Tannoy Mercury V4

[Billiam62]

I went on their site to see how they figure how much speaker you need and I am not sure I agree. I entered only my living room and it was 1440 cubic feet and of course it is open to the dining area so I could [probably have the same cubic feet as you. All my speakers fill my space easily but none are Omni's. I have a pair of JBL Studio 530's with a small mid/woofer, another pair of standmount speakers my Mobile Fidelity OML 1's and the big boys the Monitor Audio RS6's. All fill the room nicely with sound and when I get carried away complaints from neighbors.

The room where I will be putting my new speakers is 14 by 14 with a 10 foot ceiling. Medium size but a lot of cubic feet.

Those JBL's you've been raving about seem to be quite popular with anyone that owns them. Wish I could give them a listen at a dealer to see if I'd like them.

[JohnMichael]

The room where I will be putting my new speakers is 14 by 14 with a 10 foot ceiling. Medium size but a lot of cubic feet.

Those JBL's you've been raving about seem to be quite popular with anyone that owns them. Wish I could give them a listen at a dealer to see if I'd like them.

The Studio 570's may be just what you need. Crutchfield or JBL might have some refurbs for your price range. Crutchfield offers a 60 day trial.

[LeRoy]

The Studio 570's may be just what you need.

I had actually looked into these speakers but I had to dismiss them because I needed a speaker rated at 8 ohms. My plan is to utilize the Parasound Z amp's as mono blocks but in that configuration the Z amp requires 8 ohm speakers and nothing lower or risk blowing up the amp. So, I had to dismiss everything that was not 8 Ohms. The JBL looks like one fun speaker though.

[frenchmon]

Sorry about he speakes LeRoy...Its only a small set back until bother pair are in your system in perfect condition...but still I know you where excited and then this. I feel for you man.

[LeRoy]

Sorry about he speakes LeRoy...Its only a small set back until bother pair are in your system in perfect condition...but still I know you where excited and then this. I feel for you man.

Thanks Frenchmon. You're right, only a small set back. I got the replacement speaker in yesterday. The new arrival also was delivered with a gaping hole midway up the speaker box on the ridge where 2 sides of the box meet. Luckily, no damage whatsoever to the speaker itself. I will be doing a little re-arranging with the current configuration then put the Tannoy's in as a pair. Will post thoughts later in the day..

[LeRoy]

Update: After having one Tannoy speaker in play for a week waiting for the replacement speaker to arrive I got a pretty good impression of what to expect when I put em on as a pair.

I have had the TMV4's playing for about 2 hours now...Tord Gustavsen Trio, The Ground. TMV4's connected to the Qinpu, BMA 4 conductor speaker wire,silver, cryo'd & carbon based, Grant Fidelity DAC-11 (I have rolled another tube Philips 7DJ8 that has hit a home run with me), and the HHB CDP-CDR as a transport, Coax from HHB to GF is Darwin.

I am a far field listener by nature so my listening position is 14 feet from the speakers and the rear of TMV4's are 17 1/2 inches away from the wall behind them.

There are a few constants of the speaker that I must mention before getting into tone. 1) They are VERY forward. I happen to like forward speakers and I am more engaged when the music hits my ears as if I were wearing headphones. 2) The tweeter performs more like a super tweeter. FAST, INSIGHTFUL, EXTENDED but never tizz, fizz, shouty, or screechy. 3) Mids can be lean... more on that later. 4) Bass is so far as deep as the Dali Ikon 2 mk 2's but I was expecting deeper bass since the rating on the TMV4 is 32 hz. It make take a while more to open up. 5) Soundstage is surprisingly excellent and is clear performer in this area. Easily outperforming the DI2mk2.

About the tone...depending on which tube I want to use in the GF DAC the presentation can be lean in the mids or can be natural with texture. Also the bass performance varies depending on tube selection. With the Matsu****a tube 7DJ8 there is greater extension on the tweeter, more energy in the mids with proper tone but tone in the middle that lacks body. The bass is slamming but rounded and to my ears loss of pitch definition and does not sound woody. Enter my latest and so far greatest tube experience with the G.F., Phillips 7DJ8. Now with the Phillips in play I now have great balance all across the spectrum and now sounds like music! Tweeter is slightly less energetic than the M, however, no loss of detail. Mids have the texture I love to hear, and bass now has depth with pitch definition.

Earlier in the week I was listening to Boney James, Sweet Thing. I have had this CD for years and never tire of listening to it. Yes, I have heard the piano chords being played countless times but on the TMV4 what caught my ear was I could hear the individual notes of the piano chord too. I don't think I have experienced that before on any of my prior audio configs.

Bear in mind the retail price of the TMV4's are $800/pr. They are matching the performance and then some of my DI2mk2's ($1400/pr). At $600 less per pair and no stands are required the TMV4's are quite a bargain. One thing that caught me off guard is the TMV4's have their 5 way binding post plugged with red/black inserts where normally the banana plug would insert. Luckily my speaker wire is configured with WBT's at the speaker end so that ended well.

