New DIY effort - Tannoy Monitor Golds in Arden cabinets

anilva

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Recently started dabbling in vintage 15" Tannoy Monitor Gold speakers. These speakers have a bit of cult status with many followers Worldwide loving them for their imaging and British tone.

These are the monitor speakers used for mastering many UK 70s and 80s rock bands and even in India, they were used in many studios in Chennai and Mumbai to record Indian film music. Many Lata and Kishore hits were mastered on these speakers. So they have something about them.

Managed to find couple of pairs of 15" Monitor Golds as well as 15" Monitor HPDs. Brought one pair to complete factory spec with new Tannoy replacement cones and diaphragms. For those not familiar with Tannoy Monitor Golds, these are Dual Concentric Speakers with HF mounted in the centre of the LF making them a point source for LF and HF. They are slightly different from co-axial speakers, though both designs act as point sources.

Also managed to find the original Tannoy crossovers which are so essential for the performance of MGs, because of their inbuilt equalization and notch filtering. Refurbished the old caps and resistors with modern ones.

Mounted these in a Tannoy designed "Arden" speaker cabinet. Increased the volume from 175 litres to 250 litres. Got them made with Marine ply and with real wood walnut veneer. Did the usual lining and stuffing with poly wool and braced appropriately.

Currently being driven by Pass designed F6. They sound wonderful and different from the Altecs. Little laid back, very musical and great tone.

Here are some pictures.

Regards
 

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I can't make up my mind on which one is better. I love both of them and they are completely different. One of my friends who listened to both the setups commented - "when you are tired and come home in the evening, you listen to the Tannoys. And when you have couple of drinks, you shift to Altecs"

Cheers.
 
Anilva, do you have both the speakers in the same room?

Yes Prem. They are.

Another quote famously used by Tannoy MG buffs - "they are not HiFi speakers. They are just musical".
 
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Lovely built Anilva.

Liked the last quote. I think this is the pivotal requirement of a speaker.

Got inspired, going to play Mehdi Hassan Live LP....in my OB.
 
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super!!
i wish i had the room for this
where did you manage to find the original crossover!!?
 
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super!!
i wish i had the room for this
where did you manage to find the og crossover!!?

There is so much stuff available within India, we just have to look for it and it's available.

Cheers.
 
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Can you please point me to a web link [if available]? I'd like to see if it's available in Mumbai. Where did you buy it from?

Available with automobile foam dealers. They stock different types of synthetic sheets. I know in Bangalore available at JC Road. I can't help in Mumbai.
 
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'Another quote famously used by Tannoy MG buffs - "they are not HiFi speakers. They are just musical".

Absolutely right!! Agreed!!:eek:hyeah:
 
Recently started dabbling in vintage 15" Tannoy Monitor Gold speakers.

Managed to find couple of pairs of 15" Monitor Golds.
Congratulations Anilji. I'm happy that you've got what you wanted.

Currently being driven by Pass designed F6
Which preamp are you using?

Also managed to find the original Tannoy crossovers
where did you manage to find the original crossover!!?
There is so much stuff available within India, we just have to look for it and it's available.
Any pointers?
 
Rajesh

Since you have already gone down the Tannoy Monitor Gold path yourself, I'm sure you know there's more than one way to skin a cat! The truth is, that like vintage cars. there are many hidden "treasures" waiting to be found- like you, one has to be aware and willing to pick them up whenever they come onto the market place-sometimes just before they get melted down as scrap. Altecs are one of them, there are many other flavours, be they Russian, British, German, French or even Japanese.

Cheers and happy hunting
 
I can't make up my mind on which one is better. I love both of them and they are completely different. One of my friends who listened to both the setups commented - "when you are tired and come home in the evening, you listen to the Tannoys. And when you have couple of drinks, you shift to Altecs"

Cheers.

Yes Prem. They are.

Another quote famously used by Tannoy MG buffs - "they are not HiFi speakers. They are just musical".

Could you share the outdoors 1 meter/2.83V response,THD etc measurements? Or close mic in room?

Might be interesting to see how the response looks. Certain traits can be assumed but seeing the actual response would be illuminating.
 
Congratulations Anilji. I'm happy that you've got what you wanted.


Which preamp are you using?


Any pointers?

Thanks Capt. I just found a old crossover pair, which I recapped and refurbished. Don't have any sources. The crossovers are available on eBay though.

Cheers.
 
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