Replace Tannoy Reveal Active monitor???

[eldopa]

Hello All,
I have recently started to try and read/learn a bit about mixing after all these years. I have been a guitar player for many years and, I have spent quite a bit of time in studios and farting around in my own studio.

Well, the time has come to actually learn what the hell I am doing. So here I am, rethinking everything I own. And now for my question.... Should I keep my Tannoy Reveal active monitors?? Though I have had them for a while, I would by no means say I know them. Have there been some great products released recently? I do not really have plenty of cash or anything but, if I need new ones...then so be it. I would be looking in the 400 or possibly 500 dollar range if I buy anything. However, I would much rather put that money somewhere else if possible. So what do you think, are my Tannoy monitors pretty nice for what they are? In my price range, is it worth getting something else? Can these monitors hang or do they suck compared to what is out there today?
Thank you for any help folks.

[antibiotic]

Originally Posted by eldopa

Hello All,
I have recently started to try and read/learn a bit about mixing after all these years. I have been a guitar player for many years and, I have spent quite a bit of time in studios and farting around in my own studio.

Well, the time has come to actually learn what the hell I am doing. So here I am, rethinking everything I own. And now for my question.... Should I keep my Tannoy Reveal active monitors?? Though I have had them for a while, I would by no means say I know them. Have there been some great products released recently? I do not really have plenty of cash or anything but, if I need new ones...then so be it. I would be looking in the 400 or possibly 500 dollar range if I buy anything. However, I would much rather put that money somewhere else if possible. So what do you think, are my Tannoy monitors pretty nice for what they are? In my price range, is it worth getting something else? Can these monitors hang or do they suck compared to what is out there today?
Thank you for any help folks.

I had a pair of those Tannoys and liked them, 6D's I think they were. They're flattering to anything you put through them - they'll make a 10 watt amp with every knob cranked to 10 sound much less horrific than it actually is. Took me a while to get anything to translate, but I got there in the end. They can be learnt, just like any other monitor I suppose. There's definitely good and bad things about them. I'd probably still have them if the amps in them didn't die and I wasn't quoted $50 less than a brand new pair to get them fixed.

[ray_subsonic]

If it were me and all I had to upgrade was a budget of $500, and if I was coming at this from being a musician first and an engineer second, I'd just hang with them. The only monitor I can think of that would be more useful in that budget range would be a pair of NS-10's or The passive Tannoy Reveals with a half decent well-powered HiFi amp or power amp ..

There might be a few more exotic finds out there on eBay, but you'd have to have a $1000 + budget to get a significantly better monitor (either second-hand or new). In that category, Dynaudio's, Genelec's, Focal's, etc would represent a definite upgrade to me, before you got to really good speakers such as ATC's, K&H/Neumann, Quested's, PMC's, etc.

My 2c worth ..

[antibiotic]

Agreed with Ray 100%

In that price range, you'd be able to get something different, but not really an upgrade to what you have...the NS-10 route...you'd need an amp too and a hi-fi amp wouldn't really be the best way to go...on the flip side, if you went that way, if you agree with them, those speakers would probably be something you'd keep the rest of your life (or as long as you were working on music)...even if you got another pair of high end monitors later on down the track, you'd find them difficult to get rid of. They're like an old friend that's known you all your life giving you advice...sometimes difficult to listen to but you trust them to tell it like it is...never hide things, or embellish and definitely not lie. I can't picture letting my NS-10s go for as long as I'm making music. Some people (rightfully) really hate them though...and I can see the validity of their argument...but...oh well...

[eldopa]

Thanks all,
So let me make sure I have this.
Basically, stay with what I have?
My budget is more than 500 to upgrade things. It was just 4 or 5 bills for monitors. And, I would love to kick that 4 or 5 bills in the bigger pile for other things if I could.

I see mention of other items including the infamous ns-10. I have thought about those but afraid that getting those used, i would get screwed by not knowing how to tell what is real/replaced etc.

So let me ask this...if I was able....would getting a pair of Yamaha HS50M, or JBL LSR2325P, or KRK Rokit 8 or any of the millions of others out there...maybe even a used genelec in my range.....be a major upgrade of my old Tannoy reveal that I have? Would you stick the money in another pile for a mic pre etc. or, are one of the things out there really worth the change?

I feel like there was a back and forth here so forgive me if it was quite clear...but I missed it. Lol. It sounds like you agree that what I have is just fine in this range but.....some of these others are better. So, how much better? Should I just go with it and upgrade?

[Andy_R]

I'd snag a pair of M-Audio DSM2 for 500 at audiomidi, myself.

[SHIRK]

Keep them. I'm had a pair of Active Reveals around the studio as my B-set or floaters for more than a decade now. They were the first monitors I ever bought for my home studio. While not the greatest, they get the job done. Like any NS10-lover will tell you, you learn how to work on them.

I moved to ADAM's P11A's in 2002 and then S3A's in 2007. The Active Reveals are currently right in operation next to my S3A's. They provide a great point of reference when I need a different perspective than the S3A's provide. I also love mixing at low volume on the Reveals. My point, keep them and get to know them. When you have a budget to jump into a different league of monitor, you'll still have the Tannoy's as a alternate reference point.