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Tannoy GRF

Joe P

Joe P

Memory Alpha incarnate | mod; Shatner number = 2
Chaps,

Any idea what Tannoy GRFs, sixties vintage, in reasonable shape go for? I will see them in the flesh on Saturday, and I know nothing more about the pair in question other than they are a corner model, not the rectangular version.

Edit (Oct. 3, 2009): Turns out I misunderstood, as I was a complete Tannoy noob at the time. The GRFs are late fifties vintage and the rectangular version.

Joe
 
Have you googled them, looks like there's a bunch of information out there. They look interesting. There was a pair of the rectangular GRF's on Ebay that ended a few days ago with a starting bid of $6,999.00. Looks like the corner one's would be more valuable.
 
John,

I've googled my little heart out, but I'm curious what the fishies think. I understand that Andy has a pair, but his are somewhat more recent than the original sixties version.

Joe
 
Saw this on Ebay as well, ended Oct 9th:

Tannoy 15" Studio Mntr gold - GRF Folded Horn cabs orig sold for $5,500.00.
 
For what they can do or for what you could buy instead, I'd say that was very reasonable.
 
GRFs are among the best speakers Tannoy ever made, and the corner versions are the best. That's a very fair price.
 
I doubt you will get any for under £2.5k, £5k USD unless the drivers are dead or the cabinets battered. These are legendary speakers after all, the '57 Corvette or flat-floor E type of the hifi world. If you want them, you have to dig deep and not be afraid of an engine rebuild if the price is fair.
 
I'll get a chance to see if the GFRs live up to their reputation. I suspect they will be far outside of my range, but it'll be fun to listen to a legend all the same.

He has several other Tannoys at home, as the bloke whose house I'm going to designed the Churchills.

Joe
 
Original, minty GRFs will go for well over $10k in Japan, but that's because we've always understood their real value over here.
They are quite large.
 
Joel,

What do new Westminsters go for? I'm sure the GRFs are wonderful, but it seems that people are paying a premium for their relative scarcity and legendary status.

Joe
 
Westminsters are, I think, in the region of $45k / pair (they're built to order AFAIK), and are a different beast to the GRFs.
Very old Tannoys have a definite sound.
They give a beautiful golden glow to music (even order distortion) that is not especially truthful, but is quite addictive. It's like having ambrosia poured down your ears. Take a good listen, as one thing all good Tannoys do is provide lots and lots of enjoyment.
 
John,

Despite Tannoy NA being down the street I haven't seen any Tannoys come up locally. You're never a hero in your home town...

Joe
 
joel said:
Westminsters are, I think, in the region of $45k / pair (they're built to order AFAIK), and are a different beast to the GRFs.
Very old Tannoys have a definite sound.
They give a beautiful golden glow to music (even order distortion) that is not especially truthful, but is quite addictive. It's like having ambrosia poured down your ears. Take a good listen, as one thing all good Tannoys do is provide lots and lots of enjoyment.
Click to expand...

Latest price for the Westminster Royal SE is £19,999 per pair inc VAT.
 
Which equals about $34,000 at current rates. Subtract your local euro super tax, add shipping, handling, import duties and local taxes and I suspect you end up somewhere North of $40k for the US, Canada or Japan.
 
Joe Petrik said:
as the bloke whose house I'm going to designed the Churchills.
Joe
Click to expand...

Now thats a handsome bugger of a speaker!

TANNOY___CHURCHILL_.jpg

strip_churchill.jpg
 
Given that the plans seem to be freely available and 15" Golds (or later equivalents) are obtainable, is it possible to get GRF repro cabs built anywhere? I'd definitely be interested if the price was right - and I wouldn't even want the fancy veneer, just solid build.
 
John,

The prevailing wisdom among vintage Tannoyistas is to use the same building material as the original cabinets, so if you're considering this option avoid MDF.

Joe
 
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