Tannoy
Company profile[edit]
Tannoy was founded in London in 1926 by English engineer Guy R. Fountain as the "Tulsemere Manufacturing Company".The name "Tannoy" is derived from a combination of the words "Tantalum (metal) and "lead alloy'" (alloy), materials from which Guy R. Fountain made rectifiers for radios.
In 1930, Fountain experimented with energized magnets, which led to the development of highly efficient loudspeakers and powerful amplifiers of up to 200 watts. The ever-increasing demand for high-quality equipment for radio stations, recording studios, concert halls and event centres meant that PAs became Tannoy's main line of business. During the Second World War, for example, the Royal Air Force's airfields were equipped with Tannoy loudspeakers, and the communications equipment in tanks and on submarines was also from Tannoy. In the second half of the 20th century, the UN headquarters in Paris, Geneva and New York, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta, among others, were equipped with Tannoy systems.
At the beginning of the 1970s, Tannoy was sold to the American "Harman International Industries", only to be bought by the American "Beatrice Foods Company" in 1977. The latter sold Tannoy in 1981. Senior Tannoy managers took over the company, which by then had its headquarters in Coatbridge, Scotland.
The term "tannoy" is used in England as a synonym for loudspeaker announcements.
The most famous development of the Tannoy company is the patented "Dual Concentric" loudspeaker, where the tweeter sits in the middle of the bass.
Products[edit]