[frenchmon]

Wow! Looks like you got some keepers! Are you going to keep the Dali's. Also man....time to break out that camera....you know on some forums they say if you aint got pics.....then it never happened. lol!

[Mr Peabody]

That would bug me one speaker being more broke in than the other, I suppose the other one will catch up at some point though. Glad they are working out and it didn't take long to get a replacement.

[winston]

Update: After having one Tannoy speaker in play for a week waiting for the replacement speaker to arrive I got a pretty good impression of what to expect when I put em on as a pair.

I have had the TMV4's playing for about 2 hours now...Tord Gustavsen Trio, The Ground. TMV4's connected to the Qinpu, BMA 4 conductor speaker wire,silver, cryo'd & carbon based, Grant Fidelity DAC-11 (I have rolled another tube Philips 7DJ8 that has hit a home run with me), and the HHB CDP-CDR as a transport, Coax from HHB to GF is Darwin.

I am a far field listener by nature so my listening position is 14 feet from the speakers and the rear of TMV4's are 17 1/2 inches away from the wall behind them.

There are a few constants of the speaker that I must mention before getting into tone. 1) They are VERY forward. I happen to like forward speakers and I am more engaged when the music hits my ears as if I were wearing headphones. 2) The tweeter performs more like a super tweeter. FAST, INSIGHTFUL, EXTENDED but never tizz, fizz, shouty, or screechy. 3) Mids can be lean... more on that later. 4) Bass is so far as deep as the Dali Ikon 2 mk 2's but I was expecting deeper bass since the rating on the TMV4 is 32 hz. It make take a while more to open up. 5) Soundstage is surprisingly excellent and is clear performer in this area. Easily outperforming the DI2mk2.

About the tone...depending on which tube I want to use in the GF DAC the presentation can be lean in the mids or can be natural with texture. Also the bass performance varies depending on tube selection. With the Matsu****a tube 7DJ8 there is greater extension on the tweeter, more energy in the mids with proper tone but tone in the middle that lacks body. The bass is slamming but rounded and to my ears loss of pitch definition and does not sound woody. Enter my latest and so far greatest tube experience with the G.F., Phillips 7DJ8. Now with the Phillips in play I now have great balance all across the spectrum and now sounds like music! Tweeter is slightly less energetic than the M, however, no loss of detail. Mids have the texture I love to hear, and bass now has depth with pitch definition.

Earlier in the week I was listening to Boney James, Sweet Thing. I have had this CD for years and never tire of listening to it. Yes, I have heard the piano chords being played countless times but on the TMV4 what caught my ear was I could hear the individual notes of the piano chord too. I don't think I have experienced that before on any of my prior audio configs.

Bear in mind the retail price of the TMV4's are $800/pr. They are matching the performance and then some of my DI2mk2's ($1400/pr). At $600 less per pair and no stands are required the TMV4's are quite a bargain. One thing that caught me off guard is the TMV4's have their 5 way binding post plugged with red/black inserts where normally the banana plug would insert. Luckily my speaker wire is configured with WBT's at the speaker end so that ended well.

congrats on the new Tannoy toys Leroy man, and sorry (Brown) was in a bad mood, but like they say (stuff) happens "but why you!!

Man, I can feel the love in your review, appreciating the lucky Tannoy, hopefully your dealer will replaced the broken one very fast before you looses the (impetus) to write the second leg of your review in (stereo in the far field....

good luck man it always works out

[mjablanc]

Hi! I want to buy online a pair of Tannoy Mercury V4 but I can't find any online dealer in the US. Shipping from UK is over 200 dollars!. Can you help me with a link to some reliable dealer in the US? Thanks!

[JohnMichael]

The room where I will be putting my new speakers is 14 by 14 with a 10 foot ceiling. Medium size but a lot of cubic feet.

Those JBL's you've been raving about seem to be quite popular with anyone that owns them. Wish I could give them a listen at a dealer to see if I'd like them.

JBL 570's from JBL are $479.95 each

Studio 570 | 150-watt, dual 5-1/4" (130mm) floorstanding loudspeaker with two classic JBL bass drivers and a horn-loaded high-frequency compression driver | JBL US

[Billiam62]

JBL 570's from JBL are $479.95 each

Studio 570 | 150-watt, dual 5-1/4" (130mm) floorstanding loudspeaker with two classic JBL bass drivers and a horn-loaded high-frequency compression driver | JBL US

Thanks for the link. I just read a few reviews about these and they are excellent. And the price is more to my liking than the Ohm towers that their speaker finder recommends.

I am going to do a test with my Jamo C 601 bookshelf speakers in that room later this month. After I hear how they fill the room (or don't) I will know if I need a tower speaker or can get by with another pair of high quality bookshelf speakers. I do need to see how that fireplace jutting out about a foot from the wall where the speakers will be located affects the image and overall sound.