Tannoy XT6f; Terrible bright!

[loneranger]

I had for a few days the Tannoy XT6f at home. It is the only place to know if speakers good for me or not. At a dealer it is for me impossible. But i so hoped the Tannoy where the right speakers, but not. They have lovely ritme and drive, but vocals are so bright i can not listen to it. Van den Hul cables had no effect. And the Tannoy are not full bodied. Monitor audio has a name to be on the bright side, but sounded much warmer and fuller. Also; the Tannoy goed back to the dealer. Can't understand why WHF found this a best buy.

A hifi recensent on the internet advice me speakers with soft dome tweeter and a warmish sound. Het advice a Dali zensor 5 or 7.

My amp is a Exposure 3010S2 and music rock, pop.

 

[rainsoothe]

I had for a few days the Tannoy XT6f at home. It is the only place to know if speakers good for me or not. At a dealer it is for me impossible. But i so hoped the Tannoy where the right speakers, but not. They have lovely ritme and drive, but vocals are so bright i can not listen to it. Van den Hul cables had no effect. And the Tannoy are not full bodied. Monitor audio has a name to be on the bright side, but sounded much warmer and fuller. Also; the Tannoy goed back to the dealer. Can't understand why WHF found this a best buy.

A hifi recensent on the internet advice me speakers with soft dome tweeter and a warmish sound. Het advice a Dali zensor 5 or 7.

My amp is a Exposure 3010S2 and music rock, pop.

Nothing beats auditioning for yourself. In my experience, the Zensor floorstanders are pretty sluggish in the bass department, but maybe the fast Exposure can fix that (although I doubt it). Also, the material used in the tweeters is of little relevance - for instance, B&W CM5 are some of the softest sounding speakers (in the highs department) I've heard. Kef R300 are also mushy sounding imo, and their tweeter is also made of alluminium. On the opposite side of the scale, PMC Twenty 23 for instance can sound very ear-piercing, even if they don't employ a metal tweeter (I think!).

I would suggest trying your Exposure with Focal Aria 906 (or 926), Kef R500, Monitor Audio Silver 6, and maybe Golden Ear Triton speakers and Sonus Faber Venere range.

 

[Al ears]

I had for a few days the Tannoy XT6f at home. It is the only place to know if speakers good for me or not. At a dealer it is for me impossible. But i so hoped the Tannoy where the right speakers, but not. They have lovely ritme and drive, but vocals are so bright i can not listen to it. Van den Hul cables had no effect. And the Tannoy are not full bodied. Monitor audio has a name to be on the bright side, but sounded much warmer and fuller. Also; the Tannoy goed back to the dealer. Can't understand why WHF found this a best buy.

A hifi recensent on the internet advice me speakers with soft dome tweeter and a warmish sound. Het advice a Dali zensor 5 or 7.

My amp is a Exposure 3010S2 and music rock, pop.

Nothing beats auditioning for yourself. In my experience, the Zensor floorstanders are pretty sluggish in the bass department, but maybe the fast Exposure can fix that (although I doubt it). Also, the material used in the tweeters is of little relevance - for instance, B&W CM5 are some of the softest sounding speakers (in the highs department) I've heard. Kef R300 are also mushy sounding imo, and their tweeter is also made of alluminium. On the opposite side of the scale, PMC Twenty 23 for instance can sound very ear-piercing, even if they don't employ a metal tweeter (I think!).

I would suggest trying your Exposure with Focal Aria 906 (or 926), Kef R500, Monitor Audio Silver 6, and maybe Golden Ear Triton speakers and Sonus Faber Venere range.

I would suggest playing with the positioning. When I heard the Tannoys I found them pretty neutral. If you have them tied-in try them straight.

Otherwise the Sonus Fabers suggested would be a good alternative.

 

[BigH]

Check they are in phase as well, don't just go by the +/- signs. Best way is turn amp off and switch one of the speakers cables around.

 

[TomSawyer]

I agree with all of the above, particularly positioning. I've had two pairs of Tannoy dual concentrics and have found them best facing flat front. The tweeters seem incredibly directional to me so turning the speaker allows you to choose how much or little tweeter you want in your mix.

Also, give them time to break-in. The compliant components in the main drivers will take more time than the tweeter to get to full movement which again will swing the mix in favour of the lower frequencies.

 

[drummerman]

Got the March review of Hi-fi World in front of me. Rising treble and bass output by +2 and +3db respectively.

Off-axis listening recommended.

 

[loneranger]

Can you place this? Whar Are rheir conclusions?

 

[emperor's new clothes]

Hi Loneranger,

I dismissed the Tannoys - liked the bass & timing, hated the treble.

Needless to say, I would revisit the Opticons. In 9 months of listening to Radio Paradise 320AAC through Pink Floyd on CD to Beethoven on SACD, I have never winced or felt fatigued from long listening sessions.

