Tannoy System roundup
The Best Tannoy Systems for the Money
Tannoy's range is extensive. This guide identifies the products that offer the best performance for the money across the main application areas.
Choosing the best tannoy system for a given budget depends heavily on the application. Tannoy's catalogue is large and the price range wide; what represents good value in one context may be the wrong choice in another. This guide covers the models and series most frequently recommended across the key application areas, with an honest view of where the money goes.
For Fixed Installation: VQ Series
The VQ series is the most widely specified tannoy system for medium to large fixed installation work. The dual-concentric driver produces a coherent point source with consistent coverage, and the series is available in a range of sizes suited to different throw distances and coverage requirements. The VQ is not the cheapest Tannoy option, but for permanent installation in a church, theatre or lecture hall where clarity and long-term reliability matter, it is frequently the recommendation that holds up over multiple projects.
For Reverberant Spaces: QFLEX
Where intelligibility in highly reverberant spaces is the priority — churches with stone floors and high vaulted ceilings are the obvious example — the QFLEX column array series is the strongest Tannoy system option in the catalogue. The narrow vertical dispersion reduces reflections from floor and ceiling, which conventional point source speakers cannot achieve without careful aiming and room treatment. For a 200-seat church with a 5–7 second reverberation time, a pair of QFLEX columns mounted at the front of the room typically outperforms a more expensive point source solution.
For Live Events: VLS and Quantum
For portable live sound work, the VLS portable line array and the Quantum point source range offer a practical Tannoy system for touring and hire companies. The VLS provides scalable SPL and coverage for medium to large events; the Quantum series covers smaller venues and club-style events with a simpler setup. Both ranges are designed for road use rather than permanent installation, with hardware intended to survive repeated pack-up and transport.
For Speech in Smaller Spaces: CMS Series
The CMS (Coaxial Modular Subwoofer) and related compact installation ranges are effective for boardrooms, smaller conference facilities and distributed systems in offices and retail spaces. These products are designed to blend into architecture rather than dominate it visually, and are priced at a level that makes distributed multi-zone installations cost-effective.
What You Get at Different Price Points
At the entry level of the professional Tannoy range, you get capable drivers, solid build quality and standard dispersion patterns. Moving upmarket brings more refined pattern control, better power handling, more sophisticated driver engineering (in particular the Dual Concentric technology in higher-end models) and more comprehensive specification data for systems integrators. For most educational and small commercial installations, a mid-range tannoy system represents the point where the performance returns justify the price.
Where to Compromise
If budget forces a choice, it is generally better to compromise on quantity and use fewer, higher-quality speakers than to fill a space with cheaper units. A smaller number of well-specified, correctly aimed Tannoy speakers will typically produce better results than a larger array of budget alternatives. The investment in good amplification and signal processing also returns more than equivalent spend on upgrading the speakers, once the speakers are already at a competent professional standard.
See the Tannoy system buyer's guide for purchasing advice and specification considerations.
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