# NGD/Review: Tannoy Reveal 802



## Seanthesheep (Jul 30, 2014)

So Ive actually had these monitors for atleast a month now but wanted to hold off on doing a review untill they really broke in and I got a feel for how these things sound. It started off with a day trip to the Long and McQuede in toronto because I knew their studio monitor selection was great. I got there with one of my friends and I told the employees there that I was looking at buying some studio montiors preferably 8" and needed them to have proper low end response without having to add a sub. So they had set up there that day the following monitors that were in my price range:

Yamaha HS8
KRK ROKIT 8 (newest Gen)
Yorkville YSM 8
Tannoy Reveal 802

Now when I first went in that day I was convinced I was going to walk out with the yorkilles because they were the perfect price and last time I heard them I really liked them but that obviously wasnt the case. When we started flipping through the monitors it quickly became apparent that the Rokits had very little bass response and overall very "meh" compared to the others. 

The Yamahas I thought would sound the best but were very harsh it was not pleasant listening to anything through them. Probably great for very serious studio people but as a set of first monitors they were slightly out of budget and I did not enjoy them.

Now the Yorkvilles I thought the first time were fairly balanced with a very clear and defined low end. WRONG. They have a nice sounding top end but a very exaggerated low end and I felt they were too exaggerated for any accurate mixing. Dont get me wrong though the low end is very defined and clear but very exaggerated too

Now onto the Tannoys, when I first heard them I really did not want to like them, I had barely heard of the brand and never of this speaker, but damn do they sound good! A little bit of an exaggerated low end, nowhere near as bad as the yorkvilles and overall probably the most balanced sounding of the bunch. Not harsh at all but theres clarity across the entire spectrum especially in the low end. Its a very pleasant set of speakers to listen to and really lets you dissect the music and feel confident when mixing music

As an example the song "A Wolf Amongst Ravens" by After the Burial is on 8 strings with a bass. You clearly hear EVERYTHING, there are even background chords at about 3:05 that I didnt hear on my ATH M50s untill I heard them on the monitors. Its just such a clear speaker thats pleasant to listen to no matter what you play through it.

Now that Ive had them set up at home for a while though I can say the stereo spread on these speakers is also fantastic and you really hear and can also almost picture the stereo image. It also hurls the low end at you, not in a super artificial way but just enough to hear the details in the low end that you otherwise might miss and to get a feel for how the low end will kick (probably due to the port on the front). I friggen love these speakers and everyone that hears these speakers thinks they sound amazing too, even my brother who is no way music oriented loves the way these speakers sound.

I cant recommend these speakers enough, I got them for around 550$ before tax and got a 50$ gift card and bought some 110$ fancy Iso Montior stands. After it was all said and done though I got the monitors and the stands with tax for under 700$. IMO an amazing deal for these speakers and even after having them for over a month I still look forward to turning them on and listening to them. 

The only "issue" or problem Ive noticed with these monitors is that they always have a slight electrical hum. It is not a ground loop but its faint enough that I just tune it out in my mind and its hardly noticable once anything is playing through them, so if that will drive you crazy then be careful with getting these speakers. But its so slight that as soon as you get anything going through it you wont hear the hum, its only when nothing is playing that you hear it. That is the only flaw Ive found with these speakers and honestly Im surprised more people dont talk about them, to me they are better than anything else in its price class. Also compliments the Audio Technica ATH M50s very well 





Picture is a little dark but theres cool blue LEDs on the back that let you know the speakers are on, really really bright

Also each speaker is 100w and has frequency response of 42 Hz to 43,000 Hz

Anyways if anybodsy has any questions about the speakers or wants to know more just ask me wether it be in this thread or PM me


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## InfernalNoise (Jul 31, 2014)

I suppose, the "Hum"-issue is caused by the fact that the power-connection of those has no earth connection (only 2 pins on the back). 
I noticed some strange noise with both the Dynaudio DBM50 and the new BM5 Mkiii, which both use a class D amp and have only a 2 pin power connection, too. As Tannoy and Dynaudio are both within the TC-group, it is a "designflaw" they have in both production lines. Because this noise was quite annoying to me, when no or only quiet music was playing, i decided to go with the older BM5A mkii, that don't have this issue (3 pin power plug).
I'd find it very interesting to know if your noise goes away if you unplug the powercable of your macbook, while the other devices are still turned on.


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## Given To Fly (Jul 31, 2014)

I'm fairly certain every active monitor with a tweeter has low level "hiss." It's not a hill I recommend anyone die on.


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## 7stg (Aug 1, 2014)

Congratulations on the new monitors, glad you like them, I have heard a few good reviews of them.


I looked up the dB range which is +/-3dB which is great.



Seanthesheep said:


> I told the employees there that I was looking at buying some studio monitors preferably 8" and needed them to have proper low end response without having to add a sub.


 
8's or a few rare exceptional 7's are the way to go when a sub is not wanted, 7's with a sub are great for reproducing the lowest possible frequencies, and 5's are not for general use.



Seanthesheep said:


> The only "issue" or problem Ive noticed with these monitors is that they always have a slight electrical hum. It is not a ground loop but its faint enough that I just tune it out in my mind and its hardly noticable once anything is playing through them, so if that will drive you crazy then be careful with getting these speakers. But its so slight that as soon as you get anything going through it you wont hear the hum, its only when nothing is playing that you hear it.



The electrical noise is a common criticism of these monitors. I have heard 3 probable causes, and it may be a combination of the 3 - no ground, interference from other close electronic devices, and an amp design targeting a budget monitor tends to use components that are a bit more noisy.


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## Seanthesheep (Aug 1, 2014)

Yea, I was surpried that there is no ground on these monitors and thats the first thing I thought but also I agree with Given To Fly in that any monitor in this price range will have some hum, I mean its so little that i did not notice it in the store, only when I got home and set them up so I dont let it bother me


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## 7stg (Aug 1, 2014)

Seanthesheep said:


> I mean it's so little that I did not notice it in the store


Sounds like it's no big deal, and not a problem when music is playing. that's cool.


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