I received a pair of new in box Tannoy CMS 1201 DCT drivers today. I rigged them up in test cabs using the stock crossovers and they sound great. There's a lot of potential.
I took a huge risk ordering them off the bay, as there is virtually no feedback anywhere on these drivers. However, from my positive experience with other Tannoy PA drivers (type 2062) I decided to roll the dice.
My test rig isn't ideal of course, and I'm just using thin jumper leads with gator clips, driving them with a small amp, the drivers installed in 2.5 cf "sealed" cabs. Initial impressions are exactly as expected from Tannoy PA drivers:
Very smooth and dynamic, open & forward mids, super tight mid-bass, lacking in deep bass, slightly rolled off above 10k.
So essentially they're like 12" versions of my little favorite 8" type 2062 dual concentrics, rolled off top and bottom but incredible mids and very dynamic and fast.
The suspension is very stiff and still breaking in.
The stock crossovers are simple 2nd order low pass & 2nd order high pass:
1.75mh / 25uf low pass & 6.8uf / .22mh high pass with 8.2 ohm resistor
Needs some baffle step correction, or just the midrange shelved.
In the stock 2.9cf back cans (that I do not have) the -3 db is 60 hz, which makes sense once I saw how stiff the suspension is.
The top end rolls off starting at 10k, with its (smooth) 1.34" aluminum dome with bullet phase plug (not tulip).
Considering everything, knowing that the caps and suspension still need way more break in, and that the drivers are mounted in sub-optimal test enclosures, they already sound so good that I'm super happy with them, and worthy of building nice cabs to spec and playing with caps, wiring, bsc etc.
If anyone else has seen these on the bay lately (there's some left as of today) and was wondering about them, I can confirm that they have potential and are a steal at the asking price, I paid $150 each plus shipping!!! No affiliation.
Best regards
PS: please excuse the low-res cell phone pic. This is my test setup:
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Yes, multiples. The 15" Seleniums are the second pic, but the ones I like the most for indoor use are the 4x12" 3 ways. They have Community woofers and a Sammi Coax. You can guess that I'm not allowed to have these unfinished girls in my condo right? They are good in medium sized rooms though. Unlike my other stuff that only sounds good when you're on a mountain somewhere on Vancouver Island. Dave, you with me on this one? 😉
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those pic's are like a flashback to the seventies...paneling and raw plywood enclosures.... only thing missing is a hanging swag lamp.
The first pic is panelling from 1966 when the house was built. The second is Hickory panelling I used when I built the sunroom (aka the cabin) 10 years ago. The raw plywood is because I'm not very good at finishing. I can frame but not finish.
Those coax 15's remind me of all my years sitting in front of Urie 813 studio monitors. Wonderful sound to me.
They may not be officially "PA" type speakers but the heritage behind them came from a PA mindset. Many of the records we listen to regularly were probably mixed with that model.
I used some of the coax l'acoustics PA boxes as stereo and they were amazing -unfortunately they are more expensive than some "hi-end" hifi setups. 108P and 112P were the models. (I borrowed them from work inventory for a while but they eventually had to go back)
Right now I use a set of EAW FR-153 that make excellent stereo speakers too, but really put-out for PA use as well. Not coax, but a 1" comp driver on a waveguide, a 6" mid cone and a fairly heavy 15" woofer and definitely don't sound like the typical "PA box"