Product Review: Tannoy Precision 6C centre speaker

Tannoy has long been a favourite brand of ours here in Richer Sounds Bristol. Their range of hi-fi and home cinema speakers would force a smile from the dourest listener. Even Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Day would have a hard time not to express his admiration for them…

It’s no surprise to see Tannoy’s sound quality and design principles applied to this centre speaker. Featuring Tannoy’s well known dual-concentric drive unit, the Precision 6C aims to provide exactly that for home cinema dialogue – precision.

By having the tweeter sitting in the centre of a mid-range woofer, the high and middle frequencies come from a single point in front of you, resulting in direct and focused sound. This is achieved by Tannoy’s use of an aluminium tweeter which gives a wide frequency range. On either side of the dual-concentric driver is a 6-inch bass driver and a 6-inch Auxiliary Bass Radiator to add extra punch, warmth and depth.

All of this is enclosed in a stunningly finished, bowed cabinet design that eliminates standing waves by reflecting sound to the front of the cabinet. A special plinth is provided so that the curved shape can sit at the perfect angle on your TV rack. In addition to bi-wire speaker terminals on the rear of the speaker, you can also use the fifth terminal to earth the 6C to your AV receiver to reduce RF interference.

We decided to hook up the 6C to our demo room AV receiver (a Pioneer SCLX901) and let rip with a 4K Blu-ray of Star Trek: Into Darkness. The opening scene of an impending volcanic eruption on a distant planet is enough for the 6C to show that it really means business. Pursued by irate natives, Kirk and Bones leap through the dense foliage, every huff and grunt of their exertion coming through swiftly and deftly. Cut to Spock deep in the volcano itself and even the roar of the growing explosion, immense as it is, isn’t enough to interfere with the 6C conveying his Vulcan calmness solidly.

Switching to a stream of Netflix’s Daredevil is equally convincing of the 6C’s prowess. Vincent D’onofrio as Kingpin can easily turn from seemingly softly-spoken gentle giant to roaring maniac within a heartbeat and the 6C keeps up every step of the way. Equally comfortable portraying a tender, lip-quivering moment or the spitting rage that bursts out when you least expect it, the 6C manages to be fast and articulate giving real attack and weight to the intimidating crime boss. What’s just as impressive is the way it can be so detailed without falling into the trap of being too brash or harsh sounding. The tonal quality of the speaker is one of naturalness, things aren’t overly sibilant and nor are they muddy. Frequencies knit together admirably and dialogue sits above the soundtrack as if floating above it unperturbed.

At nearly a foot high, the Tannoy 6C isn’t going to be practical for a lot of people’s systems. But for those of us that want to accommodate it, the 6C is an immensely accurate and crystal clear centre speaker that will only serve to enhance your home cinema system. Available in gloss black or walnut, if you’re a surround sound enthusiast, you’d be well advised to arrange to take this Tannoy for a spin at your local Richer Sounds.

Author: Steve, Bristol store