Tannoy Westminster Demo

Very nice Anub'
The cabinetry is very WB the internals are very B&W.
Looks like a sort of Churchill wideband.
http://www.dagogo.com/TannoyChurchillWB.html
The super tweeter in that kicks in around 18khz and is time aligned with its parent DC.
The high compression HF horns ie the pepperpots do indeed start to drop off above 14khz while the TW or tulip waveguide varieties are in fact low compression low distortion units with a more extended hf to past 20khz.
Not sure I could live with speakers that told me to f*** off tho'
 
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Dev - you are the definitive word when it comes to Tannoy I believe.

I got my information form the Walrus Website

"For the interested, the Westminster retails at GBP 15000.00 and the Canterbury GBP 9500.00. Michael Utley (very nice and very knowledgeable - we've known him for years) from Tannoy will be on hand to answer all your questions."
http://www.walrus.co.uk/main/tannoy.htm

Not a definite price so there is every chance that they are using an old price.
 
BTW - is that the same 15 inch driver from the Westminsters on those Churchills?

I have to say the base from those units is awesome ( but I guess you'd expect that from a driver of that size.)
 
kmac said:
Dev - you are the definitive word when it comes to Tannoy I believe.
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You are too kind, but it's not true I'm afraid.

kmac said:
BTW - is that the same 15 inch driver from the Westminsters on those Churchills?

I have to say the base from those units is awesome ( but I guess you'd expect that from a driver of that size.)
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I think they are similar, not sure if they are the same. They both use alnico magnets with "pepperpot" throat.

Take a look at these links for more:-

http://www.tannoy-speakers.com/s.php?product=137&title=Canterbury+SE&s=27

http://www.tannoy-speakers.com/s.php?product=138&title=Westminster+Royal+SE&s=27

Yes, the bass from those 15" drivers is rather good. It's a shame that you didn't listen to the WR for longer. I thought they were rather special when I heard them, despite the room/corridor.
 
bottleneck said:
That's an interesting speaker Anub.

It makes a refreshing change to see a slightly new twist on something old (but good).

The cabinet volume and ports all look 'old' the box shape looks ''wilson benesch'' and the supertweeter, well, it's something the 15" tannoy dual concentric benefits from IMO.

My experiences of horns that do 'mids' (horrible generalisation this) is that they don't do 'much' beyond about 14khz. I don't know or pretend to know why, but I approve of adding a supertweeter. A ribbon will give the extension, but I wonder about the alternative of using a high frequency horn over the top, keeping the horn-theme present. hmm.

I like the cabinets, which look like they have a nice veneer. I wonder if it's solid wood?

What do they go for?
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they aint't cheap, the asking price is around 12k, delivered in the secure flight cases, but i am sure that a serious buyer would get them for at least 20% less. so they come to the canterbury's range.

a rather interesting thing is speed and detail of these, something tannoys have never been really famous for. my initial thought was it would be hard to integrate a super fast ribbon with a driver of such a big size and mass, however no audible mis-match at least not for my fucked up ears.

actually the designer claims that the usual prejudice on the tannoy sound comes from the cabinets, not from the drivers. the sound is spectacularly detailed and accurate, a bit more upfront than with the normal tannoys, less coloured and still massively enganging and weighty.

i am sure it is a solid walnut cabinet, not veneered plywood or MDF. i was curious how he was sure that it is dry enough to build a speaker cabinet and he provided me with some measurements of the solid wood dryness.
 
cooky1257 said:
The high compression HF horns ie the pepperpots do indeed start to drop off above 14khz while the TW or tulip waveguide varieties are in fact low compression low distortion units with a more extended hf to past 20khz.
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Hi Cooky

I'm interested in this part of what you've said. Are these tulip type drive units available on only certain models, and how do you differentiate them as a drive unit from non tulip?

Secondly, are there any charts to show their frequency response? I'd be interested to see if they're flat (ish) up to 20khz, or get there with a wheeze and a huff. Just for my own knowledge, and potential future plans at some date.
 
anubisgrau said:
actually the designer claims that the usual prejudice on the tannoy sound comes from the cabinets, not from the drivers. the sound is spectacularly detailed and accurate, a bit more upfront than with the normal tannoys, less coloured and still massively enganging and weighty..
Click to expand...

