Tannoy Monitor Gold 15" - 1968 Vintage Dual Concentric Speakers

[@AudioNostalgia]

For an in-depth review, please visit my website: audionostalgia.co.uk/tannoy-monitor-gold-15-review/. The purpose of this video is to demonstrate the look and feel of Tannoy Monitor Gold speakers and not their sound.

[@robtbomba3491]

-Tube amplification has made my audio experience so much better -full-range single-driver speakers have made my audio experience so much better -electro-statics can be incredible -quite often "better" equipment is simply "different" -room acoustics are totally important -a glass of cabernet in hand will make just about anything at least somewhat better We all do the best we can with what we have in the home environment that we have. I really like what you've got in place for listening to music ... nice speakers, and the music speaks to me. I do know that I don't have it. Just picked up the eponymous "Natalie Merchant"

[@AudioNostalgia]

Thank you for your wise words and nice comment. I really like the bit about glass of Cabernet... ;)

[@theonlyredspecial]

Yes tube amplification is the way to fo for sure, using icon audio mb 845 mk ii m mono blocks to power my kensington gr's with a la 5tx pre amplifier. Avid deck as i prefer vinyl, but have a cary super audio cd player and naim hdx media streamer. Hars to beat those old 15 inch drivers from the 60s , had a pair for years, but they died on me recently... Had to spend £10k on speakers to get an equal replacement...

[@jandinki]

Thanks for posting. The Tannoys sound so rich, and Diana is magnificent on hi-fi. Great post!

[@johnanderson3853]

You lucky bastard. Man I would love to have a pair of these. Big Tannoy is the absolute bottom of the audiophile rabbit hole.

[@AudioNostalgia]

Not sure about lucky ;). These were sold number of years ago. Nice speakers but IMHO, Tannoys are nowhere near the bottom of the audiophile rabbit hole. Sure, great speakers, plenty of nostalgia and engaging sound but there are many more far better speakers out there in terms of acoustic performance. If we are talking about vintage gear the Celestion Ditton 66 are much better in my subjective opinion. If we are talking about modern speakers with heritage, Harbeth M40.1 are the closest I ever been to the bottom of the audiophile rabbit hole.

[@AudioNostalgia]

Thank you! :) Glad you like them.

[@exoticg9]

Such an amazing sound for those full range big cones. In person must sound so so so good.

[@didg9566]

Not bad ar all, more homogeneous and realistic than thousand of brand new speakers... Tannoy legend still alive

[@jdsalinger73]

That was awesome! Well done. Thanks for sharing. Sorry that your first attempt didn't meet your expectations.

[@jordanrenaud-pq7rx]

No wonder original 1960s Gold monitors are so sought after. I have a 12 inch pair of 1968 Gold monitors and love them dearly...especially driven with tube gear,

[@AudioNostalgia]

Yeah, there are a really nice speakers with tons of nostalgia, but IMHO, there are miles away from what you can get with well designed modern speakers. There has been a lot of progress over the last 60 years in terms of engineering, material science and our understanding of psychoacoustics.

[@MrTommygm]

Its nice to see a sixties speaker set up done so well, the big tannoys of this era were some of the best available, i now use ns 1000, but still luv to hear tannoys. As for the adverse comments regarding speaker cable, this only ever comes from a lack of interest in the art of perfecting a set up to its full potential.........very well done.

[@IntenseTracer21]

Omg this sound so clear !! And the music is perfect to just relax

[@blueboyblue]

That system really does sound amazing. I suspect it is even better in person.

[@spsfalex]

Amazing cd & vinyl collection! Needless to say that the cabinets & electronic devices are also great, and fit just right with the contrast of the room. Make a good use of them!

[@okinawajapan1]

Cool looking design. Gotta love Tannoy. Still a recording studio staple today.

[@hi-fihaven2257]

I still think this is my favorite video of yours, love those speakers!

[@shaunozzyoz425]

You wouldn't be able to get me out of that ARMCHAIR Love the speakers.beautiful

[@AndySwansson]

Great job Bro , and beautiful Diana !

