I have only heard the TAD speaker at CEDIA and CES, not under better circumstances. They are extremely dynamic sounding and have a very extended frequency range. But, they sounded quite hard and metallic. Was this the nature of the speaker or the electronics (primarily Bel Canto)? I don't know.
I just happened to be auditioning the speaker with Dr. Edgar (Edgarhorn) and he thought this was the inherent characteristic of the beryllium TAD drivers. He said that he loves the dynamics and clarity of TAD metal drivers, but could never tame the metallic signature when used in his designs.
In short, this is a speaker one must hear when shopping in this price range. It does something other pricey speakers don't do, specifically, bring the music to life. But, the excitement may turn to annoyance in the long run. If the hard, edgy and raw (sounds a bit unrefined) quality cannot be tamed, I personally would pass on them. On the other hand, I also don't like the lifeless, dull quality of some other premium speakers like the Avalon Eidolon, Kharmas and Grand Utopias.
Another quite dynamic speaker worth giving a listen to in this price range is the Overkill speaker using the Manger driver. It has a very narrow listening window (poor dispersion of highs) and some problems with integration with the bass driver, but it does give music that jump factor I favor. My own speakers, SAP J2001 (twin) are, unfortunately, recently discontinued (for something that retails in the US at $22k and looks like it was assembled in a garage, it seems hard to believe the manufacturer's claim that it is too expensive to build).
