Thread: Why the Cloak and Dagger?

Originally Posted by brad225

Wy wife will show me things that nieces and nephews post on FB. Much of the time I shake my head and think, why would your portray weird or unusual thing about your life.

I post very little but learn a lot about people, like when they are not home and where their kids all play. Bad people use that info.

Yeah, that gels with what "evidence" I've seen since 2020-ish: all drivers now made in China, even the top units. Cabinets made who knows where? Maybe they do have a small spot in UK to bolt the drivers in so they can claim some assembly there.

And Graham Hendry is a great guy! He helped me out (via Tannoy Facebook group) last year when I had some Glenair 10's which were improperly wired. I got them from TMR used, so no idea if they were messed up by a prior owner or slipped out of the factory like that. But they sounded unlistenable until the (simple) fix thanks to Graham's help. See guys, Facebook isn't all bad Just like anything, you have to seek out the good and avoid the rest. Though I have been banned dozens of times for getting into fights with people just like that Angela character lol. I've chosen a more peaceful existence these past couple years, and it's better now.

Originally Posted by mulveling

Yeah, that gels with what "evidence" I've seen since 2020-ish: all drivers now made in China, even the top units. Cabinets made who knows where? Maybe they do have a small spot in UK to bolt the drivers in so they can claim some assembly there.

And Graham Hendry is a great guy! He helped me out

Graham is the real deal for sure!

It's amazing the more I learn about what's going on with Tannoy in general and also distribution in North America, the more I just shake my head in utter amazement.

I am SOOOOOO glad my OCD kicked in and I decided to do all this research before pulling the trigger and purchasing a pair of Tannoy's and ended up with Fyne Audio instead. Thanks to Mike (as usual) for his recommendation.

I again reached out to the new distributor after the previous distributor reached out to me regarding the video, and shared some very interesting info about Tannoy and what's going on with the distribution.

The new distributor has still chosen to continue the Tannoy legacy of radio silence about the issue.

I also want to enquire about the photo's I've received from several industry people about massive Tannoy QC issues, but alas they don't want to discuss it.

Originally Posted by MichaelsMinute

I again reached out to the new distributor after the previous distributor reached out to me regarding the video, and shared some very interesting info about Tannoy and what's going on with the distribution.

The new distributor has still chosen to continue the Tannoy legacy of radio silence about the issue.

I also want to enquire about the photo's I've received from several industry people about massive Tannoy QC issues, but alas they don't want to discuss it.

Michael, thanks for keeping this topic alive! Being a Tannoy fan since 2000s - yeah it's always been extremely difficult to get information or spare parts out of them. "Radio silence" is no exaggeration. My Tannoy dealer didn't fare much better, and eventually shifted focus to brands like Von Scweikert, Acora, Focal. I don't blame him! Are these cited QC issues specific to the (presumed) new Chinese production? Like I said before, the UK made inside-cabinet production was quite sloppy, but the UK DC drivers were always solid as a rock and beautifully manufactured.

Fortunately, a few years ago I sourced spare DC driver units from Real Electronics UK. They arrived as described, brand new in UK Manufacture boxes.

Originally Posted by mulveling

Michael, thanks for keeping this topic alive! Being a Tannoy fan since 2000s - yeah it's always been extremely difficult to get information or spare parts out of them. "Radio silence" is no exaggeration. My Tannoy dealer didn't fare much better, and eventually shifted focus to brands like Von Scweikert, Acora, Focal. I don't blame him! Are these cited QC issues specific to the (presumed) new Chinese production? Like I said before, the UK made inside-cabinet production was quite sloppy, but the UK DC drivers were always solid as a rock and beautifully manufactured.

Fortunately, a few years ago I sourced spare DC driver units from Real Electronics UK. They arrived as described, brand new in UK Manufacture boxes.

The pictures that were shared with me and what was explained to me was numerous pairs of the giant Westminster's coming with massive stains all over them that looked like dog urine stains.

I also saw pictures of speakers being shipped with NO BACK TO THE SPEAKERS AT ALL with wires simply dangling.

The percentage of massive issues such as these were extremely high and to my understanding occurred after production shift.

It made me wonder is it incompetence or is there someone at the factories trying to sabotage the brand. I mean, how do you ship speakers with no backs to them?

Once again I am offering the current distributor or Tannoy the opportunity to address and offer their side to what is being shared with me in the interest of being balanced. He posted on my YT video but then went silent after his crazy devil-worshipping friend Angie (who also posted a pic of wanting to burn down her previous employer) got involved and I called them out about it.

DISCLAIMER: I am sharing what is being shown to me and told to me. I have not seen these in person myself no do I know what is being told to me is 100% factual.

I've decided I'm going to start selling these t-shirts at all the audio shows.

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Well, well, well - lookie here.

This is pretty big news.

Looks like after 7 years of mystery my video on "The Great Tannoy Mystery" was able to get results in only 2 short weeks.

Thank you to everyone in the industry who reached out to me with support and help on this video. You are VERY much appreciated. I've also made new friendships in the process that I hold dear.

I made this video to show respect for the magnificent history of Tannoy that I felt was owed to such a storied company.

I wish the absolute best for Tannoy, and may it once again regain its great footing and return to the U.K. as before. It is a treasured company.

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Originally Posted by nicoff

Sounds as if the OP got his 15 mins of fame from his YT video.

I've been thinking about how "Made in China" always sparks such interesting chats. Take my iPhone, for instance. It says "Designed by Apple in California," but it's actually made in China, and might even be made in India soon. Apple really shows us that it's more about how something is made rather than where it's made.

I'm old enough to remember when Japanese cars first hit the US and everyone was dissing them. I had this German buddy who was dead sure no one would ever buy a Lexus – "Who's gonna shell out for a Japanese luxury car?", he said. Well, he couldn't have been more wrong, and it even made the German car makers step up their game. Funny how things change.

I apologize - I don't know how I could have made the video any more simple to understand.

If you think this is simply about "made in China", you completely missed the entire point - and the additional posts here that helped explain it to those who missed the point.

these days, I really don't care where stuff is made as long as there is quality in the product and it meets my needs and the warranty for that product is supported by a valid dealer network.

Originally Posted by CPP

these days, I really don't care where stuff is made as long as there is quality in the product and it meets my needs and the warranty for that product is supported by a valid dealer network.

Agreed. And that a company is truthful about where it is made. When companies start trying to confuse and play word games, it raises all sorts of issues and concerns.

Originally Posted by nicoff

Actually, I did not bother watching the video; my apologies.

My comment came from reading your diatribes in this thread. I can see that behind the apparent shield of 'honesty' or 'transparency', there is a not so veiled assumption that if the speakers are "Made in China" they obviously cannot be as good as those made in the UK.

The location where a product is manufactured is not representative of the quality of the product. There are many reliable products made in the UK and others that are not; this also applies to products made in China. What really matters is that the manufacturer maintain strict quality control regardless where the product is made and that it stands behind its products.

Agreed. Per my comments in post #11, Quality is the result of HOW products are designed, engineered and manufactured, not WHERE. Speaker performance' audio quality comes down to physics mediating a transfer function, and neither physics nor transfer functions are "geographically constrained". They work the same everywhere.

I'll just add that the one country that was able to completely screw up manufacturing a Honda automobile was the U.K., with the Sterling Automobiles' Sterling 825/827, "pseudo-Honda", which was one of the worst cars in history.

Originally Posted by nicoff

Actually, I did not bother watching the video; my apologies.

My comment came from reading your diatribes in this thread. I can see that behind the apparent shield of 'honesty' or 'transparency', there is a not so veiled assumption that if the speakers are "Made in China" they obviously cannot be as good as those made in the UK.

The location where a product is manufactured is not representative of the quality of the product. There are many reliable products made in the UK and others that are not; this also applies to products made in China. What really matters is that the manufacturer maintain strict quality control regardless where the product is made and that it stands behind its products.

Ah yes, personal attacks and playing the race card from someone who didn't even watch the video. How so predictable and laughable.

Sorry Nicoff, I'm not going to engage stupid any longer on the forum so I'm going to ignore you. Have fun with yourself. #Blocked.

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Agreed. Per my comments in post #11, Quality is the result of HOW products are designed, engineered and manufactured, not WHERE. Speaker performance' audio quality comes down to physics mediating a transfer function, and neither physics nor transfer functions are "geographically constrained". They work the same everywhere.

I'll just add that the one country that was able to completely screw up manufacturing a Honda automobile was the U.K., with the Sterling Automobiles' Sterling 825/827, "pseudo-Honda", which was one of the worst cars in history.

FYI we're talking about Tannoy not Honda.

The dealers, distributors and ex-emplyoees at Tannoy seem to disagree with you on this Stephen.

Originally Posted by MichaelsMinute

FYI we're talking about Tannoy not Honda.

The dealers, distributors and ex-emplyoees at Tannoy seem to disagree with you on this Stephen.

That's fine, ask them to share their manufacturing Cp/Cpk data...

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

That's fine, ask them to share their manufacturing Cp/Cpk data...

Hi Stephen - I'm not going to explain again what's already been explained multiple times. I'm focused on the issues the video was about.

