Price Paid:  $1400.00 from local dealer

Summary:
I have the speakers for about 5 months by mow, and over the so many components I replaced in my system, the D500 are the most significant in terms of overall listening pleasure. Once you feed them with a good Amp you could hear one of the best mids and highs in any speaker. The bass is not that punchy and strong, but very accurate. This speakers let you enjoy music for hours without getting the fatigue effect. Oh, and they are very beautiful built.

Strengths:
Beautifully built, great mids and highs, accurate bass

Weaknesses:
discontinued, mellow bass

Similar Products Used:
proac responce, JBL 100t,sonus faber concherto

Price Paid:  $1800.00

Summary:
I bought them used, in good condition. The Tannoys are a real gem. Highlights are everywhere. The captivating design is elegant and the worksmanship is simply perfect. They are not very picky about amplification, as I found out, but still, I got my best results only after having upgraded to a Krell KAV 300 integrated. I can't define any particular strengths as everything is on the positive side. The sound is truly natural with real sweetness and levels of detail you will find in speakers that cost twice. You will find the low-end not only to be accurate, fast, and dynamic but sufficient for any type of music whatsoever. Extremely pleasing. The soundstage is fully three-dimensional, locating the speakers without seeing them is almost impossible. Put them in a large living room with a high ceiling and the sound is astounding. The dual-concentric driver makes them sound very accurate, just like electrostatic loudspeakers. The sound starts stops exactly when it should, without any delay. If you can still get your hands on a pair, don't hesitate. This is true high-end at an affordable price. Upgrading from here on would be very difficult. I'm looking forward to bi-amping them in the near future.

Strengths:
Great big sound. Excellent for all tastes. Beautiful design.

Weaknesses:
Absolutely none.

Similar Products Used:
Triangle Celius 202, cabasse Sloop 500, others.

Price Paid:  $1600.00 from Audiogon - Private s

Summary:
A beautiful speaker that sounds very good. The imaging and bass are excellent. The build quality is first rate. This is the best $1600 I have spent on my stereo system. My McIntosh MA6450 integrated amp works well with the D500s. Together with the SONY DVP S7000 CD/DVD player, the system produces very warm, natural sound, with incredible 3-D sound stage. I can listen to the music for hours without suffering fatigue. A very good buy if you can find one. I heard that Tannoy has discontinued the Definition line.

Strengths:
Warm, natual sound, with excellent imaging. Bass is not bad either; make sure to use a good amp.

Similar Products Used:
B&W P5, Tannoy M1

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
This speaker paints a very broad and colourful (but not: coloured) picture. Beautiful mids, and never exaggerated lows and highs. Therefore also suitable for harder listening rooms as well as for smaller rooms. It's a floorstander that plays and sounds like a standmount! This is the most precise musical instrument I have heard in a long time (and I have tried a lot), without losing the ability to make music....

Strengths:
Beautiful mids, and unexaggerated lows and highs. Suitable for 'harder' listening rooms.

Weaknesses:
None found yet, although not exactly cheap.

Similar Products Used:
Tannoy D-700 (perfect for bigger rooms), JBL L90, Revel Performa M20.

Price Paid:  $2300.00 from Audio Unlimited - De

Summary:
Tannoy D500''s are just right! My 8 year old Thiel CS 1.5 speakers have served me well over the years but I was due for a change especially since my move to a vacuum tube amplifier last year. I needed a speaker that filled the room with more robust sound and can still be enjoyed at low to moderate volume levels. The Thiel CS 1.5''s have outstanding detail and imaging but you have to play them loud to make them sound their very best and even then, they didn''t have that robustness that typically comes from larger speakers. I auditioned a variety of speakers before buying the Tannoy D500''s. The Soliloquy 6.2 had a midbass emphasis that caused this speaker to sound too warm and lacking treble. The Vienna Acoustics Mozart was laid back and very smooth.. a bit too smooth at the expense of good detail. I really liked the Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home but they were a little aggressive and I simply did not like their physical styling. The Tannoy D500''s gave me good detail, good imaging, big soundstage, not too laid back, nice even midrange, far reaching treble without being annoying or bright, and reasonably good bass. These speakers do not go extremely low in the bass as they are rated to 40Hz but the bass they provide is tight and clean. Construction quality is superb and they are relatively sensitive speakesr which mate well with my 70w/ch tube amp. Mine is finished in American Cherry. If you want to get that to that next level of performance with these Tannoys, try a REL StormIII subwoofer! They integrate seemlessly and fill in the bottom octave for better "presense". My system at time of Tannoy D500 review: Conrad-Johnson Premier 11a tube amp Balanced Audio Technology VK-20 preamp Cary 306/200 24/192 CD Player Sony XA7ES CD Player PS Audio Ultimate Outlets PS Audio MiniLab Power Cords Kimber 8TC Speaker Cable AudioQuest Diamond Interconnects I recently added the REL StormIII subwoofer but these Tannoy D500s do nicely on their own

Strengths:
A good all around sound. Nothing stands out like a sore thumb as with others I tried. Large soundstage, good detail, plesant treble.

Weaknesses:
Could go a little lower in bass but what do you expect at this price point. Try it with a REL sub!

Similar Products Used:
Soliloquy 6.2 Vienna Acoustics Mozart Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home Thiel CS 1.5