Are Tannoy Prestige still built in Scotland?

JSQT

JSQT

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Dec 23, 2018
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Location
Salem VA
I've been bitten by the big Tannoy bug lately... specifically have my sights on the Canterbury GRs as an eventual upgrade to my La Scala IIs.

In doing some research, I came across Fyne speakers, which was established by a crew of ex-Tannoy folks apparently "when Tannoy moved their manufacturing to China."

Tannoy produces a lot of speakers and I am not surprised they would move manufacturing to China, but it seems to me the big Prestige series would still be manufactured in Scotland, right? It does seem like the price on those lines keeps moving upwards (now at $30K for Canterbury or $50K for Westminsters, where it seems like they were less 5-8 years ago, even accounting for inflation).
 
Check out Fyne - made in Scotland. The top 5 guys from Tannoy left and started Fyne Audio. We have 502SP’s and 702’s in the store, with F1-12’s coming.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
They are gorgeous and look to be a great value.

Moving from the giant, highly efficient La Scala II horns, I'd assumed the next move up would be a pair of Volti Vittoras or Tannoy Canterbury GRs. I just don't think the Vittoras are worth the asking price now in comparison to what they offer over the La Scala IIs. I do love the efficiency and form factor of the Tannoy (my room is about 18x30 so plenty of room) but I admit I have not heard them in person.

Whatever I land on, efficiency will play a big role... How do you think the 92 dB Fyne would sound with a low watt amp like the Luxman MQ-88uSE?

Do you know if Fyne will have any speakers at Capital Audiofest?
 
Lots of confusion since the new owners - but yes the general consensus seems to be that upper line Prestige series remains made in at least Great Britain or EU, if not the prior Scotland factory (which may have closed down). The rest of their lineup moved manufacturing to China.

I’ve owned Canterbury GR for over 2 years now, and am grateful for it every day. Wonderful, pleasure giving speakers that also turn your head every time you walk by. They were a notable upgrade over the SE model. Unfortunately they appear to have had a significant price increase since I bought them. And what Fyne is doing now looks amazing. Price wise, the F12 is very similar to current Canterbury GR, and I would be giving those a HARD look if buying today.
 
mulveling said:
Lots of confusion since the new owners - but yes the general consensus seems to be that upper line Prestige series remains made in at least Great Britain or EU, if not the prior Scotland factory (which may have closed down). The rest of their lineup moved manufacturing to China.

I’ve owned Canterbury GR for over 2 years now, and am grateful for it every day. Wonderful, pleasure giving speakers that also turn your head every time you walk by. They were a notable upgrade over the SE model. Unfortunately they appear to have had a significant price increase since I bought them. And what Fyne is doing now looks amazing. Price wise, the F12 is very similar to current Canterbury GR, and I would be giving those a HARD look if buying today.
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Thanks for sharing your experience. One thing I'm attracted to about the Canterbury GRs is that it seems like they would translate the sense of scale I am getting from the La Scala IIs. I have a pair of Monitor Audio Gold 200s sitting right next to the LS IIs and there's just no comparison between how large the sound is (venue-like) coming out of the LS IIs even at the lower volumes I usually listen at (about 78dB on average). Of course the LS IIs are not "accurate" in an audiophile sense but they are the closest I've felt to sitting on the stage with musicians as I have ever gotten from any other speaker. As much as the Fyne 5x and 7x series look amazing and are getting tons of accolades, in looking at them I don't know how they could convey that same sense of scale that a LS II or Canterbury GR would. That being said I'd love to hear them, and the F1-12s look even more incredible - though I can't find any US prices, with currency conversion it looks like these would be about $35K/pair.

And yes it does seem like the Tannoy GRs have all noticeably gone up in price over the past few years, it seems like these were selling around $20K circa 2015 vs around $30K today. I could be wrong, I wasn't pricing them back then. But there's lots of anecdotal price talk online from around that time.
 
Yes, I understand what you mean by sense of scale, and that's a big part of why I stuck with the Canterbury model when I upgraded! They're wonderful for that. Of course I haven't heard the La Scala to compare. I think it comes from something special about the Tannoy 15" alnico, because I haven't heard as much of it from 12" or especially 10" models (though the 12" Yorkminster SE was really good, and dug deeper in bass - it just lacked some of the scale, and the sweetness of the midrange Canterbury has). And truth be told, the Canterbury cabinet is probably the limitor on that 15" driver - I think it can expand even more on the Westminster, which I haven't heard.

The question of scale would be on my mind if I were comparing the F12 vs. Canterbury GR today, but who knows what tricks the former Tannoy engineers (now at Fyne, un-tethered by former politics) are employing. The new F12 cabinets look more sophisticated, and they've tweaked the DC driver as well (maybe more like the one in the Kingdom Royal?). In dealings with my dealer, it looks like the Canterbury's price increase was about 30%, which is extremely steep without a refresh or version increment. On large retailer's online store currently lists them at an MSRP of 36K.
 
mulveling said:
Yes, I understand what you mean by sense of scale, and that's a big part of why I stuck with the Canterbury model when I upgraded! They're wonderful for that. Of course I haven't heard the La Scala to compare. I think it comes from something special about the Tannoy 15" alnico, because I haven't heard as much of it from 12" or especially 10" models (though the 12" Yorkminster SE was really good, and dug deeper in bass - it just lacked some of the scale, and the sweetness of the midrange Canterbury has). And truth be told, the Canterbury cabinet is probably the limitor on that 15" driver - I think it can expand even more on the Westminster, which I haven't heard.

