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REVIEWED
REVIEWED: H|H Electronics TRE-1201 & TRE-1501
I will start this review with a short look back at the history of the HH brand. HH Electronics was founded in 1968 by Mike Harrison, Malcolm Green and Graham Lowes in the village of Harston near Cambridge, England. This is where its first solid state TPA and MA range of studio-quality amplifiers were designed and manufactured.
The company also developed many high-quality instrument amplifiers such as the famous IC100 guitar amplifier and later moved into pro audio with products such as the V series power amplifiers complemented by their range of speaker drivers and cabinets. HH Electronics was a truly pioneering audio brand and by the ‘70s their gear was being used by bands such as T-rex and Van Halen as well as in the BBC studios and even for the London Underground’s tannoy system.
My own first encounter with a HH sound system was in the late ‘70s at a local pub I used to frequent with my mates. Every Friday and Saturday they held a disco in the function room, which is both where I got the bug to try my hand at being a DJ and first heard a HH sound system.
Many DJs and live musicians at this time either owned or aspired to own a HH sound system and I was most definitely one of them. It took me several years to save the money to purchase my own HH Mk2 Unit System and V800 power amp, which I still use to this day along with a tri-amp Concert System.
In the early 1990s HH Electronics was purchased by Laney Amplification, a family-owned instrument amplifier company from the Midlands, which utilised the HH speaker driver manufacturing facilities for use in Laney instrument amplifiers. (The rest of the brand was shelved.) If you look in the back of a Laney instrument amplifier, you will likely see a HH driver installed.
In 2004, HH Electronics was re-launched; aimed at the live musician market and focussed on respecting the history of the brand whilst developing new products to compete in the current marketplace. All products are now manufactured in China with regular visits from the UK HH team to ensure quality remains at a high standard. All HH products are designed, developed and voiced here in the UK. All products also come with a 5-year warranty, supported by a dedicated service and support team located in Birmingham.
After hearing the brand had been re-launched, and reading that the new incarnation would be focussed on respecting its history, my interest was piqued. With curiosity, I purchased a number of the new speakers, one of which (System 3 S3-815) is my most used sound system at the moment. It is now six years old and has not missed a beat in all that time.
So, when I was asked to review the latest offerings from HH Electronics, which are aimed squarely at the DJ market, I took the offer up without hesitation. In this review, I’ll be looking at two models, the Tensor TRE-1201 and TRE-1501, which are both compact, lightweight, active speakers that carry a good selection of features.
Both the TRE-1201 and TRE-1501 use the same high-grade class D bi-amplifier with intelligent on-board DSP to protect the system from failure. This delivers 700 Watts continuous (1400 Watts peak) for a maximum SPL of 130dB (TRE-1201) and 131dB (TRE-1501).
The connections and controls are the same on the back of both models. There are two inputs (combined XLR / ¼ inch jack sockets), each with an individual gain control, and a ‘Mix Out’ (XLR) so you can have a slave speaker outputting the same mix as the master. The ‘Main’ volume controls the output of the speaker but does not control the mix output, allowing individual volume settings of the master and slave speakers but still allowing the gains to be altered for the two inputs using the controls on the master speaker.
Next to the main volume control is a red LED to indicate when the amp is clipping. There is also a ‘Mode’ button, which allows you to scroll through four different EQ pre-sets: Music, Live, Monitor and Vocal, each with a corresponding green LED to show which is currently selected. The final two controls in this section are an earth lift switch and a button to turn on/off the illuminated HH badge on the front.
The power input is located at the bottom of the back panel, via an IEC socket. There is a dual voltage switch (110-120V / 220-240V), under a tamper proof cover, which is situated just below the main on/off rocker switch.
Both speakers have moulded polypropylene cabinets and are designed to be pole mounted, hung or used as monitors, at a 45-degree angle, when laid on their sides. The front has a powder coated steel grill backed with acoustic foam and decorated with the aforementioned glowing HH badge. The cabinet also has three carry handles, four flying points and a speaker pole mount with locking thumb screw.
The TRE-1201 has a 12” HH-design woofer and 1.33” compression driver with a 90° horizontal x 90° vertical coverage for a frequency response of 45 – 18Khz. This option measures 606mm x 358mm x 356mm and weighs in at a very light 14.4kg. Meanwhile, the TRE-1501 has a 15” woofer paired with the same 1.33” compression driver to deliver a slightly extended frequency response of 41 – 20Khz. Unsurprisingly, this version has larger dimensions – 691mm x 425mm x 385mm – and is heavier, although at 18KG it is still very manageable.
So what do they sound like?