[@AjarnSpencer]

i remember being sixteen around early eighties and buying some Tannoy Mercury speakers and wishing i could have bought these now vintage classics. Like the Tannoy Westminster Too, although the Magna Planar was also ahead of its time. These vintage Tannoys are beautiful and sound better than half the plastic crap they sell these days. I would buy them

[@sadface]

Incredible that they are getting all of that range from one large driver.

[@siriingul8777]

It´s actually two drivers. The HF mounted behind the woofer, sounding through a horn in the middle of the woofer. It`s called Coax drivers. The Tannoy monitor Golds are legendary. Tons of hit records have been mixed through Tannoy coax 15"s of different generations. Still used in high end sound studios worldwide.

[@asawendo6020]

Diana Krall on Tannoy...whew what a combo!

[@theonlyredspecial]

Great speakers, enjoyed the video. Nice music too. Always rated tannoy highly. Got a pair of kensington gr's recently when my 60s drivers failed. Great speakers, health to enjoy them.

[@creaversum]

Fantastic project. Well done!

[@kissmeraas]

Well done, and thanks for the upload.Makes me crave different speakers &and systems) for different genres of music ;-)

[@pentremansion]

Great to see vintage Tannoys in action (inside your own design cabs) , the good thing is when you get to 62 your ears still go to 13khz and you can hear leaves rustle in the wind!! Others will find their hearing completely gone!!!

[@AudioNostalgia]

Hi brizzleben and thank you for your kind comment, 4 years ago I thought that having these speakers was out of my reach and not really realistic. And here I am... :) I'm a great believer that if you want something really bad, providing you work really hard for it, you will have it sooner or later. RE £300 speakers - I can only talk about the speakers that I have heard in my living room. Out of all of £300 ones, Tannoy Mercury F4 were the ones I liked the most. TDL Studio 1 were interesting too.

[@nicedog4207]

Nice enclosures. They sound great.

[@mushygirlsiniran]

the cabinet itself is a work of art. :-)

[@christophercabrita]

This is a form of pleasure that is almost lost.....for the love of music.

[@AudioNostalgia]

Dziękuje za miły komentarz. Pracy i serca trzeba było dużo, sam nie wiem czego więcej.

[@thomothomo1078]

You really need to consider that these speakers were not designed to be used with typical modern SS or Class D amps.Their impedance characteristic suits amplifiers with much lower damping factors,highish output impedance and no negative feedback.With the right amplifiers they can sound superb but typical modern amplifiers do not do them justice and will tend to sound flat and dry.Even very good ones.It is all about electrical compatibity.If you want to use a SS amp then try something like a Bakoon or a Pass Labs SIT3 which are more current drive and less voltage drive The Bakoons sound superb with Monitor Gold 15s.

[@el34glo59]

Why would negative feedback hurt rniess speakers? You saying my 1959 Bell Carillion 6060 EL34 Tube Amp woudnt be perfect for these because it uses negative feedback?

[@AudioNostalgia]

It is a Dual Concentric construction patented by Tannoy. The tweeters are in the middle of the bass woofers, on the back of the driver. The woofers work as an extension of the mid-high horn. Just google it for more information. Best regards, Brastu

[@tobyhines7587]

Great looking system.I love big boxy speakers.Plus Diana Krell.

[@firehorse74]

very nice set up I miss my hifi I might see what I can get! you cant beat a good amp and speaker set up

[@mrhoffame]

Beautiful! Would be awesome to hear in person.

[@AudioNostalgia]

Hello again. The remnants of the horn are used just for bracing purposes, however if I had know from the start that I will end up building BR enclosures, I would probably go for the MDF instead of PLY and a lot more bracing. Best regards, Brastu

[@automirr]

this is beautiful!

[@MrLabrador91]

They sound a lot like my A7s. Simply lovely.

