Tyler and Acoustic Zen reviews in TAS


Current issue of TAS has Sallie R(?) reviewing Tyler Linbrook II and Acoustic Zen Adagios. Both get glowing reviews. What I found really odd is that while the speakers are priced similarly and the reviews are by the same person in the the same issue, there is not a single sentence of comparison in either review. I find that baffling. Frankly, this diminishes my trust in the reviewer as well as the editor who should not have let this pass.

In the Tyler review she makes a few comparative remarks against her reference Spendor S8e. The gist is something like this: If you divide up the sound spectrum into parts (lower mid range, mid bass, etc) then Spendor gets more of these right. However, in toto, she finds the Tylers more magical or special or whatever the adjective is. Still, she does seem to prefer the Spendors. Make of it whatever you will.

Everyone is entitled to personal taste without being able to rationally explain it all. So I don't mind that. But I thought a serious reviewer should have compared Adagios to the other two.

I am curious what others thought of this in case you saw the reviews, and how you think the three speakers (Tyler Linbrook II, AZ Adagio, Spendor S8e) compare.
aktchi

Showing 1 response by dumboat

I have not read the review on the Linbrook IIs, so do not know what was said. I currently own the Linbrook Super Towers which is my third set of Tyler Acoustic speakers. I purchased my first set from a dealer up here in Seattle over six years ago, the Tylo monitors, then went to the Linbrook monitors. A year ago traded those for the Towers. At one time there was a dealer in Portland who also carried the Tyler line. Not wanting to speak for Ty, but I believe at one time he may have tried to distribute his products through various dealers thus the price configuration. Please do not quote me on that! I bought my first Mac C-28 and Mac 250 amp with a JBL Alpha system in 1972. I have listened to, brought home and bought so many speaker systems since then I have lost count. IMHO Tyler speakers are one of the real bargains in the audio world. Build quality is superb, they sound fantastic and for the money are tough to beat. I bring home speakers to compare, but to find something I like better costs 3-4 times more and I cannot justify it (the law of diminishing returns). Anyone thinking of buying need to give Ty's speakers a good look, he is a great guy to work with and if you buy used save that much more. His used speakers are in new condition and come with a two year waranty.