Which Tannoy Dual Concentric? [Archive]

Reid Malenfant

10-08-2010, 18:23

Hi all :)

I'm interested in building a pair of speakers using a pair of Tannoy DC drivers, however there are so many different drivers out there i thought i'd ask people with vastly more knowledge than myself about driver quality (i have only ever heard one pair to my knowledge which housed 15" units :rolleyes:).

The thing is this, the drivers don't have to be either 15", 12" or 10". I'll consider any driver as i can easily use a large bass driver & cross over to say a 6.5" or 8" at about 100Hz ;)

I'd simply like peoples opinions on a decent driver or speaker. In fact i'd actually be more interested in the smaller drivers as these should (in theory) offer better midrange performance than say a 15". Another thing i have noticed is that the larger drivers tend to be kind of expensive :lol: So unless someone has a pair of 12" or 15" DC drivers kicking about that they'll sell cheap lets restrict this to the smaller DCs up to & including the 10" ;)

There are quite a few Tannoy speakers out there with 10" & under drivers, so hopefully someone will have some listening experience of some..Lets hear from you if you'd be so kind :) Just let me know what speaker you listened to & what you thought about it, the enclosures will be visiting enclosure heaven in the sky as it's the drivers i'm after :eyebrows:

Thanks in advance :)

DSJR

10-08-2010, 18:38

My old experiences of Tannoys are this - The classic ones worth using to day (instead of collecting) are probably the Monitor Gold ones from the early 70's. They'll need a crossover re-vamp if not a new design, as the tweeter wasn't best served by the old crossover designs when compared to the current range. They're hideously expensive now though.

The mid to late seventies HPD drivers are more affordable and sacrificed a bit of sensitivity for more potential bass extension. They will all need looking at as the foam surrounds have either rotted away or been replaced to various forms of skill. Thankfully, Lockwoods can re-cone them and they replace the surround, cone AND coil assembly for modern AND BETTER assemblies. Someone also mentioned on here I think, that Lockwoods could also re-configure the replacements so they have the pleated surrounds. Hopefully Speedy-Steve could help (isn't Marco away at the mo?)

Reid Malenfant

10-08-2010, 19:11

Cheers for the reply Dave ;) Yes i figured a good part of this myself, though i think some large DCs were made with a rubber roll surround. Frankly i have no idea what model the things were though which is adding to the confusion :lol:

I guess this is another reason why i may well go for the more modern & smaller DCs as they look like they'll last (rubber roll surrounds) & the smaller cone diameter being more compatable with decent midrange performance. Oh i forgot prices, they are shed loads cheaper :lol: Oh i'd love a pair of 15" but in reality i can probably get better performance using a seperate 15" bass driver along with an 8" DC. Narrow baffle with side mounted woofer springs to mind.

So if anyone out there has experience of DC1/2/3000 or some of the Saturn range or any other more modern smaller driver Tannoys' pipe up now. There are so many i'd have a job listing them all.

DSJR

10-08-2010, 19:24

I know the DC2000 and 3000 models and they're HUGE fun and quite refined too, believe it or not. They have plastic cones and rubber surrounds together with the tulip wave guide.

I just can't get a pair, but the studio DMT range is very highly thought of and the 12" ones go for around £5-600 I think. They look quite good and will benefit from the later crossover thinking, which should take the "sssting" out of them, so they may not need wholesale butchery on the crossovers as all the older ones really should have and don't always get..

Hope this helps a bit. there's loads on Google where I gained much knowledge on the intervening larger models (from late 70's to late eighties at least).

I'm REALLY tee'd off with tannoy TBH. All the mags made huge play of the Mercury models (and Titan, M20 Gold and Venus in the range of the period) and the 600 range which replaced them, but practically all of the bigger "traditional" DC range over the DC3000's was marketed elsewhere and very rarely come up for sale in the UK - you can date them by the slightly tilted back V shaped stands they did that were fashionable at the time. You'll also know later crossover thinking if the larger ones have the brass plate with screw holes for setting tweeter level and slope..

dantheman91

10-08-2010, 19:40

Try Tannoy cheviots theve got plenty of bass you will have fun with them

Reid Malenfant

10-08-2010, 19:42

I thought so, i remember a review of some model, it may have been a DC6000 - apologies if it doesn't exist :lol: The thing had a 10" DC & either a 10" bass driver or ABR (auxiliary bass radiator). Wish i still had or could find the magazine :doh:

