I am looking at another house, where I can add a dedicated music room, but have not made the final decision yet....
I also found this web page about the classical tannoy speakers, like the Westminster, the GRF and the likes.. There is also a straight vertical version of the GRF which lookes like possible candidate.............Always admired those, but based on other peoples heresay . Never heard them. I have heard several VOTTs, though, and once the almighty Paragon......
But- and a large but, indeed, - the old coaxials are getting rare, and the prices I have found are sometimes just hilarious......
Then I wonder - are there any alternatives the the old gold???? Can't find a good set of T/S either....
A separate bass and a top midd/high is another way, but which elements would be suitable as alternatives- permanent or temporarly............. sensitivity comparable to the Tannoys
Any good suggestions ??? ( Scott ??? )
I also found this web page about the classical tannoy speakers, like the Westminster, the GRF and the likes.. There is also a straight vertical version of the GRF which lookes like possible candidate.............Always admired those, but based on other peoples heresay . Never heard them. I have heard several VOTTs, though, and once the almighty Paragon......
But- and a large but, indeed, - the old coaxials are getting rare, and the prices I have found are sometimes just hilarious......
Then I wonder - are there any alternatives the the old gold???? Can't find a good set of T/S either....
A separate bass and a top midd/high is another way, but which elements would be suitable as alternatives- permanent or temporarly............. sensitivity comparable to the Tannoys
Any good suggestions ??? ( Scott ??? )
I certainly haven't heard all or most of the DC drivers available now - BUT none I have heard even approached the Tannoy IMO. There's something special there. If someone could just make 'em like they did....
My opinion is that if you can afford a set - go for it. Mine broke real bad and I sold them off - non alnico ones. I will regret that forever as I'll probably never get another.
My opinion is that if you can afford a set - go for it. Mine broke real bad and I sold them off - non alnico ones. I will regret that forever as I'll probably never get another.
B&C and BMS make great drivers, and both offer coaxes in sizes from 8"-15". They have conventional short horns rather than Tannoy's modern Tulip waveguide (it's really more of a phase plug) or old-school Pepperpot phase plug, but I would think both of them have a shot at making the equal or better of the Tannoy Dual. (I do love my Dual Concentrics, though.) B&C's woofer motors are simply outstanding, and I'm fond of BMS's compression drivers. I haven't heard any of BMS's woofers, or enough of B&C's compression drivers, to feel qualified to comment on either, though.
Thanks guys....I guess the old gold is still - GOLD ( and priced likewise...)
Working in engineering all my life, though, it seems somewhat strange that there are so few modern alternatives, - if any. Just proves that far from everything old is crap, as alot of younger people seem to think.....
( that goes for old geesers too!!)
Pete- thanks alot. Strangely enough , I haven't been able to find that page previously.
I had also forgotten about MaxLorenz' rebuild of the Autograph, here on this forum. The Beyma KX coaxials could be an alternative, but to the best of my knowledge, I haven't heard any of those....opinions??
Working in engineering all my life, though, it seems somewhat strange that there are so few modern alternatives, - if any. Just proves that far from everything old is crap, as alot of younger people seem to think.....
( that goes for old geesers too!!)
Pete- thanks alot. Strangely enough , I haven't been able to find that page previously.
I had also forgotten about MaxLorenz' rebuild of the Autograph, here on this forum. The Beyma KX coaxials could be an alternative, but to the best of my knowledge, I haven't heard any of those....opinions??
Hi,
the driver in the Westminster is a very close relative of the HPD385. They reverted to alnico magnet and I think they have also abandoned the tulip waveguide in favour of the pepper pot horn.
If their most expensive domestic speaker has given up on ferrite and tulip then the HPD may well be the best of the bunch. Except for the foam surround, most of which need replacing by now.
The genuine Tannoy recone upgrades that speaker from 85W to 150W and still with 94db/W (real watts) sensitivity.
the driver in the Westminster is a very close relative of the HPD385. They reverted to alnico magnet and I think they have also abandoned the tulip waveguide in favour of the pepper pot horn.
If their most expensive domestic speaker has given up on ferrite and tulip then the HPD may well be the best of the bunch. Except for the foam surround, most of which need replacing by now.
The genuine Tannoy recone upgrades that speaker from 85W to 150W and still with 94db/W (real watts) sensitivity.
Hi,
is the rectangular GRF a horn?
or
has it got very large ports?
The advantage of the Tannoy dual concentric is the "concentric" and the phase adjustment inherent in it's physical depth and matching crossover.
Few if any other dual units try to integrate the two drivers in this way.
If they don't then they can never be an equivalent.
is the rectangular GRF a horn?
or
has it got very large ports?
The advantage of the Tannoy dual concentric is the "concentric" and the phase adjustment inherent in it's physical depth and matching crossover.
Few if any other dual units try to integrate the two drivers in this way.
If they don't then they can never be an equivalent.
As far as I can judge, but I'm no expert on horns, they are horns, of fairly similar design to alot of others.
I quite agree with you concerning the DCs, but Tannoy DCs seems to be close to unobtainium, and if prices are gold, it's close to diamond if and when I have them hands on in my corner of the world. That's why I'm thinking of a two step solution, - build the cab's and use something else in the meantime....15" bass and something Oris-like for the mid/highs.....maybe a circular tractrix with Fostex 108, 127 or something similar..??
I quite agree with you concerning the DCs, but Tannoy DCs seems to be close to unobtainium, and if prices are gold, it's close to diamond if and when I have them hands on in my corner of the world. That's why I'm thinking of a two step solution, - build the cab's and use something else in the meantime....15" bass and something Oris-like for the mid/highs.....maybe a circular tractrix with Fostex 108, 127 or something similar..??
