add a real retro and industrial feel to the speakers. The second picture in the three attached actually completely hides the quite considerably sized ATC ASL50 on Atacama stands, it just swallows them up. These photo's dont really do the cabs justice. I intend to write a review up at some point.

[brian2957]

Absolutely beautiful Andrew and well worth the wait . Hope they sound as good as they look mate . Enjoy :D

[Macca]

When you think that is a fifteen inch driver looking small in the cab - and i'm looking at speakers with fifteens fitted right now - you realise the scale of those cabs. I think they might retire your ATC, Andy. Good as they are they are they are surely going to sound small scale in comparison.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Absolutely beautiful Andrew and well worth the wait . Hope they sound as good as they look mate . Enjoy :D

Thanks Brian, awfully decent of you. Still getting used to the size!


When you think that is a fifteen inch driver looking small in the cab - and i'm looking at speakers with fifteens fitted right now - you realise the scale of those cabs. I think they might retire your ATC, Andy. Good as they are they are they are surely going to sound small scale in comparison.

Martin, you are 100% correct they are massive but listening less than 2M away gives an excellent sound stage. They are too big for my room really and that's why I have the ATC's which make a perfect soundstage for the room I have. I'll not be retiring the ATC's just yet as they are my main Rock/Prog speaker. The Tannoy's just dont come close to what the ATC's can do in some areas and vice versa with the ATC's against the Tannoys.

[struth]

Yay! pics...they look great, and huge at same time. lovely looking wood grain too....they'll last a lifetime and beyond.

http://theartofsound.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=15162&d=1438972632

[Wakefield Turntables]

Thanks for altering the pic Grant. I dont intend buying another Horn based speaker now and they are indeed designed to see my ears out. :D I'll try and take some more pics of the old Lancaster cabs propped against them, and I'll also take a pic of the ATC's against them. They are monumental.

[Reffc]

Been quite ill guys so only just picked up on this. Anyone wanting the size, please contact me and I'll be glad to oblige. Wont be back to full strength for a while yet so there may be some delays between responses. These are larger (gross volume) than Lockwood majors, optimally tuned for the 15MGs, heavily braced along constrained panel design principles (arrived at with the aid of a little finite element analysis allowing efficient design) and damped. Front vented design allows placement close to wall but tbh free space (if you have the room) works as well. Room is something you wont have much of placing these in many domestic settings:lol:

Hope the design outcome ticks the Tannoy DC box for you Andy. :cool:

[struth]

Hope your back on your feet soon Paul:)

[Wakefield Turntables]

Been quite ill guys so only just picked up on this. Anyone wanting the size, please contact me and I'll be glad to oblige. Wont be back to full strength for a while yet so there may be some delays between responses. These are larger (gross volume) than Lockwood majors, optimally tuned for the 15MGs, heavily braced along constrained panel design principles (arrived at with the aid of a little finite element analysis allowing efficient design) and damped. Front vented design allows placement close to wall but tbh free space (if you have the room) works as well. Room is something you wont have much of placing these in many domestic settings:lol:

Hope the design outcome ticks the Tannoy DC box for you Andy. :cool:

You have a PM sir! Thanks for replying Paul. I didn't have a hope in hells chance of remembering what you did to design the cabs. Get well soon.

[brian2957]

+1 Get well soon Paul.

[orbscure]

+1 Get well soon Paul.

+2 best wishes for a speedy recovery from me too Paul

[Barry]

+3 Hope you get well soon!

[Reffc]

Thanks for the well wishes guys. Back in the land of the living and back at work part time for this week anyway. A little about these speaker cabinets:

The design is called the "RFC Warwick" intended ONLY for 15 inch Monitor Gold drivers.

Whilst gross volume is slightly above Lockwood Major volume, once all internal bracing, vent, driver and linings are considered, net volume is closer to 200 litres but still substantial and near as dammit not a lot different to Majors, except that these are stiffer and less resonant than the Majors I've looked at. The construction is substantial. Front baffles are close on 40mm thick as are base and top. Height is around 1.2m and width isn't that far short of lockwoods (at not far short of 700mm). These are tuned to 33Hz. As Andy suggests, they are quite monumental in scale. I had specified a contrasting timber finish for the front, partly because Andy didn't want any grilles. I specified a light burr or figured veneer for the front baffle to both lighten and provide contrast with a specified Oak finish for all other panels, but it looks like Russ has used artistic licence and used something like Sapele all over. Not my choice but as long as Andy is happy, that's all that matters. Venting is semi aperiodic with slight modification of woofer impedance. I'm glad Andy likes how they perform as their plain Jane looks do belie the design involved.

[Marco]

Yup, glad to hear you're better now, Paul :)

For me, it doesn't really matter how 'Lockwood Major-like' the cabinets are. The important thing is that, courtesy of RFC, there are now top-notch cabinets available for 15" Tannoy MGs, so now all those folks buying drivers-only from ebay, etc, will know where to go for some quality cabinets, with which to build some amazing speakers!

Nice one :cool:

Marco.

[Reffc]

Yup, glad to hear you're better now, Paul :)

For me, it doesn't really matter how 'Lockwood Major-like' the cabinets are. The important thing is that, courtesy of RFC, there are now top-notch cabinets available for 15" Tannoy MGs, so now all those folks buying drivers-only from ebay, etc, will know where to go for some quality cabinets, with which to build some amazing speakers!

Nice one :cool:

Marco.

Thanks Marco

yup, it doesn't matter how "Lockwood like" or not these may be, it was just a comparison by way of presenting scale, that's all. I am happy to provide the plans for these or to build to customer specification in any real wood finish required within reason! These can also be supplied with the RFC reference crossover for the 15mG either internally mounted or in separate external enclosures. No details as yet on the website but these may follow in due course. :cool:

[Marco]

Excellent. I really do feel that this is an excellent addition to your product range, and one I will certainly remember and refer to when folks are looking for some quality cabs in which to put Tannoy DC drivers :)

Marco.

[Andy831]

Nice cabs well done all involved.

I look forward to having a listen at some point which will be interesting as I have never compared 15" MG's in modern cabs with my fairly modern (1985) K series drivers in similarly sized cabinets.

[Marco]

Hi Andy,

With that in mind, you should pop down to mine sometime for a listen. You're not that far away, and would be most welcome! :cool:

Marco.

[Andy831]

Yeah I would love to come along for a listen Marco.....going to PM

[Swann36]

These look fantastic and great idea to have the castors to raise the height to match your ear listening height

[Wakefield Turntables]

Blimey LLoyd, I started this thread nearly 10 years ago :eek: scary to think that amount of time has passed. I still own the Wardrobes and they do nightly service.

[Swann36]

Blimey LLoyd, I started this thread nearly 10 years ago :eek: scary to think that amount of time has passed. I still own the Wardrobes and they do nightly service.

Great news to know after 10 happy years they are running a treat :D