During the COVID-19 lockdown, I found myself in need of new studio monitors. I didn’t want to break the bank, but I also didn’t want to settle for something subpar – champagne taste on a Coke budget, you could say. I had heard about the new Tannoy Gold series monitors, particularly the Tannoy Gold 7, and was intrigued. The classic Dual Concentric Tannoy monitors from the 1970s and 1980s had left a lasting impression on me.
If you’ve never experienced the older Tannoy Dual Concentric Monitors from that era, you’ve missed out. They weren’t necessarily the most accurate, but you could listen to them all day without fatigue, and the sound stage from those dual concentric drivers was simply incredible – at least, that’s how I remember them.
However, I had reservations about Tannoy being taken over by the music giant Behringer, or more accurately, their parent company Music Tribe. The fact that these monitors are now manufactured in China also felt like a departure from the brand’s British heritage. I was sceptical—how good could they really be? It seemed like they were just cashing in on Tannoy’s great legacy by producing a speaker that looked like the classic models but probably wouldn’t sound anything like the old Dual Concentric monitors.
Despite these concerns, I initially decided on the Tannoy Gold 7 as the right fit for my needs. However, I ended up passing on them and opted for a pair of Danish-made Dynaudio LYD7 monitors instead. They were more expensive, but I was determined to get a quality studio monitor and would figure out the extra cost somehow. Unfortunately, due to the lockdown, the LYD7s were out of stock, along with most other monitors. It seemed like many bored musicians had decided it was time for new gear.
The only monitors available due to a recent shipment were the Tannoy Gold 7s. After much deliberation, I decided to buy them “for now” and planned to sell them off when the Dynaudio LYD7s were back in stock later in the year. When the Tannoys arrived, I made sure to keep the boxes for when it came time to ship them out.
Tannoy Gold 7 in Detail
The Tannoy Gold 7 monitors are powered studio monitors featuring a 6.5″ dual concentric driver and bi-amplification with a total power output of 300 watts. But what exactly is a dual concentric driver, you might ask? Simply put, it’s a bass driver with a tweeter positioned in the centre, aligned with the bass driver’s voice coil. In this case, the tweeter is a 1″ titanium unit with a Tulip Waveguide.
The key advantage of this dual concentric design is that it allows for precise time alignment of the tweeter, thanks to its placement within the bass driver. This design also provides a single point source, which is why these speakers are known for their exceptional imaging.
The front baffle of the Tannoy Gold 7 includes input and high-frequency trim controls, making it easy to fine-tune the setup. While the bass driver can also be adjusted, the control for this is located on the back of the speaker. Although less convenient, once it’s set, you shouldn’t need to adjust it again.
Surrounding the input and high-frequency trim controls on the front is the bass port. I prefer front-ported speakers, especially in a nearfield desk setup like I have with these Tannoys. Front porting allows the speakers to be positioned closer to the wall compared to rear-ported designs, reducing the risk of bass boom in my setup.
Install & Setup
When the monitors arrived, I was quite surprised by their weight – at 9.4 kg each, they’re impressively solid. As I unpacked them, I was relieved to find that the build quality is rather good. The cabinets are covered in a textured vinyl that feels somewhat like brushed aluminium to the touch, while the front baffle sports a matte black finish. The trim controls and the surrounding plate also have a solid, pleasing feel.
I set up the Tannoy Gold 7 monitors on a pair of Auralex MoPads to minimise any resonance from the speakers affecting the desktop. I left the bass roll-off at 0dB and the high-frequency trim on the front panel also at 0dB. After connecting the XLR inputs to my audio interface, I was ready to start listening.
Sound Quality
After being fairly impressed with the build quality of the Tannoy Gold 7s, I was eager to give them a listen. With memories of the classic Tannoys still fresh in my mind, I started playing some music. My initial impression was that they were close to what I remembered, but not quite the same. Knowing that speakers often need a burn-in period, I decided to run music through them all day for a few weeks before making any final judgments.
As the weeks passed, the Tannoys began to smooth out the top end, which initially sounded a bit brittle. After three to four weeks, they settled in very nicely. I ended up rolling off the top end slightly using the high-frequency trim control, setting it to -1. Since I sit very close to these speakers, some high-frequency attenuation was expected – this isn’t a fault of the speakers being too bright; it’s something I’d need to do with most speakers in this setup.
The bass extension in my setup was excellent and didn’t need any attenuation. The bass is tight and solid, not woolly at all, which is exactly how I like it. The very low frequencies are clearly being electronically rolled off to protect the 6.5″ bass driver, but this only becomes noticeable on the occasional track with subsonic lows. For everyday monitoring, this shouldn’t pose any issues.
Conclusion
After owning the Tannoy Gold 7s for about six weeks, the question remains: do I still want to trade them in for the Dynaudio LYD7s? The simple answer is no—I threw out the Tannoy boxes just last week, so they’re staying. Over time, the Tannoys have mellowed beautifully, and they truly do evoke the classic sound of Tannoy monitors from the 1970s and 1980s, just as I remember them.
As for accuracy, who can say? And honestly, does it even matter? Not for the work I’m doing with them. If it did, I’d have a pair of ATC monitors on my desk. I did use the Tannoys for a mix after about two or three weeks, and that mix translated well to my mastering engineer’s ATCs, which is recommendation enough in my book.
The real selling point for me is that I can listen to the Tannoy Gold 7s all day without any fatigue. They cost about the same as a single midrange driver for the ATCs (literally) and suit my needs perfectly. The Dynaudio LYD7s might be more accurate in terms of pure fidelity, but I may never find out. I’m satisfied with these Tannoys and look forward to having them on my desk for years to come.
2024 Update
As we move into 2024, I wanted to provide an update on the Tannoy Gold 7 monitors for those curious about their longevity and reliability. I’m pleased to report that after using these monitors every single day for the past four years, they’re still going strong. I haven’t encountered a single issue, so from a reliability standpoint, they’ve been flawless. I have to admit, I was initially sceptical, expecting some kind of problem with a Chinese-made speaker – but I was wrong.
So, how much longer will I keep them? The simple answer is: until they die. The more complex answer is: until I can justify the purchase of the ATC SCM25 ASL Pro monitors. If you’re still on the fence about whether the Tannoys are a good choice, I can say with absolute confidence, after four years of constant use, that they absolutely are.
