What Hi Fi Sound and Vision
20 JUL 2005
Tannoy Arena (including stands)
This handsome and decorative Tannoy package goes some way towards blurring the boundaries between form and function. Using Tannoy’s Dual Concentric driver technology undoubtedly helps dispersion and imaging, but it also allows the firm to fashion an elegant, understated speaker.
The Arena is available with a flexible range of mounts and supports. We’ve added the optional stands so the system competes on a level playing field with B&W’s MT-30, which includes supports as standard. Everything about the Arena feels solid and substantial, and the sub is a usefully compact unit than can be positioned either horizontally or vertically.
Tonally, the Arena is excellent. It presents a warm, rich and expansive sound – there’s plenty of detail on tap during the nervier moments of The Macabees’ X-Ray, but it’s never at the expense of the big picture.
The entire delivery is coherent and cohesive, with dialogue (thanks to that beefier centre) carrying weight and nuance with subtlety and purpose. Effects are steered accurately and with a fine sense of momentum, yet nothing ever threatens to get out of hand.
Sweet and forgiving
The Arena is fast and powerful, with none of the just-in-time breathlessness from which lesser systems can suffer. Integration between all five speakers is good, as is that between the speakers and the sub, and the whole frequency range is handled in a sweet, forgiving manner. The sub itself is deep and punchy, but fleet-footed enough to stay in touch with its partners.
The Arena stays equally well-balanced and poised when playing multichannel music. It’s swift and surefooted, very three-dimensional and tonally largely uncoloured. That centre speaker wins special praise again, giving welcome body to even the most ethereal of vocalists. And the subwoofer proves its worth once more, showing admirable pace while summoning a degree of tonal modulation at the same time.
So, any gripes? Well, it’s a pain to fit those curvy speakers into their equally swoopy brackets or stands, but then you’ll only have to do it once. More importantly, the subwoofer, as capable as it is, isn’t the equal of the very best in this class.
In short, the Arena is a class act. If you’re in the market for a 5.1 system at this price, give it a thorough audition.