I have always been of the opinion that sound is a very personal thing; what one person likes another hates. So I think it’s important to stress that what I say from here on is a personal opinion. I should also admit that, when it comes to speaker cabinets, polypropylene has never rated well in my book. You just can’t beat a bit of wood! So when I first saw these speakers set up ready for demonstration at a local DJ association meet I didn’t have high expectations. I was expecting the usual weak sound I had come to associate with polypropylene boxes, and not much of it, as there was only one of each unit on demo due to them being so new they were the only ones in the country!
Demo time came, with around 80 DJs and guests in a room that will hold well over 100, and the TRE-1201 was fired up all on its own. Amazingly, it filled the room admirably with a very clear and balanced sound, even with the clip warning light flashing! The bass was quite warm for a polypropylene cab and the mid tops gave a real presence to the overall sound. Next up, the TRE-1501 yet again filled the room admirably with just that little bit more power on the bottom end as you would expect from a 15” compared to the 12”. Both were also demonstrated with a sub, which obviously brought a whole new level to the sound but it was still balanced with the mid and top frequencies pushing over the top of the extra bass.
Once I had these at home, it was time to give them a good test with varying input sources and running alongside other speakers. Firstly, I tried them individually with a high-end digital source (mini PC running Tracktor, Roland Octa-capture soundcard set at 24bit 96khz into a Formula Sound FF4000 mixer) in one input and a microphone (Shure SM58) in the other. The result was a nice all round sound from both the TRE-1201 and TRE-1501, regardless if I used 320bps .mp3, 16bit 44.1kHz .flac or .wav at 24bit 96kHz. The microphone worked well with plenty of volume control provided by the channel gain.
Next it was time to give them a try with a bit of old school: my Citronic Tamar console and some vinyl! As I do vinyl nights occasionally, often in quite intimate venues, I thought it would be a great opportunity to give these a try with a full range sound (no compression) with a view to changing from 1 x 15” sub and 2 x 8” tops to a pair of TRE-1201s or TRE-1501s. Yet again, the result was very favourable.
Finally, I paired each model up with my trusty, six year old, HH S3 15” sub. This is a 500W active sub with a class AB amp. The result can only be described as amazing!
So what about negatives, surely these speakers can’t be perfect? Well, if I am being very picky, EQ on the inputs would be nice. Also, the sound quality is a little harsh on the top end, but then you could say that about most modern active speakers.
To conclude, after testing the TRE-1201 and TRE-1501 from HH Electronics, my opinion of polypropylene cabs has completely changed. These are very versatile speakers and certainly great contenders in the market they occupy, not to mention great value for money. In my experience, HH products are very reliable but you’ll also have the assurance of a 5 year warranty and UK-based manufacturer support. So, if you are looking for a new PA, they are most certainly worth considering.
The company also developed many high-quality instrument amplifiers such as the famous IC100 guitar amplifier and later moved into pro audio with products such as the V series power amplifiers complemented by their range of speaker drivers and cabinets. HH Electronics was a truly pioneering audio brand and by the ‘70s their gear was being used by bands such as T-rex and Van Halen as well as in the BBC studios and even for the London Underground’s tannoy system.
My own first encounter with a HH sound system was in the late ‘70s at a local pub I used to frequent with my mates. Every Friday and Saturday they held a disco in the function room, which is both where I got the bug to try my hand at being a DJ and first heard a HH sound system.
Many DJs and live musicians at this time either owned or aspired to own a HH sound system and I was most definitely one of them. It took me several years to save the money to purchase my own HH Mk2 Unit System and V800 power amp, which I still use to this day along with a tri-amp Concert System.
In the early 1990s HH Electronics was purchased by Laney Amplification, a family-owned instrument amplifier company from the Midlands, which utilised the HH speaker driver manufacturing facilities for use in Laney instrument amplifiers. (The rest of the brand was shelved.) If you look in the back of a Laney instrument amplifier, you will likely see a HH driver installed.
In 2004, HH Electronics was re-launched; aimed at the live musician market and focussed on respecting the history of the brand whilst developing new products to compete in the current marketplace. All products are now manufactured in China with regular visits from the UK HH team to ensure quality remains at a high standard. All HH products are designed, developed and voiced here in the UK. All products also come with a 5-year warranty, supported by a dedicated service and support team located in Birmingham.
After hearing the brand had been re-launched, and reading that the new incarnation would be focussed on respecting its history, my interest was piqued. With curiosity, I purchased a number of the new speakers, one of which (System 3 S3-815) is my most used sound system at the moment. It is now six years old and has not missed a beat in all that time.
So, when I was asked to review the latest offerings from HH Electronics, which are aimed squarely at the DJ market, I took the offer up without hesitation. In this review, I’ll be looking at two models, the Tensor TRE-1201 and TRE-1501, which are both compact, lightweight, active speakers that carry a good selection of features.
Both the TRE-1201 and TRE-1501 use the same high-grade class D bi-amplifier with intelligent on-board DSP to protect the system from failure. This delivers 700 Watts continuous (1400 Watts peak) for a maximum SPL of 130dB (TRE-1201) and 131dB (TRE-1501).
