Tannoy VQ 60, VQ 100, VQ DF, VQ MB User Manual

USER MANUAL

VQ 60
VQ 100
VQ DF
VQ MB

SERIES

CONTENTS

1

INTRODUCTION

2

UNPACKING

3

CONNECTORS/CABLING

4

POLARITY CHECKING

5

AMPLIFICATION & POWER HANDLING

6

LOUDSPEAKER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

6.1 VQ 60 Bi-amp System Parameters

6.2 VQ 60 Tri-amp System Parameters

6.3 VQ 100 Bi-amp System Parameters

6.4 VQ 100 Tri-amp System Parameters

6.5 VQ DF Single Amp System Parameters

6.5 VQ DF Bi-Amp System Parameters

6.7 VQ MB Single Amp System Parameters

6.8 Other Speaker Management Considerations

RIGGING & SUSPENSION

7

8

WARANTY

9

OPERATION & SERVICING

10

SERVICE PARTS AND ACCESSORIES

VQ 60
VQ 100
VQ DF
VQ MB
Accessories

11

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

11.1 VQ 60

11.2 VQ 100

11.3 VQ DF

11.4 VQ MB

12

DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY

7.1 Flying a single VQ Cabinet using Eyebolts

7.2 VQ Flying Bracket (single point hang flying bracket)

7.3 VQ Link Plate

7.4 Using the VQ MB for additional pattern control

7.5 Arraying - VQ 60

7.6 VQ Flying Angles

7.7 Centre of Gravity Locations

2

Congratulations on the purchase of your new VQ loudspeaker. You now own one of the finest professional audio
products available. Performance of your VQ loudspeaker in terms of accuracy & perceptive sound quality is
second to none as you will discover. The VQ series of products was developed to provide the sound
reinforcement system designer with essential tools for creating loudspeaker systems with exceptional pattern
control and high output. This series provides an array of devices ideally suited to a variety of live sound
reinforcement and high level foreground music venues.

Please read this user manual to get the optimum performance from your new VQ loudspeaker system.

1 INTRODUCTION

The VQ full range products utilize a unique driver technology to radiate a coherent single point source for superior
dispersion control when coupled to our single horn. This advanced design aligns the acoustical centres of the
transducers providing a single coherent wavefront emanating from the throat.

The driver uses two concentric annular ring diaphragms. The larger of the two has a 3.5” voice coil and reproduces
frequencies from 400Hz to 7 kHz. Another major advantage here is that there is no crossover anywhere near the
vocal region ensuring the most natural and phase coherent reproduction at this critical area. The 2” HF diaphragm
takes over at 7kHz to 22kHz by way of a passive or an active crossover. The external casting features extensive
heatsinking ensuring good heat transfer for high power handling and very low power compression.

The VQ 60 is a full range, three-way loudspeaker system designed for applications which
require very high output capability with class leading pattern control. The VQ 60 is
perfectly suited for use in arrays or singly in demanding high SPL music or speech
applications. Unlike line array solutions, the VQ 60 can produce enough power and clarity
to be used individually maintaining your building's aesthetics. With low frequency
extension to 90Hz, the VQ 60 can be combined with various subwoofers for extended
bandwidth. The VQ 60 can be configured for use in Bi-Amp or Tri-Amp mode, in
conjunction with a suitable digital signal processor (DSP).

SERIES

The VQ 100 is a full range, three-way loudspeaker system designed for applications which
require high output capability with class leading pattern control. The VQ 100 features a
wide and exceptionally well defined dispersion characteristic.For a variety of uses, a single
VQ 100 can produce more power and clarity over itʼs 100 degree beamwidth area than
many arrayed solutions using multiple cabinets. With low frequency extension to 90Hz,
the VQ 100 can be combined with various subwoofers for extended bandwidth. The
VQ 100 can be configured for use in Bi-Amp or Tri-Amp mode, in conjunction with a
suitable digital signal processor (DSP).

The VQ DF (Down Fill) is a dedicated two way down-firing Mid/High loudspeaker designed
to seamlessly integrate with the VQ full range and VQ MB loudspeakers matching their
exact footprint. The down firing configuration allows the VQ DF to be tight packed without
the need for any complex fly-ware. With a coverage pattern of 80 x 50 degrees, the VQ DF
will provide even coverage to the areas immediately below the main flown loudspeakers.
For full range use the VQ DF can also be used along with the VQ MB.The VQ DF can be
configured for use in Single or Bi-Amp mode, in conjunction with a suitable digital signal
processor (DSP).

