Struck Gold; gotTannoy 15" Monitor Reds

[captrajesh]

Sorry to hear that, but if the price was a steal just consider this part of the price and will still be worth it

I know. I've already factored it into the cost of ownership.

Regarding the Crossovers, would be a worth a discussion with Rajiv on if any of those components need to be changed

Yes yes I know. Rajiv and Rajagopal_j are paying a visit in a couple of hours. Eagerly awaiting their arrival so that I can hear the Tannoys; for the first time. :licklips:

 

[kanwar]

Congrats Captain

 

[arj]

Being a full range driver, is a crossover absolutely necessary?
Is it used to roll off LF or HF or both?

Tannoys are not Fullrange Single Drivers. They are Dual Concentric where the tweeter is in the center of the Mid/Bass driver- the coils are different but in the same axis. Hence the crossover
IN the below image you can see the Bass driver. the Tweeter is in the Gold coloured Horn in the Middle.

The unique advantage of the Tannoy Dual Concentric principle is that the low and high frequency sound radiation is generated on the same axis. In effect, the Dual is a single chassis comprising two separate drive units properly merged into one, with the high frequency unit mounted in the centre of the pole piece of the low frequency unit. High frequency sound radiates from the centre of the low frequency unit through a carefully designed high frequency exponential horn, either the PepperPot WaveGuide or the Tulip WaveGuide dependant on the model. It is the fact that the low and high frequencies are therefore fully integrated at source that gives the Tannoy Dual Concentric driver such unique sound reproduction qualities.

The location of the high frequency unit does not physically obstruct the low frequency unit in any way; a unique feature when compared with industry standard coaxial systems. Polar dispersion of sound is symmetrical in both the horizontal and vertical planes. By careful crossover network design the virtual acoustic sources of the high and low frequency units can be made to occupy the same point on the axis. Therefore the whole sound appears to emanate from a single point source located slightly behind the drive unit. This means that the loudspeakers, when fed from a high quality stereo source, can recreate a full and accurate stereo image.

Due to above,these are not as Phase aligned as a true single driver speaker but they are time aligned and the freq extension is superior

 

[Rajiv]

Hi,

Apparently the original crossovers went kaput. I've got remade crossovers.

Here are the replacement crossovers:

Capt, the crossovers do not seem to be as per original spec. Here is the original Tannoy Red crossover.

http://www.44bx.com/tannoy/images/MonitorRedSilver15xO1.gif

Regards
Rajiv

 

[kanwar]

Why settle for passive

Captain,

Go for active setup and get the best out of your Tannoys

 

[Rajiv]

Hi,

Go for active setup and get the best out of your Tannoys

These drivers were designed to work with tube amps and voiced in a certain way, and therin lies their beauty. It is best to keep and use them as they were designed.

Why fix something that isn't broken?

BTW Capt. the Tannoy Reds are 15 ohm drivers.

Regards
Rajiv

 

[kanwar]

Hi,

These drivers were designed to work with tube amps and voiced in a certain way, and therin lies their beauty. It is best to keep and use them as they were designed.

Why fix something that isn't broken?

BTW Capt. the Tannoy Reds are 15 ohm drivers.

Regards
Rajiv

Hi Rajiv,

Well i disagree with you here, because there is no such thing called designed for tube amps in particular which cannot be used with solidstate active setup.

Active setup will only add more to performance by letting it shine more and nothing bad in doing it. There isn't anything broken which has to be fixed, but increasing performance is not hurting anyone.


Kanwar

 

[arj]

There is a Active crossover designed for Tannoy concentrics

Since it is at Hiberlink it must be good
Only 1 comment in Tube Vs SS that is see is

Note that an SS amplifer output impedance contribution is typically only 40milliohms or even less for a very good SS like a Schaefer........a DF of 200 to 2,000 at mid fo's.
...... while for an SET without negative feedback it can be as high as 2 to 3 ohms. (df of 3 or 4)
SET enthusiasts may consequently restrict use of SET's with no global feedback to speaker systems with more uniform impedance characteristics than some examples of Rear Loaded horns.

