Tannoy Mercury M20

**Andy 831** · 13th March 2006, 20:01

Bought a pair of these small speakers today, reputed to be 93dB/W Efficiency to try out with my 8 w valve monoblocks.

Anybody got any experience of using them, are they any good? did not pay a lot so its not that important but i would value your thoughts about them

**aquapiranha** · 13th March 2006, 20:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy 831

Bought a pair of these small speakers today, reputed to be 93dB/W Efficiency to try out with my 8 w valve monoblocks.

Anybody got any experience of using them, are they any good? did not pay a lot so its not that important but i would value your thoughts about them

I remember the M20 Golds, they won some awards when they were launched IIRC...

**Andy 831** · 13th March 2006, 20:15

They might well be "golds" although they were described as mercury, however i notice that both the woofer and tweeter surround plates appear to be a gold colour?

***Dev*** · 13th March 2006, 21:53

Hi Andi,

I assume you mean these:-

These are not "Gold". "Golds" have dual concentric drivers.

**Paul Dimaline** · 13th March 2006, 22:45

Assuming we are talking about the same speakers (early-mid 80's) they are cracking speakers, although there more like 88 ish db.

I had a pair of Saturns, a slightly larger version than the Mercury. The Venus was very highly regarded, I saw a pair with a dead bass driver fetch nearly a ton on ebay a while back.

The Mercury was by far the longest lived and most popular model but was upgraded almost continually to keep it ahead of the pack.

The first models were typical speakers of the era, smooth and sweet with a slightly soft bass...later versions became cleaner and leaner. IIRC the golds had realwood veneer instead of vinyl.

Paul.

**TonyL** · 13th March 2006, 23:00

I had a pair of M20 Golds for a while back in the early 80s when they were current, they were a slightly poshed up version of the Mercurys pictured above. A slightly bigger cab and better tweeter IIRC. I didn’t keep them long as I could never get them not to boom in the bass, but that doesn’t mean much as I knew little about system set-up back then.

Tony.

**Andy 831** · 14th March 2006, 18:38

Dev...... that`s them.

Paul...... The spec sheet from Tannoy suggests 93dB is that likely to be optomistic, I thought it was a bit high for such small speakers.

**TonyL** · 14th March 2006, 19:43

Just found a pic of the M20 Golds I was on about earlier on the same site:

Tony.

**Intenso** · 18th March 2006, 23:37

Gosh M20 golds now that does make me nostalgic.

They formed the corner stone of my 1st proper setup back in 1985! They were wonderful speakers, quick and lively with a lovely bloom in the bass.

**aquapiranha** · 19th March 2006, 00:14

This is the M20 Gold I remember...

**Rory** · 19th March 2006, 00:48

i worked in a studio where they used the M20 Golds (not the black ones, the teakish colour ones). Sounded ok- pretty punchy from the plastic woofer.

**Andy 831** · 19th March 2006, 06:20

The speakers i have bought which i am still awaiting delivery of were not described as "gold" just Mercury M20.

Devs has the correct picture. Tonys look slightly different

Will report back on how they sound when they land

***SCIDB*** · 19th March 2006, 18:23

Hi,

I had a pair of Tannoy Mercurys in the 80s. These were the 2nd pair I ever bought. The sensitivity was around 87db/w/m, if I remember. They were around Â£100 to Â£120 mark. I enjoyed using them but I remember comparing them to a pair of Rogers LS2s which offered better clarity, detail and dynamics. These were around Â£160. The Mercurys were good enough to show the differences between cartridges and turntables which I used during that period. Nice speakers.

I drove the Tannoys with a QED A230 amp which was rated at 30watts per channel and a Cyrus two amp (60 watts).

