Look for opinions on the TAD Evolution One ...

[joeinid]

I am thinking about "downsizing" to the TAD Evolution One. Has anyone compared them to the CR-1's. I am under the impression the top end is a little sweeter and slightly less forward.

Woofer : 18cm cone x 2 Midrange/tweeter : coaxial 14cm cone/3.5cm dome

Frequency response : 28Hz to 100kHz Crossover frequencies : 250Hz, 2Hz Required amplifier output : 50W to 250W Sensitivity : 88dB (2.83V, 1m) Rated impedance : 4?

 

[LL21]

Hy joe...why the change?

 

[joeinid]

Hy joe...why the change?

Hi Lloyd,

I am not 100% comfortable with the treble on the TADs. Unless the cd or recording is absolutely stellar, for my taste, it can be a little too prominent. Since I been listening to my Revel Studio2, it's even more obvious how much the treble is spotlight on the TADs. The Studio2's are much more even top to bottom - even with their Beryllium tweeter.

 

[AudioExplorations]

Hey joe, fwiw, no treble brightness issues over here... Although I do remember I got this with nordost speaker cables a while back. I concluded they were not a good match with tad. This might be worth investigating...

 

[joeinid]

Hey joe, fwiw, no treble brightness issues over here... Although I do remember I got this with nordost speaker cables a while back. I concluded they were not a good match with tad. This might be worth investigating...

I'm not using Nordost on the TADs, but probably should investigate alternatives.

 

[Eli08]

Hi Joe,

If you remember, before I ended up with the R1s, I had the Evolution 1 at my home for a few weeks. After that I had the CR1s. Same system, same rooms. You can probably read my posts back them, but my thoughts in essence:

The Evolution One are very nice speakers. At the time I was comparing them to the B&W800 D2. In my opinion the TAD evolution were better. More detailed and defined. Maybe faster as well. But with less bass and impact. Overall I would buy the TADs, but more or less in the same league. But when I tried the CR1s the thing did change big time. The CR1s are, in my opinion, a far better speaker than the Evolution 1s. Almost in all senses. And believe it or not given the size, it does go deeper or so it sounds, and it is more dynamic. Not to mention the more expected improvements like richness, detail, accurate etc. The Evolutions are a great speaker: but the CR1s are just another thing not even close, all to my taste, in my system and room, and in my opinion...

I do agree with Joost. If you have a problem with the treble, try to see if there is something wrong up the chain, including sources and cables. I do not have it at all neither, although depending on the cables in my case, sometimes it also got a bit forward although very fast and detailed. Not that bad even in those cases.

Try different cables. Siltech my help there in my experience. Probably others as well. And you could also try tubes somewhere in the chain: either at preamp or at source. Peramp would be my first choice.

In any case, I would try different things to be sure it doesn't work for you before downsizing from CR1s to E1. The difference is big in my opinion.

 

[Socfan12]

I'm not using Nordost on the TADs, but probably should investigate alternatives.

From everything I read Joe, Kubala Sosna Elation may help. They are not uber expensive but they are not cheap either.

 

[joeinid]

From everything I read Joe, Kubala Sosna Elation may help. They are not uber expensive but they are not cheap either.

Thanks Allen. Welcome to the forum.

 

[AudioExplorations]

Joe- is the brightness on the CR1's an issue for you on all of your pre/power combo's? Even GAT/108 for example?

 

[joeinid]

Joe- is the brightness on the CR1's an issue for you on all of your pre/power combo's? Even GAT/108 for example?

I don't have the GAT back in the system yet. I'm still waiting for delivery. It's funny, when I had it previously, I don't remember. With all my combinations so far and just swapping the Studio2 for the TAD CR-1's, I have ZERO issue with the Revels. The Studio2 are perfect to my ear as far as the treble goes. The TADs have too much energy on certain poorly recorded vocals. If the recording is great, I have no issues. I do not want to give up music I like because on some gear it does not sound good. If that makes me more of a music lover vs an audiophile, so be it.

 

[AudioExplorations]

Joe- sounds to me like you need to move on from the CR1's. There is nothing wrong with that, different strokes for different folks.... The most important thing is to be enjoying the music, if the system is doing ANYTHING that gets in the way of this then you need to move on IMO.

The CR1's will be a tough act to follow so you will likely be giving up in some areas, but it will be worth it if these speakers let you forget about the equipment and focus more on the music. I personally would give the Raidho D1's a try based on having the C3.0's in my room for a few months. The treble is a bit less forward yet more extended and airy then the CR1's. I felt this upper treble on the raidho's was where it clearly surpassed the CR1's. I was less impressed with the midrange transparency and solidity of the image, however these are areas they improved on with the .1 series and then again with the D series, so these speakers could be very interesting. Perhaps you could arrange in an in-home demo?

 

[microstrip]

Hi Lloyd,

I am not 100% comfortable with the treble on the TADs. Unless the cd or recording is absolutely stellar, for my taste, it can be a little too prominent. Since I been listening to my Revel Studio2, it's even more obvious how much the treble is spotlight on the TADs. The Studio2's are much more even top to bottom - even with their Beryllium tweeter.

Joe,
If you feel you have problems with the treble after owning a speaker for a reasonable time replace it. IMHO it is one critical area where our preferences have a strong weight. Considering you have so much and so good electronic equipment, you deserve to own some speakers you really like!

PS - just read the previous post by AudioExplorations - I now feel like a parrot!

 

[Eli08]

Yes I think Joost is probably right and you need to try some other things.

What cables were you using? They can make a big difference according to my experience with these speakers.

 

[joeinid]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I am not really ready to get rid of them yet. It's nice to have options. I have a great mix of speakers and each has their strengths and weaknesses. I also think that I need to be a little further back from them and will be moving them to a more appropriate room. I'll need to treat that room and and add some dedicated outlets for the gear. 99% of what I listen to sounds great and the TADs can be amazing. I'm sorry if I sound like a broken record but I do believe personal preference does come into play with whatever gear we listen to.

 

[16hz lover]

Heard them at last years CES show. Was disappointed at the low end response, especially for the price. I guess if you listen to folk, vocal, and piano music they would work well.

 

[AudioExplorations]

Heard them at last years CES show. Was disappointed at the low end response, especially for the price. I guess if you listen to folk, vocal, and piano music they would work well.

well they def don't do 16hz, thats for sure

 

[mbovaird]

Joe- sounds to me like you need to move on from the CR1's. There is nothing wrong with that, different strokes for different folks.... The most important thing is to be enjoying the music, if the system is doing ANYTHING that gets in the way of this then you need to move on IMO.

The CR1's will be a tough act to follow so you will likely be giving up in some areas, but it will be worth it if these speakers let you forget about the equipment and focus more on the music. I personally would give the Raidho D1's a try based on having the C3.0's in my room for a few months. The treble is a bit less forward yet more extended and airy then the CR1's. I felt this upper treble on the raidho's was where it clearly surpassed the CR1's. I was less impressed with the midrange transparency and solidity of the image, however these are areas they improved on with the .1 series and then again with the D series, so these speakers could be very interesting. Perhaps you could arrange in an in-home demo?

+1 - just moved from the D1's to the D3's (hope to have them in a couple of weeks). I think the D2 would be the sweet spot for Joe. I heard those last week and they have all the magic of the D1's, with just a little more "umph".....plus, no worries about knocking them off a stand!

I agree with the comments above about the tweeter and things improving nicely with the D series over the C X.0 series and even the C X.1 series.