Tannoy PRESTIGE speakers

[Nic P]

What cabs were the Golds in?

Tony.

They were my late Dad's and he designed his own cabinets until be bought the Kensingtons (they were his third generation loudspeaker). They were about 50% wider, the same height and about 25% deeper than the Kensingtons and weighed about twice the Kensingtons. Heatherdale Audio took them as part exchange and sold them for quite a lot of money. My Dad was a University lecturer (he was a Chemist) and did quite a lot of research about loudspeaker cabinet design as a hobby ... just before he died he told me he was sad that he was too old to take advantage of all the information that was coming available on the Internet.

Nic P

 

[Joe P]

With Tannoy the same driver is often used in a number of cabinets, each of which results in a different model, so it's hard to isolate the character of the driver from the quality of the cabinet and the kind of loading.

The 15-inch Gold drivers, for example, can be found in enclosures as different as infinitely baffled Lancasters, dual-ported Yorks, back-loaded horny GRF rectangulars, more complex GRF corner horns and very large and complex horny Autographs, not to mention home-brew enclosures like the pair Nic's father built or the ones Tony bought.

I'd be interested in hearing the same drivers in various enclosures, but old Tannoys are rare here so I doubt I'll ever be able to do a comparison. But the few Tannoys I have heard lead me to believe that the bigger and the hornier the box the better the speaker.

Joe

 

[timeout]

With Tannoy the same driver is often used in a number of cabinets, each of which results in a different model, so it's hard to isolate the character of the driver from the quality of the cabinet and the kind of loading.

The 15-inch Gold drivers, for example, can be found in enclosures as different as infinitely baffled Lancasters, dual-ported Yorks, back-loaded horny GRF rectangulars, more complex GRF corner horns and very large and complex horny Autographs, not to mention home-brew enclosures like the pair Nic's father built or the ones Tony bought.

I'd be interested in hearing the same drivers in various enclosures, but old Tannoys are rare here so I doubt I'll ever be able to do a comparison. But the few Tannoys I have heard lead me to believe that the bigger and the hornier the box the better the speaker.

Joe

Thanks all for chipping in. isn't forward sounding since they are dynamic speaker?

haven't hear any of this but have a local distributor here. ain't sure will be able to cover Tannoy Stirling / TurnBerry / Glenair / Yorkminster SE in one session.

 

[hal]

I heard the churchill model (with the V) when I was at CES (1999).

These were quite large but sounded very delicate. They were being driven by the Manley Stingray. It was one of the best sounds I heard at the show. Detailed, delicate, natural... it was a great combo. The design of these speakers go back to the late 40's I believe ? They sounded very good!

 

[hifi_dave]

I believe they are the speakers that Eve Anna Manley uses in her system.

 

[Joe P]

Dave,

Yup, EveAnna uses Churchills.

Joe

 

[hifi_dave]

They're like big headphones in that room...

 

[Joe P]

Dave,

Tannoy tidbit -- The guy from which I bought the GRFs designed the Churchills.

Joe

 

[hifi_dave]

When were the Churchills introduced ?

 

[Joe P]

Dave,

I don't know the exact date, but the Churchills were introduced in the late 1990s.

Joe

 

[hifi_dave]

Thanks. I don't recall that model. Must have been just before they introduced the Dimensions.

 

[Dev]

I don't recall that model.

Could it be because Churchills were only sold in NA?

 

[Joe P]

Dev,

Yup, the Churchill's DC drivers were built in Scotland but the cabinets were built in Canada.* As I understand it, the Churchill was intended solely for the North American market, so if some pairs made it to the UK or continental Europe they were shipped by sellers some time after they were originally bought in North America.

Joe

* They were built very close to where I live, as Tannoy factory is just minutes away by foot.

 

[hifi_dave]

That would explain it.

 

[cooky1257]

3833GG (system15) driver with a 4th order xover.
Later model came with supertweeter integrated into top of cab.

 

[jamjar784]

Can anyone advise how the Kensingtons compare to the Glenair 15's? Also I've heard the Kensington's are not at their best with rock - is that fair comment?

Thanks

 

[Steven Toy]

The ten inch Tannoys are less weighty and have less 'scale' than their fifteen-inch brothers but they are less coloured, faster and more coherent.

The very best Tannoy speakers imo are the Kensingtons followed by the Turnberrys, both are ten inch.

Before I heard the Kensingtons for the first time in France in 2010 I had heard a number of different fifteen-inchers including Monitor Golds, GRFs in different cabs and Canterburys.

Whilst I appreciated what they did they didn't captivate me like the Kensingtons. As I couldn't afford them I bought Turnberrys and whilst they are less informative they are still more engaging than any of the fifteen-inchers I've heard.

Mick, you need to hear the Kensingtons...

 

[Joe P]

Steven,

What's the difference between the Stirlings, Turnberrys and Kensingtons? I really don't know the modern range well, but they superficially look to be similar designs.

Joe

 

[Steven Toy]

I've heard the Glenair 15s and they are quite frankly, awful imo. Their owner replaced them with Kensingtons. Enough said.

 

[Steven Toy]

Steven,

What's the difference between the Stirlings, Turnberrys and Kensingtons? I really don't know the modern range well, but they superficially look to be similar designs?

Joe

I haven't heard Stirlings but they are less sensitive than Kensingtons and Turnberrys. The Kensingtons are taller, narrower, weigh an extra 6kg apiece and have Alnico magnets and Pepperpot Waveguide Tweeters in place of the Tulip Waveguides compared with Turnberrys.