It got a really good review, like you say, fun, reasonably accurate but the thing had an enormous sensitivity & would accept quite a bit of power. It might have been the DC3000 as that odd rebate sloping on the cabinet looks vaguely familiar :scratch:

Again, thanks for the reply Dave ;)

Macca

10-08-2010, 19:43

Hi Mark

Try Big Ears Audio they are on the web; they sell old Tannoy 'speakers and drivers on their own. Not cheap though:)

Welder

10-08-2010, 19:59

Do they have to be Tannoy?

DSJR

10-08-2010, 20:08

Why not, if they're a good set?

Welder

10-08-2010, 20:13

A 2 or 3 way build?
What sort of crossover slope did you have in mind?
How much power do you want the drivers to handle?
What is the impedance curve for your current Tannoys?
Sealed or ported box?
Efficient or do you have plenty of power to drive with?

Sorry for all the questions but they are all important.

Reid Malenfant

10-08-2010, 20:40

Hi Mark

Try Big Ears Audio they are on the web; they sell old Tannoy 'speakers and drivers on their own. Not cheap though:)
Cheers Martin, i might look into it. Meanwhile i'm attempting to sort something with a guy selling a pair of DC2000s' ;)

Do they have to be Tannoy?
No, but alternatives appear to be more expensive & even more difficult to locate :(

Why not, if they're a good set?
Well said :lol:

A 2 or 3 way build?
What sort of crossover slope did you have in mind?
How much power do you want the drivers to handle?
What is the impedance curve for your current Tannoys?
Sealed or ported box?
Efficient or do you have plenty of power to drive with?

Sorry for all the questions but they are all important.
They may well go active with crossover slopes of 24Db per octave, IE Linkwitz/Riley.

As long as the DC will handle 80W+ RMS then we are in business ;)

I don't own any Tannoys right now, that may soon change...

It doesn't really matter about driver Qts as i intend to use a bigger bass driver to work below 80 or 100Hz. That would be in a reflex enclosure (or use an ABR) & i'll be looking to get down to below 30Hz if not lower, it's not a problem when active to boost a bit & possibly have a 20Hz -3Db response :eyebrows: The DC can be loaded in a sealed box & i guess anything up to Qts 0.5 would be usable, in fact scrub that as even higher Qts could be used with active electronics correcting things :lol: I doubt Tannoy made them with such nasty parameters :scratch:

Power isn't a problem, i'll throw what i need to at it...I Guess it'd be 3 way if using a DC & seperate bass speaker ;)

Macca

10-08-2010, 20:47

i'll be looking to get down to below 30Hz if not lower, it's not a problem when active to boost a bit & possibly have a 20Hz -3Db response :eyebrows:

Okay you have me interested:eyebrows:

You're really going to do this...?

Reid Malenfant

10-08-2010, 21:00

Okay you have me interested:eyebrows:

You're really going to do this...?
Martin, i'm slowly getting together a pair of what i call bass speakers (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7197) that'll be used in the AV room that will produce 108Db @ 13Hz & 117Db at 20Hz :)

I'm quite serious ;) I might take my time, but i'll get there in the end :eyebrows:

Macca

10-08-2010, 21:25

Martin, i'm slowly getting together a pair of what i call bass speakers (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7197) that'll be used in the AV room that will produce 108Db @ 13Hz & 117Db at 20Hz :)

I'm quite serious ;) I might take my time, but i'll get there in the end :eyebrows:

Mark - I read that thread - with great interest - already:)

Decibel level does not hold any great thing for me anymore: I have a modest AV system that does what it needs to do; I have never understood it when friends of mine have spent fortunes (literally) for kit that will replay Die Hard really, really loud, but deliver a musical performance that does not even begin to touch my modest lash-up for musical performance.

In other words I am asking is this is to be a hi-fi loudspeaker or an AV loudspeaker?

Butuz

10-08-2010, 21:46

I love my DC3000's I think you will be very pleased with any of Tannoys DC speakers :D

Butuz

DSJR

10-08-2010, 22:15

Am I correct in thinking that the DC2000 and 3000 models have a second bass-only unit, thereby making them what are known as "two and a half way" speaker?

