Bowie Space Oddity single mastered on TAD R1 -plus 10 years of owning CR-1’s

Avidlistener

Well-Known Member
Feb 18, 2013
156
64
933
This is from 2019 but hadn’t come across it previously. So nice to see the R1’s included.


On another note, had been away from home for a year and assembled a small system to listen to. It was quite excellent for a modest under $10k system and the well reviewed bookshelf LSA Reference 10’s had a beryllium/copper tweeter (though I don’t know exactly what that entails) The receiver/streamer/Dac was the great Hegel H-190, all plugged into a Furman ref15.
329690EA-D186-41FA-9948-468D49F30426.jpeg
Upon returning home, and firing up the TAD CR1’s (supplemented with dual Velodyne DD10 + subs and Sopranino super tweeters, I realized how much a difference there was between excellent audiophile grade sound and the utter realism the TAD’s can provide with the right material.

Shortly after, I cleaned all the tube pins, tube sockets, and power supply umbilical cable/socket on my Atma-sphere pre amp, which ashamedly I’ve never cleaned previously.

Between that cleaning and replacing my quad wire (mostly) home made speaker cables with ones from LSA/Defiant (a very inexpensive house brand) the system is singing like never before. Just shocking. (And I’ve previously had AQ’s top speaker cable to audition)

I’ve owned the CR1’s for 10 years now and it’s been quite a trip to hear them evolve as the rest of the system catches up with their potential.

I’ve saved the factory boxes (not an easy task in NYC) just in case I ever decided to sell them, but at this point I don’t think I ever could. Even If I bought some other amazing speaker (like a Soundlab) I just don’t think I could part with that CST driver!
 
Last edited:

Low325

Well-Known Member
May 2, 2021
63
35
85
47
TAD CR-1s and their timeless design. They can be considered heirloom pieces.
Enjoying a small slice of that CST goodness in the ME-1s. Funny I also had a Hegel on them recently. What are your future plans with your CR-1s?

edit: doh, I misread - it was the LSA Ref :)
 
Last edited:

Avidlistener

Well-Known Member
Feb 18, 2013
156
64
933
Thanks - I’d love to hear your ME-1’s.

I never had the Hegel on the TAD’s since they are in a different state. I’m using the BHK300 amps and atma-sphere MA1 as the pre amp, so except for the output stage, it’s largely a tube based system. Sources are solid state (Soundsmith strain gauge phono cart/phono stage and PS Audio DS fed via EtherRegen)

I’m pretty happy with the system at this point and not planning any upgrades except for possibly a PS Audio server in the distant future when available. I am having a dedicated ac line put in the feed the Niagara 7000, and plan to float the amps on some halcyonics type active vibration platforms I have, and have to have soundsmith build me some spare phono styli. Though TTWeights is out of business, I don’t plan on upgrading turntables ever- and having replaceable styli, I’m done with buying cartridges. 68A531A4-FF6B-4B3F-A6F7-2015BB1F1AA3.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Addicted to hifi

XV-1

Well-Known Member
May 24, 2010
3,591
2,573
1,860
Sydney
This is from 2019 but hadn’t come across it previously. So nice to see the R1’s included.


On another note, had been away from home for a year and assembled a small system to listen to. It was quite excellent for a modest under $10k system and the well reviewed bookshelf LSA Reference 10’s had a beryllium/copper tweeter (though I don’t know exactly what that entails) The receiver/streamer/Dac was the great Hegel H-190, all plugged into a Furman ref15.
View attachment 77584
Upon returning home, and firing up the TAD CR1’s (supplemented with dual Velodyne DD10 + subs and Sopranino super tweeters, I realized how much a difference there was between excellent audiophile grade sound and the utter realism the TAD’s can provide with the right material.

Shortly after, I cleaned all the tube pins, tube sockets, and power supply umbilical cable/socket on my Atma-sphere pre amp, which ashamedly I’ve never cleaned previously.

Between that cleaning and replacing my quad wire (mostly) home made speaker cables with ones from LSA/Defiant (a very inexpensive house brand) the system is singing like never before. Just shocking. (And I’ve previously had AQ’s top speaker cable to audition)

I’ve owned the CR1’s for 10 years now and it’s been quite a trip to hear them evolve as the rest of the system catches up with their potential.

I’ve saved the factory boxes (not an easy task in NYC) just in case I ever decided to sell them, but at this point I don’t think I ever could. Even If I bought some other amazing speaker (like a Soundlab) I just don’t think I could part with that CST driver!

It's a pity Ray Staff did not take the same care with all the Bowie albums he has been remastering over the past few years.

Sonic digital overly smoothed treacle without any of the life and attack of the original pressings.
 

Avidlistener

Well-Known Member
Feb 18, 2013
156
64
933
so the other releases were not pure analog? The video states no digital at any point in the process for this release.
 

knghifi

Well-Known Member
Dec 6, 2014
255
70
158
Hegel is excellent match with TAD. I was using Hegel H30 with TAD E1 in the summers. Forgot number of PCs but once I found the right one, Furutech FP-S55N, amp came to life. FP-S55N is relatively inexpensive at $193 per Meter.
 

Addicted to hifi

VIP/Donor
Sep 8, 2020
4,610
2,039
265
52
Australia
Thanks - I’d love to hear your ME-1’s.

I never had the Hegel on the TAD’s since they are in a different state. I’m using the BHK300 amps and atma-sphere MA1 as the pre amp, so except for the output stage, it’s largely a tube based system. Sources are solid state (Soundsmith strain gauge phono cart/phono stage and PS Audio DS fed via EtherRegen)

I’m pretty happy with the system at this point and not planning any upgrades except for possibly a PS Audio server in the distant future when available. I am having a dedicated ac line put in the feed the Niagara 7000, and plan to float the amps on some halcyonics type active vibration platforms I have, and have to have soundsmith build me some spare phono styli. Though TTWeights is out of business, I don’t plan on upgrading turntables ever- and having replaceable styli, I’m done with buying cartridges. View attachment 77585
Very nice turntable.
 

Avidlistener

Well-Known Member
Feb 18, 2013
156
64
933
Very nice turntable.
Thanks - luckily TTW is back in business for accessories. Two of the belts had snapped, and I was able to get 2 new sets from TTW, who had just invested in new molds to make belts.

Incidentally Larry thinks 3 belts sound better than one but I never removed two to listen, until they snapped from either cold or non use from being away from home for a year. When I replaced the single intact 10 year old belt with the 3 new ones, the table sounded remarkably better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Addicted to hifi

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing