Tannoy S300 Cabs

[ichilton]

Hi,

 

We have some (4x) Tannoy S300 cabs sat around but for some reason they dont seem to be listed in the archive section on the Tannoy site.

 

Is anyone able to tell me the specification of these and what specification of amp should be used with them?

 

Thanks,

 

Ian

[boswell]

A simple phone call to Tannoy should get you the info, they are very helpful.

[ichilton]

Thanks - I've e-mailed them so I'll see if they come back and if not give them a call.

 

Ian

[McIvy]

Excellent top of range Dual-Concentric speakers, bar not many, but have you tried lifting them recently? The one reason why they were not more popular.

 

Were and still are installed in several esoteric worldwide venues.

 

However, they are very well sought after and there are many Tannoy officianados around the globe still using and seeking.

 

In their standard form, these are switchable Passive/Active, but there were several derivations. I think that I am right in saying that these have now evolved into the current V300. Same drivers. updated cab. See Tannoy website for specs.

 

Tannoy tend to quote acceptable amplifier ratings rather than a specific speaker W/RMS, but generally we used to consider them as 300/8 Ohm boxes when run passively. I guess the model number gives it away!

 

We had, until recently a large system of S300/B400+950 and the sonic quality was simply outstanding. It was just that the crew refused to fly it!

 

Still have a pair, some spare drivers and the flat openback S250 versions lying around ourselves. Got a bit of a soft spot for 'em!

[stu00c]

Tannoy tend to quote acceptable amplifier ratings rather than a specific speaker W/RMS, but generally we used to consider them as 300/8 Ohm boxes when run passively. I guess the model number gives it away!

 

The 300 in the model number is related to the driver size in mm, not the power handling. An S250 had a 10", the B400 a 15" and the B950 2 x 18".

 

The SuperDuals are great sounding boxes and well worth powering them with an equally nice amplifier.

 

Interesting factoid... the same driver that resides in the S300 was used in the original Tannoy Kingdom, their one time flagship hi-fi speaker.

 

Stuart

[McIvy]

Slightly interesting aside.......... we've got some S250 SuperDuals with the 12" driver in and others with the 10"..........

 

Nevertheless, as Stuart says.......... cracking audio

 

McIvy

[ichilton]

Hi,

 

They do weigh a ton! - especially with the brackets they were flown in - you could hardly lift one off the floor on your own, let alone carry it!

 

We have 4x S300's and 2x subs (which look like the pictures of the B400 referred to above so it's possibly those).

 

Interesting comments re-the sound.

 

We had them hung in an 1100 seater church auditorium for about 15 years. They were installed when the building was built and any professional advice we had was always that they were completely the wrong thing to have in there and for our use (and they always referred to the dual concentric cone that was mentioned above). We replaced the speaker cable from the electrical type stuff that was original used to some quality stuff (which was kept when we upgraded to the new d&b rig!) and the desk from some old Yamaha digital's to a 48-channel Yamaha analogue desk but obviously it's quite an investment to replace the whole front of house and something we've been through many times.

 

This year, however we managed to have the budget approved and have replaced them with a d&b Q-Series rig (4x Q7's, 2x Q1 and 2x Qi-Sub's) powered by d&b amp's (3x D6's and a D12 for the subs), hence the Tannoy's being spare.

 

We re-cycled the rack and amplifiers from them (PSL) as a monitor rack so I'm thinking in the future it would be good to invest in some new amps (either for the Tannoys or for the monitor rack so the old ones can go back with the Tannoys) and some speaker stands and it would make an ok PA for another room where required.

 

The advice we had was they were the wrong thing to use in the application we had them in, so with regards to your comments about the quality of them, what kind of uses or environments would they be ideal for - and in those, how would they compare to the likes of EV, Nexo, L'Acoustics and d&b rigs?

 

(in my head, d&b would be the best sounding of those, followed by Nexo and L'Acoustics stuff and EV at the bottom of the pile).

 

Thanks,

 

Ian

 

 

PS: Tannoy replied to the e-mail enquiry and sent the spec sheet through.

 

 

 

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.

