Tannoy is a interesting company. They are one of the oldest speaker companies in the world, use proprietary dual-concentric drivers (tweeter inside the driver) and champion super tweeters whenever they can. All this wouldn't matter much if their speakers weren't the bomb.
In case you don't know, super tweeters are used either in addition to a normal tweeter or to compliment a full-range driver like the Zu Tones. The Tannoy Arenas use the second approach and, unlike the Zus, have an upper frequency cut-off of 54KHz. If that means nothing to you, consider that human hearing stops about 20KHz. So who are the Tannoy Arenas for? Your audiophile dog.
The bit about the dog is a joke (though there have been stranger things in audiophilia). Keep reading for more on super tweekers and the rest of Tannoy's magic.
The truth is, no one really knows what super tweeters do for the sound, just that they do something. Everyone who has auditioned stand-alone super tweeters say the affect is obvious and, in most cases, addicting. We'll post a full article on the super tweeter phenom later.
As for the Arenas, Tannoy stuffs the super tweet inside of a dual-concentric driver, puts the package in an Alien-inspired enclosure and mates the monitors with a sub. Usually these kinds of systems are pretty weak and, with a range of 80Hz-54KHz, don't expect great extension from the little monitors.
However, Alvin Gold of Home Cinema Choice awards this package the best speaker system of the year for 2005. The magic comes from the special driver, allowing for unusually wide dispersion and luscious sound. Mated with the Arena's flexible sub and the system really shines. Priced at 1,200 British pounds or so, the Arenas could be the best lifestyle system yet.
PDF Tannoy Arena Review [Home Cinema Choice]
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