The VQ MB duplicates the low frequency performance of the VQ 60 & VQ 100 full range
loudspeakers, it is intended for use as a flown or ground stacked, high power low/mid
frequency module used in conjunction with full range or mid/high systems in the VQ series.
Two (12 in) low frequency transducers, offer high power handling and low power
compression for high continuous SPL capability. A newly designed LF loading design
provides the highest possible sensitivity for low/mid frequency output (105dB/w). The
VQ 60 and VQ 100 provide consistent beamwidth down to about 500Hz. This usually is
sufficient for many applications, but often the situation calls for extended vertical pattern
control for additional gain before feedback in the lower midrange to mid-bass region and/or
improved direct-to-reverberant ratio in the mid-bass range for live rooms. The addition of
one or more VQ MB devices to the array will extend the vertical pattern down to the
250Hz range and lower by taking advantage of the basic acoustical principles of
spaced sources.

3

2 UNPACKING

Every Tannoy VQ product is carefully tested and inspected before being packaged and leaving the factory. After
unpacking your loudspeaker, please inspect for any exterior physical damage, and save the carton and any
relevant packaging materials in case the loudspeaker again requires packing and shipping. In the event that
damage has been sustained in transit notify your dealer immediately. If this loudspeaker has to be returned to
Tannoy, contact the Service Department for a Return Authorization Number. Use the original shipping carton and
packing materials where possible. Tannoy will not be responsible for damage caused by inadequate packing.

3 CONNECTORS/CABLING

Input Connector Panels

Note : The VQ 60 and VQ 100 are configured as standard for Bi-Amp operation.

Tri-Amp operation is possible using the Barrier strip input terminals. See ʻBarrier Strip Connectionsʼ on
the following page for further details.

The VQ DF is configured as standard for single amp operation. Bi-Amp operation is possible using the Barrier
strip input terminals. See ʻBarrier Strip Connectionsʼ on the following page for further details.

The VQ MB is configured for single amp operation.

VQ 60 / 100 VQ DF

VQ MB

4

The VQ 60, VQ 100 and VQ DF are fitted with 4-pole Neutrik Speakonʻ connectors and barrier strip for fixed
installations.

Speakon Connections -

Speakon has the following advantages over EP and XLR type connectors:
All terminations are solderless; this makes life easier at the time of installation or when field servicing is required.

Contacts will accept 6 sq. mm wire with an outside diameter of up to 15mm and a current rating of 30 Amps. The
pins of the 2 Speakon sockets identified input/output on the rear of the input panel are paralleled within the
enclosure to facilitate the connection to additional VQ loudspeakers (Except the VQ MB). Tannoy has adopted the
standard professional audio wiring convention for the VQ product.

VQ 60 and VQ 100
Speakeron Connections

LF Negative (-ve)
LF Positive (+ve)

MF/HF Positive (+ve)
MF/HF Negative (-ve)

SERIES

VQ DF Speakeron
Connections

MF/HF Negative (-ve)
MF/HF Positive (+ve)

No connections on pins
1+ and 1-

VQ MB Speakeron
Connections

LF Negative (-ve)
LF Positive (+ve)

No connections on pins
2+ and 2-

5

Barrier Strip Connections

Cable Run

Diameter of

conductor

Cable

Resistance

Wire Loss (dB)

Damping Factor*

mftmm

awg

ohm

4ohm

Load

8ohm

Load

4ohm

Load

8ohm

Load

1.5mm150.10

0.2

0.1
40

80

2.5mm100.04

0.1

0

108

216

4mm60.0100
255

510

5

16

6mm30.0100
494

988

1.5mm150.20

0.4

0.2
19

41

2.5mm100.07

0.2

0.1
55

111

4mm60.03

0.1

0

136

272

10

33

6mm30.0100
282

563

1.5mm150.4910.5
8

16

2.5mm100.18

0.4

0.2
23

45

4mm60.07

0.1

0.1
57

114

25

82

6mm30.03

0.1

0

123

246

1.5mm150.98

1.9

1
4

8

2.5mm100.35

0.7

0.4
11

23

4mm60.14

0.3

0.1
29

58

50

164

6mm30.06

0.1

0.1
64

127

1.5mm151.95

3.5

1.9

2

4

2.5mm100.70

1.4

0.7

6

11

4mm60.27

0.6

0.3
15

29

100

328

6mm30.12

0.3

0.1
32

65

*The resulting damping factor figures are derived using a good quality professional amplifier

The barrier strip accommodates bare wire, tinned leads or spade connectors. The barrier strips are specifically
designed for utilization in fixed/permanent installations. The VQ 60 and VQ 100 are configured for Bi-amp
operation; by removing the 4 link wires between the two barrier strips on the termination panel tri-amp operation is
possible. The VQ DF is configured for single amp operation; by removing the 4 link wires between the two barrier
strips on the termination panel bi-amp operation is possible.
.
VQ 60/100 Bi-amp – Connect LF amplifier to LF +/- on top row of barrier strip.

