Despite becoming a generic colloquial term in the British Commonwealth for more than half a century, is the Tannoy brand a forgotten aspect of the British Sound?
By: Ringo Bones
At least the term Tannoy was used again during a coverage of
the recent August 20, 2015 North Korea and South Korea border tensions that
resulted in the shelling of its western border over the issue of “Tannoy stacks” by South Korea that were
supposedly to be dismantled back in 2004. Which also got the young generation
thinking again on what the Hell is a Tannoy?
The term “tannoy” is often used generically in colloquial
English throughout the British Commonwealth to mean any public address system
or PA system. It is even used as a verb – as to “tannoy”, particularly by those
used for announcements in public places. Although the word is a registered
trademark, it has become a generic trademark.
But in the hi-fi world, the name Tannoy is a syllabic
abbreviation of tantalum alloy – which was the material used in its early World
War I era rechargeable batteries used to power vacuum tube based radios of the
time. The batteries are known to be simple and reliable enough for use with a
domestic battery charger because it has a built-in rectifier composed of two metals
– tantalum and a lead alloy – plus a sulfuric acid rectifier that converts
alternating current into a pulsing direct current.
Tannoy Ltd. Is a Scotland based manufacturer of hi-fi
loudspeakers and public address (PA) systems, hence the colloquial term “I’ve
heard it over the Tannoy”; The company – as we know it today - was founded by
Guy Fountain in London England as the Tulsemere Manufacturing Company in 1926 but
has since been based in Coatbridge, Scotland since it moved there back in the
early 1970s.
Despite the excellent performance of its domestic hi-fi loudspeakers
speakers, some hi-fi enthusiasts regard Tannoy loudspeakers as cheap and
uncouth because of their widespread use as public address (PA) system loudspeakers
in railway stations and other public spaces all across UK. Just like Dai-1Chi
speakers here in South-East Asia. During the Golden Age of Stereo, Tannoy Dual
Concentric loudspeakers are often viewed as the high-quality entry point into
the high fidelity audio hobby. While in the pro-audio world, their onstage
monitor loudspeakers are perceived as better sounding versions of competing
similar-priced products.
