I bought a pair of Arden Legacy a year ago from a dealer. Though the dealer was great to deal with they sounded terrible, so over a trial period they went back. I had a certificate to say they were made in England, they of course weren’t. For me the problem was I thought the crossover may have been flawed or defective drivers with the harsh treble they were producing. I tried to contact Tannoy which proved impossible. I then wondered if out of warranty I needed a replacement part and couldn’t get one, especially after reading that others with different products weren’t able to source components/had faulty goods. Unnerving on an 8k speaker….
Confused about Tannoy
- Thread starter Geoffreybombom
- Start date
Tony L
Administrator
That couldn’t be more amusing coming as it does from someone so fully indoctrinated into the Naim ecosystem who owns SBLs, which are arguably the most fussy and setup-critical speakers ever invented, and even then got sucked into the Mana cult with 3rd party stands. Quality trolling!
PS In contrast here’s my system: no cults, no hype, no gurus, no marketing bullshit, no groupthink, no Hyacinth Bucket domestic prissiness, just well restored vintage studio monitor grade kit working as it should:
Tony
This is another personal attack and like I have said before, if you don't want me here, just say so and I will stay away.
However just to answer your points, I have two Naim systems, both deliver what I want, so they will outlast me. The last purchase was in 1992 for a CDS3, so hardly faffing about.
The SBLs were installed in the lounge and a few years later moved to the second system in the dining room and it did take an hour to change the gasket, but once again I have had 30 years out of them so hardly a "fussy system".
I bought the Mana Brik stand and JW had arranged the thing to be set up for me and as it was done properly, I never had to fiddle with it. I moved the Briks on to another forum member a couple of years ago and threw the Mana stand in as a freebie. That hardly constitutes effort and I just enjoy the music.
I didn't know what your system is so why you seem to think I am slagging it off is beyond me.
I am pleased that you are enjoying it.
This is another personal attack and like I have said before, if you don't want me here, just say so and I will stay away.
However just to answer your points, I have two Naim systems, both deliver what I want, so they will outlast me. The last purchase was in 1992 for a CDS3, so hardly faffing about.
The SBLs were installed in the lounge and a few years later moved to the second system in the dining room and it did take an hour to change the gasket, but once again I have had 30 years out of them so hardly a "fussy system".
I bought the Mana Brik stand and JW had arranged the thing to be set up for me and as it was done properly, I never had to fiddle with it. I moved the Briks on to another forum member a couple of years ago and threw the Mana stand in as a freebie. That hardly constitutes effort and I just enjoy the music.
I didn't know what your system is so why you seem to think I am slagging it off is beyond me.
I am pleased that you are enjoying it.
Tony L
Administrator
It was a deconstruction of your view of Tannoy owners. I realise hi-fi isn’t your area of expertise, but your viewpoint was so comedically wide the mark the only logical approach was to conclude you were trolling and take the piss back. Where on earth did you get that idea from?
PS I’m really not bothered if you stay or go. That’s a you thing. I moderate you politically as you fly-tip so much Tory bullshit onto my site entirely at my expense, but on audio I’ve no issue.
Oh Mick, you'd be so disappointed by me as a Tannoy owner. My approach to ownership and listening nirvana could be best described as shoddy. My room would bring tears to the eyes of the type of Tannoyista you describe.
How long was the trial period? These are known to require a lengthy break-in period. I bought mine used so already broken in and they sound wonderful. Not a hint of harshness.
It would be interesting to hear the thoughts of experts in driver/ crossover manufacturing regarding the chances of getting defective drivers and/or crossover components in a new speaker. I have always thought the risk of defective components is extremely low and would easily be detected in factory QC testing.
Don't worry about it, it's all Fyne.
