SHOOT ME A LINK

I mentioned the tonal switches on the front and back of the monitors. Also around the back are a few additional nifty inclusions. There’s the choice of jack or XLR inputs, a power saving mode along with a very handy minijack input mode.

You can plug your device straight into one of the monitors via the supplied (and long) cable, then you link the two monitors with a second supplied (and long) cable. A switch on the back panel allows you to elect the primary loudspeaker as the left or right monitor.

Some might question the use of the minijack cable. But it’s genius. The primary connection is always likely to be balanced but if a client bring in a song on a phone you can easily pipe that into your system. Or, if you’re a peripatetic sound person (ie. always on the move) you can very easily set the Tannoy Gold monitors into position and take the headphone output of your laptop. I know this type of arrangement isn’t unique, but it’s the first time this has really made sense to me in a pair of serious studio monitors.

THE SOUND

Tannoy rates the Gold 7’s frequency response from 65Hz – 20kHz ±3dB. To my ears they sound fuller than that. Interestingly, Hifi Next measured them flat-ish down to 50Hz which has more of the ring of truth for me, even if Tannoy quotes the 7s as 10dB down at 50Hz. Either way, the Gold 7s have a big, full sound in the nearfield. And balanced. There’s nothing flabby or out of whack. Being Tannoy dual concentrics, there’s an easy-listening quality to the Gold 7s — there’s nothing taxing about them over extended listening and like many Tannoy studio monitors before them, could happily double as a hi-fi speaker. 

The promise of point source studio monitors is superior stereo imaging, and the Gold 7s don’t disappoint. The 90-degree dispersion and point source, phase-coherent arrangement of the drivers deliver a forgiving sweetspot and detailed sound stage. 

One of the traditional dual-concentric trade-offs is some mid-frequency confusion. The other dual-concentric ‘gotcha’ is horn throat distortion which Tannoy has addressed with the two additional cylinders. But to my ear, the result is well balanced, revealing and pleasing.

Of course, I’m talking from the perspective of a A$1000 pair of monitors. And the Gold 7s remind with (okay, with rose-tinted glasses) of my happy times with a pair of Tannoy System 600s back in the late ’90s.

FUTURE’S BRIGHT

I think I’m most pleased by the engineering that’s gone into the Gold 7s. These monitors, with their Tulip throated waveguides, carry a dual-concentric DNA that dates back to the late 1940s. There’s a lot of commercial, lab-coated smarts amassed over that time, and the fact that Music Tribe hasn’t mothballed that knowledge, or at best cynically trotted out a dual-concentric-lite version of it but has chosen to invest in it? Well… it’s enough to bring a lump to this grizzled reviewer’s throat.

Are they flawless, no-compromise monitors? No, but they offer a compelling alternative to the A$1000-ish/pair active two-ways on the market.

A minor point: they’re not magnetically shielded, so be careful about placing them too close to your old CRT monitor (okay, or your hard disk backups).

And finally, you can make up your own mind about the Gold aesthetic. Personally, I’m down with the sunken lounge, ‘70s hi-fi vibe. Certainly, those people in my life who wouldn’t normally bat an eyelid at yet another studio monitor through the door have all commented on the Gold 7s. Make of that what you will!

What I think we can all agree on is how cool it is to see the retro ‘lighting bolt’ Tannoy branding making a return. It’s nice to be reminded that the gear we use today comes with heritage and I’ve no doubt the company forefathers would be proud of the latest crop of dual concentric speakers that proudly bear the Tannoy name.

VXP8

Starting with the smallest speaker I got to try, the VXP8 presents as a conveniently-sized (388x280x275mm), conventionally-shaped cabinet with a rounded, perforated steel grille, with Airnet cloth behind it for protection from flying drinks. At 10kg it’s not heavy but without any handles whatsoever it’s still a two-handed exercise to pick it up. The rear of the cabinet has 30° angled panels and if another VXP8 is placed so the angled panels are touching it creates an array with minimal overlap between speakers — handy if you’re using the speakers in an array but it means the speaker can’t be used as a floor monitor (unless the performers are far enough away for the 30° angle to work). Most portable speakers have a 40-45° angle on at least one side for floor use. So it makes the VXP8 a speaker that is either pole-mounted or mounted using the four M10 yoke bracket inserts, and that restricts it to small FOH duties, possibly sidefills, or installations.

