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TAD Reference loudspeakers-How good are they?

Just wondering if the TAD Ref 1 and/or TAD Compact Ref 1 are as good as some of the show reviews suggest, although a recent review did mention a slightly "dark" presentation, albeit state of the art sound.

Does anyone know if the implementation of concentric tweeter/mid is superior to that of KEF/Thiel, or perhaps the Berylium constructed drivers and/or crossover sophistication.

I'm thinking about the TAD Compact Ref One as my "final" loudspeaker, as I have a small listening room at 14 x 16; Quite expensive at MSRP of $37K. I would appreciate any and all opinions and experience with the TAD Reference loudspeakers.

Thanks so much!
opinions
audiobrian
ebm
5,165 posts
 
Sir speedy back from the dead? Always has an opinion with no stereo. He can always talk a great stereo as far as MAGICO MINI 2 just read Issue 70 of HIFI + For GREAT review of MAGICO MINI 2.Certinly better than speedy's latest speaker-none?. HO HO!! Good luck on your system if you ever get one.
ebm
5,165 posts
 
If TAD is the best. Sirspeedy will buy them soon and report to the audiophile community with a wonderful report.He can demo them with his wonderful record collection!!
sirspeedy
738 posts
 
I rest my case -:)
larryi
1,972 posts
 
I heard the original TAD 1 one several occasions and really liked certain aspects of its sound. It is VERY fast and dynamic and unmuddled in a way that VERY few conventional speakers can hope to match (similar in that respect to good horn systems). Most conventional systems sound lifeless by comparison.

The downside was that the speaker sounded quite hard and metallic. I did not listen long enough to determine if that property would, in the long run, lead to a major annoyance. At one show, I heard them with Dr. Edgar (Edgarhorns) in attendance. We chatted briefly and we both agreed on the pluses and minuses of the speaker. He said that he has done quite a bit of experimentation with Beryllium drivers from TAD because he likes the speed and dynamic qualities of the drivers, but, he could never tame the metallic sound.

Overall, a VERY promising design. In some respects, the sound reminds me of some of the better designs using the Manger driver (like the Overkill Audio designs).

I am surprised that the current version is considered "dark," by some listeners, unless the designer went back to the drawing board to tame its more aggressive, forward presentation. If that is the case, it would be inevitable that some of the liveliness would also be lost; such is the case with all speaker designs, tradeoffs are always involved.
argyro
438 posts
 
I think the downside is that sometimes it was reminding me of an old-school JBL. I mean, I felt that some microdynamics and transparency were missing, or maybe the "essence" if you like of the music. I may be wrong, it just gave me this impression a few times. But overall I can say I enjoyed the way it made music!

Happy Listening,

Mike
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