The First edition Tannoy Autograph Mini (2005-2016) vs the new Tannoy OW (2020- Present)

Comparison : The  First edition Tannoy Autograph Mini vs the new Tannoy GR OW

To better understand the new versus Old Tannoy Autograph Mini

There are some differences between the First generation Tannoy Autograph Mini and the latest. 

1. Comparing the Look : Outer Appearance. 

The First generation Tannoy Autograph Mini has followed the vintage Tannoy Autograph design.

The Latest Tannoy Autograph Mini OW cosmetically looks more superiror with the Oiled Walnut veneer.

2. Comparing the Products:

A. First Generation Tannoy Autograph Mini : 2-Way Stand-Mount 4" Dual Concentric HiFi Loudspeaker (Teak)

Product Features

• 2 way stand mount loudspeaker for small sized rooms

• A miniature and authentic recreation of the famous 1950's Tannoy AUTOGRAPH design

• Dual Concentric driver technology provides class-leading coherence and point-source imaging

• 4" driver with 88 dB/Watt sensitivity and 200 Watt peak power handling deliver incredible dynamics for the size of enclosure

• Tulip Waveguide with 19 mm titanium dome enhances the point source symmetrical dispersion properties, providing exceptional Wideband high frequency clarity and articulation

• Handcrafted teak veneered cabinet with solid teak trim provides a unique and timeless piece of furniture

• Low frequency paper pulp cone with rubber surround provide natural sounding midrange and excellent bass extension

• capacitors, low loss laminated core inductors and close tolerance wirewound resistors delivering a more natural and cohesive sound

• High purity silver internal wiring maximises signal transparency

• High density birch ply cabinet provides extreme rigidity to control low frequency performance and minimise midrange colouration

• High loss internal damping panels further minimise cabinet colouration

• Cabinets rear ported for a richer and deeper bass response

• Oatmeal grille cloth contributes to retro styling

https://www.tannoy.com/product.html?modelCode=0304-AAQ

B. New Tannoy Mini Autograph Mini : 2-Way Stand-Mount 4" Dual Concentric HiFi Loudspeaker (Oiled Walnut)

Product Features

• 2 way stand mount loudspeaker for small sized rooms

• A miniature and authentic recreation of the famous 1950's Tannoy AUTOGRAPH design

• Dual Concentric driver technology provides class-leading coherence and point-source imaging

• 4" driver with 200 Watt peak power handling delivers incredible dynamics for the size of enclosure

• Point source Tulip Waveguide with symmetrical dispersion for accurate stereo imaging

• 19 mm titanium dome driver provides exceptional wideband high frequency clarity and articulation

• Handcrafted, oiled walnut veneered cabinet with solid walnut trim provides a unique and timeless piece of furniture

• Low frequency paper pulp cone with rubber surround provides natural sounding midrange and excellent bass extension

• Hard wired crossovers featuring proprietary Tannoy capacitors and low loss laminated core inductors delivering a more natural and cohesive sound

• Highly conductive, low resistance internal wiring maximises sign

https://www.tannoy.com/product.html?modelCode=0304-ABD

Summary :

1. Sensitivity : First generation Tannoy Autograph Mini (88db) vs 85db for new

2. Weight : 4kg vs 4.4 kg 

3. Maximum SPL : 105db - 111db vs 102db - 108db

4. Dimensions : 210X345X130mm vs 209X356X156mm

5. Birch vs Walnut veneer

My preference : There are several points which has determined my preference for the First Generation Tannoy Autograph Mini :

Key Points 1 : Sensitivity: The higher the sensitivity rating of a speaker, the louder it will play with a certain amount of wattage. For example, some speakers have a sensitivity of around 81 dB or so. This means with one watt of power, they'll deliver just a moderate listening level. Want 84 dB? You'll need two watts — this is due to the fact that every additional 3 dB of volume requires double the power. The Sensitivity measurements for the First generation Autograph Mini is 88 dB are about average and will be easier to drive. Anything below 84 dB is considered rather poor sensitivity. The new versions sensivity is 85db is close to poor sensivity.

Key Points 2 : Attention to details and use of superior materials. From the Tannoy‘s old manual : The Autograph Mini is a truly special loudspeaker. The high performance driver is the smallest Tannoy Dual Concentric™ ever, and includes a multi-fibre paper pulp cone for natural midrange and well defined bass. The high frequency section incorporates Tannoy WideBand™ technology, giving a more true to life performance. The driver is installed in a damped birch-ply cabinet with hardwood veneers and solid wooden mouldings. Silver-plated van den Hul wiring is used in the low frequency section and 99.99% high purity silver for the high frequencies. The carefully optimized crossover includes low loss inductors and specially damped audio grade capacitors.

