Grounding Tannoy Precision 6.2 Speakers

[AntAxon]

In addition to being able to bi-wire the Tannoy Precision 6.2 speakers which I gather from this forum is not worth the expense there is also the option to ground the speakers using a fifth terminal. Tannoy claim that the coil of copper wire moving within a magnet can pick up radio waves and other interference which can be amplified through the loudspeaker.

When I turn the amplifier up close to the maximum using the phono and CD setting I can hear a buzzing sound through the speakers. I assume this is something to do with the transformer.

Or is some of this buzzing due to radiowaves or other interference? Would grounding the speakers reduce this buzzing?

 

[Gray]

In addition to being able to bi-wire the Tannoy Precision 6.2 speakers which I gather from this forum is not worth the expense there is also the option to ground the speakers using a fifth terminal. Tannoy claim that the coil of copper wire moving within a magnet can pick up radio waves and other interference which can be amplified through the loudspeaker.

When I turn the amplifier up close to the maximum using the phono and CD setting I can hear a buzzing sound through the speakers. I assume this is something to do with the transformer.

Or is some of this buzzing due to radiowaves or other interference? Would grounding the speakers reduce this buzzing?

To answer your last question - earthing the speakers will not have any effect on the buzzing you've described.

When you turn amps up close to max., you shouldn't be surprised to hear some hiss and low level hum. With open inputs (especially a phono input with the additional gain involved) this might be more of a buzz.

See what happens when you short out both CD RCA input sockets (centre pin to ground on each), select CD input on amp, then turn the volume right up.

Only make input connections with volume at minimum of course (otherwise you might not have any speakers left to earth)

 

[philpot1001]

Why are you taking the amp almost up to max? Anything past 12 o'clock would normally be loud enough I would have thought.....

anyhoo, I've just tried it with mine and it's utterly silent even up to max. It's possible you have dirty mains, it's being discussed in a number of other threads at present. Not sure if you can do anything about it.

 

[AntAxon]

Hi chaps, thanks for replying. I'm really not too worried about the humming, I would never use it at that volume anyway. I turned it up high as Tannoy said that grounding the speakers would eliminate radio interference so I figured the effect must be very small so I turned it up to amplify any interference. I remember my first record player, an Audition Stereo from Woolworths used to occassionally pick up the radio from passing taxis etc.

The amplifier only buzzes when I have selected the CD or Phono, if I have it set to USB or USB DAC there is no buzz at all.

I suppose what I really would like to know is if grounding the speakers would make any noticable difference? I gather that biwiring is a waste of time so I wondered if the same applied to grounding.

 

[philpot1001]

Never done it personally as I've never had the capability. It's almost certain the benefits would be small / 2nd order. That said, if you have the cable and banana plugs floating about why not go for it. If not I probably wouldn't bother too much.

FWIW I do bi-wire, but mainly because I like the look of it. Does it make any audible difference? Not beyond the possibility of it being placebo I would say

 

[philpot1001]

I would be interested in your opinion of the performance of the tannoy's with the PM8005?

 

[AntAxon]

I would be interested in your opinion of the performance of the tannoy's with the PM8005?

I'm probably not the best person to ask as I never demoed the Tannoy Precision 6.2's. They were are great price £800 reduced from just under £2000. The specfication too was impressive compared to other speakers in the £1000 price range. This is my third set of Tannoys, I like the sound and the build quality. My last set of speakers the Revolution DC6 SE were really good but they lacked the bass I was looking for.

The Precision 6.2's are really excellent there is very good sound separation and the bass, mid range and high frequencies are superb. I feel the speakers are probably the best bit of my system. The Marantz 8005 drives them really well. What impressed me was the Eagles, when Hell Freezes Over albulm, especially the Hotel California track. Another track which shows them to their best advantage is Die Another Day, I never really liked the track until I heard it on my system, There is a lot going on musically which you could miss with an inferior system.

One thing I have learnt from this forum is that the speakers make the most diiference to the sound quality of your HiFi. Having said that there seems to be a lot of differing opinions on speakers. It seems to be a very personal thing. The only way to tell if you would like them is to try them. Even then they can sound different depending on their environment.

I don't think I will ever upgrade the speakers, however I'm really interested in the Abrahamsen 2UP amp, I would really love to hear one.

Thanks or your views on grounding and biwiring by the way.