The question of scale would be on my mind if I were comparing the F12 vs. Canterbury GR today, but who knows what tricks the former Tannoy engineers (now at Fyne, un-tethered by former politics) are employing. The new F12 cabinets look more sophisticated, and they've tweaked the DC driver as well (maybe more like the one in the Kingdom Royal?). In dealings with my dealer, it looks like the Canterbury's price increase was about 30%, which is extremely steep without a refresh or version increment. On large retailer's online store currently lists them at an MSRP of 36K.
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Your system looks great, I can almost hear it from here!

RE the La Scala IIs - Just listened to a track that highlights what is so amazing about them and what minor shortcomings I'd like to see if the Canterbury could solve. The Linda Ronstadt/Aaron Neville duet, "All My Life"... the layering and placement of the instruments on stage is extremely precise. Sounds like the guitar amp is over there at stage right, the drums sound massive, the entire mix fills the room as though you're sitting in the front orchestra section of the hall. Not only front to back but top to bottom in this large size room. Neville's voice sounds like an angel and it is pinpoint-centered in the mix. Very airy and lifelike tone that floats over the music. However when Ronstadt comes in, her vocal timbre is such that there is a slight overtone or ring in the forwardness of her vocal when she pushes. Not so bad to be called a "glare" and still clear as a bell, but just strident enough to draw attention to itself. I think it's a certain timbre and frequency with certain singers - usually very dynamic singers like Ronstadt or Peter Gabriel, etc - that is evident in the La Scala IIs. Finally, going into the middle 8 of the song, there's a low frequency synth bass that somewhat "uncouples" from the La Scala IIs into the dual SB2000s I am running from the preamp. My blend is pretty darn seamless between the speakers and the sub, but occasionally there is this uncoupling that can separate the lower sub bass in the mix. BUT it all makes up for it when the orchestra comes in around the guitar solo and the cellos unfold into the room and surround you with resin and wood.

So my hope one day would be to rectify 2 things with the La Scala IIs - smoothing out those dynamic midrange frequencies in certain forward vocal tracks, and overall cohesion all the way down into the sub bass. To a degree, they are probably related. That's what I hope the Canterbury GRs could do - a little smoother, more cohesive sound without in any way sacrificing the scale, projection, and dynamic energy of those Klipsch horns.

EDIT: Added the same pic twice by accident - cannot delete extra thumbnail.
 

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Lovely room, looks like a perfect refuge from the trials & tribulations of life! I love the blue back-lighting.

The dynamics of Canterbury are certainly excellent, but horns may be hard to beat there! All I can say is that it's enough to satisfy my needs. I use tube amps that give nearly 300 Watts/ch, which probably helps a lot. As for the vocals, they are breathtaking on Canterbury GR - of course proper upstream gear pairing is crucial, or else it can edge into territory where you notice a bit of hashness and fatigue. But when you dial them in, vocals are shockingly present (very "in the room"), nuanced and natural - while being completely void of artifacts, untrue tone, sizzle, or even fatigue. This is probably the Canterbury's #1 strength, ahead of even their sense of scale. The inventor of the Tannoy dual-concentric did a lot of work to ensure the crucial mid/tweeter crossover was as coherent as possible, and this really pays off for vocals. And the Canterbury GR in particular has the best midrange & vocals, even out of the many dual-concentric models I've heard or owned.

I like pairing my Tannoys with a Koetsu cartridge and VAC phono stage, which pegs the vocal "WOW" factor to the max :)
There's lots of good examples for vocals-focused recordings, but one easy recommendation is the Johhny Cash "American Recordings" series. Even the reissues I - VI are stunning for their sound quality plus emotionally stirring musical content.
 
mulveling said:
There's lots of good examples for vocals-focused recordings, but one easy recommendation is the Johhny Cash "American Recordings" series. Even the reissues I - VI are stunning for their sound quality plus emotionally stirring musical content.
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Thanks! Tom Petty is maybe my favorite artist of all time, and Rick Rubin's work with Petty is sonically sublime... Likewise his work with Johnny Cash. Rubin gets such honest vocal performances and captures them in such transparent and vivid detail. Listened to Johnny & Tom sing "I Won't Back Down" tonight - brutal and bittersweet but it goes down like chicken soup.
 
i have the tannoy eaton legacy , BIG sound from this standmount and very much enjoy it. its made in scotland as is the prestige
from their website

Every design element crucial to EATON’s breathtaking dynamic range, clarity of sound and classic look has been faithfully preserved. Much more than just a clone of the original, this new version of the classic benefits greatly from the evolution of driver and electronic component technology. In keeping with the TANNOY mode of excellence, each EATON loudspeaker cabinet is completely handcrafted by our highly skilled team at our Coatbridge, Scotland workshop.

https://www.tannoy.com/Categories/Tannoy/LEGACY/EATON/p/P0DEL#googtrans(en|en)
 
So any news ?
According to my understanding the original factory is closed from March 2021 for good.
 
No, seems nobody knows anything for sure, but it seems most likely that all production will go to China. Apparently they made as much stock as possible before the Coatbridge factory closed, so that’s been filling orders for a while and there’s no reports of any “Made in China” Prestige yet.

Bracing for the next bad news. I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if they announced discontinuation of the Prestige line in favor of a new “premium” chi fi line that’s easier to manufacture there.
 
No, seems nobody knows anything for sure, but it seems most likely that all production will go to China. Apparently they made as much stock as possible before the Coatbridge factory closed, so that’s been filling orders for a while and there’s no reports of any “Made in China” Prestige yet.

Bracing for the next bad news. I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if they announced discontinuation of the Prestige line in favor of a new “premium” chi fi line that’s easier to manufacture there.

I got spare drivers and I’d advise other Prestige owners to do the same.
 
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