front/back loaded horn (Tannoy)
Hi Scottie,
I happen to have gathered quite a few Tannoy drivers along the years, HPD-315A (12") and HPD-385A (15") No, these are not the famous and pricey Silvers, Reds, or Golds, but they are based on the same baskets and compression drivers.. and they sound, well, beautifully.. I have owned Silvers, Reds, and Golds, and the HPD are just .. say.. 90% as nice as the vintage drivers, but at a fraction of the cost. And since I happen not to be rich, well, I do my best to get along at a reasonable cost.
The HPD serie (High Performance Dual) have a cone that's reinforced with ribs, and a "foam" suspension (yuk! I know..) and more handling power.
These drivers (like the former models they are issued from) have a nice Alnico magnet, and are quite happy with tube amps, wich I happen to love..
Here are the specs of these drivers. You'll find it on this page.
http://www.hilberink.nl/codehans/tannoy39.htm
Among my "fantasies" a few dream projects keep coming to my mind: a "Westminster" horn cabinet built around a 12" Tannoy instead of the 15" (more small house friendly than the 395 pounds cabinet..) or even based around a much smaller driver like the Fostex 168ES. The Westminster being both a front horn loaded and back horn loaded speaker, I imagine it could be quite a thrilling project..
Sorry for the long post.
Scottmoose said:
Are we talking about the [in]famous Dual Concentric drivers here? I've tried it.
They worked quite well, though not really much better than the original Lancaster cabinets which I put them back into. Too big. It was different though.
Hi Scottie,
I happen to have gathered quite a few Tannoy drivers along the years, HPD-315A (12") and HPD-385A (15") No, these are not the famous and pricey Silvers, Reds, or Golds, but they are based on the same baskets and compression drivers.. and they sound, well, beautifully.. I have owned Silvers, Reds, and Golds, and the HPD are just .. say.. 90% as nice as the vintage drivers, but at a fraction of the cost. And since I happen not to be rich, well, I do my best to get along at a reasonable cost.
The HPD serie (High Performance Dual) have a cone that's reinforced with ribs, and a "foam" suspension (yuk! I know..) and more handling power.
These drivers (like the former models they are issued from) have a nice Alnico magnet, and are quite happy with tube amps, wich I happen to love..
Here are the specs of these drivers. You'll find it on this page.
http://www.hilberink.nl/codehans/tannoy39.htm
Among my "fantasies" a few dream projects keep coming to my mind: a "Westminster" horn cabinet built around a 12" Tannoy instead of the 15" (more small house friendly than the 395 pounds cabinet..) or even based around a much smaller driver like the Fostex 168ES. The Westminster being both a front horn loaded and back horn loaded speaker, I imagine it could be quite a thrilling project..
Sorry for the long post.
Re: front/back loaded horn (Tannoy)
I know the HPDs, and like them. As it happens, I think (rather like you) they're seriously under-rated. I got my Golds with cosmetically scruffy Lancaster cabinets for a bargin a while back on Ebay from someone who clearly didn't know what they were selling and hadn't listed them properly -don't you just love it when that happens
I've never heard of a DIY Westminster being done, but I'm sure it's possible; not a bad goal! I do know that the plans for the classic (and wonderful) GRF Autographs are available on the web, which would also be interesting if you've got a GIANT room...
If you feel like trying a TQWT; I'd say go for it with the HPD; my guess is that they'd be a better match than the earlier types. I'm limited for space, which is why I didn't pursue it with much vigour using my Golds, nor did I tune the dimensions properly using Martin's MathCad sheets as I was just fooling around for a bit of fun -I just went with a So=Sd, Sm=4Sd which I use as a starting point for most TQWT projects as per Bob's suggestions for a generic starting point with suitable drivers. It worked; the sound was huge, I'll give it that, and you could tell there was some potential there, but you really do need that 8' height if it's to be a straight pipe. A folded cabinet might be a better bet, but it would end up being seriously (i.e. large horn) deep.
Either'd make quite an aesthetic statement in-room...
Best
Scott
Sylver300B said:
I know the HPDs, and like them. As it happens, I think (rather like you) they're seriously under-rated. I got my Golds with cosmetically scruffy Lancaster cabinets for a bargin a while back on Ebay from someone who clearly didn't know what they were selling and hadn't listed them properly -don't you just love it when that happens
I've never heard of a DIY Westminster being done, but I'm sure it's possible; not a bad goal! I do know that the plans for the classic (and wonderful) GRF Autographs are available on the web, which would also be interesting if you've got a GIANT room...
If you feel like trying a TQWT; I'd say go for it with the HPD; my guess is that they'd be a better match than the earlier types. I'm limited for space, which is why I didn't pursue it with much vigour using my Golds, nor did I tune the dimensions properly using Martin's MathCad sheets as I was just fooling around for a bit of fun -I just went with a So=Sd, Sm=4Sd which I use as a starting point for most TQWT projects as per Bob's suggestions for a generic starting point with suitable drivers. It worked; the sound was huge, I'll give it that, and you could tell there was some potential there, but you really do need that 8' height if it's to be a straight pipe. A folded cabinet might be a better bet, but it would end up being seriously (i.e. large horn) deep.
Either'd make quite an aesthetic statement in-room...
Best
Scott
Tannoy Westminster
Hi Scott,
There is a Tannoy list and I've heard of many people who have built a copy of it. The original does cost around $35,000 I think... so, there is some money save here..
I'd say that the Wesminster is the british equivalent of the Klipschorn, but it is so "huge" that I could not find a decent space to install it. From there to dream about a scaled down version of it, using a 12" would be great. Same with a FE168ES... may be it could be done?
About the HPD, yes, it is the unknown deal of the centuty ;-) Having owned all previous models of Tannoy, I can say that they are outrageously good and still are affordable. Tannoys from this era (70's) were really great, but the cabinets were awful. Mines are in an "Integra" box (meant for North America) and the walls are thin, cheap chipboard.. yuk, but all the same, these drivers sound really great. The HPD keep the major strong points from the early concentrics, have better crossovers (less nasty peaks into the voice range). The only minus, I think' is their foam suspension, and the reinforced bass cone that makes the bass having less "speed" but still quite good, compared to the vintage drivers and their lighter cones.
Using them in a TQWT would be interesting I think, but I'd probably go for a folded pipe instead the tall one. Or I might end up with the biggest and tallest Zigmahornet on the planet.. he he.
Thanks for your input. Quite inspiring.
Hi Scott,
There is a Tannoy list and I've heard of many people who have built a copy of it. The original does cost around $35,000 I think... so, there is some money save here..
I'd say that the Wesminster is the british equivalent of the Klipschorn, but it is so "huge" that I could not find a decent space to install it. From there to dream about a scaled down version of it, using a 12" would be great. Same with a FE168ES... may be it could be done?
About the HPD, yes, it is the unknown deal of the centuty ;-) Having owned all previous models of Tannoy, I can say that they are outrageously good and still are affordable. Tannoys from this era (70's) were really great, but the cabinets were awful. Mines are in an "Integra" box (meant for North America) and the walls are thin, cheap chipboard.. yuk, but all the same, these drivers sound really great. The HPD keep the major strong points from the early concentrics, have better crossovers (less nasty peaks into the voice range). The only minus, I think' is their foam suspension, and the reinforced bass cone that makes the bass having less "speed" but still quite good, compared to the vintage drivers and their lighter cones.
Using them in a TQWT would be interesting I think, but I'd probably go for a folded pipe instead the tall one. Or I might end up with the biggest and tallest Zigmahornet on the planet.. he he.
Thanks for your input. Quite inspiring.
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