Several months ago I temporarily lost my mind and bought a pair of Taket Live supertweeters from Atelier 13 Audio, followed (a few weeks later) by a pair of Taket WHD Pure "woofer high-definitioners."
It was clear from the beginning that the supertweeters made an "audible" difference; while I couldn't hear anything coming from them, the overall sound was airier and individual instruments and voices seemed to be more clearly separated from other sources. To be honest, I'd describe the sound as more "audiophile-y."
The WHD Pures, however, were more perplexing. Small, shallow rectangles about 3-1/2" wide by 5" tall by 1-1/2" thick, I could barely - with the aid of a mechanic's stethoscope - hear anything emanating from them at all. The stethoscope revealed some faint, muddy sound distantly reminiscent of what I was playing, but their contribution to the overall musical presentation was entirely unconvincing as they sat beside my main speakers on 5"-square wooden cubes I built for them, connected directly via banana plugs to the main speakers' binding posts. I was pretty disappointed that they didn't unveil life-changing sound, but I left them connected and just enjoyed music for a few months.
I decided this week that I was going to remove them from my system and try to sell them, but I first listened to the first side of Rhino's 180g pressing of Dire Straits' "Communique" LP with my new Hana ML cartridge. I've always thought that pressing sounds great, and I wasn't shocked when it sounded great this time. It was tonally impressive and just really compelling, and I was both relaxed and smiling as the side ended. I then unplugged the WHD Pures and boxed them up.
Then I played "Communique" again, and it didn't sound anywhere near as good. It was less involving and far less three-dimensional. I actually turned it off. After a few minutes I decided that the mature thing would be to listen to the full side, so I did. It still sounded comparatively dull and uninvolving.
Of course, the next move was to unbox and reinstall the WHD Pures. They're so small and simple that I was listening to Knopfler playing and singing "Once Upon A Time In The West" with the WHD Pures installed again within about three minutes of listening without them, and yes, the magic returned.
I genuinely didn't want it to be this way. I wanted to take them out of my system and get them off my floor, and I expected to find that the purity of the recording would sing brilliantly - and spaciously - through the purity of my clean, simple system. But I didn't get what I wanted; I lost a lot of clarity, space, and excitement when the WHD Pures were removed.
I have no idea what the WHD Pures actually do, or how they make music reproduced through my audio system sound more, uh, pure. I feel slightly foolish for enjoying something I can't explain, but I am definitely not putting the Taket WHD Pure Woofer High-Definitioners back in their boxes (which are now in my attic). My theory about my own experience is that it's not always easy to notice when good things occur, but it's really bothersome when good things are taken away.
It was clear from the beginning that the supertweeters made an "audible" difference; while I couldn't hear anything coming from them, the overall sound was airier and individual instruments and voices seemed to be more clearly separated from other sources. To be honest, I'd describe the sound as more "audiophile-y."
The WHD Pures, however, were more perplexing. Small, shallow rectangles about 3-1/2" wide by 5" tall by 1-1/2" thick, I could barely - with the aid of a mechanic's stethoscope - hear anything emanating from them at all. The stethoscope revealed some faint, muddy sound distantly reminiscent of what I was playing, but their contribution to the overall musical presentation was entirely unconvincing as they sat beside my main speakers on 5"-square wooden cubes I built for them, connected directly via banana plugs to the main speakers' binding posts. I was pretty disappointed that they didn't unveil life-changing sound, but I left them connected and just enjoyed music for a few months.
I decided this week that I was going to remove them from my system and try to sell them, but I first listened to the first side of Rhino's 180g pressing of Dire Straits' "Communique" LP with my new Hana ML cartridge. I've always thought that pressing sounds great, and I wasn't shocked when it sounded great this time. It was tonally impressive and just really compelling, and I was both relaxed and smiling as the side ended. I then unplugged the WHD Pures and boxed them up.
Then I played "Communique" again, and it didn't sound anywhere near as good. It was less involving and far less three-dimensional. I actually turned it off. After a few minutes I decided that the mature thing would be to listen to the full side, so I did. It still sounded comparatively dull and uninvolving.
Of course, the next move was to unbox and reinstall the WHD Pures. They're so small and simple that I was listening to Knopfler playing and singing "Once Upon A Time In The West" with the WHD Pures installed again within about three minutes of listening without them, and yes, the magic returned.
I genuinely didn't want it to be this way. I wanted to take them out of my system and get them off my floor, and I expected to find that the purity of the recording would sing brilliantly - and spaciously - through the purity of my clean, simple system. But I didn't get what I wanted; I lost a lot of clarity, space, and excitement when the WHD Pures were removed.
I have no idea what the WHD Pures actually do, or how they make music reproduced through my audio system sound more, uh, pure. I feel slightly foolish for enjoying something I can't explain, but I am definitely not putting the Taket WHD Pure Woofer High-Definitioners back in their boxes (which are now in my attic). My theory about my own experience is that it's not always easy to notice when good things occur, but it's really bothersome when good things are taken away.
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