Tannoy Legacy Cheviot: Dual Concentric driver The Tannoy Legacy Cheviot in front of the McIntosh MA252 (tube preamp with solid-state power amp). While this speaker seems to have been mainly designed for music restitution, it also ensures a convincing home theater experience without an absolute need for a subwoofer. The Tannoy Cheviot is designed for large rooms, and yet it feels right at home in a 15m² (161 sqft) room, especially considering its depth (10.2?). The generous range of adjustment is a wonderful trait, as it allows the user to fine-tune the speaker?s specs in order to ensure optimal performance with any type of amplifier and listening room. The tweeter?s sensitivity and response curve can be adjusted via a system located on the speaker?s front panel, a telltale sign that the speaker was actually designed the old-fashioned way. Its sensitivity rating of 91 dB implies a linear frequency response, rated at 38 Hz to 30 kHz by the manufacturer. The Tannoy Legacy Cheviot is a 2-way speaker equipped with a 12? coaxial driver loaded in a bass-reflex enclosure fitted with two bass reflex ports. The Cheviot even comes with a jar of beeswax with which to polish the wood cabinet. Such a high level of craftsmanship is so rare that simply coming into contact with the speaker was a thrilling experience. The oak veneer is absolutely stunning, very soft and pleasant to the touch. The Tannoy Cheviot is an impressive object, not because of its size (it is only 2.8 ft tall), but because of its proportions and construction quality. The Tannoy Legacy range was designed to go completely against this trend. The original Tannoy Cheviot is in the background on the right. The original 70s versions of the Tannoy Eaton, Cheviot, Arden, Devon and Berkley. If modern speakers use such small drivers, this is because the current trend is to make speakers as discreet and easy to integrate into a living room as possible.
Larger drivers also require less power from the amplifier, which results in a much lower distortion rate. The larger the emissive surface of a driver, the better its transient response and efficiency. Tannoy did not come up with this idea it?s just a question of basic physics. There is a simple logic behind this design: large speaker drivers are essential to deliver convincing and clear-cut lows. When Tannoy designed the original Eaton, Cheviot, Arden, Devon and Berkeley speakers in the 1970s, extra-slim floorstanding speakers were not yet in fashion. We were not disappointed as the Tannoy Legacy Eaton, Tannoy Legacy Cheviot (reviewed here) and Tannoy Legacy Arden are a hit. Well aware of Tannoy?s heritage, this announcement caught our interest, and we were looking forward to the release of traditionally made speakers featuring an unusual format resembling that of neither compact nor floorstanding models. A few months ago, Tannoy announced the upcoming release of a new Legacy range comprised of three speakers. If you love vintage hi-fi equipment, this week?s review is for you.