What Hi-Fi? Verdict
These Tannoys are something special - they fire out an infectious, entertaining sound
Pros
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Lively, balanced sound
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Excellent agility and precision
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Impressive dynamic range
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Superb finish
Cons
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Nothing of note
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We don’t deal readily in hyperbole, but we feel compelled right about now. The Tannoy Revolution XT6Fs are incredible speakers for the money and you must seek them out for an audition.
Their aptitude is obvious. They waste no time in setting out their stall: what you get is an entertaining listen. There’s a tremendous immediacy to the Tannoys’ delivery that has no problem attracting your undivided attention.
Performance
We put on a bit of Prince and party like it’s 1999. Your feet will tap. Your fingers will snap. So infectious is the level of energy that you can’t escape, at the very least, doing a tiny dance in your chair. That said, these Tannoys are more than just a joyride.
These are versatile speakers, and while they’re happy to bop along with Pharrell Williams they are just as content chilling to Portishead. Timing and dynamics are the key here, and these Tannoys are well endowed in both departments.
Whatever you throw at them will be handled with precision and agility, while the wide dynamic range offers enough zest to ensure the performance never veers into the clinical. Despite their lively demeanour, the sound is nice and balanced. No part of the frequency demands extra attention.
The midrange is lovely. It’s direct without being demanding. Vocals stand out without feeling isolated. There’s a good deal of bass, but it’s agile and nicely controlled. We move up to the treble and find it could be a little sweeter and more delicate, but now we’re just nitpicking.
We’re impressed by the level of integration. The various elements cooperate to perform as a unified whole. There’s also plenty of detail throughout the frequency range. The various textures are entirely convincing. It also helps that it’s a big sound, tall and wide as you like.
The presentation is spacious and airy. There’s room enough whether you want to occupy that soundstage with brass bands or full orchestras. Whichever you choose will be organised and fully ready to rock.
Build and design
A stunning performance, then, and it’s entirely down to the engineering. We’re always nervous when a manufacturer decides it’s time to shake up a winning formula, but the Revolution has definitely been improved – at least where the XT6Fs are concerned. ‘XT’, by the way, stands for ‘extra technology’.
The most obvious change here is the angled base of cabinet and an integrated plinth and down-firing reflex port for better dispersion of low frequencies. Tannoy’s signature Dual Concentric driver has also been tweaked to improve integration between the tweeter and mid/bass cone.
The trapezoid shape of the cabinet, as always, helps to reduce internal standing waves. And, as always, fit and finish is superb. We’re particularly keen on the attention to detail: look closely enough and you’ll see ‘TANNOY’ written on the bolts at the front. This is very pleasing. We are very pleased.
Verdict
We were big fans of the Revolution DC6T SEs, but the new XT6Fs are a definite step up in quality. They are beautifully finished, but more importantly they sound every bit of their asking price.
We urge you to give them an audition.