I'm reliably informed that the best bass units out there these days are the Volt ones as used by PMC amongst others.

Butuz

10-08-2010, 23:07

The second bass only unit is only driven under 400hz acording to the brochure.

They do go quite low that's for sure!!! Ask my neighbours!!! :D :D

Butuz

Welder

10-08-2010, 23:41

You just know what I’m going to recommend first don’t you? VOLT!!
Ahem, having got that out of the way;

ScanSpeak mid /bass 8554-00
Diameter - 177mm
Sensitivity (2.83v/1m) - 89dB
Impedance - 8 ohm
Nominal power handling - 100w
Free air resonance - 25Hz
Frequency range - 30Hz-3kHz

Nice flexible driver. The two I had were more like 6.8 ohm impedance and closer to 90dB.
The 30 Hz is a bit optimistic, but at the other end they go all the way to 3kHz without problem.
I would look to filter out at around 2 to 2.5 kHz on these units. They like Polypropylene caps.

Fostec FE126E
If you were to consider a cheap full range build these make for a decent relatively cheap option but don’t really match your current power handling requirements; just a thought.
Overall size - 117mm square
Sensitivity (2.83v/1m) - 93dB
Impedance - 8 ohm
Nominal power handling - 45w
Free air resonance - 70Hz
Frequency range - 70Hz-20kHz
I was quite surprised by these at the price. Really need a blocking choke at the bottom end.

If you’re considering active and sub
Morel UW958

Featuring a one piece paper cone/centre
dome on a uniflow aluminium diecast
chassis with a high flux double ferrite
magnet system and a 5.1" Large Hexatech
voice coil with self centering cone assembly.
PFS Progession Field Symmetry

Overall diameter - 222mm
Sensitivity (2.83v/1m) - 86.5dB
Impedance - 8 ohm
Nominal power handling - 500w
Free air resonance - 28Hz
Frequency range - 26Hz-800Hz

A really exceptional unit for the money. The pair I had to build my mates subs with had a higher than nominal impedance but I cant find the file with the info in, sry.

I’ve built a couple of kits from these people for friends and I use one of their ribbon hf units in my active system now. All the drivers I’ve seen from these people have been well made, very competitively priced and sonically very good.
http://www.iplacoustics.co.uk/hi_vi_research_drivers.htm

I would suggest you also look at McCauley Sound drivers if you’re considering above 10” units.
They have a fairly short throw and respond well to powerful amps with good damping factor.
I’ve not used any myself but one of my speaker building friends swears by them and his speakers always sound good to me.

The above are just a few suggestions. If and when you have a clearer idea of what type of speaker you’re interested in building I have a bit of a list if your interested.

Oh yes for caps
http://www.audiocap.co.uk/400v-polyprops-icel-phc-series-22-c.asp
I’ve found this range more than adequate despite the insistence by some of my speaker building mates that the more esoteric brands give a better sound.

Reid Malenfant

11-08-2010, 15:18

In other words I am asking is this is to be a hi-fi loudspeaker or an AV loudspeaker?
Martin, you aren't seriously suggesting that the two bass speakers i'll be building are not hifi are you? :finger:

:lolsign: Being serious now, yes they will be "hifi" speakers just like the bass boxes & the main speakers i'll be building. Just because they also might act as front left & right in an AV system won't stop them being high fidelity loudspeakers ;) I have 2 living rooms, two widescreen LCD TVs, two blu ray players & two AV amps so i might as well have two surround setups. Now i know you refer to it as AV but take a look at this:- Audio Research MP1 (http://www.soundstage.com/surrounded/surrounded200410.htm) & tell me it's not hifi ;)

I love my DC3000's I think you will be very pleased with any of Tannoys DC speakers :D
I think you are probably right there :)

Am I correct in thinking that the DC2000 and 3000 models have a second bass-only unit, thereby making them what are known as "two and a half way" speaker?

I'm reliably informed that the best bass units out there these days are the Volt ones as used by PMC amongst others.
Yes they are 2.5 way. I might actually use a pair of Yamaha 12" bass units from the NS1000M to do bass up to 100Hz, after all i happen to have 4 here doing nothing :lol:

You just know what I’m going to recommend first don’t you? VOLT!!
Ahem, having got that out of the way;
:scratch: I'm wondering if my avatar has some kind of subliminal effect here :lol:

Cheers for your comments, i actually have bass drivers here that i can use & have already designed an enclosure for. As i say, the Yamahas will do the trick nicely & no-one could ever say they are a cheap driver. In 30L i can get them flat to either 25 or 30Hz with a little bit of boosting via a peaking high pass filter, which as it happens will also prevent subsonic overload due to unloading of the driver below the port resonance. So 2 in a 60L box, not too big me thinks ;)

Alex_UK

13-08-2010, 14:33

These would make a great donor pair? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200507537607&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1123#ht_877wt_1137

Reid Malenfant

13-08-2010, 14:44

Cheers for the thought Alex :) I'm actually watching some other Tannoys that are for sale. The trouble with this listing is it's confusing as all hell :lol: First up there is a £15 charge for a courier, then he says collection only in the listing :scratch: To top it all he wants payment via paypal & 10% payed in cash as a deposit when they are collected??? WTF? :rolleyes: :lolsign:

To top it all i have no car or car driving license :eyebrows:

Experience has told me that people that bu**er things up so profoundly on something as simple as an ebay listing aren't likely to get anything right, that includes sensible answers to intelligent questions :lol:

Marco

13-08-2010, 18:15

Sorry I missed this thread - I'll get to it later :)

Marco.

Techno Commander

13-08-2010, 18:34

If you are going to be building something from scratch, I would have thought you were better off just buying a pair of drivers. Would be a far cheaper option and you dont need to worry about getting rid of the unused cabinets.

Reid Malenfant

13-08-2010, 18:57

I'd agree Andy, however the only tannoy drivers up for sale appear to be at least 12" in size & bloomin pricey :rolleyes: Enclosures are easy to dispose of, bring on the sledgehammer :donk:

Some might call it sacrilege but that's how i disposed of 2 pairs of NS1000M enclosures after i removed everything that was useful ;) Numerous other enclosures have gone the same way :lol:

Reid Malenfant

15-08-2010, 18:30

I see matey has managed to finally make his ebay listing make some sense :lol:

He's miles to far away from me though so i'm still watching another pair of Tannoys with an 8" DC that are very similar. At least this chap will ship them :bike:

Reid Malenfant

18-08-2010, 17:00

Okay you have me interested:eyebrows:

You're really going to do this...?
Hi Martin, yes the project is officially going to go ahead seeing as i just bought a pair of Tannoy DCs :eyebrows:

I just found a pair of bargain priced new Tannoy DCC centre speakers (http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/13188397/Tannoy-Sensys-DCC-Dual-Concentric-Centre-Speaker-Maple/Product.html?ptsl=1&ob=Price&fb=0) & decided to lob some cash at them ;) Yes they use a DC which is 175mm as well as a supertweeter cutting in above 16Khz (handy :lol:), nice 5 year warranty so i'll need to store the enclosures :doh: Grand price of £200 the pair + delivery. I just didn't like the idea of buying secondhand & finding a faulty driver or the drivers getting damaged whilst being shipped :rolleyes:

So what i originally wanted is going to come about :lolsign: Nice narrow baffle with the DC mounted near the top of something about 3.5ft tall & twin side firing bass units...Oooh i mustn't forget the supertweeters :clap:

Watch this space :eek:

Macca

18-08-2010, 18:05

Those Tannoys are a bit of a steal at that price - tempted to get one me self..Needed a new centre speaker for yonks

Reid Malenfant

18-08-2010, 18:11

Unfortunately i snaffled the last 2 centres from a seller on fleabay or i would have linked you to where i bought mine, but the play.com price is still pretty reasonable considering they were £299 each when still in production :eyebrows:

I had to pay delivery charges which seeing as i selected a 24Hr courier bumped them up to about £230 the pair ;)

Anyway, at least the project is on now :lolsign: 25Hz - 50Khz, what a laugh :uhho:

DSJR

18-08-2010, 18:13

Reid Malenfant

18-08-2010, 18:22

You'd better check the treble response. Small recent DC's STING in my limited experience, unlike the larger ones. HiFi dave has tried a couple of other baby tannoy DC's too and found the top a bit "uncouth." IIRC.