 

[loneranger]

It's a shame. But the brightness is too much. Otherwise perfect. Oh, it could Have More Body and a what Warner Sound. Ma silver also on the brightness side. I Will now look at dali opticon 5 or 6 and zensor.

 

[gasolin]

dali zensor are also bright speakers

 

[loneranger]

I thought they are warm and Soft and the opticon are a little brighter.

 

[gasolin]

I thought they are warm and Soft and the opticon are a little brighter.

Dali zensor?

 

[loneranger]

Yes

 

[loneranger]

Yes; or maybe Q acoustics 3050.

 

[pyrrhon]

You remind me a lot of... me. I really found a lot of speakers agressive for my ears even some largely known for their laid back sound. But in the end the piece of gear that remove hardness in upper mids/treble was an amp then better source. Now have a tube phono preamp and I can taylor the sound with cartridge load adjustement. Good luck finding your perfect gear. Take a while sometimes.

 

[rainsoothe]

Yes; or maybe Q acoustics 3050.

now those are bright!

 

[MajorFubar]

I haven't got a suggestion to add to the list, but I do have an observation that by far the biggest complaint on here regarding the tonal balance of modern budget-to-midrange loudspeakers is that they are too bright/brash/forward. Now I'm not saying they all are, but when a complaint comes in on the forum, it's far more likely to be concerning a brash/lean tonal balance than e.g. too much bass. I think a lot of it is to do with the acoustics of modern living spaces: fewer soft furnishings, laminated floors and bare unpainted walls leading to livelier acoustics than the Abbey Road echo chamber. But that doesn't explain it all. There definitely seems to be a deliberate shift in the tonal balance some manufacturers aim for at these price points, and from the perspective that they put a lot of research and money into the voicing of their speakers, this has been a deliberate decision. But who is it aimed at pleasing? Could it even be because a lot of speakers at the more affordable price points are built in overseas markets such as China, and their tonal preferences are markedly different to ours?

 

[Alberich]

I haven't got a suggestion to add to the list, but I do have an observation that by far the biggest complaint on here regarding the tonal balance of modern budget-to-midrange loudspeakers is that they are too bright/brash/forward. Now I'm not saying they all are, but when a complaint comes in on the forum, it's far more likely to be concerning a brash/lean tonal balance than e.g. too much bass. I think a lot of it is to do with the acoustics of modern living spaces: fewer soft furnishings, laminated floors and bare unpainted walls leading to livelier acoustics than the Abbey Road echo chamber. But that doesn't explain it all. There definitely seems to be a deliberate shift in the tonal balance some manufacturers aim for at these price points, and from the perspective that they put a lot of research and money into the voicing of their speakers, this has been a deliberate decision. But who is it aimed at pleasing? Could it even be because a lot of speakers at the more affordable price points are built in overseas markets such as China, and their tonal preferences are markedly different to ours?

Agree with a lot of that,
In our pursuit of good sound reproduction we are at odds with the hard and reflective surfaces that surround us in a lot of our modern living spaces.
We seem as a society to be going down the road of brighter/shinier is better and my own personal opinion is that mentality has inevitably crept into the voicing of a lot of budget/midrange audio.
It seems a lot of the time SQ can play second fiddle to the lifestyle appeal of a product.

 

[Blackdawn]

Well if you look at bookshelf speakers, since around the 1980's they have been getting smaller with smaller main drivers and smaller cabinets. This is bound to impact on the sound so that the treble is more noticable and bass less so.

To the op try the new Wharfedale Reva's or Castle's Avon speakers.

 

[drummerman]

Can you place this? Whar Are rheir conclusions?

4 globes

 

[loneranger]

I think i wil now go for Monitor audio Silver 6.

 

[Native_bon]

You remind me a lot of... me. I really found a lot of speakers agressive for my ears even some largely known for their laid back sound. But in the end the piece of gear that remove hardness in upper mids/treble was an amp then better source. Now have a tube phono preamp and I can taylor the sound with cartridge load adjustement. Good luck finding your perfect gear. Take a while sometimes. 

Same here. I find most well know names sounding really unbalanced. I Dn't even trust the measurements. I had to get away from mainstream to get the right speaker within budget.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Yes; or maybe Q acoustics 3050.

now those are bright!

I've always felt the Q Acoustics to be fairly well balanced, with equivalent models from other manufacturers sounding bright in comparison to the Q Acoustics.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Could it even be because a lot of speakers at the more affordable price points are built in overseas markets such as China, and their tonal preferences are markedly different to ours?

WHAT?!! You mean people aren't choosing accuracy over preference on a global scale?!! Whatever next?!!

 

[Native_bon]

Yes; or maybe Q acoustics 3050.

now those are bright!

I've always felt the Q Acoustics to be fairly well balanced, with equivalent models from other manufacturers sounding bright in comparison to the Q Acoustics.

I agree. The Q acoustics are very warm and musical speakers. Bass can sound heavy if not totally clear from corners. The 3050's have a very opened sound but never bright.

Edit: They can sound unbalanced occasionally, sound thin but not bright