Connect MF/HF amplifier to MF/HF +/- on bottom row of barrier strip.

VQ 60/100 Tri-amp - Connect LF amplifier to LF +/- on top row of barrier strip.

Connect MF amplifier to MF +/- on top row of barrier strip.
Connect HF amplifier to HF +/- on top row of barrier strip.

VQ DF Single Amp - Connect MF/HF amplifier to MF/HF +/- on bottom row of barrier strip.
VQ DF Bi-amp - Connect MF amplifier to MF +/- on top row of barrier strip.

Connect HF amplifier to HF +/- on top row of barrier strip.

VQ MB - Connect amplifier to LF +/- terminals

Note that looping out to additional loudspeakers will have the effect of reducing the load on the amplifier. Avoid
loading amplifiers too low. If the amplifier is rated for 4 ohms minimum, don't give it a 2 ohm load. Even when the
amplifier is rated down to 2 ohms remember that in order to keep up with the power the circuit will have much
higher current than before and the wiring will have to handle it. Not only will the wiring losses grow but the
damping factor of the system will be degraded. It might be better to run separate cables from the amp to the
speakers or divide the load across two amplifier channels.

Cable choice consists mainly of selecting the correct cross sectional area in relation to the cable length and the
load impedance. A small cross sectional area would increase the cables series resistance, inducing power loss,
and response variations (damping factor).

Connectors should be wired with a minimum of 2.5 sq. mm (12 gauge) cable. This will be perfectly satisfactory
under normal conditions. In the case of very long cable runs the wire size should exceed this. The following table
shows the change in resistance, sensitivity loss and damping factor due to the effects of cable diameter and
length for two nominal impedance loads (4ohms & 8ohms). Use this table to determine a suitable cable diameter
for the length of run you require. For resultant damping factor, values greater than 20 are generally considered
adequate for high quality sound reinforcement systems.

6

VQ Series Recommended Amplifier Power

VQ60/100

Power Requirement

Low Frequency

2000W into 4 ohms

Passive MF/HF

400W into 8 ohms

Mid Frequency

400W into 8 ohms

High Frequency

200W into 8 ohms

VQ DF

Passive MF/HF

400W into 8 ohms

Mid Frequency

400W into 8 ohms

High Frequency

200W into 8 ohms

VQ MB

2000W into 4 ohms

4 POLARITY CHECKING

It is most important to check the polarity of the wiring before the speaker system is flown. A simple method of
doing this without a pulse based polarity checker for LF units is as follows: Connect two wires to the +ve and -ve
terminals of a PP3 battery. Apply the wire which is connected to the +ve terminal of the battery to the speaker
cable leg which you believe to be connected to pin 1+ of the speaker connector and likewise the -ve leg of the
battery to pin 1-.

If you have wired it correctly the LF drive unit will move forward, indicating the wiring is correct. All that remains
now is to connect the +ve speaker lead to the +ve terminal on the amplifier and the -ve lead to the -ve terminal
on the amplifier. If however the LF driver moves backwards, the input connections need to be inverted.

There are also commercially available polarity checkers that can be used (IviePAL™, NTI™). If you are
commissioning a system using a spectrum analyzer such as SMAART™, SYSTUNE™, CLIO™, MLSSA™ by
checking the impulse response for the first positive swing. Be sure that EQ and crossover filtering has been
removed before checking.

If problems are encountered, inspect the cable wiring in the first instance. If you are using amplifiers from more
than one manufacturer, check the polarity at the amplifiers as well as the loudspeakers.

5 AMPLIFICATION & POWER HANDLING

As with all professional loudspeaker systems, the power handling is a function of voice coil thermal capacity. Care
should be taken to avoid running the amplifier into clip (clipping is the end result of overdriving any amplifier).
Damage to the loudspeaker will be sustained if the amplifier is driven into clip for any extended period of time.
Headroom of at least 3dB should be allowed. When evaluating an amplifier, it is important to take into account its
behavior under low impedance load conditions. A loudspeaker system is highly reactive and with transient signals
it can require more current than the nominal impedance would indicate.

SERIES

Generally a higher power amplifier running free of distortion will do less damage to the loudspeaker than a lower
power amplifier continually clipping. It is also worth remembering that a high powered amplifier running at less
than 90% of output power generally sounds a lot better than a lower power amplifier running at 100%. An amplifier
with insufficient drive capability will not allow the full performance or the loudspeaker to be realized.

