• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Tannoy Reveal 502 - some concerns?

Desolator121

New Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
3
Likes
2
Hey all,

I've been looking at getting some studio reference monitors for a while now but soon I'll actually have the space for a pair for mixing my music.

I was considering the Adam T5V's, but they're simply too expensive for me at £288 for a pair (I'm soon to be 6 figures in debt with a mortgage...).

The JBL LSR 305P MkII's seem great from amirm's review on this site, and are a bit more affordable at £210 a pair, but they look pretty crap and are rear-ported (though so are the Adam's). The room I'll be using for recording/mixing in is very small, maybe 3m x 3m ish, possibly slightly smaller, so the speakers will have to be quite close to a wall, no way around it really...

The Tannoy Reveal 502's however are front-ported, so this would be less of an issue. The reviews are almost entirely stellar regarding use as mixing monitors and are both cheaper (£176 a pair) and way better looking (imo) than the JBL LSR's.

But, I'm concerned that the amplifier class is nowhere to be found anywhere except one random retailer in Australia that says "class A-B". Not even the online manual or Tannoy's website states it so I don't know where they got that info. Also there is no ground pin for the kettle-lead plug. Is this an issue? It seems like it should be. Also, people complain that they hiss, which is common in speakers at this price range, but they are a particularly bad offender it seems. Though some say that Tannoy said they have addressed this issue within the first year of their initial release in 2014 so this shouldn't be a problem with newer models.

Any thoughts on this regarding these Tannoys?
 
Last edited:

More Dynamics Please

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Nov 18, 2020
Messages
562
Likes
752
Location
USA
While researching studio monitors I never saw a definitive reference to whether the Tannoy Reveals are either class AB or D. However, I did see numerous references from Reveal owners complaining on various audio forums of speaker hiss. Since hiss seems to be more of an issue with class D than with AB the Reveals may be more likely to be class D. But that's just a guess.
 

thewas

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 15, 2020
Messages
6,737
Likes
16,159
What I am quite sure is that some important Tannoys measurements like directivity which can't be corrected via EQ won't be as good/neutral as on the 305, although mind you that the 305 MKII needs some EQ to fix its tonal problems.
 

Berwhale

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 29, 2019
Messages
3,933
Likes
4,922
Location
UK
While researching studio monitors I never saw a definitive reference to whether the Tannoy Reveals are either class AB or D. However, I did see numerous references from Reveal owners complaining on various audio forums of speaker hiss. Since hiss seems to be more of an issue with class D than with AB the Reveals may be more likely to be class D. But that's just a guess.

I sent back a pair of JBL 305p MKIIs because of the hiss from the tweaters, I replaced them with a pair of Reveal 402's. In my experience the hiss from the 402's is much lower in both volume and tone - in fact, i'd describe the sound from the 402's as more of a hum than a hiss.
 

Berwhale

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 29, 2019
Messages
3,933
Likes
4,922
Location
UK
The Tannoy Reveal 502's however are front-ported, so this would be less of an issue.

That was one of the reasons I bought the 402's. One sits in a corner less than an inch from the rear wall, the other sits in front of a deep bay window with the glass 3 feet behind it.

I also considered the Eris E5 XT as this is also front ported. But E5 XT didn't measure that well and is a little large for my desk (as was the 305p).

PreSonus E5 XT Active Speaker Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
 
OP
D

Desolator121

New Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
3
Likes
2
@More Dynamics Please Yeah, as far as I'm aware hiss tends to be more of a class D problem than with class A/B, but I don't know how much A/B is resistant to it.

@thewas Now that you mention it, I don't think I've seen many references to the Tannoy's directivity. I will be buying good speaker stands though that have height and tilt adjustment, so this shouldn't be a huge problem for me.

@Berwhale That's good to know. I've heard that the JBL LSR305p MKII's hiss, as can the Adam T5V's, so I'm going in to this knowing I'll have some amount of hiss, but it's reassuring to hear your 402's weren't as bad. I guess it depends on the batch. And yeah, front porting does make placement in an awkward room a bit more forgiving :)

Do you think the Reveal 402's are a better buy than 502's for a room ~ 3m x 3m in size?
 

thewas

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 15, 2020
Messages
6,737
Likes
16,159
@thewas Now that you mention it, I don't think I've seen many references to the Tannoy's directivity. I will be buying good speaker stands though that have height and tilt adjustment, so this shouldn't be a huge problem for me.
Yes, unfortunately I don't know of any serious measurements of them but its obvious that their waveguide is too small the give such a smooth directivity like the 305. Also please keep in mind that directivity is still important if listened on axis, its importance gets just less the smaller your listening distance is.
 

Berwhale

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 29, 2019
Messages
3,933
Likes
4,922
Location
UK
Do you think the Reveal 402's are a better buy than 502's for a room ~ 3m x 3m in size?

I had to get monitors with 4" drivers due to lack of space on my desk. If I had room, i'd go for something with better bass extension which would generally be larger (apart from something like the iLoud MTM which i'm waiting for Amirm to measure).
 

muslhead

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
May 28, 2020
Messages
1,560
Likes
1,718
Hey all,

I've been looking at getting some studio reference monitors for a while now but soon I'll actually have the space for a pair for mixing my music.

I was considering the Adam T5V's, but they're simply too expensive for me at £288 for a pair (I'm soon to be 6 figures in debt with a mortgage...).

The JBL LSR 305P MkII's seem great from Amir's review on this site, and are a bit more affordable at £210 a pair, but they look pretty crap and are rear-ported (though so are the Adam's). The room I'll be using for recording/mixing in is very small, maybe 3m x 3m ish, possibly slightly smaller, so the speakers will have to be quite close to a wall, no way around it really...

The Tannoy Reveal 502's however are front-ported, so this would be less of an issue. The reviews are almost entirely stellar regarding use as mixing monitors and are both cheaper (£176 a pair) and way better looking (imo) than the JBL LSR's.

But, I'm concerned that the amplifier class is nowhere to be found anywhere except one random retailer in Australia that says "class A-B". Not even the online manual or Tannoy's website states it so I don't know where they got that info. Also there is no ground pin for the kettle-lead plug. Is this an issue? It seems like it should be. Also, people complain that they hiss, which is common in speakers at this price range, but they are a particularly bad offender it seems. Though some say that Tannoy said they have addressed this issue within the first year of their initial release in 2014 so this shouldn't be a problem with newer models.

Any thoughts on this regarding these Tannoys?
i have the tannoy gold 5 and am very pleased. I was not able to listen to the reveal nor can i confirm they use the similar amps to power, but if they are anything like the gold's sound, they are very good (just set your expectation correctly wrt bass due to woofer size)
 
OP
D

Desolator121

New Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
3
Likes
2
@thewas I see. I'll bear that in mind and will definitely consider the LSR 305p MKII's. Thanks :)

@Berwhale Aah fair enough. I'll go the 502's/305's in that case, rather than 402's.

@muslhead Yeah the Tannoy Gold series looks awesome and reviews are also pretty stellar. They're very tempting but the price is a bit much for me.
 
Top Bottom