Tannoy: Older vs Newer

[richie60]

Last year I bought the Tannoy DC6T loudspeakers. Didn't get on with them at all, I thought they sounded a bit weak bass wise, and the treble was not very well extended. I experimented with positioning, toe-in vs toe-out, distance from rear wall etc, even tried them in another room. Nothing could make these sound any better to my ears, so I sold them on.

Out of curiosity, I wanted to try another Tannoy from the older range, so I got hold of a pair of Tannoy Profile 636 floorstanders. What a difference! These speakers have the bass, the slam and a nice clean extended treble, not too harsh. I could listen to these for hours. I can't fathom how a newer Tannoy which is supposed to be an improvement sounded worse than an older model, and these are speakers that get excellent reviews all over the internet.

These old Tannoy 636's are keepers!

 

[MeanandGreen]

Some may say that the DC6T is a more refined speaker and that the profile 636 is more exaggerated and 'V shaped' with their sound.

Someone else may say that the 636 sounds punchy and exciting and the DC6T boring. We all have different perceptions of what sounds good to us. It's also heavily dependent on how your room and speakers interact and how your amplifier gels with them.

I've been seriously considering going up the ladder from my Tannoy Mercury V4 floorstanders. The only real criticism I have with them is that as you say with the DC6T the treble seems to lack extension.

In saying that though I only really feel this is an issue if I've spent a decent amount of time prior listening to my Beyerdynamic DT-770 headphones. Some say my headphones have slightly 'V shaped' sound, but to me they sound utterly sublime. My speakers cannot give me the same bite in the treble by comparison.

However if I don't use my headphones for a while my Tannoys sound very well balanced and never unpleasant or fatiguing, yet still crisp and clear. I then start thinking that I'm wasting my time considering blowing about a grand on upgrading them as it would be pointless as I get a lot of pleasure from them and I know their sound inside out.

Sorry for the waffle there, I'm hopefully making myself clear?

I really do think it's got a lot to do with perception and preference. It sounds like the DC6T just weren't your taste or they didn't gel in your environment. The great thing is you've found a pair of speakers you enjoy!