It is important when using different manufacturers amplifiers in a single installation that the have very closely
matched gains, the variation should be less than +/- 0.5dB. This precaution is important to the overall system
balance when only a single active crossover is being used with multiple cabinets; it is therefore recommended
that the same amplifiers be used throughout.

On the specifications pages you will find the VQ loudspeakers power handling capacity quoted in three
categories:­Average (RMS), Programme, & Peak
We recommend using the programme power listed in the loudspeaker specifications to choose the correct
amplifier. To realize the VQ loudspeakers full potential, the amplifiers rated continuous power should be equal to
the loudspeakers programme power at its nominal impedance.

7

6 LOUDSPEAKER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Tannoy VQ series loudspeakers are designed to be used with an electronic signal processor which provides
crossover, equalization, delay and dynamic functions. We strongly recommend the use of the Tannoy Vnet SC1
controller, as the VQ range of loudspeakers were voiced with this unit. Also, small discrepancies can be evident
between various manufactures filter coefficients.

In its basic configuration the Tannoy VNET SC1 is a powerful ʻ2 in 6 outʼ digital system controller provides multiple
X-Over, EQ, Delay and Limiting options. Using DSP-based digital crossovers with 96kHz sampling rates, this
versatile controller will enable simple configuration and optimization of loudspeakers in terms of speaker
management and room EQ functionality.

Two versions of the VNET SC1 are available – one with a VNET™ network card and one without.
The ʻnetwork enabledʼ version facilitates VNET™ networking capability with two network ports provided for
connection to any Tannoy VNET™ system. See www.tannoy.com for more a more detailed specification on the
VNET SC1.

However, you may still wish to use an alternative loudspeaker management system. The necessary system
parameters which must be adhered to for optimum system performance are shown in the tables in the
following pages.

8

6.1 VQ 60 BI-AMP SYSTEM PARAMETERS

y

Parameter

Unit/Name

Low (2x12")

Mid/High

PSW™

Gain (dB)

0

-10

Delay

(ms)

0.7

0

Polarity

Positive

Positive

Freq (Hz)

70

450

Slope (dB/oct)

1224HPF *

Filter Shape

Butterworth

Linkwitz-Riley

Freq (Hz)

500

out

Slope (dB/oct)

48

LPF

Filter Shape

Linkwitz-Riley

Freq (Hz)

149

600

Level (dB)

+4

+3

Type

Parametric

Parametric

PEQ 1

Q/Bandwidth

3.0/0.479

8.54/1.71

Freq (Hz)

278

2100

Level (dB)

-6

-2

Type

Parametric

Parametric

PEQ 2

Q/Bandwidth

2.4/0.597

5.04/0.286

Freq (Hz)

1220

4600

Level (dB)

-15

+4

Type

Parametric

Parametric

PEQ 3

Q/Bandwidth

5.04/0.286

2.0/0.714

Freq (Hz)

6000

Level (dB)

-3dB

Type

Parametric

PEQ 4

Q/Bandwidth

3.6/0.40

Freq (Hz)

12000

Level (dB)

+4

Type

Parametric

PEQ 5

Q/Bandwidth

5.04/0.286

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

10 100 1000 10000 100000

SERIES

Electrical Transfer Function - Biamp VQ 60

LF

MF/HF

Level (dB)

Frequency (Hz)

9

y

Parameter

Unit/Name

Low (2x12")

Mid PSW™

High PSW™

Gain

(dB)0-10

-6

Delay

(ms)

0.700.21

Polarity

Positive

Positive

Positive

Freq (Hz)

70

450

7000

Slope (dB/oct)

122424

HPF *

Filter Shape

Butterworth

Linkwitz-Riley

Linkwitz-Riley

Freq (Hz)

500

7000

out

Slope

(dB/oct)

48

24

LPF

Filter Shape

Linkwitz-Riley

Linkwitz-Riley

Freq (Hz)

149

2100

11000

Level (dB)

+4-2+3

Type

Parametric

Parametric

Parametric

PEQ 1

Q/Bandwidth

3.0/0.479

5.04/0.286

8.45/0.171

Freq (Hz)

278

Level (dB)

-6

Type

Parametric

PEQ 2

Q/Bandwidth

2.4/0.597

Freq (Hz)

1220

Level (dB)

-15

Type

Parametric

PEQ 3

Q/Bandwidth

5.04/0.286

Freq (Hz)

Level (dB)

Type

PEQ 4

Q/Bandwidth

Freq (Hz)

Level (dB)

Type

PEQ 5

Q/Bandwidth

6.2 VQ 60 TRI-AMP SYSTEM PARAMETERS

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

10 100 1000 10000 100000

Level (dB)

Electrical Transfer Function - Triamp VQ 60

LF

MF

HF

Frequency (Hz)

10