[@SuperFacebook007]

It maks me to remenber when i was young . i mean the speaker . it is nice also ur place is comfortable .thanks to share.

[@PrinceWesterburg]

A good job, they look properly retro. Personally I feel they'll look great once you either veneer the plywood edges or glue on strips of hardwood. I'd put at least three coats of yacht varnish on them too to bring out the depth of the wood. But I'm European :o) I swear the key to understanding that 1950s-early 60s style is reading up on heraldry a little; It was a transition point between grandiose no-classicism and the clean lines of modernism. The colour palette was post-war austerity but the match of dove grey with rich dark woods was a classic one - you even see it in Star Wars!

[@hirokurata7019]

I like this sounds a lot.

[@MrHopgoblin]

Dual Concentrics,have the tweeter in the middle of the cone, inside the bass unit, firing through the dust cap in the centre, giving a great stereo image, but very expensive to make, revolutionary in its day Kef Q series nowadays, have concentrics too.

[@mordokch]

Even through a compressed youtube vid the sound is breathtaking - I can really hear the 'air' and tight but natural bass response. I'd love to hear some nick drake through these :)

[@EvLoutonian]

Beautiful job on the cabinets - beautiful sound indeed! And yeah, what a gorgeous tune. I wish I has those boxes in my studio monitoring room.. I have Axiom 80 drivers, but they lack the bottom end of the large Tannoys. I think I need to pair up the Axioms with something else maybe? Or change for a different setup. Mmm, the Tannoys would be hard to beat for the deep & broad tones.

[@45rpm.]

I was thinking - where are the tweeters?! I could hear the trebble - Then I read the description. is there a fine mesh or grille in the centre of the big drivers? My friend had some small dual concentric speakers in the 80s and the stereo field was wider than i've ever heard since - do these have that benefit?

[@AudioNostalgia]

Hi ninjabluewings, thank you for you comment, As you've probably noticed I am a vintage HiFi lover too. I have never heard vintge KEFs in action. I need to have a look for a pair. Is there anything from 1970s that really stands out, that you would recomend?

[@colininsa]

Tannoy still the best!! When you hear them, you just know. Match with Yamaha.

[@jaromonkey]

hi, nice set. but what with bandwidth? i assume those 15" are cut quite low because of ther dimensions??? cheers

[@tmaxymiv]

Great warm sound!

[@TheLysybuska]

Witam Oglądałem twoje filmiki jak również znalazłem twoje wpisy(pewnie nie wszystkie) na jakimś forum, sam mam LITTLE GOLD MONITOR(jak twoje) i chciałem zapytać jaka/gdzie jest różnica w dzwięku/paśmie/szczegółach (nie chodzi mi o różnice w wielkościach głośników/obudowach które zdaje sobie sprawe robia róznice/parametrach - bo te znam) między 12'' a 15''? i może ile zmieniły się głośniki jak odświeżyłeś zwrotnice? (tez siedze w angli i z całą chęcią bym posłuchał obu) z góry dzieki

[@dckfg01]

Very musical. Thanks.

[@AudioNostalgia]

Yes, they do. They were not meant to be BR enclosure... Because of all the faffing about I had to do to convert them from the original GRF project, they are not as neat as I wanted them to be. I will build another set of enclosures at some point, probably from MDF and with more internal bracing. And then I will veneer them. I obviously do not have a such a good hearing like you do as I hear very little difference between solid state amps. I can appreciate good valve though... Cheers, Brastu

[@TheSweetVillain]

What a sweet sound.

[@cardiod]

Smooooth! Is there a compression driver behind the dust cap? Sounded better without the grills. I wonder if the exposed sides on the front of the enclosures cause any audible diffraction? Sounds sweet anyway.

[@atommachine]

Funky looking speakers and great sounding floor board ;)

[@AudioNostalgia]

Thanks. It was a rented flat that I no longer live in :).

[@AudioNostalgia]

Hi steelspunscourer, hmm at the time when I was making them I did not have garage and I did not want to go through the hassle of veneering myself hence I went for a ready-made ply. If I was going to do it properly I would use the MDF for enclosures and put exotic veneer on.

