Anybody Know What These Old Tannoy's Are?

[Witterings]

A friend pulled some old speakers out of the loft, they don't seem to have a model number on them .... does anybody know what they are and if they were any good in their day.

Also if speakers have been in the loft for a number of years are they likely to have deteriorated / what effect it'll have on the sound.

Personally I think he'll probably junk them anyway as they're not really in keeping with his house anymore.

 

[Revolutions]

Might be 611?

 

[podknocker]

A friend pulled some old speakers out of the loft, they don't seem to have a model number on them .... does anybody know what they are and if they were any good in their day.

Also if speakers have been in the loft for a number of years are they likely to have deteriorated / what effect it'll have on the sound.

Personally I think he'll probably junk them anyway as they're not really in keeping with his house anymore.

611

I had a pair of 603 on the end of a Kenwood KA3020 back in 1991 to 1995 or thereabouts.

The amp struggled and clipped and I destroyed the speakers, as they were a very tricky load.

Next up were the 605 and 607 and 609 all on stands.

There was also a short lived 605 LE, but I never heard or even saw these anywhere.

The 611 were floorstanders with the 2 drivers (one having the tweeter in its throat)

The 613 were the same, but with a second bass driver.

I had the 609 MK2 on stands YEARS ago and they were OK.

I always longed for a pair of 611 MK2 but never had the funds.

They did sound amazeballs in the shop.

Tell your friend to keep them, clean them and use them!

If the cones have not perished and cracked, they'll sound great.

 

[Witterings]

Brilliant .... cheers guy!!

How will I know if the cone's gone, will it be the sound or looking at, I'm guessing lookng if you say cracked?

@podknocker .... just copied and pasted your comments to him and he replied and said .... looks like I've found a buyer for them

 

[podknocker]

Brilliant .... cheers guy!!

How will I know if the cone's gone, will it be the sound or looking at, I'm guessing lookng if you say cracked?

@podknocker .... just copied and pasted your comments to him and he replied and said .... looks like I've found a buyer for them

If every surface is cleaned up carefully and then they're fired up and your friend likes them, he might not sell them!

I keep looking for brand new speakers, boxed and never used, from decades ago. It's nearly an impossible task.

 

[Jasonovich]

A friend pulled some old speakers out of the loft, they don't seem to have a model number on them .... does anybody know what they are and if they were any good in their day.

Also if speakers have been in the loft for a number of years are they likely to have deteriorated / what effect it'll have on the sound.

Personally I think he'll probably junk them anyway as they're not really in keeping with his house anymore.

Definitely in the Tannoy 6XX series 609 611?

 

[podknocker]

If I remember correctly, the original range had a marble effect on the top, a bit like my original Sennheiser HD600 cans. The Mk2 Tannoys had a plain black top surface.

 

[Witterings]

He's also dug out a Kenwood KR A5040 https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/kenwood/kr-a5040.shtml

I'm going to buzz round one evening with a WiiM mini I'm not using snd set it up so he can have an evening of nostalgia

 

[davidf]

Sold tons of those 611s floorstanders back in the day. For the £400 that they were, there was nothing else around with the bass they could produce, save for maybe TDL. Lots of people liked them because they were typical boxes.

 

[Mr HiFi]

Yes, they are definitely original Tannoy 611, not the MkII. Very good speaker, upper driver is dual concentric midrange/treble, lower driver is bass only. Bi-wireable too with a very clever sliding link built into the terminals.
They do need a very good amp though, sorry but the Kenwood receiver isn't really good enough for them, IMHO.
The cones and surrounds are like a polymer rubber and AFAIK they don't suffer from driver rot like a lot of older speakers. Of course, that doesn't mean they aren't blown, they could have been partied or overdriven (by a not so good amp) and the voice coils could be burnt out or overheated, warped and rubbing.
Far too good to throw away, I'll buy them off your friend, so long as they are somewhere in the North of England, so I can pick them up.

 

[Cricketbat70]

Yes, they are definitely original Tannoy 611, not the MkII. Very good speaker, upper driver is dual concentric midrange/treble, lower driver is bass only. Bi-wireable too with a very clever sliding link built into the terminals.
They do need a very good amp though, sorry but the Kenwood receiver isn't really good enough for them, IMHO.
The cones and surrounds are like a polymer rubber and AFAIK they don't suffer from driver rot like a lot of older speakers. Of course, that doesn't mean they aren't blown, they could have been partied or overdriven (by a not so good amp) and the voice coils could be burnt out or overheated, warped and rubbing.
Far too good to throw away, I'll buy them off your friend, so long as they are somewhere in the North of England, so I can pick them up.

My local hifi shop (Wilkinson's Hifi, Nelson, Lancashire) had a pair of them a few months ago, in their ever growing collection of second hand equipment. I just thought " I wanted a pair back in the day, I wish I could afford them now"

 

[Witterings]

Far too good to throw away, I'll buy them off your friend, so long as they are somewhere in the North of England, so I can pick them up.

Unfortunately about as far from the North as you can get, 500 yds South and we'd be swimming

 

[Jasonovich]

Unfortunately about as far from the North as you can get, 500 yds South and we'd be swimming

I can hear the flock of sea gulls hovering above the air! Fish and chips any one?

 

[podknocker]

It won't be tartar sauce on your fish and chips, with those seagulls flying around.

 

[podknocker]

I've always liked dual concentric, polypropylene speakers. I had a pair of KEF Q35.2 and loved them.

I do wonder why there are very few speakers with this setup, for better dispersion etc.

It must be expense, but once you've done it, it then gets cheaper, surely?

 

[Jasonovich]

It won't be tartar sauce on your fish and chips, with those seagulls flying around.

I hope they don't charge me extra for that!