Many people still use the old Tannoys monitors from the PBM II series, and is very difficult to find information about them on the net. In this thread I will share some info I got in the past and is open to share more about them.
I have a set of PBM 8 II (mk II) not used as monitors, buit as room speakers, and think they still are very worth while, clear and transparent at low or medium power levels.
This speakers (Tannoy PBM 8 II) are Canadian made (not British) because Tannoy contracted a well reputed Canadian speaker supplier named API to produce them under Tannoy specs. (API=Audio Products International, same manufacturer of Energy, Mirage, Image, Athena Technologies and Sound Dynamics commercial brands, now owned by Klipsch). Tannoy PBM 8 II are two way passive studio monitors with a 1" tweeter and 8" woofer, with a rear ported (bass reflex) mdf well built cabinet, but with a cheap grey vinyl finish.
Tweeter: PBM 8 II uses a VIFA D27TG-45 (old P/N PL27TG45). Today the replacement part is the VIFA D27TG-35-06 chinese made. The differences beetwen them are only in the front plate dispersion axis external form, being the D27TG-45 some how bulged and the D27TG-35 completely flat. I think This tweeter was one of the first ones in the market (20 years ago) offering a low resonant frequency (fs 750 Hz). Specs of this tweeter are easily found on the net.
Woofer: PBM 8 II uses an API (Athena) 5DR/61047. This is a 8" injected Polypropylene molded cone with a nitrile rubber surround and 1" voice coil 4 ohm woofer. This kind of drivers (Poly cone + rubber surround) usually have a low fs (near 30-35 Hz) and if not abused lasts almost forever, unlike paper cone + foam surrounds (except for the surround glue, that dries out in dry places). Specs for this driver are not easily found because was a driver made for Tannoy and not for sale as individual or commercial woofers. Then, parameters have to be measured.
However, this woofer is very very similar to others used in Athena speakers like the well known Athena AS-F1 (woofer part number 5DR/61098), Sound Dynamics R-515 (woofer part number 5DR/61041) and others coming from the same manufacturer. If you need a direct replacement woofer you can look at "Orange County Speakers" as they still today have original replacement parts.
If you only want a cheap direct replacement woofer (compromising quality, of course), you can use an MCM 8" part number 55-1190 for $13
Poly cones with rubber surround woofers often achieves a good freq. response at lower frequencies, but tends to be less clear in their upper end. Maybe that's why Tannoy selected the tweeter with a low fs (750 Hz) and put the crossover frequency at 1.9 kHz. The tweeter at it low frequency crossover point works very well under small or medium power demands, but begins to be less clear at higher power or spl. The speaker supports bi-wiring and have relative small dimensions (H 402mm, W 277mm, D 273mm).
I have a set of PBM 8 II (mk II) not used as monitors, buit as room speakers, and think they still are very worth while, clear and transparent at low or medium power levels.
This speakers (Tannoy PBM 8 II) are Canadian made (not British) because Tannoy contracted a well reputed Canadian speaker supplier named API to produce them under Tannoy specs. (API=Audio Products International, same manufacturer of Energy, Mirage, Image, Athena Technologies and Sound Dynamics commercial brands, now owned by Klipsch). Tannoy PBM 8 II are two way passive studio monitors with a 1" tweeter and 8" woofer, with a rear ported (bass reflex) mdf well built cabinet, but with a cheap grey vinyl finish.
Tweeter: PBM 8 II uses a VIFA D27TG-45 (old P/N PL27TG45). Today the replacement part is the VIFA D27TG-35-06 chinese made. The differences beetwen them are only in the front plate dispersion axis external form, being the D27TG-45 some how bulged and the D27TG-35 completely flat. I think This tweeter was one of the first ones in the market (20 years ago) offering a low resonant frequency (fs 750 Hz). Specs of this tweeter are easily found on the net.
Woofer: PBM 8 II uses an API (Athena) 5DR/61047. This is a 8" injected Polypropylene molded cone with a nitrile rubber surround and 1" voice coil 4 ohm woofer. This kind of drivers (Poly cone + rubber surround) usually have a low fs (near 30-35 Hz) and if not abused lasts almost forever, unlike paper cone + foam surrounds (except for the surround glue, that dries out in dry places). Specs for this driver are not easily found because was a driver made for Tannoy and not for sale as individual or commercial woofers. Then, parameters have to be measured.
However, this woofer is very very similar to others used in Athena speakers like the well known Athena AS-F1 (woofer part number 5DR/61098), Sound Dynamics R-515 (woofer part number 5DR/61041) and others coming from the same manufacturer. If you need a direct replacement woofer you can look at "Orange County Speakers" as they still today have original replacement parts.
If you only want a cheap direct replacement woofer (compromising quality, of course), you can use an MCM 8" part number 55-1190 for $13
Poly cones with rubber surround woofers often achieves a good freq. response at lower frequencies, but tends to be less clear in their upper end. Maybe that's why Tannoy selected the tweeter with a low fs (750 Hz) and put the crossover frequency at 1.9 kHz. The tweeter at it low frequency crossover point works very well under small or medium power demands, but begins to be less clear at higher power or spl. The speaker supports bi-wiring and have relative small dimensions (H 402mm, W 277mm, D 273mm).
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Jdamico,
Do you by any chance know the watt specs for the Tannoy PBM 8 II at 8 ohms? I read the Tannoy PBM 8 (first series) where rated at 150 watts, but am not sure if this is the same for the second series.
Thanks,
Alexander C. Torri
Owner of X-14 Productions
Do you by any chance know the watt specs for the Tannoy PBM 8 II at 8 ohms? I read the Tannoy PBM 8 (first series) where rated at 150 watts, but am not sure if this is the same for the second series.
Thanks,
Alexander C. Torri
Owner of X-14 Productions
Thanks for this. I own these monitors for my home studio and I think they're great. They've served me well for over 10 years.
Thank you +1, I got a 2nd hand of these speaker , good sound till I got the other TANNOY SATURN S8LR .
Wow this is amazing! I inherited my fathers old pair of Tannoy PBM 8 ii's and there is absolutely no information on them anywhere online. I really love these speakers. What kind of amp do you have powering them? I think that my samson servo 200 isnt cutting it for me anymore