Floorstanding loudspeakers — Tannoy AUTOGRAPH MINI-OW

The Autograph Mini-OW is a compact two-way loudspeaker in the Prestige family from Tannoy, listed by the maker as a stand mount design. It takes its name and styling from the historic Autograph line and wears an oiled walnut veneer trimmed in solid walnut, which the OW suffix denotes. The UK price was GBP 2,199 per pair, later reduced to GBP 1,899. Tannoy traces its history to 1926 and its Dual Concentric technology to 1947.

Key specs that matter

A single 4.5 inch Dual Concentric full range transducer places a 19 mm titanium dome tweeter centrally within a 4 inch low frequency cone, with the crossover set at 2.3 kHz. The low frequency cone is paper with a flexible rubber surround and a 33 mm voice coil, and the titanium dome sits behind a Tulip WaveGuide. Frequency response is 106 Hz to 20 kHz within 3 dB and extends to 60 Hz at the -10 dB point. Sensitivity is 85 dB at 1 W and 1 m and nominal impedance is 8 ohm. Maximum SPL reaches 102 dB continuous and 108 dB peak. Nominal dispersion is 90 degrees conical at the -6 dB points. The cabinet measures 356 x 209 x 155 mm, holds 3.5 litres internally and weighs 4.4 kg.

Engineering and use context

The Dual Concentric layout, a Tannoy technology also used in studio monitoring, radiates both frequency bands from one axis. Its Omnimagnet configuration moves the high frequency unit closer to the acoustic centre of the low frequency cone to improve time alignment between the two. The enclosure combines solid wood with MDF in a tapered, triangular form. It is reflex loaded through a rear port, and two foam bungs are supplied to close that port. The front is covered by a detachable wooden-framed grille in oatmeal cloth, held by magnets, in keeping with the traditional Prestige look. A single pair of screw terminals accepts bare wire or banana plugs, and feet are supplied to protect furniture. The wooden baffle has a brass ring with gold screws, a GR emblem and a brass nameplate reading Prestige Gold Reference, and the crossover uses custom capacitors.

Pairing

Power handling to IEC is 50 W continuous and 200 W peak. Tannoy suggests amplifiers of 20 to 100 W.

Alternatives

The Tannoy Platinum F6 is a 2.5-way floorstanding speaker with two 6.5 inch paper and FPP woofers and a silk dome tweeter.