Tannoy 15 Dmt
Landerico Benson
The company was founded by the Yorkshire-born engineer Guy Fountain (1898-1977) at a garage in Tulsemere Road, Dulwich in London as the Tulsemere Manufacturing Company. It originally made battery chargers for wireless radio sets.[2] The company name was changed to Tannoy in 1928 and a small factory was opened in Dalton Road, West Norwood, later moving to Canterbury Grove. Tannoy Square SE27 commemorates the site today.[3]
During World War II Tannoy public address systems were supplied to the armed forces, and a Tannoy PA system was used at Buckingham Palace in 1945 to announce the end of hostilities.[3] Tannoy speakers were also supplied to factories around Britain to relay the BBC's motivational radio series Music While You Work,[4] and to Butlins and Pontins holiday camps following the war - where they were famously used to waken guests with the words "Good morning, campers!".[3] The Tannoy factory moved from Canterbury Grove to Coatbridge, Scotland in the 1970s.
In 2002, Tannoy was acquired by TC Group, and TC Group was subsequently acquired by Music Group in 2015. Following the Music Group acquisition, it was suggested that the Coatbridge facility would be closed and all related activities would be relocated to Manchester, England.[5] In 2016, however, Music Group confirmed that Tannoy loudspeaker manufacturing would continue in Scotland, with a brand new manufacturing facility planned.[6]
The name Tannoy is a syllabic abbreviation of tantalum alloy, which was the material used in a type of electrolytic rectifier developed by the company. The brand was trademarked by 10 March 1932, on which date the Tulsemere Manufacturing Company formally registered as Guy R. Fountain Limited.[7]
Tannoy became a household name due to widespread and high profile adoption during and after the war, each speaker having the Tannoy logo prominently displayed on the speaker grills. As a result, the term "tannoy" came to be used in British English for any public-address system, and as a verb, to "tannoy", for making an announcement in a public place.[8][9][10] That is, although Tannoy is a registered trademark, as of 2019[update], it is still often used generically.[11][12][13] Because of this, the company's intellectual property department keeps a close eye on the media. To preserve its trademark, it often notifies publications not to use its trade name without a capital letter, or as a generic term for a PA system.
Tannoy's image is particularly linked to both studio monitors as well as its flagship Prestige range of home speakers. Prestige speakers use Dual Concentric cone speakers and are easily recognisable by their "vintage" design. Tannoy is notable for its 'Dual Concentric' speaker design, which places the tweeter behind the centre of the medium or bass driver. "Dual Concentric" is a trademark although Tannoy is not the only speaker manufacturer to design coaxial speakers.
I would use EQ to filter out the bass and some of the high end, and maybe boost the mids for a slightly harsh sound. Adding a small amount of distortion (or an amp simulator) might help to get the right tone.
Also, using a stereo delay is very important for a tannoy effect if you want it to sound like it's coming from multiple speakers in different positions. The sound would also reflect off any walls/buildings, so a delay serves both purposes. Maybe a tiny bit of reverb too.
The Techniques Tom.A mentioned work if you want to stay in the box. But there is another way to get a more realistic tannoy announcement. Just Record the vocals trough a loudspeaker. You can easily use "bad" recording devices like inbuilt microphones from handheld recorder.
I am currently using a Fisher X-202-B tube amp with a pair of Tannoy Monitor Gold 12" speakers. I also have a Scott LK 48, a 299B, and a 222 that are in the process of being restored. As much as I love my Tannoys, I can't stop being curious about Klipsch speakers, specifically the Heresy and the Cornwall. I have never had the opportunity to listen to a pair of vintage Klipsch with a tube amp, but a friend of mine has Khorns with a solid state McIntosh. My impression of Klipsch speakers from this experience is that they are slightly forward sounding, a tad fatiguing, with a total lack of soundstage and imaging, with boomy bass. There is, however, an immediacy and weight to the sound that I cannot forget. Basically, I am wondering what is so special about these speakers. Do the models I mention image and soundstage if set up properly? Can anyone comment on the sound of vintage Klipsch vs. Tannoy? Are there any folks in Northern California who would care to let me hear their Cornwalls or Heresy? One other thing for all the vintage Klipsch experts here.....another friend of mine has offered me an "old pair of big Klipsch speakers with wood lattice grills". I have doubts that these are actually Klipsch because I have never seen a pair of Klipsch speakers with wood grills. Are there any such models? Any commentary and advice would be appreciated.
