I have an opinion on TAD speakers. One small voice.
I have been a semi-audiophile for decades now, but my level of technical and industry knowledge is a fraction of many (most?) of the frequent posters on Audiogon.
Having said that, I’ve had speakers from many of the major players, including Samsui, Monitor Audio, Kef, Focal, B&W, and Andrew Jones Pioneer era. I’ve owned Magico S1 (v1) for the past 14 years and I’ve loved them. Incredibly detailed. I’ve done detailed auditions from many top offerings from MBL, Dynaudio, Planars, etc.
This year I was finally ready to upgrade, and was ready to pull the string for some S3 2023 Magico.
But I remembered briefly hearing some TAD speakers a few years ago, and started poking around.
Blah blah blah, I now own CE1Tx speakers.
I took delivery, put them together, and placed them approximately where I thought they’d work, and hooked them up, cranked them up.
Within seconds of playing the first track, I was absolutely stunned. I’d never ever heard a soundstage so broad, high, and fulsome. So many subtleties jumped out, with tight musical base that stopped and started on a dime. It did not matter the volume level, instrumentation, or genre. Just a coherent beautiful soundscape. Harmonies creating buzzing in my chest. Synesthesia was easily triggered. Completely mesmerizing.
I can get chills just thinking about female vocals from these beauties.
My wife, who has a mere passing interest/tolerance for this hobby, came home, let me sit her down on the couch, and in five minutes said “That’s the most amazing thing I’ve heard in my life.”
One thing they have done is to give me even more appreciation for the artistry and genius of the producers and sound mixers in the world. They must die inside knowing that just a sliver of the population ever hears just what they created. Like how the cinematographers would feel if Lawrence of Arabia was seen only on a black and white TV.
If there is any criticism I have, it’s that the highs can sometimes be a bit bright. But this has not been a regular comment with other listeners, and I’m still listening to them on my freaking AVR (Shame on me!!). I’m waiting for the arrival of my new electronics, and (while I can’t imagine how) hope for even more improvement.
I seriously doubt I’ll ever upgrade again, and if I did, I can only imagine going with the CR1Tx.
I understand now what so many of you dedicated audiophiles on this board try to put into words.
Sometimes you don’t know what you were looking for, until you find it.
