TAD Evolution 2 Speaker Review

[fpitas]

I voted Not Terrible because of the price. I'll stick to TAD's horn drivers, at least they're worth the price.

 

[JayGilb]

Amir, thank you for another excellent review.

I noticed a few comments were based around it looking pedestrian compared to previous models. It's interesting how that can make a difference in peoples opinions.
At $20k people want it to look like it costs $20k.

 

[fpitas]

Amir, thank you for another excellent review.

I noticed a few comments were based around it looking pedestrian compared to previous models. It's interesting how that can make a difference in peoples opinions.
At $20k people want it to look like it costs $20k.

They could have at least rounded some edges etc. Honestly it looks like a well done DIY effort.

 

[JayGilb]

They could have at least rounded some edges etc. Honestly it looks like a well done DIY effort.

Yea, it reminds me of some tower speaker offered by Dayton audio for $127 a pair.
Edit:

 

[Vhond]

Hi

I would like to think that TAD's MArketing department along with the Deciders know what they're doing... Those speakers do not look like we expected from a company that produced these:

or those


or even ..




These speakers cost more than the Revel f328Be ($16,000.oo/pair) , if one wants to remains passive and close the Magico A5 ($25,000.oo)... Not competitive..

What about the A3 from Magico? Cheaper but worser??

 

[Heulpic]

Isn't this the mid-woofer (blue) in the Near field drivers reponse plot?

Even if the look is misleading, there's no coherent/concentric midrange/tweeter driver on this one. I used to have a pair of Pioneer S2-EX speakers that where TAD trickle down with a Pioneer badge at 4k$ and they sounded fantastic. I guess I had 95% of the perfomance for 20% of the price. However I had one of the concentric driver to fail and I never found a replacement driver (discontinued) to repair it. So I have my doubts on TAD's reliability and customer support.

 

[JSmith]

It is interesting and appreciated to see a company sending in their larger speakers for testing. Hopefully the idea of doing so is to address any negative findings in a future or updated model.

At $20 Large this is mostly a fail.

Yes it is a tad askew... I'll show myself out now.


JSmith

 

[Mnyb]

Its probably ok, but not a very efficient way to build a performant speaker, fit and finish is probably impeccable and it looks nice for its clientele.

But as loudspeaker/dollar it's not competitive. You can do better for the money. Il buy for example the large Revell Be floorstanders for this kind of money and have some change ?

 

[fpitas]

Its probably ok, but not a very efficient way to build a performant speaker, fit and finish is probably impeccable and it looks nice for its clientele.

But as loudspeaker/dollar it's not competitive. You can do better for the money. Il buy for example the large Revell Be floorstanders for this kind of money and have some change ?

Honestly it's like they wanted to check the box for offering this size and shape of speaker.

 

[okok]

Isn't this the mid-woofer (blue) in the Near field drivers reponse plot?

this one lacks the famous 6" beryllium midrange, it's on the piano like black ones, looks more beefy

 

[Vovgan]

Here is our predicted in-room response

Chief, next time you have your hands on a speaker with a very good predicted in room response, could you please also measure the real response of that speaker in your room and comment on whether any eq is advisable in mid and higher frequencies?
The reason I’m asking this is because I have Revel f208 speakers and when measured with REW and UMIK-1 the performance above 300 Hz is not quite what your predicted response was. Just want to know your take on how you’d deal with bumps and troughs in mid/highs in the real room for a good speaker. Thank you!

 

[fpitas]

this one lacks the famous 6" beryllium midrange, it's on the piano like black ones, looks more beefy

They must have had to economize in getting it down to only $20k

 

[GeekyBastard]

It measures okay, but for $20,000, it performs quite mediocre.

It's a TAD bit overpriced IMO.

 

[fineMen]

Chief, next time you have your hands on a speaker with a very good predicted in room response, could you please also measure the real response ...

That points to a weakness of the standard, namely, to only acknowledge standardized rooms. Your mileage might vary ... . Is the standard any good? Presumably yes. Anyway, there is no other way.

Let alone the mere fact, that even the studios have different "home curves" with different speakers' different direct (on axis?!) frequency responses.
Not to forget the differing tastes of sound engineers, or impairments in specific frequency intervals, that may occur from one day to the other and vanish again.

A real enthusiast would always use equalization after measuring. But not to the standard, but to his liking, depending on the preferred music style. Think of the specifics of the philli-sound that was optimized for good ol'--do we know, at least it is retro now ...

Regarding the dip at about 3kHz, that may be a matter of the final 'voicing', kind of a BBC dip to tune the sound towards mellow, while the peak at about 800Hz would render especially voices more present and articulate. For some extraordinary 20k$ one would expect something special, a personal touch, not just objectively accurate results ...

 

[xaviescacs]

this one lacks the famous 6" beryllium midrange, it's on the piano like black ones, looks more beefy

I see. Why then you ask it to be measured if it's from another speaker?

 

[fuzzychaos]

That’s just a TAD expensive for what they offer…

 

[mctron]

Folks, its just a TAD bit.. jk lol

Wonder what they were after in terms of FR, I think the subjective listening test might be enlightening.

 

[juliangst]

Now someone has to send him the R1TX

 

[jhaider]

Even if the look is misleading, there's no coherent/concentric midrange/tweeter driver on this one. I used to have a pair of Pioneer S2-EX speakers that where TAD trickle down with a Pioneer badge at 4k$ and they sounded fantastic. I guess I had 95% of the perfomance for 20% of the price. However I had one of the concentric driver to fail and I never found a replacement driver (discontinued) to repair it. So I have my doubts on TAD's reliability and customer support.

Back in the Andrew Jones/Chris Walker days of Pioneer you could buy replacement S1/2/7EX drivers on a core-exchange basis direct from their website. If memory serves that CST was $1200 or $1500. Alas, now all they have for that model is a screw:

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. Parts & Accessories Online - Model S-1EX

I'd expect better service from TAD than Pioneer though, if only because they're still in the market.

 

[fpitas]

Folks, its just a TAD bit.. jk lol

Wonder what they were after in terms of FR, I think the subjective listening test might be enlightening.

I hope I'm wrong, but it looks like it was thrown together hastily and they accepted the FR they got. Maybe they outsourced the design.