Key Points 3 : Use of Capacitors

First generation Tannoy Autograph capacitors. Bigger copper coil

New generation Tannoy Autograph capacitors

Points 4 : Country of Origin : Earlier Tannoy Autograph Mini 2005-2016 were produced in the UK. Not sure abouyt the new ones from 2022 onwards?

Pomnints 5 : Costs. The costs of the older versions are cheaper than the new.

Tannoy Autograph Mini First Generation 2005-2016

I have started my hifi journey since 2005 when i was posted to Hong Kong and I have enjoyed different vintage gears from 2005 till around 2012. In fact, in 2012, I have already started to streamlined my vintage hifi gears as many of the old hifi techicians that have helped to service my vintage hifi gears have started to retire. 

Moreover, with many UK gears and the US 110v gears, I almost made the mistakes of turning on the US equipment with the Hong Kong 220 voltage. As such, I have started to sell away my gears and I was lucky as I was able to sell away my vintage Leak amplifiers, Pye, Marantza amplifiers etc at very good prioces then and refusing my funds to keeping vintage watches instead as storage is easier.

Since then, I have not been serious in hifi. I used to have these Tannoy Autograph Mini speakers in 2011. The earlier set was sold before my posting to Thailand for work with Levi’s Thailand in 2014 and second set was sold when I went back Singapore. With the need to moive countries due to wok posting plus owing to the need to move apartments owing to rental in HKG, it is very difficult to keep a permanent set of hifi then. 

Now that my apartment situation has been stabilised and finalised, I can start to rebuild my hifi system again. I have tried to get a few small speakers to get by but the sound is not what I have expected. Finally, i have decided to go back to the familiar sound and get the Tannoy Autograph Mini first generation as the speakers are the first choice in terms of the source of music output for any hifi system.

Since 1954, the Tannoy Autograph was produced till the mid 1970s. The Tannoy Mini was inspired by the original Tannoy Autograph and has been selling since 2005, at Yen 300,000. I used to have the Tannoy Chatebury and I have also love the Tannoy relax sound. In 2016 September, TANNOY announced the discontinuation of the Tannoy Autograph Mini production due to Autograph mini spare parts being unable to achieve its stability testing. As such, Tannoy had to discontinued production of these Tannoy Autograph mini speakers. The Tannoy Autograph was revived again with the Tannoy Autograph Mini GR OW in the year 2020. With the revival of the Tannoy Autograph Mini, it has renewed my interest in setting a new set of system in Hong Kong.

The latest Tannoy Autograph Mini Gr Ow is beautiful but I have decided to find back the first version as some said that the later version may not be produced from UK Coatbridge.  From the forum, I was told that there is a new factory in Hamilton, Scotland, where all the Prestige models are manufactured and the drivers are made in China and cabinets in Poland and assembled in Hamilton. 

In addition, the price of the first generation is much cheaper than the new making it value for money. Thirdly, from the Tannoy‘s old manual : The Autograph Mini is a truly special loudspeaker. The high performance driver is the smallest Tannoy Dual Concentric™ ever, and includes a multi-fibre paper pulp cone for natural midrange and well defined bass. The high frequency section incorporates Tannoy WideBand™ technology, giving a more true to life performance. The driver is installed in a damped birch-ply cabinet with hardwood veneers and solid wooden mouldings. Silver-plated van den Hul wiring is used in the low frequency section and 99.99% high purity silver for the high frequencies. The carefully optimized crossover includes low loss inductors and specially damped audio grade capacitors.

Comparison : The  First edition Tannoy Autograph Mini vs the new Tannoy GR OW

1. Sensitivity : First generation Tannoy Autograph Mini (88db) vs 85db for new

2. Weight : 4kg vs 4.4 kg 

3. Maximum SPL : 105db - 111db vs 102db - 108db

4. Dimensions : 210X345X130mm vs 209X356X156mm

5. Birch vs Walnut veneer

The higher the sensitivity rating of a speaker, the louder it will play with a certain amount of wattage. For example, some speakers have a sensitivity of around 81 dB or so. This means with one watt of power, they'll deliver just a moderate listening level. Want 84 dB? You'll need two watts — this is due to the fact that every additional 3 dB of volume requires double the power. The Sensitivity measurements for the First generation Autograph Mini is 88 dB are about average and will be easier to drive. Anything below 84 dB is considered rather poor sensitivity. The new versions sensivity is 85db is close to poor sensivity.