SCIDB

13th March 2006, 20:01	#1
Andy 831 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Out on a wild and windy moor Posts: 387	Tannoy Mercury M20 Bought a pair of these small speakers today, reputed to be 93dB/W Efficiency to try out with my 8 w valve monoblocks. Anybody got any experience of using them, are they any good? did not pay a lot so its not that important but i would value your thoughts about them

13th March 2006, 21:53	#4
*Dev* Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Ilford, Essex, UK Posts: 5,804	Hi Andi, I assume you mean these:- These are not "Gold". "Golds" have dual concentric drivers. __________________ Regards, Dev My Kit

19th March 2006, 00:14	#10
aquapiranha Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 248	This is the M20 Gold I remember... __________________ Meet the new boss, same as the old boss....

19th March 2006, 00:48	#11
Rory satisfied Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Ipswich Posts: 1,084	i worked in a studio where they used the M20 Golds (not the black ones, the teakish colour ones). Sounded ok- pretty punchy from the plastic woofer. __________________ Plinius CDLAD/8200 pre/power. SAT CD FIX cd player. Pioneer VSXAX2av av amp. Pioneer DV747a. Wharfedale Harewood. Townshend and Black Rhodium cabling.

19th March 2006, 18:23	#13
*SCIDB* Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 2,510	Hi, I had a pair of Tannoy Mercurys in the 80s. These were the 2nd pair I ever bought. The sensitivity was around 87db/w/m, if I remember. They were around Â£100 to Â£120 mark. I enjoyed using them but I remember comparing them to a pair of Rogers LS2s which offered better clarity, detail and dynamics. These were around Â£160. The Mercurys were good enough to show the differences between cartridges and turntables which I used during that period. Nice speakers. I drove the Tannoys with a QED A230 amp which was rated at 30watts per channel and a Cyrus two amp (60 watts). SCIDB __________________ There are only two types of music. Music I own and music I don't.

13th March 2006, 20:15	#3
Andy 831 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Out on a wild and windy moor Posts: 387	They might well be "golds" although they were described as mercury, however i notice that both the woofer and tweeter surround plates appear to be a gold colour?

13th March 2006, 22:45	#5
Paul Dimaline Registered User Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 135	Assuming we are talking about the same speakers (early-mid 80's) they are cracking speakers, although there more like 88 ish db. I had a pair of Saturns, a slightly larger version than the Mercury. The Venus was very highly regarded, I saw a pair with a dead bass driver fetch nearly a ton on ebay a while back. The Mercury was by far the longest lived and most popular model but was upgraded almost continually to keep it ahead of the pack. The first models were typical speakers of the era, smooth and sweet with a slightly soft bass...later versions became cleaner and leaner. IIRC the golds had realwood veneer instead of vinyl. Paul.

13th March 2006, 23:00	#6
TonyL Club Krautrock Plinque Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Another pink world Posts: 1,642	I had a pair of M20 Golds for a while back in the early 80s when they were current, they were a slightly poshed up version of the Mercurys pictured above. A slightly bigger cab and better tweeter IIRC. I didn’t keep them long as I could never get them not to boom in the bass, but that doesn’t mean much as I knew little about system set-up back then. Tony.

14th March 2006, 18:38	#7
Andy 831 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Out on a wild and windy moor Posts: 387	Dev...... that`s them. Paul...... The spec sheet from Tannoy suggests 93dB is that likely to be optomistic, I thought it was a bit high for such small speakers.

14th March 2006, 19:43	#8
TonyL Club Krautrock Plinque Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Another pink world Posts: 1,642	Just found a pic of the M20 Golds I was on about earlier on the same site: Tony.

18th March 2006, 23:37	#9
Intenso Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 4	Gosh M20 golds now that does make me nostalgic. They formed the corner stone of my 1st proper setup back in 1985! They were wonderful speakers, quick and lively with a lovely bloom in the bass.

19th March 2006, 06:20	#12
Andy 831 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Out on a wild and windy moor Posts: 387	The speakers i have bought which i am still awaiting delivery of were not described as "gold" just Mercury M20. Devs has the correct picture. Tonys look slightly different Will report back on how they sound when they land