 

[captrajesh]

Being a full range driver, is a crossover absolutely necessary?

As arj explained, these are not wide banders. This will give you some more insight: Tannoy Dual Concentric Speakers

 

[kanwar]

Correspondence to hand from Alex Garner of Tannoy (1997) kindly forwarded by Pierre Buckens (IEEE) states .........

"if one were to determine the filter responses of the passive networks in place, for example, in an Tannoy XO5000/M3000 module then one would have all the information needed to duplicate an active (crossover) system. He states further that the voltage (drive) responses of the Tannoy passive crossover network are complex, and cannot usually be synthesised with simple filter concatenation, but once the active analogue circuitry is designed it will sound better than the passive network although it takes much longer to design and is far more complex."

Pretty much sums up

 

[captrajesh]

@Rajiv let's see how it plays with the ones I have.

@Kanwar, I intend to make the cabinet first. Of course, there always exists a possibility for experimentation.

I was browsing and besides the first site that crops up on the google search and to which, our forum's vintage guru has also made some contribution, discovered some interesting information.

This guy has done some expensive tweaks in this video

An interesting blog on making of Westminster cabinets

There is one Australian guy who documented his GRF Rectangular Horn and GRF Corner Horn builds.

 

[kanwar]

SET enthusiasts may consequently restrict use of SET's with no global feedback to speaker systems with more uniform impedance characteristics than some examples of Rear Loaded horns.

Spot on....!!!!

 

[prem]

Slightly OT. Most mastering studios in Mumbai used solid state amps with the vintage Tannoys. I personally prefer SS amp to tube amp with Tannoys. With the Lowthers it's reverse.

Whether active or passive is a function of how much you want to experiment. If you want the classic vintage Tannoy sound, I would stick to passive. If you want to marry modern technology with vintage stuff, actives might be an interesting option.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Tannoys are not Fullrange Single Drivers. They are Dual Concentric ...

Not until arj's post did I understand why people were talking about crossovers, but not tweeters. And I've even experienced Dr.Bass's dual-concentric Tannoys several times.

Rajesh, I have a cold, so best I don't run to your place and spread it around. It'll be better by next week! hyeah:

 

[reubensm]

simply magnificent capt, you've got the jackpot of a life time

will wait very patiently for you to have them horned (or boxed) and for your detailed review on how they sound, especially on the high frequency spectrum

 

[arj]

@Rajiv let's see how it plays with the ones I have.

@Kanwar, I intend to make the cabinet first. Of course, there always exists a possibility for experimentation.

I was browsing and besides the first site that crops up on the google search and to which, our forum's vintage guru has also made some contribution, discovered some interesting information.

This guy has done some expensive tweaks in this video

An interesting blog on making of Westminster cabinets

There is one Australian guy who documented his GRF Rectangular Horn and GRF Corner Horn builds.

This is another Site. has a wealth of info and design on Tannoys

Of course Rajiv is the expert on this, but my suggestion is to keep the design simple internally. Maybe the front loaded Horn designs are easier than the complex distribution ports (Hint - RHR )

 

[prem]

Hi Reubensm

They sound very good. I have heard the Reds several times. In fact I prefer the Reds to the Golds. I like the slightly forward nature of the Reds. The Golds sound more refined. The Reds a little more raw. Given your preferences you will enjoy the Reds more

 

[jls001]

Being a full range driver, is a crossover absolutely necessary?
Is it used to roll off LF or HF or both?

This driver is a two-in-one, a woofer and tweeter placed coaxially. So crossover is needed.

 

[neo]

Awesome! Congrats
The old tannoy's had a lot of magic.
If paired with a good quality tube, the alnico magnet drivers sound mesmerizing.
Another guy who you can chat up Is Jignesh of Absloute Sound, Surat
He owns a few vintage Tannoy drivers, working on few builds & has restored a few diff designs & Models.
Let me know if you need his contact details, just in case you might not have it.
All the best
Cheers

 

[soulforged]

wow! congrats!

:clapping::clapping::clapping: