My take:
I've used a Tact 2.2x for 7 years with regular amps (Gamut, Bel Canto, Aloia, etc.) and also with stock and (most recently) modded Tact 2150s, with and without subs.
I'm very happy with them but also recognize some trade-offs. Definitely not for the SET or single driver crowd. A little on the clean and clinical side of things--less so with the mods.
A lot depend on your room and speaker. If you have a good room-speaker interaction, the weaknesses of the Tact may outweigh the strengths. If you don't, you may never want to be without it. My room is 23x16x10, which looks good on paper but still the bass cleanliness and resultant opening of the mids has been a worthwhile improvement.
I haven't found the challenge as intense as some of the other posters, though I've fiddled a lot and use all my own curves, replacing the stock presets. I like tight clean bass. Tact provides this. Some will find it too lean until they adjust to it. I find the greatest advantage of the Tact equipment to be the subwoofer integration. Put two good subs in the front corners and you can have full range sound without the bass muddying everything up. Your speakers still sound like your speakers, but extended all the way down. There's a realism with full range bass that is quite addictive.
I've used subs from VBT/ TBI, Linkwitz, RBH and Lyngdorf and they have all worked well, though the dipoles are harder to get the measurements right. Main speakers have been Talon, Selah, Piega. The Aberdeen mods are worthwhile, both in the amps (since they're really just powerful DACS) and especially the PS upgrade in the 2.2x. And they definitely benefit from power conditioning and cords--at least with my power.
The amps are a steal in today's marketplace, even without room correction. They can replace a DAC, preamp and amp for the price of a good preamp. The preamp function is very clean, as its adjust digitally without losing any bits, by adjusting the voltage. Same thing when you use the amp with the preamp.
I've used a Tact 2.2x for 7 years with regular amps (Gamut, Bel Canto, Aloia, etc.) and also with stock and (most recently) modded Tact 2150s, with and without subs.
I'm very happy with them but also recognize some trade-offs. Definitely not for the SET or single driver crowd. A little on the clean and clinical side of things--less so with the mods.
A lot depend on your room and speaker. If you have a good room-speaker interaction, the weaknesses of the Tact may outweigh the strengths. If you don't, you may never want to be without it. My room is 23x16x10, which looks good on paper but still the bass cleanliness and resultant opening of the mids has been a worthwhile improvement.
I haven't found the challenge as intense as some of the other posters, though I've fiddled a lot and use all my own curves, replacing the stock presets. I like tight clean bass. Tact provides this. Some will find it too lean until they adjust to it. I find the greatest advantage of the Tact equipment to be the subwoofer integration. Put two good subs in the front corners and you can have full range sound without the bass muddying everything up. Your speakers still sound like your speakers, but extended all the way down. There's a realism with full range bass that is quite addictive.
I've used subs from VBT/ TBI, Linkwitz, RBH and Lyngdorf and they have all worked well, though the dipoles are harder to get the measurements right. Main speakers have been Talon, Selah, Piega. The Aberdeen mods are worthwhile, both in the amps (since they're really just powerful DACS) and especially the PS upgrade in the 2.2x. And they definitely benefit from power conditioning and cords--at least with my power.
The amps are a steal in today's marketplace, even without room correction. They can replace a DAC, preamp and amp for the price of a good preamp. The preamp function is very clean, as its adjust digitally without losing any bits, by adjusting the voltage. Same thing when you use the amp with the preamp.