Tannoy Reveals

I am writing about the original, passive, red Tannoy Reveals. At the time I was looking to upgrade monitors over a set of tiny JBL control ones, the Reveals were a pretty new product and were very sexy in the music store. I was not yet experienced in the resonances of pro audio brand names, but even I felt a little flutter at the Tannoy name.

And the look! Do no underestimate design as a factor in why these monitors were so successful, design and price point, and brand name. The red, the nice contour, artful design.

I have run across many people who HATE these monitors. Others have said nice to listen, but no great for mixing, not accurate. "They worked for" for a long time, but I am now using an old set of completely unbranded KRKs on loan, and there definitely is a difference

My own mixing environment is so compromised by a variety of non-professional conditions that it is hard to isolate the exact characteristics of the Reveals...but, as many will report, the chief liability is lack of bass. Mixing bass on these things was a little whistling in the dark, and a lot of running upstairs and out to the car, and all those comparative listening calisthenics.

Other than that, though, they kinda sound nice. Some would even call them flattering monitors

Well, My friend and band mate who has gone through Mackies, Adams, and Genelecs and probably others in the time i have been working with him, with and without subs, and always with a classic set of Yamaha NS10s on the meter bridge for comparison, is actually quite fond of the Reveals, says they sound "nice" and that that "is never a bad thing." So I'll defer to that.