[@roasty80]

Interesting set up there. How much rms you feeding them

[@Watts378]

Nice setup mate! Im a lil confused tho...I dont see any mids or tweets...are they full range or something? Sorry im not too familiar with these things Cheers

[@2ChannelAudio]

For some reason I doubt if it has got the charm of Tannoy's signature sound. May be the recording... or room. Love to see your passion.... look forward for more videos from you.

[@richardmurphy9006]

Love the Music it Slithers!

[@invisiblemoose3]

Very nice cabinets!

[@michaelfoot1562]

I recently bought a pair of tannoy Venus mkIi 's and have been v impressed. I am looking at some 15" concentric but have some concerns about the age. What is the Achilles ?

[@doug995.]

Those sound great on my crappy laptop, would really like to hear them live.

[@superpelic]

very nice setup, very nice music collection

[@puszczainspiruje]

o łałał... Krall seems to be the best of her here! Ciekawie tak trafić na Twoje video :D pozdr, Emi

[@zoot-scoot-moto2551]

Thanks for sharing pretty cool

[@paulharris8551]

Sounds great as best I can tell on youtube, but these speakers were designed during the tube era and you might find it interesting to test drive them with an old tube amp (or a new one). Since they are high efficiency you won't have to worry about wattage much.

[@AudioNostalgia]

As far as I am aware (based on an extensive online research) these speakers were designed with transistor amp in mind. They were manufactured when the transistor amps were taking over. They are 8ohms, not 16ohms like their predecessors. They are slightly less efficient too. I personally like to listen music at realistic volume levels, and for this, 10wpc and 93dB speakers is not enough... But then again, there are more powerful valve amps around.

[@HumbertoMartinsScj]

I've myself a pair of Tannoy Dual Concentric Monitor Gold 15'' Could suggest a good amplifification for them?

[@EarthMedia2009]

Have had 13 pairs of Tannoys, (HPD385's,K3838,Golds,Berkleys,Ardens,Cheviot & DU386) Only have one pair of Super Red 10" now, They are Great, Found the Golds soggy & dull the two pairs I owned, good for classical & some Jazz,not great for Rock, But people love them !! sold them into Asia

[@gfxmaniac]

Great sound.

[@PurpleDreki]

Sweet man! Very sweet.

[@vindicari]

is the deck a thorens td160 with a sme arm? in the background. and if so im surprised you seem to have a large collection of cd,s I prefer vinyl much more depth and colour to the music

[@photomusicman9413]

Gorgeous.

[@vintagestereo]

i prefer the yamaha ns 1000 over this sound, The yamaha's you tested sounded much more detailed. Thanks for the upload. I miss some mids in these speakers over the yamaha's.

[@runrabbitrun4342]

vintage stereo Yes one misses much Through a simple youtube upload.

[@Bricklinsv1970]

sounds amazing! So real sounding!

[@MrArdvark777]

Just wanted to say your speakers sound fantastic! I can tell, because i'm listening to your video on a restored set of vintage ess model 5 performance series speakers. Ess's own quote for there amt or"air motion tweeters" is; "SOUND AS CLEAR AS LIGHT". What kind of tweeter are you using on those? Google ess speakers. I am a vintage hifi nut myself and will always have to have a set of speakers that sound live...and the ess 5's do it for me.

[@tapemaster8252]

stellar setup🔈🔉🔉🔊🔊🔊🔊

[@viethluu]

Hi Brastu, how much you paid for that pair of Tannoy speakers. They sound awesome BTW...

[@miamiSincar]

beautiful speaker

[@mbehan212]

Much like Diana herself, those Tannoy's make me weak in the knees.

[@claudioluque1546]

Excellent work, I have a pair of Monitor Gold in very good condition, I want to build the GRF gabinets, use an tube amplifier made by my with 6L6-G vintage. Regards.

