Tannoy have long been favourites of ours here at Audio Affair. The high-end brand has frequently pleased on every level. From their bookshelves to their floorstanders to their surround setups, they have drummed up points in terms of aesthetic, build quality, features and, of course, sound many, many times over.
Sadly, finding a pair of floorstanders in particular that ticks every box: from the pedigree through to the sound quality, the aesthetic and the build quality, that doesn’t cost several limbs is not all that common in today’s market. Not, of course, if you want something that’s brand new. Tannoy, after the unrivalled successes of the Revolution XT6F and its larger brother the XT8F, Tannoy decided to do something to bridge the gap and open the market up to something more accessible.
That is one of a pair of Tannoy Eclipse 3 Speakers, large floorstanding speakers suitable for a variety of spaces. They’re high fidelity, yet hugely affordable and perhaps the next best thing to the multi-award winning XT6F, explaining why its scooped up awards in its own right.
The cabinets are constructed out of Tannoy’s somewhat trademarked heavyweight fibreboard – not exactly sexy, but very much on the side of functionality and longevity, with the fibreboard minimising cabinet colouration. They are rear ported too, so the bass is tight, controlled and plentiful. It comes with a dedicated plinth (not something typically associated with budget floorstanders) which assists nicely with isolation and further reduces resonance. Not only that but the provided floor-spikes are adjustable, so you can get just the right level, and not damage the floor or carpet.
Now, onto the drivers:
“Eclipse drivers are a whole new design. The range mates a 28 mm (1.10”) coated silk dome tweeter with new high efficiency Eclipse mid/bass drivers for seamless integration and an incredibly dynamic sound throughout the audio band. The LF drivers have been developed with a light, stiff multi-fibre cone with nitrile rubber surround for superb transient attack and bass punch. High efficiency neodymium magnets on the HF drivers extend frequency response to 32 kHz, for smooth and detailed treble.” ~ Tannoy
The driver configuration of the Tannoy Eclipse 3 is “D’Appolito”, which refers to the placement of the tweeter centrally between the two bass/mid drivers, allowing for “smooth dispersion through the crossover region, which in itself is influenced heavily by the design and component choices of the brand’s higher-end models (such as the Revolution XT6F, as mentioned).
Clearly a lot of time and effort has gone into ensuring these speakers don’t sound like anything else in the under £300 category… and it has truly paid off. As winners in 2016 for that very category, the sound has been praised as dynamic, agile and articulate, with buckets of expression. A hugely accessible sound, in more ways than one.
Like what you see? Click here to take a closer look, including the full tech specs.