Jagster

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Private Seller

Summary:
Tannoy 635+ Rosewood These speakers were the forerunner to the Definition D300 having a single 8 inch dual concentric driver and housed in a beautiful rosewood cabinet almost identical to D300. These speakers produce a wonderfully balanced sound. I use them in a small apartment at higher volume levels than I could use my previous bass heavy speakers that used to attract complaints from neighbours. The 635s' are highly musical and give an accurate and enthusiastic rendition of whatever music style you choose without overstating any particular octave of sound within the soundstage. The result is a very enjoyable and polished sound that leaves you humming your tunes when you switch your hi-fi off.

Strengths:
Neutral but well balanced sound. Accurate bass without excessive thump. I can play them at higher volumes without upsetting close neighbours. The cabinets are truly beautiful pieces of furniture.

Weaknesses:
Very rare loudspeakers. They can show up bad recordings for what they are. I don't consider this a fault.

Similar Products Used:
Tannoy DC1000 Tannoy 637+

Price Paid:  $670.00 from Stassen Hifi

Summary:
I was looking for a pair of loudspeakers in the $600-$700 range, and because the D300 has been around for some time now, it fitted my budget nicely. I guess that Stassen realized that the were giving these speakers away, because since I bought them, the price has gone up $100 a piece... Anyway, I am very pleased withe these little music makers. They sound wonderfully controlled and neutral. As mentioned by others, the imaging is unsurpassed by allmost any speaker up to $2500 a pair and then some. For me this is a major strength. I listen to jazz and classical music mostly, but I play Radiohead, Nick Cave, Counting Crows etc. also. Whatever music you feed to this speakers, they do not seem to care at all. However, for people who like to really feel the bass: look somewhere else. This loudspeker is simply not big enough to provide real slam. For me the bass is just right. nicely in balance with the rest of the sound. I would advise anyone who is looking for a neutral but rich sounding speaker to give the D300's a listen. They can easily compete with current $2000 a pair models, and can be found for less than half of that price. I can only give these musical giants a 5/5.

Strengths:
neutral - rich and full sound - bass perfectly integrated with the rest of the frequency range - stunning imaging - dirt cheap if you know where to look

Weaknesses:
- not for bass addicts

Similar Products Used:
KEF Tannoy Eyris Dynaudio 1.3 MK2

Price Paid:  $1500.00

Summary:
Avoid Naim, Audiolab. The result is too 'hard'.

I achieved excellent results with a cambridge CD4se, EAR 834L pre amp and musical fidelity A3cr power amp.

I currently use Rotel 975cd, Musical fidelity A3 pre and power. This works well, but not as well as using the valve pre amp.

Bi wiring is a must. I have tried numerous cables and achieved best results with DNM reson.

Strengths:
1. Excellent stereo imaging, probably the best in it's class
2.An excellent intergrated and extended base response when used with high quality powerfull amplifier.

Weaknesses:
1. Treble is a touch harsh. This can be controled to a limited extent by using 'softer sounding' speaker cables.
2.These speakers communicate in a 'forward','direct' and explicit manner, especially in the mid range. Again this can be partially controlled by matching with powerfull 'warmer' sounding amps.

Price Paid:  $1500.00

Summary:
I went to the hifi store to have a preliminary audit of some speakers in the $1000-1500 range. I listened to all of the known brands, about 10 pairs, see what they have to offer in that range. Since I'm a DIY, I was not looking for a perfect compromise, but more for a speaker that could give me that High End feeling with maybe some flaws here and there that could be solved.
The Kef's sounded really nice, also the Tannoy R3 was neutral and detailed. There was only one speaker standing out: the D300. It immediately grapped your attention, every time it was playing. In the most dens pieces it could still tear the instruments apart and let you hear what was going on. It was the extreem directness and pinpoint stereo-image that none of the others could come close to. Percussion was really hard hitting and so detailed, one could almost hear the hairs of the snare.
The size of the stage is limited, probably because of a true impulse respons and little phase distortion. It doesn't sound so airy, but it is also not vague. The band is playing live in front of you, not behind a thick curtain.
If you like this directness, look no further. The D300 could be on sale because it is not the newest model, so you can get a good deal.
The weakness is the bass, but don't get disappointed, it goes pretty deep but there just isn't much of it. It sounds lean compared to other speakers.
Currently I am using it with a subwoofer. It was difficult to set up the system right, because the D300 lets you hear everything that you are doing (wrong). But with sub it is really good.
I'm using the D300 with my Treshold power amp and it sounds very controlled. With former mono-blocks it seemed to have less power handling, although the amps were very powerfull. I guess, these speakers are a bit difficult to control when playing loud, so please buy a good amp. They are worth a $2000-4000 poweramp.

Strengths:
stunning stereo image, detailed and "fast".

Weaknesses:
lean bass

Similar Products Used:
Meridian M30(active), Tannoy R1, Harbeth Monitor, etc.

Price Paid:  $1300.00 from Merkensteijn, Hengelo

Summary:
As it was time to replace our old Wharfdale 507.2's, my wife and I recently spent about half a day auditioning loudspeakers in the $1000 range. We had basically decided on Tannoy R3's due to their extremely neutral character (compared to KEF and Lynn) when the dealer mentioned that he had a pair of demo D300's going cheap...

All of a sudden we were not listing to music any more, we had moved to the concert hall! The D300's have the same neutral character as the R3's but are so much more open and are much better at positioning the individual instruments in the orchestra. This more than makes up for their slightly lighter bass. Comparing $2000 speakers to $1000 speakers is not really fair of course, but the choice was easily made!

As I read from other reviews that D300's are fussy with regards to positioning, I guess that we will be playing around for a while yet. At least the speakers are 'loose' being demos!

Strengths:
Excellent treble and midrange; light tight bass; good positioning.

Weaknesses:
Light tight bass....

Similar Products Used:
Tannoy R3