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TAD Evolution 2 Speaker Review

Rate this speaker:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 66 15.1%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 208 47.6%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther

    Votes: 149 34.1%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 14 3.2%

  • Total voters
    437

Vhond

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And when I ask for this price range?
There's is NO speaker worth this price which is better built?
 

fpitas

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And when I ask for this price range?
There's is NO speaker worth this price which is better built?
I bet there is. Mine are DIY, so I have no dog in the race, so to speak.

But for about the same money you could have something decent:
 

Vhond

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Thanks for your sincere answer. I don't think Revel or KEF make bad speakers;)
 

fpitas

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Vhond

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Yeah, I heard the Blade 2 (META) recently and I was really impressed :)
 

fpitas

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Yeah, I heard the Blade 2 recently and I was really impressed :)
I could be happy with those maybe. I've heard Salon2s and K2 S9900s and I could most definitely live with those. Although the S9900s are a bit pricier.
 

Vhond

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I never heard the Salon's but would love to hear them once.
The 328BE I have heard a year ago but was not satisfied with the lower frequencies (to boomy which was also a result of the room they were playing in). The same session (same room) I heard the Monitor Audio Platinum 2G 300 which had better control over the lower frequencies.
 
Last edited:

Hart

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@Hart I know it SEEMS 'bad-mannered", but I am done with people so easily 'shouting' about 'too high priced' and other ways of expressing their opinion about gear which is not THEIR thing WITHOUT naming speakers which are 'really good' regardless of the price OR for the same price as these TAD's.

Some of them did but count the people who didn't.
It's just some stereo equipment... you might be a little too invested in other people's opinions.
 

Adi777

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I could be happy with those maybe. I've heard Salon2s and K2 S9900s and I could most definitely live with those. Although the S9900s are a bit pricier.
Big different between Salon 2 and K2 S9900?
 

fpitas

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Big different between Salon 2 and K2 S9900?
Yes, the S9900 is about $45k typically. Salon2 is more like $12k. As far as I'm concerned, they're complimentary. The Salon2 is really smooth, and has good dynamics. The S9900 has fantastic dynamics, but is still quite smooth. The standard disclaimer applies that I have horn speakers, so I'm partial.
 

Kal Rubinson

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This does not seem to be as appealing as its predecessor even given the different testing protocols.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/tad-evolution-one-loudspeaker
713tad.promo_.jpg
 

fpitas

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jhaider

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This does not seem to be as appealing as its predecessor even given the different testing protocols.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/tad-evolution-one-loudspeaker

Did this really replace that?

If so, that's unforutunate. It feels like a tenth the speaker of Evo 1, at twice the price of Evo 1's predecessor, Pioneer S-1EX. (Which also goes to some of the earlier discussion of branding and pricing - S-1EX was IMO a great sounding and well-crafted speaker, but a marketplace failure; my hunch is people were loathe to spend that much on a product from a perceived mass market brand. Evo 1 was something like 3x the price but has at least sold enough to stick around in TAD's lineup.)

I wonder if the departure from the one of the brand's two touch-points as a consumer audio company (coaxes, the other being beryllium) will hurt it regardless of the measured performance. The closest analogue I can think of in audio here is Thiel, who modernized their design approach after Jim Thiel's death but in the process turned off the brand's fan base even though (unlike here, IMO) the new Thiels were improvements over their predecessors.
 

fpitas

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Maybe they hope to start a new high-end fad for utilitarian looking, yet mediocre speakers.
 

Vhond

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I thought it might be a new lower-cost model under Evo 1.
That's correct evolution series 2 is another (read 'lower') series than the evolution one (the last one is 'higher' series)
 

PGAMiami

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This does not seem to be as appealing as its predecessor even given the different testing protocols.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/tad-evolution-one-loudspeaker
713tad.promo_.jpg
Kal,

You surely remember this review of the Pioneer EX speakers


I think these set a high watermark for value in the Pioneer/TAD offerings. Essential a scaled down TAD that was branded Pioneer. I had a Pioneer LCR set up while in transition from TAD M1s to R1s, and while the Pioneer EXs were not quite their equal, they surely punched above the weight/price.

I have not seen much progress at TAD since Andrew Jones left the company and their marketing strategy in the US seems confusing. That said I’m still very much enjoying my R1s.

Wonder if TAD would ever send Amir an R1 or CR1 for review.
 
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