Just a note on the Beymas -
I too would be interested in any impressions from Beyma users.
I recently had the opportunity to experiment with two Beyma 10XC25 coaxials. I was impressed with the sound. I used a dbx driverack to implement the crossover, and without additional EQ the HF driver's peak around 2.5 kHz was quite audible.
They tolerate some bass boost and can be used at moderate volumes in a small room without a sub. I used a sealed box.
I don't have a lot of experience in evaluation recent high-quality speakers, so don't go spend money just on my recommendation.
I do hear with some program a sort of comb filtering effect, like the difference between someone speaking and someone speaking with their hands cupped to form a megaphone. Maybe this is the drawback that all coaxials are said to have concerning the unterminated HF horn formed by the LF cone.
Tom
I too would be interested in any impressions from Beyma users.
I recently had the opportunity to experiment with two Beyma 10XC25 coaxials. I was impressed with the sound. I used a dbx driverack to implement the crossover, and without additional EQ the HF driver's peak around 2.5 kHz was quite audible.
They tolerate some bass boost and can be used at moderate volumes in a small room without a sub. I used a sealed box.
I don't have a lot of experience in evaluation recent high-quality speakers, so don't go spend money just on my recommendation.
I do hear with some program a sort of comb filtering effect, like the difference between someone speaking and someone speaking with their hands cupped to form a megaphone. Maybe this is the drawback that all coaxials are said to have concerning the unterminated HF horn formed by the LF cone.
Tom
Hi,
I don't think the Tannoy treble does have an unterminated horn.
The crossover for the 15inch is 1000Hz.
The minimum circumference for a full horn is 0.35m or so.
The circumference of the 300mm cone is 0.94m, an octave and a half lower than the minimum.
The minimum length of the horn should be about 1/4 to 1/2 of the longest wavelength. i.e. longer than 87mm to 173mm. The depth of the HPD385 is about 160mm.
If there is cuppiness then it must be for another reason.
I don't think the Tannoy treble does have an unterminated horn.
The crossover for the 15inch is 1000Hz.
The minimum circumference for a full horn is 0.35m or so.
The circumference of the 300mm cone is 0.94m, an octave and a half lower than the minimum.
The minimum length of the horn should be about 1/4 to 1/2 of the longest wavelength. i.e. longer than 87mm to 173mm. The depth of the HPD385 is about 160mm.
If there is cuppiness then it must be for another reason.
Hey Everyone,
New to the forum. But old to the Tannoy 15'' Golds. I have had a set with upgraded crossovers in custom york style boxes for about 30yrs. They were old school when I bought them back then
Anyway, tried many different multidriver speakers think they're good for a while, until I fire up the Tannoy's and think... Wow. The dual concentric point source sound has never been equaled for me. No matter what price the speakers cost. This has lead me to you guy's and the talk of Tannoy replacements. After a fair bit of research, I decided on a set of Beyma 15XA38ND. I believe that they are the best sounding of the current commercially available coaxials. Al from USspeakers confirmed that he beileved they were the best sounding out of Radian,Eminence,18 sound, Ciare. All quality pro coaxials. They also sell Tannoy, so I have taken AL's opinion and the Beyma spec's which may be better than the hallowed 15''Gold ? It's starting to become an expensive exercise. Just purchased an Australian monitor 1K2 and K88 to bi amp and now shudder at the cost of a quality active crossover and suitable 300L enclosures. Hopefully, I will be able to give some insight if new drivers are better than the Tannoy's. I hope they are cos it's a lot of time,effort and money to find out they are not
New to the forum. But old to the Tannoy 15'' Golds. I have had a set with upgraded crossovers in custom york style boxes for about 30yrs. They were old school when I bought them back then
Anyway, tried many different multidriver speakers think they're good for a while, until I fire up the Tannoy's and think... Wow. The dual concentric point source sound has never been equaled for me. No matter what price the speakers cost. This has lead me to you guy's and the talk of Tannoy replacements. After a fair bit of research, I decided on a set of Beyma 15XA38ND. I believe that they are the best sounding of the current commercially available coaxials. Al from USspeakers confirmed that he beileved they were the best sounding out of Radian,Eminence,18 sound, Ciare. All quality pro coaxials. They also sell Tannoy, so I have taken AL's opinion and the Beyma spec's which may be better than the hallowed 15''Gold ? It's starting to become an expensive exercise. Just purchased an Australian monitor 1K2 and K88 to bi amp and now shudder at the cost of a quality active crossover and suitable 300L enclosures. Hopefully, I will be able to give some insight if new drivers are better than the Tannoy's. I hope they are cos it's a lot of time,effort and money to find out they are not
For Monitor Golds on the cheap buy HPDs with rotten surrounds and use MG cones to re-cone them. The cones and the glue holding the vc on the former were the only difference.
According to Roger of Lockwood Audio re-coning/re-coiling ups the power capabilities to around 300w due to a kapton former instead of card board and modern, heat resistant glue. T/S parameters should be the same as for original Monitor Golds.
They can be found here:
TANNOY Monitor Gold dual concentric speakers
Lockwood Audio also supply the equivalent of HPD cones but without the foam surrounds for those who want the HPDs lower bass.
According to Roger of Lockwood Audio re-coning/re-coiling ups the power capabilities to around 300w due to a kapton former instead of card board and modern, heat resistant glue. T/S parameters should be the same as for original Monitor Golds.
They can be found here:
TANNOY Monitor Gold dual concentric speakers
Lockwood Audio also supply the equivalent of HPD cones but without the foam surrounds for those who want the HPDs lower bass.
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