Tannoy REVACMAN User Manual
Reveal Active
Nearfield Monitors
User Manual
CONTENTS
1.0 INTRODUCTION
2.0 THE BASICS
2.1 Unpacking and visual checks
2.2 Preliminary recommendation
2.3 Connecting your speakers
3.0 PLACEMENT OF THE SPEAKERS
3.1 Orientation
3.2 Positioning
3.3 Console Reflections
3.4 Speaker Mounting
3.5 Bass Ports
3.6 Equalization
4.0 PERFORMANCE DATA
5.0 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
6.0 SERVICING
6.1 Cabinet finish
6.2 Driver removal
6.3 Crossover
6.4 List of spare parts
7.0 WARRANTY
8.0 Declaration of Conformity
1.0 INTRODUCTION
You’re thinking, “Come on, a user’s manual for speakers? That’s like a user’s manual for a
toothbrush.” You know you should hook them up in phase and then you listen to them. How much
more do you need to know? We know these speakers are headed for the professional or semiprofessional studio market, so we know we don’t need to tell you about putting your potted plants
on top of the speakers, or to avoid putting the right one on the bookshelf, and the left one on the
floor behind the sofa. We know you are serious listeners or you wouldn’t have bought Tannoy
monitors. We decided that someone needed to produce this type of manual, and because we’re
actually interested in monitoring, not just speaker sales, we figured it would have to be us. This
user’s manual will tell you how to get the absolute best performance out of your new monitors.
2.0 THE BASICS
The Reveal Active is the latest active playback monitor from Tannoy, a company with unrivalled
experience in studio monitoring. It has an extremely detailed, dynamic sound with a wide, flat
frequency response – all of which are essential for monitoring with reliable accuracy.
The 25mm (1”) soft dome HF unit is seamlessly matched to a 165mm (6.5”) long throw bass unit.
The drive units are mounted on a massive 40mm thick baffle, curved to minimise diffraction and
creating the loudspeakers distinctive styling. Both drive units are magnetically shielded to allow
the system to be used close to video monitors.
Don’t put potted plants on top of your speakers, or solder your signal leads out of phase. Now
that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about some of the technical things to keep in mind.
2.1 Unpacking and visual checks
To remove the speakers from the carton without damage open the end flaps fully and bend them
right back (remember they are packed in pairs). Turn the package upside-down on the floor and
lift the carton vertically up to leave the speakers resting on their packing tray. Nothing on or in
your speakers should rattle about. Inspect each speaker for signs of transit damage. In the
unlikely event of this having occurred inform the carrier and the supplier. Keep all the packaging if
damage has occurred, as this will show evidence of excessive handling forces. It is also a good
idea to keep the carton if possible for future transportation.
2.2 Preliminary recommendation
Initially we would like to give a word of warning on high sound levels, which these speakers are
capable of generating over sustained periods of time. Levels over 95 dB for 8 hours per day can
eventually cause permanent hearing loss. Because Tannoy monitors have very low levels of time,
amplitude and frequency distortion it is not always obvious that the sound level is high while
working with them.
For continuous exposure we recommend the occasional use of a sound level meter capable of
integrating the sound level over a period of exposure according to noise control standards. This
should be used just to check that noise levels are always within safety limits.
2.3 Connecting your speakers
The compact, integrated design of a self powered unit like the Reveal Active makes it particularly
easy to install.
Having chosen an appropriate location for
your monitors and arranged them accordingly,
connect the power cord to the mains socket
(location 2) and turn the power on (mains
switch, location 1). The blue LED on the front
panel should now be illuminated. Before
connecting the source to the monitor, it is
advisable to ensure that there is no signal
present (by setting the output faders) so that
the signal is not likely to overload the system.
Connect the audio signal source (console
output) to the input connector (combined
XLR/jack socket) at the back of the monitor
(location 3).
As indicated on the silk screen printing, the
input connector is wired to the balanced
input as indicated below :
XLR input Jack input
Signal (+) pin 2 Tip (T)
Signal (-) pin 3 Ring (R)
Ground pin 1 Screen (S)
Fig.1
If the source itself has a balanced output, use shielded twin conductor cable (microphone cable)
connecting pin 2/T to pin 2/T, pin 3/R to pin 3/R, and pin 1/S to pin 1/S (using the shield).
If the source has an unbalanced output, a single conductor shielded cable can be used,
connecting pin 2/T of the input to the “hot” signal pin of the source, while pin 3/R and pin 1/S
should be linked together and connected to the source signal ground.
3.0 PLACEMENT OF THE SPEAKERS
Now here’s the truly critical stuff. Speaker placement and the listening environment can
completely compromise the performance of any loudspeaker, no matter how much it costs. It is
important to understand some limitations of near-field speakers, and the operating environment,
in order for you to gain the maximum performance from the pair sitting in front of you.
3.1 Orientation
Two-way speakers have a correct orientation for the serious listener. Two way systems use a
separate woofer and tweeter mounted in a vertical line on the baffle. There is a fixed vertical
distance between the centre of the two devices on the baffle, and there is fixed distance between
the apparent acoustic center of each device and the plane of the baffle at the crossover point. By
stacking the woofer and tweeter vertically, we minimize the problems caused by these physical
offsets. The near-field listening conditions magnify the effects of the driver offsets, so we really
need to optimize the speaker orientation. When you are very close to a speaker system, vertical
head movements are significant because your movement represents a large change in angle of
arc, and therefore the number of degrees above and below the axis (that’s the line between the
woofer and tweeter). In other words, bob your head up and down a few centimeters within a
metre of the cabinet, and your ear moves through a larger angle relative to the speaker axis than
it does with the same vertical motion 4 or 5 metres away. Need proof? Put on some music, not
loud, and get really close, about 500mm (20”) away. Move your head up and down now, and you
can actually get the musical image to break into a separate high frequency and low frequency
source. This is a wildly exaggerated example of what we’re talking about. It isn’t that bad out here
in the normal listening position, but the variations are still there.
All two way component systems have to live with some listening position dependent compromises
at the crossover point. The crossover frequency of all of these small systems falls into the center
of the midband (2.0kHz to 3.0kHz), where we are most capable of recognising frequency/phase
response deviations.
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