Connections are made towards the bottom of the non-recessed rear panel and the plugs do stick out, inviting accidental damage in some situations. In keeping with its professional focus there is only one line-level XLR input socket, an XLR link socket, a level pot, and a 90Hz HPF for situations where a sub is being used. LEDs indicate power, signal present and limit/protect. Operating power is supplied via a PowerCon lead and while these make good lockable connections, you’re in trouble if you don’t have one or leave it behind… there’s something to be said for good old IEC kettle leads, and they can be lockable. A handy feature is the universal power supply that will operate with power between 70-250V, 50/60Hz. Beside the power on switch there’s a choice between manual and auto power modes. In the power-saving auto mode the speaker switches itself to standby mode after 20 minutes of no signal.

The sound is the important thing though, and when you fire the VXP8 up you very soon forget that it’s got no handles. The voicing is great; warm and inviting with a surprisingly generous low mid-range for an eight-inch woofer. The specs claim -3dB points at 80Hz and a dog-calling 35kHz. The mids are smooth, detailed and pleasantly subdued between 2-4kHz, so SM58s don’t bite too much. Compared to the high-mids, the high frequencies are relatively forward and the overall result is a speaker that is firm and crisp on vocals, without harshness. Music playback sounds full-bodied and clear. The VXP8 is also very resistant to feedback; a testament to its smooth frequency response, especially off-axis. I liked the amp too; it’s quiet at idle, delivers plenty of clean power and even at high levels it sounds like it’s operating well within its limits. Interestingly, no figures are quoted for amplifier power for any active speakers in the range, which reminds me of how Rolls Royce used to respond to questions about how much power their engines developed: “sufficient”.

A lot of the credit for the sound of these speakers goes to the dual-concentric horn, and in many ways it defines the sound of the whole VX/VXP range. The point-source driver delivers a sound that is natural and coherent, with excellent intelligibility. The conical 90° dispersion pattern ensures a listening area that is wide and even through both vertical and horizontal planes. Even the off-axis response is well-controlled and they sound okay right around the cabinet; unlike some powered boxes of this size that want to take off in the low-mids if you walk around the back of the cabinet with a live mic in hand.

VXP12

Next up is the VXP12 and the good vibes continue with a speaker that shares much with its little brother but is bigger and louder. Physically it’s about twice as big (486 x 370 x 360mm) and almost twice as heavy at 19kg. Most of the cabinet is made from the same 15mm birch plywood but the front panel has been strengthened with 18mm plywood. It’s almost the same shape as the VXP8 but with two important improvements: it’s got a handle on the top of the rear panel and a 40° angled panel on one side so it can be used as a wedge. The handle is comfortable and makes it quite easy to carry the speaker in one hand, despite its weight. The angled panel and size of the speaker make it a natural for a foldback wedge. Looking from FOH it’s not as low profile as some wedges but appears just right from the performer’s side, and because of the dual-concentric horn you don’t have to worry about which side the horn is on when you place it on stage. A pole mount is provided for FOH or club use, as are eight M10 flying inserts and eight M10 yoke brackets inserts. The rear panel offers the same controls and connections as the VXP8 but this time they are half recessed.

The VXP12 voicing is similar to the VXP8 with the difference being a little more bite to the horn and low-end that reaches further down, with -3dB for the low end quoted at 70Hz. It’s about 6dB louder too and combined with the floor wedge angle it’s more versatile. I used it as the centre wedge at a medium-level show featuring local performers John Trager and Chooka Parker (of AGT fame) and found it to be clean and stable, even with condenser mics for vocals, and I was able to get good levels without any external EQ. At higher levels it seemed to get unstable right in the middle slightly more readily then the VXP8, and for full rock some external EQ might be needed to extract maximum level. Again it was impressive how the dual concentric design created an even listening area. Moving around in front of the speaker the sound was very consistent; most speakers are beamier on-axis with a noticeable change to the sound when you move slightly off-axis. The next weekend it was treated to a drive in the country, all the way to Beechworth for the annual Kelly Country Pick, where I used it as a delay speaker for the Friday and Saturday night concerts. These acoustic music events demand nothing but pure vocal/instrumental sounds and the VXP12’s warmth, accurate detail and even coverage was ideal for the event. The VXP12 could be confidently used as a FOH speaker in small venues or as part of a high-powered music playback system in clubs, cinemas or other installs.

