My review is about the R2s. I have a beautiful QSC power amp and Yamaha O3D mixing desk as its preamplifier. I was recording a rather clever duo using the O3D, and running through old Hecs and Phillips speakers. I could never arrive at a sound that approximated the gorgeous female voice, so I went into an audio store and asked to blind listen to all the high end monitors up to about $4,000 au. I was getting frustrated and then the last, and cheapest speaker was played. Wow, whoopee I thought, this is it. The speakers were Tannoy R2. I bought them, added a brilliant subwoofer, and for the price for under $5,000, I haven't heard better. Jamo are brittle and zizzy!!. Kefs are dull and flat, Bose, while sharp, are tiring to listen to. The R2s are warm, accurate, can take tonnes of input before they even sound stressed. I did have to have a loose driver tightened as it rattled, but that was physical, not technical. Good speakers to me, are not those that you notice, but ones you aren't even aware of, and the source, CD, MP3, Vinyl, DVD are IMPORTANT. So I love my oh so reliable R2s.

hi, i got Tannoy Revolution R3 in Black Ash, they playing verry nice and clean, i just love them so this is a good buy! i had Tannoy onetime befor, i had just one speaker, and that speaker are good to, i dont remember whats the name on that speaker, i gonna have JUST Tannoy from now on! tannoy playing werry good on a harman kardon stereo integrated amplifier!

i got some Tannoy Revolution R3 Floorstanding Speakers, and they play verry nice and clean, i just gonna have Tannoy from Now on!

Excellent sound with very natural midrange, and seismic bass. Great for music and home cinema. If you have a powerful enough amp eg. Yamaha DSP-A2 you do not need a subwoofer. Do not even think of buying this if you do not have the space for it. Must be 1m from side wall and at least 0.5m from rear wall. Any closer to walls and you will out of control bass. Best if Bi-Wired. If I had one criticism it is that it can be very slightly prone to sibilance, but maybe it is my equipment/speaker cable.

As a first buy-high quality speaker, I don't think these can be beaten.

Fantastic value for money,
Relatively light (low shipping cost),
Good music/home theater performance,
Nice finish
Bi-Wireable

Does sound muddy in the mid to high region.
Vicious spikes,
Can topple over easily (but when speakers cost sub £300, why should you mind if they get slightly scratched?).
Can sound boomy if placed right next to a wall - don't do it :-)

The R3 Speakers were the first true high quality speakers I had ever bought (£200), and they are a spectacular purchase. As many of the other reviewers have said, these speakers go loud, have plenty of bass and sound amazing at the price you can now pick them up for, (as I write this review there are two pairs of R3's and the RC speaker up for sale on eBay UK) the speaker cabinets themselves are well made, but not overly heavy and finished beautifully. Unfortunately, the speakers are a little unstable because of the narrow width of the speaker, but as long as you place them on a carpeted surface, the vicious metal spikes will anchor the speaker in place (just don't use them on lino or anything that is likely to scratch!!).

Lately, I have changed my system from home theater to a music, with the introduction of a pair of Kef XQfive's. Having compared the two speakers back to back the R3's sound exceptionally muddy, and don't have the same mid to high clarity of the Kef's. The difference is normally something that I would never have noticed without comparing the speakers back to back and I would have hoped that there would be such a difference having spent £799 on the XQfive's!!

Similar Products Used:

Kef XQfive, iQ9.
Wharfedale Zaldek 2000 (mainly for loud parties!)
Funkton one dance stack (from the club I used to work in)

Deep controlled bass, beautifuly neutral and open midband and treble rich sounding and the build quality is very good at the price heavy too!

look like they have been rushed as i had to straighten the padding out in the boxes to get a decent sound out of them also could do with a tad more excitement and spark in the treble

i currently own a marantz pm66ki signature amp and matching cd 63ki cd player and after my elderly mission 780se bitten the dust i decided i wanted floorstanding speakers i was sold a pair of kef q35s and got tired of them after a year as they sounded bright and brittle and not a patch on my old 780s although they imaged superbly i then heard about the tannoy revolution r3s and read a review in what hifi magazine and decided to take the plunge as the biggest influence was the person who built my marantz cd player and amp(ken ishuwata)had an input into the making of these speakers so i thought its got to be a good match Anyway when i got them i set them up and after a couple of weeks running in i was disapointed as they sounded dull and like someone threw a curtain over them so one night out of curiousity i decided to open them up and noticed the padding had been stuffed in so i straightend it out on the inside of both boxes and put them together again and the difference was astonishing but there was still something missing so i upgraded the cables from qed to van den hull cs122 cable and now the sound brought tears to my eyes and for the money i have never heard anything like these speakers they make my hifi sound like a high end one costing twice the price of mine the sound is beautifully balanced being just a touch on the warm side of neutral with a very rich and open sounding midrange and open treble and no matter what the music is they sound great my only gripe is that they dont excite enough sometimes with say rock music and maybe could do with a tad more sting in the treble but other than that these are more than a match for my 10 year old mission 780s and i would recommend these speakers especially if you own the marantz ki signature gear

