Finding quality speakers can be difficult, especially if you’re looking for good value. And let’s not forget the importance of a pedigree when it comes to loudspeakers – picking a trusted brand with a long, reputable history is the key to years and years of listening pleasure. Sure, you can spend less money on a brand you don’t know and trust, but why would you when the most universally adored hi-fi brands cater for every price range?
Take, the the Tannoy Mercury series. It has has been around for quite some time. So long, in fact, that it has only recently birthed its seventh generation, which includes…
The Tannoy Mercury 7.1 Speakers are the most compact and affordably priced of the bookshelf speakers within the Tannoy Mercury 7 series. This is a range that has stood the test of time for a number of reasons. Price, of course, is very important and the Mercury range has always been Tannoy’s most affordable, but each generation benefits from the many and varied technological advances of its higher end cousins.
Now, these speakers are very small, at just 270mm tall by 160mm wide. But they project a sound that could easily compete with their much, much larger rivals. this is due to their new drivers: a127mm mid/base driver coupled with the Mercury 7 series 28mm tweeter (shared across the range) in a rear-ported (for excellent bass response) 4.7 litre cabinet. Small but mighty in sound and in presence. The tweeter is constructed from soft woven polyester, and “laminated” with a “micro layer of nitro-urethane”, for smooth well dampened treble. The new mid/bass driver is equally meticulous, and a great deal larger than both previous models, and other models of this size, for a bit more punch than you’d expect from such a small speaker.
The success of the long, long Mercury line isn’t an accident. Tannoy have always trickled down their technologies to lower priced units, to excellent effect:
“Throughout the signal path, Mercury 7 benefits from technologies trickled down from [our] high-performance and luxury speaker ranges. The crossovers employ close tolerance components throughout, including low-loss laminated iron core inductors for seamless integration between drivers. Internal wiring is silver-plated Oxygen Free Copper and speaker terminals utilise [our] custom designed gold-plated binding posts.” ~ Tannoy
The drivers, the trickle-down tech and what they have described as their most “acoustically neutral cabinet” of all time make for a pretty special little speaker in the Tannoy Mercury 7.1. To celebrate its 7th Mercury generation, they have also released a new, somewhat luxurious wood-grain effect finish (Walnut, Light Oak or Black Oak) so it will look the part too.
Like what you see? Click here to take a closer look at the full listing (including the tech specs) and see if the tiniest Tannoy can find a place in your home.