Tony L
Administrator
Just realised the picture I posted upthread is from eight years ago. Everything still looks exactly the same. Every component aside from the cartridge is still there (I do still have a 103, but it isn’t installed), and a couple of other sources have been added (Walkman Pro, Akai reel to reel and a little Teac mixing desk), but everything else is exactly as it was. All still in the same place.
hifinutt
hifinutt
the demo pair i had of legacy eatons were extremely well worn in and sounded superb . the new pair arrived and a friend with extremely good ears heard them and commented how awful they sounded . in his opinion my £100 speakers sounded better . over next few months they just began to get better and better and now only a fairly expensive Verity audio or higher tannoy would replace them . sorry to hear of all the trouble with contacting tannoy .
krenzler
pfm Member
When I had Tannoy MG15's in vintage Lockwood Majors one thing that surprised was how easy and unfussy they were about fitting in my smallish room (4m x 3.5m) even close to the backwall. The way their bass output couples with the room and the point-source drivers made them easy to enjoy from all angles.
Robert
Tapehead
They use old style impregnated cloth surrounds which feels very stiff and brittle when brand new.
Probably needs a little regular exercise when new to break in.
John
Rack’em Up!
I’ve had my DMT-15’s 16 years and originally had them toed in so that from the listening position you can see the inside corners of the cabinet. Twelve years later I toed them in a bit more so that the tweeter was beaming straight at the listening position. A year later when a discussion of Earl Geddes turned up on this forum, I experimented and now have the toed in as recommended where I can now see the outer cabinet walls from the listening position. My thoughts and comments are documented here so I won’t rehash but I’m quite pleased with how they sound.
S-Man
StrivingON
Tannoys are not that expensive in the grand scheme of things. I agree they are bulky. I'm yet to hear them sound beautiful.
I have heard 3 Tannoy systems and all of them did sound exceptional. The off putting thing was that they all were placed 2ft out from the wall which for the wife is a no-no. She will live with a big speaker as long as it is up against the wall.
Tony L
Administrator
Tannoys don’t need to be out from the wall. Certainly not the vintage classics. Mine are only where they are because I need access to the record storage behind. To be honest with the exception of Quad ESLs and other dipoles I’m hard put to think of any vintage speaker that is designed for free-space location. That trend came in during the 1980s. Prior to that big speakers went against the wall, bookshelf speakers went on bookshelves. The tiny little box right out in the middle of the room is a comparatively new thing.
I only played my Briks up against the wall because everyone said it was the best thing to do. I never pulled it out because it was a sod to move when on a Mana stand. The sound was brilliant so it stayed put.
However I now use a pair of Shahinian Arcs and they are normally about 6" away from the wall and if I am just listening to the radio, they usually stay where they are.
However if I am doing some serious listening then I pull them out to about 2ft away and there is an improvement in sound. When I have finished listening, I push them back for the happy wife thingy.
However the best speakers I ever heard w ere a pair of Tannoy corner speakers that were right up against the wall. They were truly the DBs, but the 3 normal speakers were the normal mid wall type and all of them were way out from the wall.
Subito
pfm Member
The new American distributor for Fyne Audio (and PrimaLuna) is located in the same town (La Verne, CA) as Upscale Audio. Interesting…
Hi Andrewd.
They were given 4 weeks. I didn’t notice any improvement over this time. if anything (though may have been psychological) they got worse. Probably down to my dread of playing them. They annoyed me that much I got my wife, friends and family to give opinion. All a resounding, “no, get rid”
They were given 4 weeks. I didn’t notice any improvement over this time. if anything (though may have been psychological) they got worse. Probably down to my dread of playing them. They annoyed me that much I got my wife, friends and family to give opinion. All a resounding, “no, get rid”
davidavdavid
davidavdavid
The New American distributor is Upscale Audio. Just recently Kevin Deal of Upscale Audio rebranded his distribution arm as Harmonia, run by David Schultz late of T+A North America. As for the swap in distributorship. Two long-time employees of Upscale Audio, Randy and Craig, went off on their own, started up Rhythm Distribution in the States and proceeded to solicit Tannoy as one of their brands. Depending upon whose side of the story is to be believed, Sound Organisation relinquished Fyne Audio to Harmonia for its US distribution.
Eastenders scripts have nothing on this ongoing saga.