Originally Posted by nicoff

The OP is just doing click baits. He wants folks to click and watch his video.
I wonder how many sites he has been kicked out from.

Well said!

A huge "Thank You" to everyone who has messaged me congratulations on the seismic waves this video caused. It's exciting to see how many of you really followed this closely and had the same issues/concerns. I honestly had no idea the issue was as large as it turned out to be.

It's exciting to see finally getting movement after 7 years of "cloak and dagger". Hopefully they follow through on their promise of transparency to the benefit of the consumers.

I'm glad as an almost-consumer I was able to uncover what I did to keep me from making a purchase decision that would not have been right for me.

I hope Tannoy is able to make this once-great company great again.

Thanks again everyone!

Originally Posted by dznutz

So Michael, what exactly did you learn?

I gotta be honest, you stirred the pot hard and if you dont actually share what youve discovered then Ill have to agree with some of the others that you were just doing this for the attention and not actually hoping to accomplish anything

Thankfully, I really don't care what the AudioShark "Hateful 8" think. In fact, based on the dozens of PM I've received, the entire forum seems pretty united in that same belief that the small handful of these people have hijacked the entire forum from normal enjoyable discussions of audio to simply a forum to be nasty. It seems the forum members are wise to you guys.

The last thing in my life I strive for is attention from is a small group of angry, miserable forum trouble makers - like those not smart enough to know the difference between debt and deficit (per other post).

There is so much more to life than trying to explain what real click bait is (and yet somehow these "victims" admit to continually falling for the same supposed evil click bait scheme they claim to despise rather than being smart enough to ignore it - proof they just want to create drama for no reason and be professional victims).

If after everything that has been stated re: Tannoy you still don't understand (or choose not to understand is my guess), me saying it again isn't going to help you.

Hopefully the Audio Shark "Hateful 8" can make some room in their souls to remember it's Christmas time. But I doubt it. I feel so sorry for them going through life like that.

Merry Christmas!

It is amazing how thin skinned people can behave when challenged on their assumptions, theories, and beliefs. Beliefs aren’t facts and opinions always have bias. Challenging the intelligence and opinions of others with school yard names is an example of small minds saying a lot without saying much of anything of value.

Originally Posted by dznutz

So Michael, what exactly did you learn?

I gotta be honest, you stirred the pot hard and if you dont actually share what youve discovered then Ill have to agree with some of the others that you were just doing this for the attention and not actually hoping to accomplish anything

Have to agree - this thread has just descended into his own self-congratulations interspersed with childish back-and-forths. You don't have to engage EVERY TIME. I don't even care if Tannoy is made in China anymore. Maybe they do a great job there, and Puma Cat probably was right in his original comment.

such a soap opera

Originally Posted by mulveling

Have to agree - this thread has just descended into his own self-congratulations interspersed with childish back-and-forths. You don't have to engage EVERY TIME. I don't even care if Tannoy is made in China anymore. Maybe they do a great job there, and Puma Cat probably was right in his original comment.

Agree. Self aggrandization and reactivity/defensiveness ultimately spoil validity, and what might have been a good story. The best defense of haters is...silence....and simply sticking with the facts in a concise manner. At least for those of us whom are not youtubers. The arguing and defenses are spilling over into other threads, and are an annoyance.

It just reads to me that Tannoy is trying to set themselves apart from the pack. And, yes, frankly most do or should buy a speaker on sound. Not sure what you were getting at.

Audiophiles often claim speakers make the most difference in sound of a system so my assumption would be they must have a "house sound" or else they'd sound more alike than different. Speaking in general terms.

Originally Posted by Smile

"Tannoy offers our dealers and consumers a unique sound that isn’t available anywhere else."
This just doesn't read right. Do you buy a speaker based on its House sound. Maybe that's why its now Chinese.

Just when you think this thread might die, LOL A new twist.

Fyne Audio loudspeakers are now distributed by Harmonia Distribution in the U.S.
Fyne Audio, a U.K. manufacturer of advanced high-end audio loudspeakers based in Scotland, has appointed Harmonia Distribution as its distributor for the United States market, effective immediately. Harmonia, formerly known as Upscale Distribution, said in an announcement that it is proud to have been selected by Fyne, a manufacturer that represents a blend of the best of “contemporary and traditional designs.”

Now we know why Tannoy isn't with Upscale anymore, possibly.

Now will Mike keep Fyne or dump them since there's no love lost between the organizations or is it business as usual since Harmonia is a "separte" company under Upscale? Cue appropriate suspenseful music.

And, was switching from Tannoy to Fyne just a coincidence, was it a decision by Upscale for some reason or a Tannoy decision...?

always 2 sides to a story, sometimes 3

Originally Posted by Mr Peabody

Just when you think this thread might die, LOL A new twist.

