Tannoy Kensington SE Owners manual

OWNER’S MANUAL

ensington

1926Estd.

Kensington

In combining the best of traditional crafts with the latest production and design skills Tannoy presents the Kensington SE

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Tannoy - A Short History

In the early days of broadcasting radio sets needed both low and high voltage DC power and this had to be supplied by batteries. The lead acid batteries commonly used in the radio equipment of the time therefore needed regular recharging.

In London, in 1926, Guy R. Fountain perfected a new type of electrical rectifier with the aim of designing a charger more suitable for use in the home. His rectifier consisted of two dissimilar metals held in a special electrolyte solution; one was Tantalum and the other an alloy of Lead. So successful was this invention that Guy Fountain founded a British company by the name of Tannoy, a contraction of the words ’Tantalum’ and ’Alloy’, and this brand name soon became internationally renowned and highly regarded in all aspects of sound reproduction.

Early experiments with moving coil loudspeakers with DC energised magnets proved to be the companys first foray into the field of loudspeaker technology. A discrete two-way loudspeaker system followed in 1933 and shortly after a range of microphones and loudspeakers capable of high power handling. These developments led the company to become world famous in the field of public address and sound distribution, with countless prestigious installations completed in subsequent decades. So much so that the Oxford English Dictionary adopted the word Tannoy as the generic term for a PA system.

loudspeaker. The Kensington SE embodies the Tannoy philosophy . Cabinets in selected hardwoods are hand finished and polished to a standard that is unsurpassed.

The Kensington SE is a truly special loudspeaker. The speaker uses the classic Alcomax 3 version of the famous Tannoy Dual Concentric driver. This magnet system endows the Dual Concentric with an exceptional transient response and increased sensitivity . This high performance driver is installed in braced birch-ply and particleboard cabinet with hardwood veneers and solid wooden mouldings. Acrolink 99.9999% (6N) high purity copper wiring is used throughout, together with specially selected crossover components, inlcuding Hovland capacitors. High frequency energy can be tailored through a high current gold-plated switch block with controls for both treble energy and roll off. Low frequency alignment is through the Tannoy Distributed Port System (DPS). The specially designed twin-roll impregnated fabric surround used on the drive unit’s cone ensures midrange purity combined with tight, controlled bass.

Unpacking Instructions

Unfasten the bottom of the carton. Fold the end leaves out of the way and remove the packing tray to reveal the plinth and bottom of the loudspeaker cabinet. Locate and remove from the carton the accessories pack. Turn the carton and loudspeaker over so that the cabinet now stands on the floor inside the carton. Lift the carton upwards to reveal the loudspeaker.

Examine all packing material and inspect the carton for signs of external damage. If there is evidence of excessive mishandling in transit, resulting in damage to the loudspeaker, inform the carrier and supplier immediately. Always keep the packing in such circumstances for subsequent examination.

Tannoy strongly suggests that you store the complete packaging set for possible future use.

Tannoy has always been at the forefront of the communications revolution, developing its own equipment and production technology . The company has built up a fund of knowledge and experience, which has proved invaluable in the development of loudspeakers for an exceptionally wide range of applications. The famous Tannoy Dual Concentric“ loudspeaker driver principle was created and developed under Guy Fountain’s direction in the late 1940s. It is still highly regarded by music enthusiasts, recording facilities and broadcast studios, worldwide due to its unique point source dispersion properties. Due to the complex design, where the high frequency unit is mounted behind, and concentrically with, the low frequency unit, the low and high frequencies are fully integrated at source. It is this feature that gives the Dual Concentric“ driver such unique sound reproduction qualities.

Guy Fountain retired in 1974 but the Tannoy Company maintains his philosophy and, as such, remains dedicated to the accurate and realistic reproduction of music for those enthusiasts and audio professionals around the world.

The Tannoy Research and Development team has continued to refine the innovative Dual Concentric“ principle. Using the latest design and material technologies, with sophisticated circuit techniques in crossover design; Tannoy has produced a loudspeaker system with superb reproductive capabilities and exceptionally wide dynamic range.

Tannoy is now part of the TC Group, whose goal is to design, produce and distribute the best engineered, most recognised and respected brands of audio products in the world.

Initial Positioning

Locate the loudspeakers so that the favourite listening position is approximately 15¡ from the axes of the cabinets. The axes of both cabinets should intersect at a point slightly in front of the listening position. Remember that the proximity of the loudspeakers to walls and corners will affect the sound. Some experimentation will probably be needed to fine-tune the stereo image depth and low frequency sound quality. Close-to-wall positions - and room corners more so - have the effect of increasing very low frequency sound energy. Reflective adjacent walls may upset the stereo image by causing unwanted reflections.

The loudspeakers are designed to be used at least 1m from any sidewall or reflective surface and at least 0.5m away from a rear wall. Only in this position will their exceptional stereo image depth capabilities be realised.

Holes are provided in the base of the speakers for down-spikes that give maximum stability, these special floor coupling spikes are provided in the accessory pack and these should be screwed into the base of the loudspeakers, taking care not to over-tighten them. When the loudspeaker is installed in its upright position, the spikes should pass between the weave of your carpet to contact the floor beneath. Adjust the spikes for maximum stability.

For polished wooden floors, hard nylon self-levelling ’ball-and-cup’ feet are provided.