VX12.2Q

The VX12.2Q is a big, heavy speaker at 370 x 780 x 360mm and 33.5kg with an internal volume of 59 litres. Inside there are two 12-inch woofers, the top one has the dual-concentric horn, the bottom one is crossed over at 300Hz to provide extra punch in the low end. The VX12.2Q is supplied as a passive speaker with an internal crossover and recommended amp power of 1kW program. If greater headroom is required it can be re-wired for bi-amped operation. For greater control, or use with sub speakers, the optional Tannoy TX1/TDX2 controller/crossovers provide high-pass filtering, parametric EQ and a sub-crossover. The TDX2 also includes limiting and delay.

The size and weight of the VX12.2Q means some planning is required to move it around. There are handles on the top and bottom of the rear of the cabinet and they’re well placed for a dead lift and carry. For short distances it can be picked up by the top handle and shuffled along. Construction is the same as the powered speakers from the VXP line but I suspect it has more internal bracing as its feels dense and resonance free. On the rear there’s a recessed panel housing two Speakon NL4MP sockets and a barrier strip for connecting the speaker lead.

Designed as either a FOH or foldback speaker the VX12.2Q has a 40° angled panel for wedge use, as well as a pole-mount, eight M10 flying points and eight M10 yoke bracket inserts. It’s too heavy to put on a crappy speaker stand, and I’d hate to drop one of these on a punter, but the larger, heavy-duty stands should be safe enough. I think these are really too big and heavy to be considered for portable, speakers-on-sticks systems and they’re better suited to equipment-supply professionals or permanent installations. The VX12.2Q is fitted with the Tannoy’s newly developed Q-Centric waveguide that gives a dispersion pattern of 75° x 40°. By removing the front grille and loosening the bolts the whole speaker can be rotated so the 75° x 40° pattern is either in the horizontal or vertical plane.

In use, the VX12.2Q is loud and powerful. The voicing is similar to the powered versions; surprisingly so considering the powered speakers in the range have in-built amps and DSP. The Q-Centric waveguide effectively controls the dispersion pattern without noticeably changing the sound quality and the smoothness across the listening area remains. The bass response is strong and even, though it’s -3dB point is listed at 70Hz (the same as the VXP12) it sounds like there’s more low-end grunt at higher levels. It also responds well to added low frequency EQ, eliminating the need for a sub-woofer in many situations. I used the VX12.2Q as a floor wedge for Renee Geyer at the Castlemaine Theatre Royal recently and combined it with an Audio-Technica AE5400 handheld condenser microphone. Renee wasn’t at the soundcheck, and she has a reputation for being demanding, so I set it up to my ear and hoped she would like it. Before the show we worked out hand signals for more or less volume and more or less reverb in the wedge. The show started and she was singing as if she liked the sound. No signals were received through the first song and none at the end either, so I was hopeful it was good for her. Half-way through the second song I got a smile, the thumbs-up and a mouthed, “Don’t change it.” Chalk one up to the Tannoy VX12.2Q, another happy customer.

CONCENTRIC COOL

There are more speakers from the series that I didn’t try but hearing these three models left me confident the sound quality would be consistent across the range. The Dual Concentric driver design is a winner and differentiates these speakers from the competition. The Lab.gruppen amps in the active models provide plenty of clean power, and because the rear panel acts as a heat disperser, they don’t have cooling fans. So at idle they are quiet both electrically and physically. The cooling seems effective, in normal use they only get warm to the touch, but I didn’t have them sitting outside all day in the full Australian sunshine. The VX/VXP series are not designed for performers supplying their own sound reinforcement at shows; it’s hard to imagine anyone not enjoying the fidelity but they are probably too expensive (except for cover bands, who always seem to have expensive gear), too heavy and they don’t even have mic level inputs or RCA sockets for iPods etc. They are designed for professional users and installations and for these purposes they will deliver very high-quality sound in demanding situations. Though with the custom finish choices, an all-weather spec available, and five year warranty, many bases are well and truly covered. The frequency response and ‘British’ voicing will ensure great results for live music, voice amplification and music playback without the necessity of extra EQ or processing. Nice one, Mr Tannoy.