What most people are looking for in a studio monitor is sound that is articulate, transparent (Meaning free of any sonic coloration). It needs to have wide range frequency response and the ability to handle transient/dynamic peaks without showing measurable distortion at reasonable listening levels, and can never be fatiging or "edgy" on the high Freq. Is there a low cost near-field monitor worthy of tackling such needs? Enter the Tannoy Reveal 601P Passive Monitor. At the very low price point I was a bit of a skeptic, but I knew Tannoy was known for legendary speaker products (having heard a pair of amplified system 600's), and I had an application that was very budget restrictive,and the price was so reasonable considering how much monitors can cost, so I tried a pair. Here's the key that worked for me- If setup properly: 1) equilateral triangle between the listener and the left and right speaker ideally ranging 2.5 - 3.5 ft 2) The speakers mounted so that tweeter is at relatively ear level. 3) Given a very clean & robust signal using good quality speaker cable & amplifier rated approx 50 - 125 wpc 4)NOT ever played into distortion....THESE SPEAKERS ARE REMARKABLE and sound like budget had nothing to do with it ! The key here is keeping them nearfield (close to you, almost like a big pair of headphones). If you have a bigger room or listening triangle than indicated above, these will not work very well. As with all nearfield products, they really shine for what they were inherently designed for in near-field applications. If you're in a budget conscious situation, and need great transparent & detailed reference sound in a near-field environment, the Tannoy Reveal 601P Passive Monitor is a great choice.

Actually, in this case a lack of features is good, since they sound great just the way they are.

Great Value!

Radio Broadcast Engineer

Jazz and beyond

40 years of playing.

Rock, Pop,...

The sound is very articulate. Great range no need for sub. Some bass notes push so much air through the front ports you can smell the inside of the cabnet.

Plug them into a nice amp.

solid build looks cool

Well worth the price. If you have a good amp get these and save money over active monitors.

none needed.

My ears love these monitors.

active musician, recording engineer

electronic

The sound of these is what you're paying for...and it delivers. I have these hooked up to an older Pioneer A/V receiver through optical from my computer, and they're really phenomenal. They're brighter than my last pair of speakers in my setup, but this helps to see all of the flaws in a mix (which is the point of monitors). The bass on these goes lower than I expected for having 6.5" drivers. That said, I would still consider pairing these with a subwoofer. If I had to sum up the sound of these speakers in one word, I'd say clarity - you can hear every little detail with these, it's phenomenal. I may upgrade to a higher-caliber amplifier at some point, and I may grab a subwoofer to go with these. But as-is right now with my Pioneer A/V receiver, I'm quite happy.

These are passive monitors, so you do lose some of the customization available on active monitors. However, most of that can be performed with the controls on an amplifier (treble/bass boost/cut). The wire terminals are really high-quality, and do accept banana plugs. They are packaged really well, which is always a plus considering how poorly many shipping companies treat products. The only real accessories these come with are little stick-on rubber feet.

How could you get easier? Plug an amplifier into the speaker terminals (I'd use at least 16 gauge wire), plug a source into the amplifier, and crank it up. That's it! I have mine sitting on a few books to get them to ear-height. I'll worry about fancier stands later.

These are built really solidly. I was surprised at how much each one weighed - for a relatively small speaker, each one weighs 15-20 pounds! The enclosures are really high quality, and I feel like these will last for many years to come.

This is quite possibly the best value in lower-cost monitors. I had listened to many pairs of powered monitors in this price range, and nothing compared. With these, you're paying for the quality of the speaker itself, not the amplifier. You would have to double the cost of these to match their performance in an active monitor.

I haven't had to deal with their tech support, and I don't see needing to anytime soon.

These look really nice sitting on my desk. I like the black with tasteful silver accents, it makes them not just a boring black box. The front baffles look nice with all of the curviness (though that curviness is supposedly to help with sound).

Serious hobbyist

Rock (plus location sound)

Playing guitar for forty nine years. Also play drums, bass, piano/keyboards etc. Been playing professionally for several years.

Several