Where to start with Tannoys ?

I've not heard any Tannoys, at least not in the last 50 years, and there is an itch.. My father had a pair when I was a kid and they were in part responsible for me getting into listening to music.
My wife wouldn't like anything wide like a lot of the old Tannoys seem to be, but a quick read seems to say that the cabinets don't need to be wide as long as internal volume is kept within certain limits.
I will be having another operation in a month or so, so a project such as building some cabinets would be good.
So, just where do I start looking for information on cabinet dimensions and where do I look for drivers ?
I guess a 12" driver is about as big as I could go, and for what it's worth at this stage my sitting room is about 4.5 x 5 x 2.5m.
Thanks for any help - this may come to nothing, but it's been nagging at me for a few years, and this might be the ideal time..

 

Cheviots....
IMG_4125 by Jonathan Roberts, on Flickr

 

Mine are 12” HPD315s in custom built 100l cabs. Quite tall, but not too wide…

 

Those would be too wide for Kate, but apart from the knee's that looks like a nice room to listen to music in !

 

When you have a mo could you please give me the approx dimensions of yours, which look like they might be just about acceptable. Did you make the cabinets ? Another nice looking room too !

 

WaleB’s are based on Balmorals, not seen a pair f/s but that shape will be the basis for my DIY Golds… eventually

I’ve got Stirling TW at gf’s, which are nice in a church hall style, the SE’s look a bit more contemporary being taller and slimmer.

 

A thread I posted on these:

https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/tannoy-bespoke-balmorals.257726/

And the build thread (no, I don’t have the talent to make cabs, these were built by Fraser)

https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/tannoy-balmoral-mk2-cabinet-build.249854/

 

I think that's stretching it just a little, Tony! The Lockwood, or at least the Major model I had, is not just wide but also quite deep, so IME it doesn't blend into the wall as easily as a Lancaster, Berkley or Arden-style cabinet does. Having said that, you do get used to it after a while, and if you've spent much of your life with big speakers then you don't really notice it. My sense of proportion was re-calibrated the instant I got my first pair of big proper IMFs and this definitely prepared me for the size of the Edinburghs and Lockwoods. My mum, on the other hand, has never adjusted to bohemoth-sized loudspeakers despite living in a house that's full of them for the last 15 years!

 

Hey! My knees!

As Tony says they go close to the wall and take up not much more floor space than a pair of Kans on stands.

 

If the OP s looking at vintage 12 inch monitor gold enclosures, then IMHO the Chatsworth looks well proportioned, ( relatively ) slimline and rather elegant.

 

utterly gorgeous and modern looking enough to get swmbo approval. dread to think of the costs involved tho!

 

Thank you.

Not too bad actually. Way less than a modern (probably not quite as good!) equivalent.

 

Yeah roughly how much?

 

Fab, thank you. I'll have a good look shortly.

The main problem is that we don't have a lot of space given the room layout, and Kate just doesn't like wide speakers, so I'd be pushing it to get anything wider then about 14-15" in. I guess that a 12“ driver would need that once in a cabinet?

Ok, so the knees aren't all that bad.

I don't know if a pair of vintage drivers or some newer ones are the way to go, I really don't know anything about them.
I would actually like to build my own cabinets, but following a detailed plan. I built some cabinets last winter with some Mark Audio MAOP drivers in and was pretty pleased with the result, but they didn't sound good enough to replace my Graham Audio LS6f's so I may be selling on the drivers to help fund this..

 

Cheviots are just over 17" wide...

 

And its the extra few inches that makes all the difference from what I'm told..
I'd not be able to get anything like yours into my room.

Err, what are SE's ?

Is there a recommended place/person to contact to buy drivers from ?
I'd rather get some that are ready to use rather than get some from ebay and possibly run the risk of wasting some time and money through my ignorance and what about cabinet plans or designs - again, I'd like to get some that are known to do justice to the drivers. Are there any experts who do such things ?

 

Frank (@cooky1257). He’s a hobbiest, but one of the best in the country for refurbishing Tannoy drivers. He’s been doing it a while…