[@druckaudio4935]

Great CD

[@beatleme2]

Sound Great, see them fetch alot on Ebay,always wondered what they would sound like used for a PA ..or Even speakers installed in a Fender tube amp for guitar... a "live"sound source...thanks for Posting :)

[@mordokch]

sadly it doesn't really work (I tried it) - they sound too dark and peaky in the lower mid range to use as a guitar amp speaker. No idea what they would sound like in a pa. Also tried warfdale's version of these speakers in a guitar cab with the same results - they where ok and sometimes (with a strat) sounded really good, but not consistantly good. The warfdales are 1967 12inch dual concentrics and sound very similar to the tannoys - can't remember when the tannoys where made. Both weighd a ton !

[@beatleme2]

mordokch Wow, Thanks for the Reply ;:-) ..That saves me some time and $$$ ..I do love to experiment tho, the JBL D120f and d131 is so far my fav speaker for guitar, along with Phillips and Early 1950's late 40's Jensen's.. if we were to Jam and didn't have a PA I always wire up to the stereo using a mixer , bet these would sound All and then SOME :)

[@mordokch]

beatleme2 Yeha I'm i love with the jbl d120f at the moment - would love to lay my hands on a pair but there are non for sale in the UK right now, and looking at what they have sold for in the past I KNOW thy will be expensive when the do show up. There is a jenson for sale though :)

[@vintagestereo]

wow these are monsters

[@AudiophileTubes]

Beautiful sound! Are those Tannoys horn-loaded? Initially I thought they may be single-point drivers, but I see nothing in the middle of the speaker to suggest that. Those upper-mids and highs have to be coming from something!

[@_MusikDigger]

/ your tannoy are a real temptation /

[@demetrio47]

Son preciosos y deben sonar impresionantemente bien, te envidio Brastu

[@mihaelat77]

what amp are you using to drive the speakers ?

[@ssrobw]

Your speakers and stereo sound amazing....I am a fan of Diana Krell as well and have big JBL 4345s with 18" woofers and I'm surprised at how these speakers fill the room with sound. Nice room looks like fun. BTW I'd drive the Ferrari too! Sexy Sexy Sexy......

[@wachinstuf]

I’ve recently gone through many of your vids, after all these speakers, do you have a preference? I lean towards UK speakers but unsure between Spendor, Harbeth, or Tannoy? Even considering Klipsch Heritage line. Demoing them all isn’t really possible for all. Curious what your thoughts are.

[@AudioNostalgia]

Usually my preferences are reflected in what I use in my main system. You can find reviews for speakers in each video on my website (audionostalgia.co.uk/) so that should give you better idea on my thoughts regarding each set. Based on my experience (in my listening environment) I’d recommend: Any modern Harbeth speakers if you want an easy to listen sound and ‘place and forget’ type of speakers. Kef LS50 Wireless II would also be a strong candidate if I wanted all-in-one small solution. If you are willing to put more work in the setup and possibly add subwoofers, Magnepan speakers would be my recommendation too. Bear in mind that I’ve only experienced 40 speaker sets in my room, and there are lots of speakers in the market, so take my recommendation with a pinch of salt.

[@wachinstuf]

@@AudioNostalgia appreciate the detailed response and you acknowledging the limitations as well. I’ll do my best to hear as many as I can - sound being subjective as well, I have a feeling I’ll be either switching speakers somewhat regularly or just owning several at once. After all, humans get bored and switching speakers may be a good way to keep things interesting

[@AudioNostalgia]

Thank you for the info. I have tried my MG's in GRF enclosures built based on the original schematics and they did not sound too good at all. See my other movie for DIY photos and comments. Back horn simulations based on the measurements of the box looked quite bad, so this just indicated that what I've heard is probably right. Saying this, I never heard them in the original enclosures. Never heard any Vitavox speakers but I would love to :) Take care, Brastu

[@volkommask9733]

Exscuse my english, I am italian... =) the speakers have only one woofer? Have not tweeter o midrange? Tank you =)

[@masoben]

I wonder how the new prestige series compare to these old drivers?

