"The first words of the review are always the hardest" – said nobody in particular. But it's true – I always struggle to start a review. Tell us something about the company? Well, what is there to say? Tannoy is a word synonymous with sound – the word 'Tannoy' refers to a public address system, usually installed in high street supermarkets, airports, and other public venues, designed to deafen members of the public with staff announcements and advertisements for discounted products, mumbled by an uninterested individual nearing the end of a long shift.
Tannoy, a company founded in 1926, is one of the oldest and most prestigious audio brands in the world. Their legendary studio monitors, cutting-edge hi-fi speakers, and budget 'mercury' lines have dominated the market for many years.
The Revolution DC6T's (here by referred to as the 'DC6's' so as to reduce the ware on my keyboard) sit near the bottom of Tannoy's range. They're an improved version of the award-winning DC6T, featuring improved stands, a better crossover, and improvements to the drivers.
Features
The first thing you'll notice about the DC6's is the trapezoidal cabinets. Not only do they improve the aesthetics, they also help the sound by minimising standing waves and controlling cabinet resonance. It does make them harder to carry – however, standing a metre tall, and weighing just over 15KG, this is not a speaker you're going to want to be moving around often.
On the front are situated 2 drivers. The top driver is one of Tannoy's trademark Dual-Concentric drive units. Essentially a 1" titanium dome tweeter recessed within a 6" woofer, this driver offers a single-point source for all but the lowest frequencies, ensuring they arrive at your ear at the same time. This helps to improve imaging and the over all sound stage.
Located beneath the dual concentric driver is a second 6" woofer. This woofer handles lower bass frequencies, taking the strain off the upper woofer, giving the speakers a more refined, open and effortless sound.
The provided grilles are magnetic, meaning they can be easily installed and removed. They're plastic, and feel cheap in comparison to the rest of the speaker. Wooden grilles, such as those found on the Tannoy Precision range, are much nicer in this regard. They do provide protection for the drivers; however, most of the time I leave them off.
On the back, you'll find a bass port, and a set of speaker terminals. These speakers support bi-wiring – for this review they were used exclusively in single-wire mode. The terminals are recessed in a narrow, rectangular slot – this can make them difficult to unscrew. However, I used banana plugs – so for me this wasn't an issue.
The DC6's feature a rather nice stabilizing plinth. They come supplied with floor spikes, cups to prevent the spikes scratching wooden floors, large heavy round feet which screw onto the spikes, and an adjustment key. The spikes can be adjusted via the holes at the top, so there's no need to tip the speaker over to make an adjustment – a nice touch.
Positioning
Due to the nature of the dual-concentric driver, accurate positioning of the speakers is a must to get the best out of them. During my testing, I found that an equilateral triangle 1.5M apart, 1.5 M away from my listening position, angled inwards roughly 20 degrees gave the best sound.
You'll have to experiment – probably with the help of a patient friend of family member, as even an inch can make all the difference.
The sound
Once you've got your positioning spot on, you'll be rewarded with a wide, deep, 3-dimentional sound stage. Positioning of instruments is spot on – and the quality of vocals is simply breath taking. The sound is very natural too – these speakers do a fantastic job of remaining faithful to the original recording.
Play 'ghosts that we knew' from Mumford & Sons 'babel' album, and the acoustic guitar is as natural as you could hope for. The presentation is subtle rather than forced – the sound flows from the speakers, and the realism of vocals is astounding. There's plenty of volume when required, and the speakers stay composed even at ridiculously high volumes. There's no tendency for the treble to become harsh – and, if anything, the experience becomes more enjoyable the louder you go.
That being said, these speakers are just as comfortable playing Norah Jones's 'Come Away With Me' album at low volume as they are belting out Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain' – a track that they play with particular enthusiasm.
Perhaps the only area where these speakers lack is sheer bass attack. The bass is there – though not as deep as it could be. However, you'll be too lost in the music to notice.
Summary
I tend to summarise my reviews by weighing up the pros and cons of a product. However, in this instance, it's simply not necessary. These speakers have earned a spot in my system – in fact, they're playing as I write this, sounding better than ever. And, as the closing track from Nirvana's 'MTV Unplugged in New York' builds to its powerful, screaming crescendo, it's easy to see why. Highly recommended.
Hello, Ashley, what do you think about this combo : Roksan Caspian M1 with Tannoy Revolution DC6T SE ?
kind regards!
Should sound fine.