Anyway, I am happy with the first generation as below:

Mini JVC wood cone speakers EX-NW1

I have always wanted a  Mini JVC wood cone speakers EX-NW1 and it is suitable for use as desk top speakers.

Yamaha NS -1000MM speakers

The Yamaha NS-1000MM speakers, released in Japan in 1999 during the “Golden Era” of Japanese high-fidelity audio equipment, are simply incredible and under rated. The Yamaha NS-1000mm is a mini version of the famous NS-1000 from the 1970s. The mini version It is a small speaker system developed for theater sound, inheriting design concepts such as NS-1000M and NS-10M. A 12 cm cone type unit is used for the low range, a 2.5 cm dome type unit for the middle range, and a 1.5 cm dome type unit for the high range. 

The feature that really put these speakers on the Hi-Fi map is their beryllium drivers, providing unparalleled performance in the time domain. These ultra-thin diaphragms were produced by electron beam evaporation in a highly advanced fabrication process. The surface of the beryllium alloy, prone to corrosion, was sealed by a proprietary 5-micron coating. 

The NS-1000Ms have been used in mastering studios around the world, as well as the Swedish and Finnish national broadcasting studios. The sound of these speakers in heavenly pure, to be used as the highest level of reference. Although these speakers in general are not rare, those in excellent condition with original box and papers are very rare. Owing to the space limitation in Hong Kong, I can only look for the mini version.

Each unit is equipped with a metal guard grill. The magnetic circuit employs an A / MAG type anti-magnetic circuit that magnetizes both the main magnet and cancel magnet under the optimum environment and cancels the current distortion that occurs with the conventional cancel magnet system. The enclosure is made with Yamaha's original three-way flow retaining structure, which dramatically improves the durability and accuracy of the joint part of plate materials.

Yamaha NS-1000 | hifi-wiki.com

• Borrowed photos below from the internet to show the size difference between the NS1000 versus the NS1000MM
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Pioneer S-A4SPT-VP Pure Malt speakers

I used to have pair of nice Pioneer speakers from 2007 but for some reason, I have sold it, a decision that I have regretted. 

Last week, I have helped my friend KY to hunt for a pair of Falcon LS3/5a and this has triggered me to restart my hifi journey. 

Last night, I have decided to search for a pair of nice book shelf speakers in Hk. My key choices are Dali Minuet II, Le3/5a, Tannoy Autograph OW, and the Pioneer VP Pure Malt.

In the end, I have chosen the Pioneer vP Pure Malt as the speakers are made with vintage whiskey barrels wood. While most "wood" speakers are in fact constructed from medium-density fiberboard, essentially sawdust mixed with wax and resin, topped off with either real or ersatz wood veneers, the Pioneer S-A4SPT-PM speakers are constructed from solidoak--wood that just happened to spend the last half-century as a whiskey barrel. This Pioneer with cross over with Santori whiskey was a real success when it was launched. This is a good concept as it promotes recycling and green environment.

The speakers are suitable for HK owing to its small size. Moreover it has an interesting cross over mentioned above plus good sound. I am slowly rebuilding my hifi gears...

For a write up, please see below

JVC EX A1 Wood cone speakers

This is a pair of Solid cherry-wood speaker cabinets with sake-soaked birch-wood speaker cones; elegant stereo receiver/DVD-Audio and video player. Yes, what sets the EX-A1 apart from every other mass-produced audio system on the planet: JVC replaced the usual plastic, metal, or paper drivers with birch-wood speaker cones that are soaked in sake to increase their flexibility. 

This is my second set of JVC AXE1. The first set bought in 2004 was sold away several years ago after I shifted apartment in HKG. Since my reposting back to HKG, I have listed to Radio mostly and one day decided to bring back the familiar sound of the JVC wood cone speakers

For my listening, I prefer to use it with my mini tube amplifiers with blue tooth signal connecting to my Iphone .This compact stereo is really small, fitting on a bookshelf. The style of the unit is great - rich heavy wood speakers and brushed metal main unit, minimal display, cool volume knob. The sound is deep and full; sufficient for a room or possibly small apartment. 

 

 

Servicing of the Telefunken Opus 7

After using the Telefunken Opus 7 for several weeks, I have decided to send it to Sifu for servicing. After all, ths unit was produced in 1967/7 and since everything is original, there will be a need to replace some of the caps.

Initially, I have contacted a sifu from the Review33 but he has wanted $700 for checking and minimum $3000 for complete service which is very expensive. Fortunately, I have managed to find a good sifu that is highly recommended by collectors, Mr Leung.

After sending the radio to him on the 3rd July, the Radio is at its final inspection stage. It should be ready in a few days time. Sp glad that I am able to get it completely serviced at a reasonable price.