I once ran Monitor Golds with Audio Research Electronics.No matter what I did they always had the Tannoy midrange coloration.They would also go loud with the ARC D160 and D90 I had but never with real weight to the sound.After 4 years I sold them without shedding any tears.
However over several years they have really responded well to small changes(totally unlike the Tannoys).all the initial problems have totaly dissapeared.Strange but most of these changes has been to the room and other components.They really are like a magnifying glass on the rest of the system.
Unlike others on this forum I found wiring to and inside the Khorns to be critical and eventually settled on Yamamura Millenium 5000 for internal wiring and Synergistic Research Resolution Reference for outside
Did the soundstage improve?? IMO, a speaker that will not soundstage and image well is worthless for any critical listening application. Which Tannoys did you have? 10"? 12"? 15"? I am surprised to hear that you found the midrange to be colored. My Tannoys seem to have an incredibly flat and smooth midrange, without the upper mid boost that you are no doubt experiencing with your Khorns. In any case, thank you for your reply. I appreciate your comments.
I have heared the Tannoy dual concentric loudspeakers on several occasions and also found them to be colored but very easy on the ears (forgiving?). I think that the soundstage depth and imaging is affected more from the components synergy and placement of the speakers, than from the speakers themselves.
But when comparing the two, I find klipsch has a bigger sound...the soundstage is just huge and the placement isn't as sensitive (which means the sweet spot is larger). Y'all are prob getting bored of my "big sound" and all that, but it's what I crave delicate and big is the way to go and i find that with klipsch...for me, the tannoy comes close and those that don't like bright would enjoy tannoy more.
however, my comparisons aren't equal as they were totally different rooms and settings and source material and components...however, I did like the sound of the concentric thing the tannoys had going.
The Tannoys are driven by a Fisher SA-100 amp with a 100-T preamp/tuner unit (usually seen in consoles--a really great little preamp and tuner). The other source is an AH! CD player (moidfied Marantz cheap-o unit that sounds pretty darn good).
The Tannoys are GREAT for playing LOUD rock, rap, blues, etc. They might be the best speakers I have ever owned for this type of music. Unfortunately, I almost NEVER listen to this stuff! 98% of the time I listen to small-combo acoustic jazz and the Tannoys sound pretty lifeless when compared with the Cornwalls in the arena. The Conrwalls are so much more DYNAMIC and CRISP that the Tannoys. But when you crank up the volume on poorly recorded, compressed rock music, the Cornwalls are PAINFUL--perhaps because they show how BAD most of this stuff is? The Tannoys, however come into their own--the louder and nastier the music the better they sound.
This may have something to do with them being corner horns-the room become part of the horn with the listener sitting "inside the box".I have never heard the all horn Tannoys(Westminster) but they may well create the same effect.
I think that as usual Alan hit the nail on the head. I do not have Tannoys but I have heard them and like them very very much - but the klipsch are much more forward and live sounding particularly with accoustic music - piano, horns, guitar, violin etc.
I have a collection of jazz very much like Allan's as well as a huge collection of rock (from indie to 60s to electronica), some very noisy, some with more dynamic contrasts, some recorded very well (simple with little processing), some with much more.
In general, I also agree with Allan in that the BEST music combo I have heard on the Cornwalls is jazz and Vinyl. This with single-ended and PP amps. The Cornwalls seem to really come into their own with good vinyl 50s-60s jazz and tubes.
On the other hand, depending on the setup, rock CAN SOUND GOOD but the recording type and where the material lies in the spectrum does have importance. On supremely bright rock that is too compressed with a tipped up top end (a lot of heavy studio processed stuff lives here), the Cornwalls can sound REALLY unrelenting, especially if you seek live levels. My guess is that Klipsch Heritage in general has some of this aspect. Poorly recorded rock is SH!T on Heritage Klipsch from what I have found.
What is really evident is the Cornwalls are not forgiving speakers. I would imagine the Tannoy's to be FAR more forgiving, but perhaps not as rewarding with quality recordings. I would love to hear either Allan or Josh's systems when out there next time.
Mobile: I have to agree with you on the fact that klipsch speakers are like a computer ... garbage in = garbage out. Some speakers tend to make bad recordings sound ok, and good recordings so-so. However, this is not the case with klipsch. Bad recordings sound terrible, and good recordings are superlative.
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