Marco's journey to Tannoy-land

[DSJR]

Found it!!!!!

http://44bx.com/tannoy/mods.html

This is the link I wanted to find.

Hope it proves interesting..

[Marco]

Hey, Dave, thanks for that - how very interesting!

I'll comment later after my current marathon listening session

Marco.

[Marco]

Hi Dave,

The cabinets shown look interesting, but are very different in shape to my Lockwoods. They look taller and deeper, with the Lockwoods being considerable wider. I suspect, however, that overall the quoted internal volume of 300 litres is similar. Also, the Lockwoods are a sealed box, apart from a port/vent (I'm not quite sure which) on the base.

From the link:

When making these plans I received the interesting comment that the old Tannoy drivers can produce a very modern sound with such construction but that some people have been disappointed if part of what they liked about the older Tannoys was the warmth of box colourations. Personally I doubt that anyone would prefer the tubby sound of the Lancasters over the improved clarity, dynamics and extension of my big boxes.

This is exactly what I've found. The Reds in the Lockwood cabinets do produce a modern sound - there is nothing warm, 'old-fashioned' or 'tubby' about their presentation whatsoever; just shockingly vivid and 'real', musically coherent, and thus highly addictive.

These speakers have quite a few non-soldered contacts that might have corroded with time. Minimising the number of dry contacts gave a subjective improvement in both treble quality and quantity, mostly the former. The crossover has two switches, in series with the tweeter. One switch ("energy") selects taps on a choke to step the tweeter signal up or down. The middle position was initially selected for the best tonal balance and hardwired. The other switch ("rolloff") gives a flat position of various amounts of rolloff. I hardwired the flat position.
Another set of dry contacts is a plug and socket arrangement on the chassis of the driver. The socket can be reversed to act as a convenient set of soldering lugs, like a little tag strip, to solder the speaker connections.

Interesting. It confirms my modification methodology. This is why I'll be doing exactly as is described above if I go for the Monitor Golds, or otherwise hard-wiring the Reds.

How do the older Monitor Gold drivers sound next to the more modern 3838 drivers? A friend brought some 3838s to my place in reflex boxes about 2/3 the size of mine. The first obvious difference was lower efficiency. Equal volume required an extra 2 clicks on my stepped volume controls which amounts to about 4db difference. Overall the Golds sounded more "effortless". "Effortless" is a common description of the sound of efficient speakers but another factor could have been my low power amp being 4db closer to clipping with the 3838s. There was a small region of the mid-range that seemed a little smoother on the 3838s, perhaps the effect of the struts on the rear on the cone preventing some cone breakup that the Monitor Golds might have. The older driver was prefered at the frequency extremes, deeper bass and more "airy" top end. Otherwise the family resemblance was clear and the sound was quite similar.

Again, this is exactly what I've observed myself when using my Lockwoods (Reds) and Ian Walker's Canterburys, which use the 15" 3889 drivers, as examples. Both have their individual merits, but as the article says, the "family resemblance" is quite clear.

Overall, it was a very interesting and informative article, so thanks for posting it. I'm just counting down the days now until the Golds arrive so that I can conduct the forthcoming comparisons

Marco.

[DSJR]

Glad you found the link interesting. I love these stories with pics and it's part of my makeup that I can seem to retain much of what I read (except the crucial links ). I wish my academic studies were as easy.........

[Jonboy]

I think i have read all of your very helpfull and interesting journey with the reds so far, in your opion or that of any others would you consider buying a pair of Tannoy Sterlings (latest spec) over say a pair of vintage golds or even reds for simular value as the above which have been offered to me for about £900 below list , i run various valve amps and have heard the sterlings with my kit but i have not heard vintage Tannoys to compare them to or against.
The sterlings are a compromise i suppose you could say as the funds aren't available for there bigger and better counterparts

[Marco]

Hi Jonboy,

As awesome as Monitor Reds and Golds are (especially the 15" versions), I wouldn't entertain buying them unless they're housed in suitably large, high quality cabinets, and have been fitted with up-to-date crossovers - otherwise you'll only hear a fraction of their full potential. Therefore, this makes them a tricky safe second-hand buy.

It all depends how 'keen' you are, and if you're willing to go the extra mile to get something truly special. The rewards of doing so, however, are substantial.

In that respect, the Stirlings (which I presume are what you meant):

http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/yhst-1148239...2054_382093095

...are a much safer bet, and will undoubtedly sound excellent, although perhaps losing out on a degree of the magic afforded by the best vintage designs, especially with 15" drivers. The Stirlings use 12" units, so will not have the depth and scale of the larger vintage models when fully optimised. However, on the end of a suitably capable system, they'll still outperform many other loudspeakers on the market in key areas of music reproduction.

The decision is yours!

Marco.

[speakers-1989]

Arrrghhhhhhhh Marco

I feel like taking your Monitor Reds/Lockwoods away from you.

Did you buy them from Bigears audio? And when are you going to take some better pics of the Tannoy's? Will love to see those Monitor Reds.

[sastusbulbas]

Hi Marco ,

Even bigger speakers eh! less Mana too! I know the problem with floor standers, I can only get one Soundbase under each Kef and even without the Kef are high enough.

Looks good if a little overwhelming in that room, no problems with corner boundaries?

Steve

[Marco]

Hi Steve,

How's it going, matey? Yep, bigger speakers again, and bloody marvellous they are too! They're amongst the best I've ever heard - no question.

They may look overwhelming in the room from the photographs, but they work very well in there, as I'm sure two guests who visited last night for a sesh would confirm

My thanks go to Steve and Vinnie for being so kind and going to the effort of transporting Vinnie's rather large and heavy speakers, with 15" Monitor Golds in, and bringing them round for me to hear - nice one, guys!

Huge speakers can work very well in pretty small rooms *if* the room is right in terms of acoustics to suit the speakers chosen, the speakers themselves have been chosen to compliment the rest of the equipment, and everything has been optimally set-up. I think that I've managed to tick all those boxes

You get an intimacy and 'physicality' to the musical presentation, which I love, and is sometimes lost or diminished in larger rooms, depending on your seating position.

At the moment I'm just finalising what drive units to choose between the Monitor Reds and Golds. Last night I heard Vinnie's rather nice 15" Golds in smaller cabinets to my Lockwoods, which showed beyond a doubt that the Monitor Gold drive units and crossovers my dealer sent recently aren't right. I suspect that something is amiss with the wiring of the crossovers.

Therefore, I just need to get this fixed and hear some 15" Golds performing optimally in my Lockwoods to come to a final decision, so for the moment my Tannoy journey continues...

Marco.

[aquapiranha]

Hi Steve,



My thanks go to Steve and Vinnie for being so kind and going to the effort of transporting Vinnie's rather large and heavy speakers, with 15" Monitor Golds in, and bringing them round for me to hear - nice one, guys!



Marco.

Marco, you are very welcome! Please pass on my thanks to Del also for the devilishly good food that she must have spent along while preparing!

I can confirm that there are no room issues with the Tannoys in Marco's room and that in fact they sound bloody awesome!

Steve