The connections and controls are the same on the back of both models. There are two inputs (combined XLR / ¼ inch jack sockets), each with an individual gain control, and a ‘Mix Out’ (XLR) so you can have a slave speaker outputting the same mix as the master. The ‘Main’ volume controls the output of the speaker but does not control the mix output, allowing individual volume settings of the master and slave speakers but still allowing the gains to be altered for the two inputs using the controls on the master speaker.
Next to the main volume control is a red LED to indicate when the amp is clipping. There is also a ‘Mode’ button, which allows you to scroll through four different EQ pre-sets: Music, Live, Monitor and Vocal, each with a corresponding green LED to show which is currently selected. The final two controls in this section are an earth lift switch and a button to turn on/off the illuminated HH badge on the front.
The power input is located at the bottom of the back panel, via an IEC socket. There is a dual voltage switch (110-120V / 220-240V), under a tamper proof cover, which is situated just below the main on/off rocker switch.
Both speakers have moulded polypropylene cabinets and are designed to be pole mounted, hung or used as monitors, at a 45-degree angle, when laid on their sides. The front has a powder coated steel grill backed with acoustic foam and decorated with the aforementioned glowing HH badge. The cabinet also has three carry handles, four flying points and a speaker pole mount with locking thumb screw.
The TRE-1201 has a 12” HH-design woofer and 1.33” compression driver with a 90° horizontal x 90° vertical coverage for a frequency response of 45 – 18Khz. This option measures 606mm x 358mm x 356mm and weighs in at a very light 14.4kg. Meanwhile, the TRE-1501 has a 15” woofer paired with the same 1.33” compression driver to deliver a slightly extended frequency response of 41 – 20Khz. Unsurprisingly, this version has larger dimensions – 691mm x 425mm x 385mm – and is heavier, although at 18KG it is still very manageable.
So what do they sound like?
I have always been of the opinion that sound is a very personal thing; what one person likes another hates. So I think it’s important to stress that what I say from here on is a personal opinion. I should also admit that, when it comes to speaker cabinets, polypropylene has never rated well in my book. You just can’t beat a bit of wood! So when I first saw these speakers set up ready for demonstration at a local DJ association meet I didn’t have high expectations. I was expecting the usual weak sound I had come to associate with polypropylene boxes, and not much of it, as there was only one of each unit on demo due to them being so new they were the only ones in the country!
Demo time came, with around 80 DJs and guests in a room that will hold well over 100, and the TRE-1201 was fired up all on its own. Amazingly, it filled the room admirably with a very clear and balanced sound, even with the clip warning light flashing! The bass was quite warm for a polypropylene cab and the mid tops gave a real presence to the overall sound. Next up, the TRE-1501 yet again filled the room admirably with just that little bit more power on the bottom end as you would expect from a 15” compared to the 12”. Both were also demonstrated with a sub, which obviously brought a whole new level to the sound but it was still balanced with the mid and top frequencies pushing over the top of the extra bass.
Once I had these at home, it was time to give them a good test with varying input sources and running alongside other speakers. Firstly, I tried them individually with a high-end digital source (mini PC running Tracktor, Roland Octa-capture soundcard set at 24bit 96khz into a Formula Sound FF4000 mixer) in one input and a microphone (Shure SM58) in the other. The result was a nice all round sound from both the TRE-1201 and TRE-1501, regardless if I used 320bps .mp3, 16bit 44.1kHz .flac or .wav at 24bit 96kHz. The microphone worked well with plenty of volume control provided by the channel gain.
Next it was time to give them a try with a bit of old school: my Citronic Tamar console and some vinyl! As I do vinyl nights occasionally, often in quite intimate venues, I thought it would be a great opportunity to give these a try with a full range sound (no compression) with a view to changing from 1 x 15” sub and 2 x 8” tops to a pair of TRE-1201s or TRE-1501s. Yet again, the result was very favourable.
Finally, I paired each model up with my trusty, six year old, HH S3 15” sub. This is a 500W active sub with a class AB amp. The result can only be described as amazing!
So what about negatives, surely these speakers can’t be perfect? Well, if I am being very picky, EQ on the inputs would be nice. Also, the sound quality is a little harsh on the top end, but then you could say that about most modern active speakers.
To conclude, after testing the TRE-1201 and TRE-1501 from HH Electronics, my opinion of polypropylene cabs has completely changed. These are very versatile speakers and certainly great contenders in the market they occupy, not to mention great value for money. In my experience, HH products are very reliable but you’ll also have the assurance of a 5 year warranty and UK-based manufacturer support. So, if you are looking for a new PA, they are most certainly worth considering.
The full review can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 100, Pages 90-92.
