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Tannoy Monitor Gold - Placement/Toe In

G

Gerard124

pfm Member
My 12" Tannoy Monitor Gold in self made Chatsworth size cabinets are in a rectangular room size 11ft x 14ft.

Room layout dictates that the speakers are placed on the short wall in the corners, listening position is a sofa on the opposite short wall.

Can I please get some advice on correct toe-in angle?

I have seen mention of 15 degrees? elsewhere that the line of fire should cross 4ft in front of listener?
 
I’ve always had mine so they cross a foot or two behind my head, i.e. exactly as I’d position most speakers.

PS I’d just listen, but given the corner placement you may find firing the horns straight at your ears beneficial, maybe even crossing in front of you. I’d certainly try everything.
 
Every room is different and you just have to play until it hits your preference. 4ft in front of listener would be a heck of an angle in most British living rooms!
 
Tannoy advise to listen 15 degrees off axis, which isn't the same thing as 15 degrees toe-in.

Like Tony I like mine with the crossing point a little behind my head. Others here prefer the crossing point a little in front of them.

I find then a touch bright/forward when firing directly at me (perfectly on axis) but that may well suit some systems/rooms/ears.

The bottom line is that whatever sounds best to you is best but a good starting point is to aim them directly at your listening position and then rotate them away from from your listening position by about 15 degrees, so that they aren't firing quite directly at you anymore.
 
Mike P said:
I find then a touch bright/forward when firing directly at me (perfectly on axis) but that may well suit some systems/rooms/ears.
Click to expand...

Tannoys are obviously unusual compared to modern speakers in that the response can be tailored with the ‘level’ and ‘roll-off’ controls. I just use toe-in to define the image focus and width; firing straight at me and things are too narrow for my taste, firing straight at the back wall and the central image collapses, so I just fine tune the area between those points by ear. By chance mine sound fine with both controls set level, but I suspect that is due to my getting a fair bit of lift from the back wall (it is not a large room) and using a fairly warm and weighty amp combo. If I had more space behind the listening seat I’d certainly drop the level control down.
 
I currently have my Berkeleys crossing about 2 and half feet in front of me, which might be a bit extreme, but they're quite far apart (at least 3m). No substitute for experimenting, really (I'm certainly not done). Luckily mine are easy to manoeuvre despite the size.
 
FWIW the 'axis cross in front of the listener' is Tannoy initial positioning advice, the '15 Deg of axis' is a Tannoy measuring convention that roughly corresponds to the positioning advice( in one direction at least!).
In another thread there is a link to an Earl Geddes paper that explains the cross-eyed arrangement for constant directivity horns similar to Tannoy DCs in terms of first reflections/ delay.
The cross-eyed arrangement has consistently been my preferred set up but taste, rooms etc all play a part so experiment, what sounds best for you is the best set up.
 
cooky1257 said:
FWIW the 'axis cross in front of the listener' is Tannoy initial positioning advice, the '15 Deg of axis' is a Tannoy measuring convention that roughly corresponds to the positioning advice( in one direction at least!).
In another thread there is a link to an Earl Geddes paper that explains the cross-eyed arrangement for constant directivity horns similar to Tannoy DCs in terms of first reflections/ delay.
The cross-eyed arrangement has consistently been my preferred set up but taste, rooms etc all play a part so experiment, what sounds best for you is the best set up.
Click to expand...

Can I please clarify - is the 'cross-eyed' arrangement angling the speakers so that the axis crosses just in front of the listener?
 
John said:
That cross arrangement is actually better for those sitting off center from the speakers as well which I do quite a bit.
Click to expand...

This^

I often prefer to sit off centre... this is the joy of the DC, I can loaf all over the lounge and they’re still coherent.
 
John said:
That cross arrangement is actually better for those sitting off center from the speakers as well which I do quite a bit.
Click to expand...
But not if they cross in front of the seat, at least in my (50 years) experience. Hence the question, to those who have already posted.
 
The 'beauty' of a constant directivity 'type' horn(Tannoy DC's aren't CD in the strictest sense but are close in behaviour) when it comes to sweet spot is as you move a little closer to one speaker you become more on axis with the slightly more distant other speaker-the increased output on axis compensates for the increase in proximity to the other.
Tannoys are particularly good at maintaining their 3D stereo image across a sofa width in my experience. If it doesn't work for you then don't do it-simple really.
 
From the current Prestige owners manual;

Locate the loudspeakers so that the favourite listening position is approximately 15° from the axes of the cabinets. The axes of both cabinets should intersect at a point slightly in front of the listening position. Remember that the proximity of the loudspeakers to walls and corners will affect the sound. Some experimentation will probably be needed to fine-tune the stereo image depth and low frequency sound quality. Close to wall positions and room corners have the effect of increasing very low frequency sound energy. Reflective adjacent walls may upset the stereo image by causing unwanted reflections.
In order to experience the best acoustic performance and fully realise their exceptional stereo image depth capabilities, the loudspeakers should ideally be used at least 1m from any sidewall or reflective surface and at least 0.5 m away from a rear wall.

From the K series 3808/3838 Monitors Technical Manual;

Locate the loudspeakers so the listening position at the mixing console is approximately 15 deg from the axis of the Dual Concentric.

From the DU Integrated Drive Systems Manual;

To provide optimum stereo image over a fairly wide area they should be angled inwards so that their axes intersect at a point a few feet in front of the listening position.

From the System 15 DMT manual;

Locate the Monitor so that the listening position at the console is 10 to 15 deg from the axis of the Dual Concentric.

So for studio locations (where there's likely to be side wall treatment) the general "15 deg off axis" applies, for domestic arrangements the crossed axes is recommended starting point.

Makes sense to me.
 
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