[@AudioNostalgia]

Yep, I wonder this too. Not many places in the UK where you can listen to the top models with 15in drivers.

[@masoben]

Audio Nostalgia Maybe someone here in the comments with some experience with both drivers can chime in. I've heard from one person the vintage is best and another the newer is superior so there you go :)

[@GoesUnpunishDeity]

Great retro sound, like a live bar room entertainer, very cool. I HAVE a pair of Old speakers 1962 N.Y xp10 with lo med hi range dials in the rear of speaker box of each and attached with all original patent technology (glass tube) stock set up, The woofers are 14 inch deep dish I measured 5 inch deep and each xp10's comes with one med range 7 inch speaker and hi range tangerine color 3 inch tweeter lipstick in shape and highly magnetic, never got a chance to hear them, because Im little weary joining my oldest tune I have with record player (circuit board type ) and from 1975 it also has an 8 track built in the tuner. MY Question is if you can tell me how should I take approach in hooking up the two different if incompatibility happens, is it risky, have you ever play the tube type speakers? should I really get a Tube type Amplifier? Or does it matter. Thanks

[@connorp1316]

The speakers should be ok with any type of amplifier *as long as the amplifier has enough power to drive those speakers.* I would also upgrade to something better than that all in one system, as it wouldn't do those speakers justice and might damage it. Vintage amplifiers can be had for cheap on ebay, and would work much better than a cheap all in one system. At the very least get a cheap class d amplifier on Amazon, which should work much better

[@AudioNostalgia]

Hi Robert, Thank you for your comment. The system sounds much better live - you're welcome to come and listen yourself if you ever find yourself in West Yorkshire, UK. Re JBL 4345 - I've read some comments about them and I have to say, I would not mind having a go at putting a pair together. Did you buy or make yours? I never had a pleasure of listening to them but I'm sure there is a lot of truth is all of the positive comments I've read. Take care, Brastu

[@Mortison77577]

Are these one way speakers with no crossover?

[@Mortison77577]

***** You mean the thing in the center is a tweeter?

[@julesbarry2081]

Hey Brastu, I just checked your website, you have some really cool gear there! Did you sell the Tannoys?

[@bobr14764]

tannoy для понимающего человека-основное и достаточное блюдо...)

[@Oneness100]

Have you thought about taking the cabinets into a furniture refinisher and have them sanded and lacquered? It would make them look like new.

[@RWL2012]

he built them, they are new lol...

[@Oneness100]

That doesn't mean that he spent time in finishing. Some people don't care about esthetics some people do. What I do know is that how a cabinet is finished or not finished MIGHT actually make a difference in sound quality. Here's a little anecdotal story. I am a drummer and have played on a variety of drum sets over the past 40+ years. A drum basically pushes air through a chamber of typically wood. Wood is porous, There are different types of ways to finish the inside AND outside of a drum shell and how it's finished on the inside AND outside actually change the sound of a drum in very subtle ways. There are some companies that put expensive finishes on the outside AND inside and that changes the tonal characteristics. ESPECIALLY the inside. It actually reduces unwanted harmonic frequencies and increases the projection of the sound of a drum. What's the similarity in speaker cabinets? Instead of striking a drum head which generates the sound, they use a speaker driver to produce the sound and instead of being a cylinder, speaker cabinets are more box shaped, but they are STILL moving air through a chamber. I think speaker mfg should look into finishing the inside of the cabinets and see if there hear a difference since they might be improved projection of the sound and they might be able to get rid of unwanted harmonic frequencies that might otherwise color the sound. Just a thought.

[@ddk_ut]

You're wrong on the 15" Golds, they need a beefy solid state amplifier to drive them properly, but I do agree on Yamaha.

[@petermay1219]

At just 8 watt/channel and connected with 16A cooker cable, I have never heard better, regardless of price. My apologies if you think am being aggressive, the point of my comments is only to inform. Best regards Peter.