Should you wish to go for larger ones in time, remember that unlike many of the specialist 1970's drivers, Tannoy DC's CAN be totally re-built by the *official* restorers/repairers and will come back better than new, as the voice coils/cones are upgraded to current spec and replaced as a freshly manufactured unit...
Cheers Dave, yes i'll see how they sound & if needs be i'll modify the treble response if it calls for it. Obviously i'm not going to be put off if a tad of modification is needed.

Maybe one day i'll get a superb pair of 15" DCs. I think the drivers i'd like would be the 3833GG as used in the DMT II studio monitors having read the specs etc. The early drivers appear to often have a vast VAS of near 800L which doesn't lend itself to small or even large speakers - they'd need to be enormous to do the drivers justice :lolsign:

DSJR

18-08-2010, 18:24

:lol: :respect:

Techno Commander

18-08-2010, 18:31

You could always put a pair of DC's in a Marshall 4 x 12 cabinet, along with a pair of ABR's.
Or would that be too silly. :)

Reid Malenfant

18-08-2010, 18:39

Well the Tannoys i was watching just ended & fetched £154 including delivery (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200506201651&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT) ;) Assuming i was to bid on them they might have gone up to £170 or possibly higher.

I think i made the correct decision to go new at the price i did, i get a pair of supertweeters into the bargain & a 5 year warranty :eyebrows: Just need to put the enclosures back in the boxes just in case & store carefully in case of any warranty claims :hmm: Ok so i'm a sneaky sod but i have only ever blown one driver in 30 years so it's quite unlikely :)

Reid Malenfant

18-08-2010, 18:43

You could always put a pair of DC's in a Marshall 4 x 12 cabinet, along with a pair of ABR's.
Or would that be too silly. :)
Probably too silly ;) The idea behind the DC drivers is you get a point source, so using a pair would fess up the imaging. A single DC & a bass driver of the same size (think DMT215) with ABRs instead of ports would be fairly sensible though as you'd only have the single driver doing midrange & treble - good imaging :)

John

18-08-2010, 18:55

Really looking to see how this project develops Lots of pics too please

Reid Malenfant

18-08-2010, 19:08

Sure thing John, but in the appropriate section on here ;) Just about as soon as i get access to my table saw in the garage i'll be on it, these will replace a pair of Celestion Ditton 66 that i use in another room which might not look pretty but they can certainly get my face in jaw drop mode 2460 The thought of at least twice the bottom end output & flat to 25Hz -3Db is making me want to get a move on :eyebrows:

I just need help clearing the garage & it will come in the shape of a good friend in the not too distant future thankfully :)

DSJR

18-08-2010, 21:57

Please be aware that tiny Tannoys are nothing like real ones..... ;)

Reid Malenfant

19-08-2010, 15:12

Please be aware that tiny Tannoys are nothing like real ones..... ;)
:lolsign: Yes i'm aware that on it's own it will be similar to any 175mm driver except for the point source due to the dual concentric arrangement.

However, as you are also no doubt aware any driver will only be omnidirectional up to the point where the cone is one wavelength in circumference. Above this the driver will start beaming & more energy is directed forward in a tighter & tighter beam as the frequency increases. To get round this big drivers that are working up to 1KHz in the case of the "real" ones you are refering to make use of gradual decoupling of the diaphram into the centre, thus making the diaphram smaller as the frequency increases.

Another common name for this is cone breakup :eyebrows:

With a 15" driver that we'll assume has a 13.5" diameter cone this frequency will be approximately 300Hz. I'm not saying the cone will break up at that frequency, what i'm saying is that is the approximate frequency when the cone will start beaming & will no longer be omnidirectional ;)

In the case of a 7" driver we can assume a 5.5" cone which gives a frequency of approximately 750Hz - much higher :)

In the case of the 175mm DC the crossover is at 1.6KHz, this is quite a bit lower than most other two way speakers using a 175mm driver so i have a feeling that any nasties produced by cone breakup will be well above the crossover point.

The "real" DCs you are refering to are the only hifi speakers i know of that run a 15" to 1KHz. Most manufacturers won't run a 12" beyond 500Hz let alone a 15".

So yes, i don't expect it to sound like a "real" one ;)

With two bass drivers, one on either side of the enclosure any rocking motion caused by cone movement will obviously be cancelled. Two 12" bass drivers have the approximate cone area of a 17" driver & with 8mm pk & 16mm pk - pk linear travel i don't think i'll be short of bass.