Fyne Audio loudspeakers are now distributed by Harmonia Distribution in the U.S.
Fyne Audio, a U.K. manufacturer of advanced high-end audio loudspeakers based in Scotland, has appointed Harmonia Distribution as its distributor for the United States market, effective immediately. Harmonia, formerly known as Upscale Distribution, said in an announcement that it is proud to have been selected by Fyne, a manufacturer that represents a blend of the best of “contemporary and traditional designs.”

And, was switching from Tannoy to Fyne just a coincidence, was it a decision by Upscale for some reason or a Tannoy decision...?

Most likely it was a business decision based by Harmonia on wanting to represent a brand with a clear engineering legacy and that had complete control transparency regarding product design, engineering, specifications, and Ops (mfg and QC).

This isn't to contradict my earlier comment about the fact that Quality isn't the result of where products are made but HOW, because that is still true.

But rather that there was a reason all the principal engineers that were at Tannoy left Tannoy and started Fyne Audio, and my hypothesis is they wanted control over the design, specification, and manufacturing of their loudspeaker designs, rather than left in the hands of "business execs" who are not engineers, and only interested in "finances".

I started a thread about the Fyne Distributing change if anyone wants to add comments there.

I was checking for new episodes of In Stereo and ran across the one with Sound Organization who distributed Fyne. I'm assuming they no longer do. Mike picked up Fyne and I'm assuming again, gave the line a leg up. The new distributor could be an interesting twist.

Originally Posted by Mr Peabody

I was checking for new episodes of In Stereo and ran across the one with Sound Organization who distributed Fyne. I'm assuming they no longer do. Mike picked up Fyne and I'm assuming again, gave the line a leg up. The new distributor could be an interesting twist.

Correct - Sound Org is no longer the distributor.

It will be interesting to see how the new distributor performs with the change in their name and structure regarding distribution vs retail.

Google says-

Are Tannoy speakers made in China?
Facts are our friends

Tannoy is not an IAG brand. Think it's called The Music Group. Run by Uli Behringer (of Behringer fame). Headquartered in Philippines, and with major manufacturing facility in China.


Coatbridge
The company's Scottish factory and headquarters is located in Coatbridge, near Glasgow in the UK, where it has been based since 1978. All Tannoy loudspeakers are conceived, designed and developed at this UK base.

- Not built there by the wording.

Originally Posted by Shadowfax

Google says-

Are Tannoy speakers made in China?
Facts are our friends

Tannoy is not an IAG brand. Think it's called The Music Group. Run by Uli Behringer (of Behringer fame). Headquartered in Philippines, and with major manufacturing facility in China.


Coatbridge
The company's Scottish factory and headquarters is located in Coatbridge, near Glasgow in the UK, where it has been based since 1978. All Tannoy loudspeakers are conceived, designed and developed at this UK base.

- Not built there by the wording.

I was shown a picture 3 weeks ago from someone in the Tannoy chain a shipping box from Tannoy containing a replacement 12" driver which declared on the box "Made in China".

It's never a good thing for a company when 2 weeks ago Tannoy had to come out and make a statement promising "more transparency" "in the near future". That kinda says it all about how they operate.

Originally Posted by MichaelsMinute

I was shown a picture 3 weeks ago from someone in the Tannoy chain a shipping box from Tannoy containing a replacement 12" driver which declared on the box "Made in China".

It's never a good thing for a company when 2 weeks ago Tannoy had to come out and make a statement promising "more transparency" "in the near future". That kinda says it all about how they operate.

Check this out. This post came up on my FB feed so I asked where they were making them.

Originally Posted by Shadowfax

Check this out. This post came up on my FB feed so I asked where they were making them.

Yeah - I was shown pictures where there have been serious issues with the one's received with many of them coming damaged with what looked to be massive piss stains all over the cabinets that is un-reparable. Several pairs that came that way were the $50,000 pairs.

Can't wait to see when they suddenly wake up and decide to be "transparent" with the customers. Funny how some people who are soooo quick to jump on some companies love to give others a complete pass. And to be clear, it's more than just Tannoy themselves helping to keep the truth foggy. Why can't the old or new distributor simply come clean? Craig (new distributor) really put his foot in his mouth on the YT vid and now looks very, very foolish as other comments there have called his out for his gaslighting. And the way he went about taking Tannoy from Kevin is VERY VERY VERY interesting for a great story to be told another day.

@Mike - you import gear. Don't you have to declare where it's made/comes from?

When I clicked thru all the 40+ pictures, many looked like someones basement or garage.