Eclipse TD307 Mk III Speakers

[Cool Runnings]

Just got these fellas in for near field 1m listening in my bedroom set up. They replaced my Sierra1 V2s which I struggled to tune properly for my set up. They were too big and impossible to point properly to my head in LP and are now fulfilling their full potential after I moved them to the living room instead.

The TD307s are run through Wiim Amp Pro and supported by REL Tzero MkIII. Did Wiim Roomfit RC via external mic. The great thing about these little eggs is that I can adjust their swivel up down left right to point directly at my ears. They sound really good. Great imaging and coherence. And as transparent to my ears as the Sierra1 V2s and the Genelec 8020s I also have. It’s like having the singer and band right in the room with me. Goose bumps. I rarely get those!

I was skeptical at first as I’ve never heard of Eclipse before and the website or YouTube didn’t have any good reviews or measurements. But something about the fact that this brand was made by Denso Ten the audio division of Toyota and a line in their website that said something about commitment to audio engineering and transparency made me audition them at my local dealer. I auditioned the bigger TD508 Mk IVs, loved the sound and decided that the smaller TD307 with the same driver tech would be the right fit for my bedroom. They cost about USD600 brand new. Made in China. Very well made and hefty solid feel I must say.

All in, I thought the TD307 eggs were 600 really well spent bucks and I’d highly recommend them for consideration by anyone looking at nearfield non-pro audio listening.

 

[nerdstrike]

For the record, Toyota fits the absolute worst drivers imaginable in their cars. I experimented putting audio only through the mids in my GT86 (much missed), and the music was completely unintelligible and muffled. The woofers were less than half the weight of the cheap Focal replacements I acquired. Distortion city!

Doesn't mean these are bad!

 

[norman bates]

That could be a magical very near field setup.

Some have said that the egg (or ball) can image better than 100k loudspeakers….

 

[Duke]

Some have said that the egg (or ball) can image better than 100k loudspeakers….

That seems plausible to me.

 

[Cool Runnings]

For the record, Toyota fits the absolute worst drivers imaginable in their cars. I experimented putting audio only through the mids in my GT86 (much missed), and the music was completely unintelligible and muffled. The woofers were less than half the weight of the cheap Focal replacements I acquired. Distortion city!

Doesn't mean these are bad!

Fair enough. I’ve also had my fair share of poor car audio set up. But yeah these eggs are way different though.

 

[Cool Runnings]

That could be a magical very near field setup.

Some have said that the egg (or ball) can image better than 100k loudspeakers….

I think it’s a combination of their crossover-less driver combined with the egg shell. Yes pretty magical for my use case set up.

 

[norman bates]

Carefull……

Full range drivers…..

Round here they will run you out of town on a rail !!!!!!

Try this over on diyaudio.com, the full range forum, thems the people for this.

 

[kemmler3D]

No xover and minimum diffraction probably has some audible benefits. I think the drawbacks would become apparent if you look at in-room power response or anything off-axis, but close up I could see them working. Cool!

 

[Cool Runnings]

Carefull……

Full range drivers…..

Round here they will run you out of town on a rail !!!!!!

Try this over on diyaudio.com, the full range forum, thems the people for this.

I appreciate why this may happen with my post haha. Good thing I qualified it for near field use case I can see that single driver tech does have limitations in bigger spaces and farther field or off axis LP.

 

[norman bates]

I’ve struggled with 3”, 4”, 8”, 12”, and 2 x 4”, 4 x 3”, 4 x 4” focused, and 9 x 4” focused full range drivers……

Still do….

 

[Cool Runnings]

For the record, Toyota fits the absolute worst drivers imaginable in their cars. I experimented putting audio only through the mids in my GT86 (much missed), and the music was completely unintelligible and muffled. The woofers were less than half the weight of the cheap Focal replacements I acquired. Distortion city!

Doesn't mean these are bad!

According to AI, GT86s were fitted with Denso electronics but speakers from Pioneer or Panasonic. You probably got the Panasonic ones In anycase I have not heard of any sports car with anything resembling a decent stock sound system. It's part of the experience I reckon heh. But I think the main point brought up is that full range single driver speakers have some big limitations outside of nearfield listening. I agree with that.

 

[Cool Runnings]

I’ve struggled with 3”, 4”, 8”, 12”, and 2 x 4”, 4 x 3”, 4 x 4” focused, and 9 x 4” focused full range drivers……

Still do….

Not sure if I can be helpful but if you want do explain more about the use case and issues you face with full range drivers.

2 channel listening? HT surround set-up? Nearfield? Did you do any RC? What brand and models were you using?

I am very new to full range drivers. This TD307 is my first pair. I am very happy with my other set-ups using 2-way speakers mostly. Ascend Acoustics Sierra1 V2 Titan (with 2EX RAAL center and mixed brand surround/heights) for HT set up and Genelec 8020 for office. All sub supported. All with RC - Wiim Roomfit (+ external mic) or Audyssey XT32.

 

[norman bates]

Different use case.
I sit 11’ away, simple stereo, anti subwoofer.
And I’m a midbass head.

So already 2 strikes against me.

 

[Cool Runnings]

Different use case.
I sit 11’ away, simple stereo, anti subwoofer.
And I’m a midbass head.

So already 2 strikes against me.

You’d have probably gone down the rabbit hole of source point or concentric speaker already. I was assessing these options including from KEF and Genelecs The Ones before I stumbled upon single driver. Actually many good source point options. Including Mofi Source Point 10s if you want to skip the subwoofer.