If i cross over to the 175mm driver at over 100Hz it'll not need to do much in the way of bass at all, leaving lots of power to midrange & treble duties which i'm sure it'll handle admirably. This will also greatly reduce intermodulation distortion which is yet another plus.

You're dead right, it won't sound like a "real" one :eyebrows:

DSJR

19-08-2010, 18:06

You're trying to sort of replicate these?

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan10/articles/barefootmicromain27.htm

Reid Malenfant

19-08-2010, 18:38

Hi Dave, not really no ;) In fact i built something like that in the 90s (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showpost.php?p=140792&postcount=1), scroll down..The sub was rear firing not on the side like that.

E2A:- I see those have two side firing woofers, so yes, in certain respects similar but without the D' appolito driver arrangement on the front ;)

Lets see if i can explain without drawing a picture. Imagine a tall, narrow speaker with the single 7" DC mounted so the central tweeter is at ear height. You are looking at an enclosure that will be floorstanding so about 40" tall. It'll be approximately 8.5 - 9" wide external, maybe a tad more.

The bass drivers will be mounted one on each side towards but not right at the bottom & directly opposite each other, it'll be somewhere near 16" or maybe a tad more deep externally.

Seeing as these funky centre speakers have supertweeters you can imagine one on top of each enclosure :)

As the bass drivers are low QTS i'm definately going to port the speaker, this will be on the back or possibly on the front if i use a slot port. The thing is the performace of this thing will require big ports to keep turbulence to a minimum & that means long ports. If i remember right i calculated 2 x 4" diameter ports at around 2.75ft long :eek: Please remember though that the internal volume will only be 60 Litres & that is for both 12" drivers so long ports are mandatory when tuning low.

I hope that paints a better mental picture :) & cheers for popping in again ;)

Reid Malenfant

23-08-2010, 18:57

I have been reliably informed by email that the two Tannoy centre speakers will be delivered tomorrow :clap:

All well & good but when i purchased & paid for them last Wednesday (i believe) i selected to have them sent by 24 hour courier. Thus i figured they'd arrive on Friday last week :) Not so, as the seller contacted me & informed me that they had them in stock but not at that facility but in storage :rolleyes:

At this point i used fleabays message system to reply & i stated that frankly i wouldn't have bothered paying for a 24 hour courier if i'd known this & i was a tad pi**ed off at the fact. I promptly received a reply with the promise of a refund of the difference between the standard courier delivery & 24 hour delivery (which i received :)). However the seller said they will still send them via 24 hour courier on Monday (which was the earliest they could dispatch them) so all is well with the world :eyebrows:

I'll get a listen to them some time tomorrow (hopefully, depending on how busy i am) & see what i think :rock:

Techno Commander

23-08-2010, 21:26

Good result. Nice to see some sellers still have decent moral ethics.

Reid Malenfant

24-08-2010, 13:03

Good result. Nice to see some sellers still have decent moral ethics.
Indeed & they have arrived as promised :)

Just watching a blu ray right now:- BBCs The Story Of India so lots of male voice from Michael Wood & various Indian people. Sounds very natural indeed, no sibilance, pretty deep & controlled bass & fantastic soundstaging considering i'm listening to 2 centre speakers :eyebrows:

These things are built like no other speakers i have seen at the price i payed. They wiegh a ton, the DCs have cast alloy chassis (unlike the DCs in the 611), lovely gold plating on the input connectors & even the supertweeter housing is cast alloy :) An incredibly solid enclosure with what looks & feels like a real Maple finish.

Seriously impressed :clap: Even at the original price of £299 each...