Hi,Ashley!Can you explain the difference between Tanoy DC6T and DC6T SE?
Revised motors on the drivers, a more stable, heavily braced cabinet, and crossover refinements. The audible difference is greater refinement, cleaner bass and over all a cleaner sound.
Salve.
Accoppiata NAIM NAIT 5 si con TANNOY DCT6 SE?
Would work fine.
Grazie allora procedo all’acquisto delle Tannoy.
You mentioned lack in bass.Would some subwoofer solve that problem?
possibly, but I don’t really see it as an issue. I said it lacks bass attack, I.E the bass is certainly there but it doesn’t slam into your chest as with some other designs. It’s something you get used to, and IMO it’s more enjoyable in the long run.
Thanks.Here is the part of the SE review from one magazine: Tannoy claims a sensitivity of 89dB, which if anything seems a tad conservative: we’d happily award 90dB here, which is a very healthy figure, especially since the bass extension is an exceptional -3dB at 20Hz under in-room far-field conditions, helped by very low (sub-30Hz) port tuning.
Some compromise is, perhaps, inevitably involved here and is seen in the load presented to the amplifier which is rather demanding at low frequencies.
Is that mean SE requires some powerful amp?
For deep bass, yes. Though they are relatively easy to drive. Anything 50W P/C and up, depending on how loud you play. Of course it’s not all about watts per channel, current delivery and power supply headroom is important too.
I understand.And what delivery and power supply headroom is necessery or recommended?
There are no standardised specs for measuring such things. Any amp from a quality manufacturer that is true to its ratings should be fine. Avoid some of the more budget models, especially given the quality of the speakers. I particularly like the pairing of Marantz and Tannoy, the current 8005 or the older Ki Pearl Light is an excellent match.
So,you think that SACD8005-PMA8005-SE would be better option than CXC-CXA80-SE( with some DAC of course)?
I think both would be very good options, because the CXA80 is an exceptional amplifier and the CXC is an exceptional CD transport. Even the DAC in the CXA80 really isn’t bad, you may just find it’s all you need. I recommend the Marantz as 1 option, and the CXA/CXC would’ve been my other recommendation. Ideally I’d advise listening to the 2 to see which suits your tastes best. I think you’d be pleased with whichever option you chose.
Yes.Well,I compare these two combinations for some time.I found some “pro” and “against”.Firstable,I couldn t find much reviews for pma8005,and that is strange.One thing I don t like about 8005 is built quality.That plastic looks…well,honestly,cheap.I would expect better from Marantz.Also,if I understand,SA s DAC doesn t support FLAC,and I have lot of those files in my PC.On the other hand,I heard 6005 CD/AMP,and it was great,so I can imagine how good is 8005.
About Cambridge-I noticed that most reviewers talk about CXA80 together with CXN,so it seems that you can get the best from it only with CXC-CXN-CXA80 comb,and that comb with Tannoy SE is about 4000eur,not so cheap.Also,sometimes I think that for the price of CXA80(or 100-200eur up)I can get better(i.e.Rega Elicit-R,Rotel 1570).On the other hand,all users say that all products from CX range(including CXA60)are great.
However,I agree with you that listenig both combo is best option.
The SA-8005 will have no problem playing back FLAC files from a PC once the appropriate driver (free from the Marantz website) is installed. As for the build quality, though the Marantz components do look a bit cheap in places they are very solidly made. The plastics used are of high quality, and are simply for decoration and not structural to the build of the unit as everything important is metal. I used to own the PM-6004 and CD-6004 combination several years ago, which was my main amp for a while and then served as a spare for when I decided to embark on a career writing reviews and thus upgraded to higher end equipment. The Marantz outlasted most of that high-end equipment, much of which came from ‘high-end’ British manufacturers and therefore inevitably developed faults. The marantz just kept on going and handled everything admirably, and was still working perfectly when I sold it fairly recently.
Most reviewers review the CXA80 alongside the CXN because that is the combination that people are most likely to purchase. Yes there are few reviews of the CXC, but though I don’t tend to read other’s reviews those that I’ve seen are positive. In my own experience the CXC is an excellent transport, with or without the CXN. The CXN is a worthwhile component if you largely stream digital files, and is probably the best streamer on the market (aside from Cambridge’s flagship 851N of course). It really depends what you want from a system.
Hi,Ashley!Another great review.What amplifier would you recommend for SE?
Marantz amps work very well with them.