Steve, another Tannoy question....last one, I promise!

Steve, I need your help. Here is my problem. I've located a pair of Monitor Gold 12"s and a pair of Monitor Gold 15"s, both pre-'73 of course. The 12"s are going to cost me $900 and the 15"s are going to cost me $2100, so I've got a serious decision to make. The 15"s are in a matched pair factory Belvedere cabinet. The 12"s are in a much smaller cabinet. My room is only 11" x 13" and the guy who is selling the 15"s says that they may be too big sonically for the size of my room. Still, I want to experience the best that Tannoy has to offer and I don't want to compromise with the 12"s if I'm going to be missing out BIG TIME. If we are only talking about a little less bass, I think I can live with the 12"s. The impression I've gotten from you earlier is that the 15"s are more detailed and more efficient, though. Anyway, I also got these two comments on another board that I've posted in an earlier thread that I'm not sure if you've seen yet:


"I haven't heard the 12's first-hand, but I have heard from several sources that the 12" units actually sound better than the 15's, except for bass extension. Supposedly, the 15" woofer doesn't match up as seamlessly with the HF section, but as one would expect, it does go lower."

"I have no direct experience with the 12" but do own the 10" IIILZ Alnico Monitor Gold's and think they are just awesome. I will be receiving a pair of 15" Alnico Monitor Golds in the next week or so and can give you some more insight once I have those up and running.
If the 12" sounds anything like the 10" your in for a good time.

I bought my 10" Golds after meeting with Dr. Arthur Loesch about five years ago. He raved about the 10" Golds as being Gods gift to music lovers and he felt the 10" was the best followed by the 12" and lastly the 15"."


What should I do???? HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Well, the speakers are in Canada, so I'm sort of screwed in terms of hearing them first. It's not like I can't resell them if I don't like them, though. Steve, I've been living with a set of "audiophile" towers with 6" woofers that only do 40 Hz for so long, I can't imagine that a 12" woofer would leave me wanting more. What I am most concerned with is the magic mids and the efficiency for my tube amp. If the 12" Tannoys have these qualities and all the magic of the 15"s, but are simply missing the low, low bass, I could pontentially live with that. If you are saying that the 12" is a totally different animal and is simply not the same experience in terms of detail, imaging, and tonal quality, then I am not interested in them. I realize that you've said before not to bother with the 12"s, but I just want to know why. I was hoping you could elaborate a little on the differences between the two. I also hope that I'm not annoying you with all these Tannoy questions, it's just that I find your advice to be VERY helpful and infinitely valuable. It's not everyday that a guy gets to have his favorite mastering engineer help him choose a new pair of speakers.

 

I found out some information. Claimed bass response for the 12" Monitor Gold is 47 Hz while it is 26 Hz for the 15" Monitor Gold. The efficiency of the 12" is 93 db and 94 db for the 15". I still don't know about the mids and the specific differences in sound as I mentioned above. Steve, if you get a chance, let me know. I've asked a lot of people and I've received a lot of opinions, but it's yours that really matters to me.

 

Didn't mean to put you on the spot, Steve. It's just that I view you as an authority on sound and your advice means more to me than any number of replies and answers I get on various boards. If you had told me, "prix, the 12"s are crap", I wouldn't own them even if Patrick Swayze offered to give me his personal pair. What bothers me about horns is that a lot of folks have described them as honky, harsh, or ringing. That doesn't appeal to me. I've also heard a lot of people comment about the "hard" sound of JBLs. I had a friend who used a pair of giant '70s JBLs with a 100 watt Harman Kardon Citation 16 and the sound wasn't exactly pleasant. Loud, but not friendly. As it is, I've got access to a pair of Tannoy Monitor Gold 12"s in factory cabinets for $800 plus shipping. The reserve on those Tannoy Belvederes on ebay was not met and so if I want them, I can buy them for $2100 shipped. The problem is that in my small room, they'll be like three feet apart and I've got kids, Steve. Those cabinets are gorgeous and I'll have to basically camp out by the speakers all the time to make sure they don't get peanut butter on them or get hit with any flying shoes or something. The 12"s I can put up on foot high stands and not worry about them as much, plus they'll probably be more appropriate for my room. I'm just afraid I won't find another pair of 15"s that nice again. I'm not really afraid to spend the money on any of these because if I don't like them, I can simply resell them again. In any case, Steve, thank you for all your help. I'll let you know what happens.