 

Here are some pics of the Tannoy's in service before they were taken down:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51961538@N02/...in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51961538@N02/...in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51961538@N02/...in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51961538@N02/...in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51961538@N02/...in/photostream/

 

and the new d&b rig:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51961538@N02/...in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51961538@N02/...in/photostream/

[stu00c]

Hi Ian,

 

I wouldn't say that the S300 was the totally wrong thing to use in your application unless the room was especially challenging from an acoustic point of view. In highly reverberant spaces, you would be looking at using a device with good pattern control i.e. large format horns and therefore a Dual Concentric isn't the right thing. I may be wrong, but from your photos, I would not expect the room not to suffer from excessive RTs.

 

Did you feel that the loudspeakers were not up to the job yourself?

 

The S300 in its day was used by a number of high profile theatre sound designers such as Martin Levan and as such were a common fixture in west end shows. I have also come across these speakers in conference venues and even the odd bar and nightclub. The T300 that displaced the S300 from the Tannoy line up had a slightly different driver and was much more successful in the nightclub market and less so in the theatre market. I believe the current SuperDual product, the V300 uses the same (or at least very similar) driver to the S300.

 

Excuse my cynicism, but I suspect that the people offering you advice will have had a vested interest in selling you a new system so weren't going to say that your current one was fit for purpose.

 

In a past life, I worked for Tannoy and shootouts against D&B were a common occurrence. In most instances, the Tannoy products would win such contests. This was, however when D&B wasn't as fashionable as it is today.

 

Stuart

[ichilton]

Hi,

 

Interesting, thanks.

 

The acoustics in the room aren't great - the walls round the auditorium are brick and white painted which a white painted back wall.

 

We had some independent advice too and the general verdict from everyone was pretty much the same.

 

The main problems with them were they were quite harsh sounding, there were dead spots in the room and in particular they didn't reach all the way to the back of the hall so there was a point about 3-4 rows from the back where taking a step forward or back would produce a completely different sound.

 

(obviously down more to the installation issue than the cabs themselves from what you are saying about the quality)

 

Thanks,

 

Ian

[McIvy]

Ian,

 

It sounds as though you were running the system without Controllers or Management. They can sound a touch harsh being driven flat, but we used our old system with the Tannoy/TC Electronic Digital Controller, which gives that sprinkle of magic! (D&B need controlling too, of course!)

 

I'd recommend you use the Tannoy Controller or an XTA/ BSS generic for the future. You won't be disappointed.

 

You hit the nail on the head with your comment on throw to the back of the room. Not a Tannoy dual concentric strongpoint, though more recently addressed in the new VQ series. That's probably why you were advised that they were the wrong tool.

 

Do your D&B's cover all areas evenly and reach the back rows?

 

Lastly, your bins are indeed B400's, very compact and punchy, though don't go down that far. Interestingly, they don't use a Tannoy original 15" driver, but a french PHL 400 watt unit that is extraordinarily efficient but expensive! Word of warning, they are delicate beasts, don't drop 'em or you'll shatter or shift the magnets! Also used in Nexo boxes.

 

McIvy

[PoppaDom]

A question here that may well be misplaced but in the setup shown in the photo's can you shed light on how your 4 x Q7 and 2 x Q1 system is currently setup?

I am struggling to picture this configuration of speakers being used in the room in the setup shown.

 

More for filling in a gap in my imagination than anything else.

 

<Also how loud are you running this to make a D12 on the subs worthwhile?>

 

Dom

 

Ok just re-read and saw your pictures of the D&B stuff. How does it sound like this? I can't get the Q7 horizontal coverage to work or the Q1 with the overlap into the Q7 at that angle in the array?!

Or am I missing something?

[ichilton]

It sounds as though you were running the system without Controllers or Management.

We were using it with an LEM DX26 Plus controller which at the time we got it was basically a cheap copy of an XTA...

 

Do your D&B's cover all areas evenly and reach the back rows?

Yep, they seem to.

 

A question here that may well be misplaced but in the setup shown in the photo's can you shed light on how your 4 x Q7 and 2 x Q1 system is currently setup?

The outfills on the side are Q7's and of the front facing ones, the Q7 is on the bottom and the Q1 on the top (to project the sound more to the rear of the room with the narrower dispersion).

 

Also how loud are you running this to make a D12 on the subs worthwhile?

I'm not sure why they specified a D12 for the subs and D6's for all the others but the speakers & amps were specified, installed and set-up by Wigwam.

 

Ian

[ichilton]

Sorry for dredging up a really old thread!

 

Anyone any vague idea roughly how much S300s and B400s would be worth nowadays?

 

Thanks,

 

Ian