I recollect reading on the Yahoo Tannoy forum that someone claimed that Guy R Fountain said something along the lines of: 'We're speaker manufacturers not cabinet makers' or words to that effect. As far as 'vintage' Tannoys go it seems that most of the cabinets were often a bit of a compromise - for instance allegedly the cost of a new pair of Monitor Gold drivers with cabinets was barely more than the cost of them without cabinets. That's not to say that the cabs are no good, but perhaps illustrates that the emphasis was on the drivers and crossovers and not the carpentry.

Mind you, that's going back 40+ years so I'm sure a lot has changed since then :D.
 
well quite, yes.

If I had a big room and a Tannoy fetish, I'd buy a great pair of 15" dual concentrics, and pay a cabinet maker to copy me a pair of Westminsters or Autographs or whatever I fancied.

I've nearly gone that route 3 or 4 times, and who knows, in my next home I might.

You just need the room for this kind of speaker.

Cooky's purchase of a pair of DMT's seems an equally good idea to me, so long as you don't mind grey/black.
 
though i have to say that i still prefer well executed lowthers to the DC tannoys, for timbral accuracy and immediacy though i am sure i would live easier with tannoys than with lowthers. if there would be a way to add some serious weight to lowthers without killing its transparency and tonal colours....
 
I suprised myself once by falling in love with Lowthers in a pair of Acoustas.

I couldnt believe the sound I was getting out of these, what they did with dance music was outrageous.

Coloured however, coloured as hell. Once the brain adjusted, it was quite a ride.
 
bottleneck said:
Hi Cooky

I'm interested in this part of what you've said. Are these tulip type drive units available on only certain models, and how do you differentiate them as a drive unit from non tulip?

Secondly, are there any charts to show their frequency response? I'd be interested to see if they're flat (ish) up to 20khz, or get there with a wheeze and a huff. Just for my own knowledge, and potential future plans at some date.
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Hi, The Tulip is identifiable by the concentric rings in its horn throat, the pepperpot is open with the shaker holes at its base.
Pepperpots are found on the Prestige range and older pre DMT models.The Glenairs and all the studio monitors use Tulips.
There was a Westminster TW too a while back.
 
what's going on with that churchill? It looks rough as a badgers arse (to my uneducated eyes)

The treble appears to fall at about 12khz, and then a whopping 7db spike at 20khz. This could be the resonant frequency of the horn perhaps? (guessing only)

The 215 look a lot flatter, as you'd expect from a studio monitor. As you say cooky, they begin to drop from about 16khz, but so do most tweeters. Quite a difference to the churchill plot.
 
anubisgrau said:
What is the current RRP of WR?

Slightly off topic, today I've heard a really outstanding speaker built around the similar driver to the one used in WR, with RAAL ribbon used above 10khz for supertweeter duties. a 230 liter cabinet is a 320lb monster made out of solid walnut. i've never heard such a stunning clarity and transparency from a tannoy derived speaker - it just assured me once again how important is a cabinet quality for tannoys.

http://www.nnacoustics.com/p_masterpiece.php

m_4.jpg
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Thanks for posting this speaker up.

l love Tannoy Westys and as a previous owner of D700's, this speaker really takes my fancy. Did you happen to take any photos, and is the RRP 12 or 18k as l see various prices mentioned in this thread. l am determined to hear these for myself one day.

One can dream l guess :)

Cheers Mondie
 
Mondie said:
Thanks for posting this speaker up.

l love Tannoy Westys and as a previous owner of D700's, this speaker really takes my fancy. Did you happen to take any photos, and is the RRP 12 or 18k as l see various prices mentioned in this thread. l am determined to hear these for myself one day.

One can dream l guess :)

Cheers Mondie
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Mondie you could have a pair for not much more than a tenth of the price if you are prepared to DIY.
The drivers in question crop up on ebay all the time as CPA15's-you just have to recone the bass as a 3833 type and Bobs yer auntie!
The crossovers couldn't be simpler either just a resistor and cap on the hf and a couple of caps and a big coil on the bass.All the info you need is here http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/tannoy/
 

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