Hi-Fi: Tannoy DC6T – Review – 74

I’ve been a fan of coffee for as long as I can remember. I’ve spent many nights drinking the hot brown beverage while writing for Tone, often with a nice Gingernut or Toffee Pop. Mmm, nothing like a piping hot cup of coffee and a lovely biscuit.

I’m ranting on about coffee because the review pair of Tannoy Revolution DC6Ts came smothered in an incredibly more-ish real-wood veneer – espresso is the colour, and this most barista-like finish really looks good enough to drink.
We audio freaks at Tone haven’t seen much of this famous Scottish loudspeaker brand over the past few years, so a review was most certainly long overdue.

What we have here is Tannoy’s midrange Revolution DC6T floorstanding transducer, a handsome, medium-sized pillar wrapped in the aforementioned veneer and sporting an unusual driver arrangement. It’s the flagship of the Revolution range, and shares its dual-concentric driver technology with Tannoy’s illustrious Dimension and Prestige speaker ranges. In a nutshell, the tweeter is mounted in the throat of the top bass-midrange driver, making the drivers act as a 
time-coherent, single-point source.

The result is that it’s as if you are listening to a single driver, although in the case of the DC6T there is an additional 150mm driver to augment the bass output.

Looking at the back of the speaker brought another surprise. A fifth binding post in addition to the usual 
bi-wireable terminals allows the use of a speaker ground wire – coupling the drive unit’s chassis, voice coil and even speaker cable. I’ve only seen Tannoy use this system, but the company claims RF noise is eliminated, thus improving sound quality even further.

I didn’t try the DC6T’s ‘grounded’ connection, but it certainly sounded good without the extra run of cable.
The overall look is one of metropolitan designer chic, which is not a criticism – the DC6Ts really looked fabulous, the silver driver surrounds accentuated by the dark veneer.

Once I’d taken in the gorgeous looks it was time to cable up and put the Scottish speakers through their paces. The importer had already run in the DC6Ts, but that didn’t stop me from terrorising the neighbours with a seemingly endless stream of Cirque De Soleil from the Logitech Squeezebox Duet while I was at work.

Once in front of the speakers my ears liked what they heard. The Tannoys have an excellent mid-band openness and surprisingly articulate bass, while the DC tweeter managed to blend in perfectly with the other two drivers for an effortless and spatial sound. Works as varied as Dave Matthews Band’s Stand Up and  Damien Rice’s O really came to life through the tremendous Tannoys, while Disturbed’s Indestructible showed the DC6Ts could really rock out when required.

Classical and light jazz were also an enjoyable listen; the quick timing and rhythmic abilities of the speaker allowed each performance to really come alive.

Tannoy’s espresso wonders have precious few foibles. Those looking for decaffeinated sound had best look elsewhere – the Revolution DC6Ts are a barista’s dream come true.

GARY PEARCE

TECH SPECS

Revolution Signature DC6T
Floorstanding Loudspeakers
$2699

Enclosure type: Front ported
Bass: 150mm
Dual Concentric Bass/mid: 150mm
Dual Concentric High Frequency: 25mm
Frequency Response: 34Hz-35kHz (-6dB)
Sensitivity: 89dB (SPL/M @ 2.83V)
Impedance: 8 Ohms
Recommended Amplifier: 20-175W
Dimensions: 950 x 226 x 225mm (H/W/D)

CONTACT

www.international
dynamics.co.nz

Pros

• Transparent mid-band

• Full, defined bass

• Excellently styled

Cons

• Could be unstable on thick carpet due to small footprint (I had to think of something!)

VERDICT

• Near-flawless product from one of the grand old names of hi-fi

This review is from Tone issue #74.