I'll stick some music on soon & loosen them up a bit :eyebrows:

John

24-08-2010, 15:31

Looking forward to hearing how they turn out

Reid Malenfant

24-08-2010, 16:46

Me to, these are pretty damn good :)

Just put some music on with a fair bit of deep bass & noticed a slight bit of boom in the upper bass. Just in case Martin decides to go for one of these as a centre speaker (recommended 2500) i'd suggest stuffing one of the supplied foam bungs in one of the rear ports. There are two ports on the back of each speaker & two bungs are supplied, just use one & that boominess (even though it's slight) disappears ;)

It'll also tune them slightly lower & result in a more gradual low end rolloff. They now sound even better :)

I'll probably end up listening to these all evening :lolsign:

Reid Malenfant

30-08-2010, 19:05

I'll probably end up listening to these all evening :lolsign:
& indeed i did :eyebrows: I have come to the conclusion that the cabinets are a tad small for the drivers Thiele/Small parameters as a reflex though this remains to be measured. They are probably too big for sealed boxes which is kind of handy as they'll be going in exactly that :)

I haven't worked it all out yet but these drivers are likely to be fed music above approximately 150Hz with the twin Yamaha 12" bass drivers working below this. Having had a look again at the response of the two 12" in a 60L box i realised that ports really need to be 4" diameter to keep turbulence low with high power signals near 30Hz. This puts the length up to 96cm & with 2 ports per speaker that is over 15L of volume :eek:

I have solved this problem today. Having seen a chap advertising 4 pairs of Kef SP1042 passive radiators i asked for pictures and more details. It turns out that 5 were from 104abs' & 3 from Cadenzas' so i made the chap an offer & we came to a deal for all 8 of them (about the same price as a single 10" Peerless passive radiator new) :eyebrows: Bye bye ports & hello ABRs', looks like i can keep these really small for the performance that they are threatening :punch:

Come on Gareth, get home from working away & help me clear my garage :please: I have lots of work to do :doh:

Reid Malenfant

01-09-2010, 18:05

The ABRs appeared :eyebrows:

Damn i love ebay :)

http://i939.photobucket.com/albums/ad240/speakermark/New%20Tannoy%20speakers/ABRs-1.jpg

One just needs a little bit of glueing where the spider has come away from the alloy former in the centre on about a quarter of it. Not a problem ;) They'll be seeing a load of epoxy & lead yet to tune them to the right frequency when they go in the enclosures :cool:

DSJR

01-09-2010, 18:10

Don't get me wrong, but how sad that these 104ab's and Cadenza's had to be stripped out for their parts, rather than being sold for the (mostly) great speakers that they were (and still are...)

Reid Malenfant

01-09-2010, 18:21

Agreed Dave, i used to have a pair of Cadenzas myself :) Mine got stripped as well btw, but all the parts went on to make much better things as these will.

At the end of the day the stuff isn't getting junked, now that would be a real shame imo :rolleyes: These things should last way beyond my lifetime, there is nothing to go wrong :eyebrows: The only thing that will kill them is someone giving them a good kicking & that is never going to happen..

As an example i used a pair of the very same Cadenza ABRs along with 4 bass mids from an old pair of Wharfedale TSR110s & a pair of Focal inverted kevlar dome tweeters & with the Wharfedale crossovers i built a new pair of speakers.

Not sure if you know the TSR110, but it was a 2.5 way. What i did was place one 8" behind the other (isobaric but facing the same way) & fed the front driver bass/mid up to 3.5KHz. The rear driver was driven below 300Hz. Because they were isobaric the enclosure was small so i used the Kef ABRs. Cabinets were 30mm thick & finished quite nicely.

Nicely enough that i sold them for £600 about 4 years ago ;)

cjkersh

03-05-2011, 01:29

Hi

If you are looking for Tannoy Dual Concentric speakers I can sell the drivers to you dealer new. The pricing is much less expensive than you will probably expect. Don't waste your money on buying speakers in cabinets if you are planning to build. Genuine Tannoy crossovers available as well.

While the Gold's are legendary I believe the newer drivers are equal or probably better. 6, 8 10 and 12" are available. I can not post prices on line it's against the dealer agreement. Please e-mail for pricing.

cjkersh@yahoo.com

anthonyTD

03-05-2011, 09:06

hi John,
i cant help thinking this might be some sort of scam, please accept my sincere appologies if it is not. Ok, lets say for instance i wanted to buy a pair of the latest 10" drivers that are currently being used in the kensington SE, an idea on price and availability please.
Anthony,TD...

hifi_dave

03-05-2011, 09:30

Unfortunately, I don't believe Tannoy UK will supply drivers unless it's for a repair. They are not on the price list and when I enquired some time ago, it was met with a stoney silence. Might be different in the US though.

spendorman

03-05-2011, 12:53