Similar Products Used:

Kef Q35s also auditioned B&W 603s and Mission 773es

build, design, looks, sound, price, the Tannoy name, I just love Tannoy

hard to get hold of, but that's not a weakness of the speaker really is it

Fantastic speakers. great looking, great sounding and worth every penny but quite difficult to get hold of at the moment I already have a pair of Tannoy Revolution R2 which I have had for about 3 years and have done well as both Hi-fi stereo speakers on a high powered meridian power amp and on the rear surround of a HT system on a Yamaha DSP AX1. I had always thought there could be a little more bass for my personal tasted and as the R3 seemed to be reviewed as every bit as good as the R2 but with a bass some were describing as more boomy, I knew I had to try some, but now I decided to take the plunge and buy them I struggled to find a store with some in stock as they all told me the speakers are discontinued by Tannoy now. Luckily I found www.hifibitz.co.uk who listed the speaker for £349.99 with free uk delivery so I ordered them and on my recommendation a friend ordered 2 pairs. When I called the customer services at hifibitz before ordering to confirm they would have stock they confirmed that there were 30 pairs left in Tannoy's warehouse and hifibitz would have at least 15 of them coming within a week so I can tell you at least 3 pairs of those have sold already so if you want some at this great price then hurry up and go to the web site and maybe call them yourself. They are truely well worth their money, especially at this price, which was the cheapest price I could find by at least £40, and the only supplier with the speaker in stock. by rights the review i wrote on the R2 where i gave them 5 stars for value and overall rating should be dropped to 4 as that's the only way that the R3 can be rated higher, but the R2 still gets 5 stars for being so good at an even lower price. Do yourself a favour and join the Revolution ;)

Similar Products Used:

Tannoy R2, B&W vision, Mission 783

'True' sound, build quality, name in pro market.

None in this price bracket

I wanted speakers with a 'true' and accurate sound for a video edit suite. I listened to various similarly featured/priced speakers. The Tannoy R3s were the best by far, they do not taint the sound - what you hear is what there is!

Similar Products Used:

Driving various sources (DV, DVD, Mac G4)via an Onkyo AV amp.

I wasn't really aware of any changes in sound quality during the recommended 'running in' period, perhaps this was peculiar to my listening room's acoustics. I chose to keep the foam plugs out as the bass seemed to be clearer. It's good to have the choice as each listener's room will be different.

None that have become apparent.

These speakers are the finest sounding ones that I have owned. I use a NAD C350 to drive them and the sound produced is superb. It is not 'overbright' nor is it heavy with bass. An aspect that I have noticed is that the sound quality of most of my remastered (AAD) cd's has been enhanced while the newer (DDD) cd's appear to be less bright, with the result that my cd collection as a whole has become more enjoyable to listen to. The finish on the cherry cabinets is excellent making them fine pieces of furniture.

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None in this price range.

Goes very loud without issues. Bass response excellent. Subtle and imnmensely listenable. Real wood veneer and classic design a must for more discerning hi-fi enthusiasts.

None at this price. One of the best speakers I have heard at this price range.

Considering that you can pay up to £500 for these speakers at some outlets, I can only consider these speakers a bargain at £350 from Hi-Fi Bitz. These speakers sound soft, sweet and dynamic. Bass response is really very good and partnered with my NAD C370, have no trouble at high volumes, even for extended periods of time. The bass control is excellent and was one of the factors that made me upgrade to these from my Mission M73 floorstanders. Also, the top frequency ranges on the M73s could be a little bit tiring on the ear. There is none of that with the R3. In fact the speakers are incredibly refined and subtle for the money. Ideal for all sorts of music from hard dance to jazz and classical. I have been impressed with the scale and authority of the sound - so much so that you dont want to turn off your system to go and make dinner etc... Last of all, visually, the Tannoy R3 is a very traditional looking and elegant floorstanding speaker. It has a real wood veneer that darkens gradually in the light and ends up a really beautifull piece of furniture. Coupled to that, the ultra modern drivers, tweeter and auto-transformer and you have a really quite special speaker.

Similar Products Used:

Mission M73 and M74, Mission 775e, Eltax Liberty 3+