Amplifier Connections

Connection in Bi-Wire Mode

(See fig. 3)

Cable Choice

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Always use the best quality of cable available within your budget. High quality audio signals passing from the amplifier to the loudspeaker are unusual in their demands on the cable. Wide dynamic range and frequency bandwidth information has to coexist with the ability to transmit peak currents of at least 10amps, without incurring any loss or signal impairment. This explains why the sound quality of the information reproduced by the loudspeakers is so dependant on the physical properties of the cables connecting them to the amplifier.

We would recommend that you always keep the cable runs the same length for each speaker. Remember, cable construction can affect the sound quality so be prepared to experiment to find a cable that suits your ear and audio system.

Terminal Panel and Connection of Earth or ‘Ground’ Lead

(See figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4)

In order to take advantage of the driver earthing feature within the Prestige range and to optimise performance further, use a shielded or screened loudspeaker cable. The screening termination should be connected to the earth or ’ground’ (green) terminal on the loudspeaker and to the ground or earth connection on the amplifier. Alternatively if you are not using a screened loudspeaker cable but wish to utilise the earthing facility , run a single cable between the earth or ’ground’ (green) terminal on the loudspeaker to the earth (ground) connection on the amplifier.

Bi-Wiring Theory

Loudspeakers need power signals to produce acoustic energy when reproducing music. The range of electrical currents passing down the cable from the amplifier to the loudspeaker is very wide. In decibel terms this is called the dynamic range. Modern loudspeakers are capable of resolving a dynamic range of at least 80 dB with a suitable power amplifier.

An 80 dB dynamic range corresponds to voltages of between 50 Volt and 0.005 Volt at the loudspeaker terminals or equivalent currents of between 0.0006 and 6 Amp. This is a truly wide range of electrical signals to pass down one cable without some interactions causing a loss of resolution in the very small signals.

When electricity passes down a wire or cable, what goes in at one end is unfortunately different from what comes out at the other. The degree of loss or modification of a signal depends on the physical characteristics of the cable and the nature of the signal. Heavy electrical currents flowing down thin conductors cause heating effects. Very high frequency signals passing along conductors or cables of certain lengths cause electromagnetic radiation effects (aerials). Electrical cables are selected for minimum loss and maximum information resolution considering the type of electrical signals they are designed to carry.

A good solution to the problem is to ’Bi-Wire’ the loudspeakers to the amplifier. This means providing two separate sets

Connection in Single Wire Mode

Connect the pair of link cables supplied in the accessory kit to each loudspeaker terminal panel as follows:

¥ Starting with the red (positive) lead, loosen the locking pin which passes through the plug by turning the plastic

head of the locking pin one full anti-clockwise rotation. ¥ The ’unlocked’ plug can now be inserted into the red (positive) low frequency (LF) terminal on the loudspeaker. ¥ Tighten the plug by turning the locking pin clockwise until finger-tight. ¥ The spade connection at the other end of the lead should be connected to the red (positive) high frequency (HF)

terminal on the loudspeaker. To do this, loosen the terminal nut sufficiently to allow insertion of the spade connector

and then re-tighten the terminal nut finger-tight. ¥ Repeat this operation for the black (negative) HF and LF terminals ¥ Repeat the whole operation for the other loudspeaker

For optimum performance in single wire mode, loudspeaker cable connections from the amplifier should now be made to the high frequency (HF) terminals of the loudspeaker:

¥ The positive (plus) terminal on the amplifier left channel (marked + or coloured red) must be connected to the

positive HF terminal on the left speaker. The left speaker is the one on the left as you look at the stereo pair from

your listening position. ¥ The negative (minus) terminal on the amplifier left channel (marked - or coloured black) must be connected to the

negative HF terminal on the left speaker. ¥ Repeat this connection process for the right speaker. Remember that the positive (+ or red) on the amplifier must

be connected to the positive (+ or red) on the speaker and the negative (- or black) to negative.

(See fig. 2)

of cables from the power amplifier to each loudspeaker and dividing the electrical signals into high current, ’slow’ signals and light current, ’fast’ signals. Of course, the loudspeaker must be fitted with two pairs of terminals to take the two sets of cables; your Tannoy loudspeakers are of course equipped for just this type of connection.

Please note in bi-wire mode that the link leads, which are supplied in the accessory pack, should NOT be fitted.

¥ Be sure that the amplifier is switched OFF and then prepare the two sets of cabling for each ’side’ of the system

separately. Measure and cut four lengths of cable, two per speaker. Label two of the cable lengths Left LF and Left HF (low frequency and high frequency) then repeat this process for the right pair.

¥ If your amplifier is not equipped with separate output terminals for bass and treble information then, at the amplifier

end of the cables, twist the Left LF+ (positive) and the Left HF+ (positive) together. Connect these to the amplifier Left channel positive terminal marked + (plus) or coloured red. Twist the Left LF- (negative) and the HF- (negative) cables together and connect them to the amplifier Left channel negative terminal marked - (minus) or coloured black. At the loudspeaker end connect the cables labelled Left LF+ and Left LF- to the left hand loudspeaker LF terminals, ensuring that you note the polarity markings on the cable sheathing. Then proceed to connect the Left HF+ and Left HF- to the HF terminals on the same loudspeaker.

¥ Repeat this process to connect the right hand loudspeaker to the amplifier right channel output, once again ensuring

that polarity is correct throughout.

¥ Switch the amplifier on with the volume control set at its lowest setting. Select a favourite source and slowly turn

Select a signal source, such as a CD player; switch on the amplifier and slowly turn up the volume control to check that both loudspeakers are reproducing bass and treble information.

up the volume to a low level. Check that bass and treble information is being reproduced from both speakers - if not, switch off the amplifier and recheck the connections.

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