TAD Evolution One
Floorstanding loudspeakers
With the TAD Evolution One be prepared for a performance that cannot be heard anywhere else. Perhaps due to the professional heritage of the Reference One the Evolution Ones are less high-end and more studio-like in their presentation. The sound of TAD was very authoritative, much more powerful than the size of speakers would imply. Some other speakers can leave you breathless – the Evolution Ones do their magic differently, they just open a very transparent window into the stage or a studio and let you be there.
Function and form
The focal point of the TAD Evolution One is the CST (Coherent Source Transmitter) that strives to match the ideal of a single point source. In the CST the midrange and tweeter are configured coaxially so their directional characteristics conform. According to TAD, the resultant directional response remains uniform across a wide frequency, ensuring extremely stable sound localization and a natural soundfield. Andrew Jones, the chief designer of TAD, explains that “... a concentric driver is essentially a horn-loaded tweeter in a horn that is moving, a kind of waveguide. With every tweeter, I pretty much put it in a short waveguide to help control the directivity. Whenever I’ve been forced to put a tweeter directly on the surface of the box, I’ve made the measurements and then struggled with the design of the rest of the system. It is just the wrong thing to do, from my viewpoint. Controlling the directivity with a waveguide of the correct shape is a good thing. You can get a very dynamic sound, low coloration, and other benefits from a properly designed horn driver…“
The 3.5cm tweeter‘s dome is made of beryllium that is formed by TAD’s unique deposition technique and is measured to extend up to 100 000 Hz. Unlike the Reference One speakers, that are full beryllium, the diaphragm of the 14cm midrange in the Evolution One is made of magnesium. The dual 18cm woofers are layered construction of Aramid fabric (which is carbon modification of Kevlar) and non-woven fabric to achieve high degree of stiffness and lightweight assembly at the same time. Pretty similar concept was used in Pioneer’s flagship S-1EX speakers. The Evolution Ones were further refined by highly rigid teardrop-shaped enclosures that combine birch plywood and MDF and by the externally placed network that has found its home in the aluminum bases of the cabinets to decouple it mechanically, magnetically and acoustically from the main enclosure. The drivers are crossed-over at 250 Hz and 2 kHz, the loudspeakers are rated 4 ohm and 88dB sensitivity which is a good standard of the industry.
The speakers are bi-wirable via proprietary binding posts fitted at the cabinets’ aluminum bases. The Evolution One uses three protective grilles per speaker which looks unobtrusive even when they are on – no black cloth stretch all over the front baffle.
Bass management
If you cherish the opinion that big bass is the result of a big box with big cones then please audition the TAD. The Evolution Ones can deliver very impressive lows that are both weighty and punchy and contoured. By pure coincidence I auditioned few top-rated speakers within a period of two weeks so I could compare – this is not the one-to-one comparison, yet it may help to grasp the general aspects of the performance of the TAD and its competitors. The Evolution Ones are not as authoritative as the Reference One flagship and cannot move the mass of air so efficiently, yet they are not far away from that. Magico S5’s are more finely defined in their bass but they miss a bit of TAD Evolution One’s bass athleticism which kept reminding me of the Wilson Audio’s Alexia. The bass guitar of Dean Peer as recorded on Stereophile’s Test CD-3 exploded from TAD speakers with detonations and energy that one would not expect from the speakers of their size. The enthusiasm of the Evolution Ones is highly infectious and when it is combined with the high-end finesse you have a clear winner.
Clarity & delicacy
Rachmaninov’s Symphony #1 (Eiji Oue, Reference Recordings, RR-96) leaves ample room for inner communication of the orchestra – the TAD fills in the spaces between players and draw the information from all corners of the recording venue. The resulting experience is very organic yet detailed and transparent – the strings create a fascinating and soothing carpet yet if you concentrate you can pick out individual violinists and follow them. The radiation pattern and the hand-over between the drivers of the Evolution One are so uniform and seamless that the whole sonic picture is totally coherent both spatially and temporally which lends unique dimension to the listening experience.
Shelby Lynne’s voice in Just A Little Lovin´(Lost Highway) was nicely articulated through the TAD’s concentric driver without any notable shifts in tonality or color, not even I noticed any problematic sibilants that are often present with high-definition speakers that tend to favour upper side of the frequency spectrum. The sound of decay of the cymbal was beautifully delineated with natural afterglow, a wooden stick crack ringed with studio reverberation, the bass guitar was comfortably punchy and the track was convincingly communicative in its mood. I could not wish it to be better.
The highs of the Evolution One are brilliant - sometimes soothing, sometimes dry, sometimes unbearably sharp – depending on the quality of a recording. Especially Japanese XRCD remasters unveil their tendency towards overdone brilliancy (not all are like this but most are) and ‘audiophile’ Stockfisch-mastered CDs cannot mask their dynamic flatness. But have a good red book CD or an SACD and the TAD extracts the least bit of information out of it.
Tonal accuracy
The TAD Evolution One’s enclosure is very inert and does not add anything to music. The sound leaves the TAD system with full energy, there is no or very little loss of it through transformation into mechanical resonances. This is evident at increasing volumes – the speakers do not change their tonality with the louder the music gets. On the contrary, dynamic capabilities of the Evolution One make them very enjoyable at high volume levels: metal rings like metal, wood knocks like wood, the pedal of a piano is palpably present, the attack of electric bass guitar shoots like a shotgun, the string of a classical guitar resonates forever in its decay… you can feel the absolute control of the speakers over the recordings. It is not surprising that complexity of classical scores suits the TADs the best.
The swirling drums in the Sibelius´Finlandia introduction (Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker, Deutsche Grammophon) are visual orgies through the TAD Evolution One: the listener can almost follow which mallet moves up and which down, the soundstage breathes with organic unity and establishes a strong communication link with the listener. Alike really big speakers the Evolution Ones can resolve vertically so it is apparent where a player is seated and where he stands up, the different instruments are coming from their respective vertical levels. Having this makes listening very enjoyable and makes you beg for more and search your CD collection. This is what I call a next level of high-end listening.
Spatial resolution
The soundstage of the Evolution Ones is extremely immersive, one of the best I have ever heard. The depth or width of the soundstage is not necessarily deeper or wider than with other excellent speakers, it is absolutely natural however, as it was seen by microphones. The speakers themselves can totally dissolve in the room and, in a way, they can also dissolve the walls of the room and recreate the original ambience of a recording. The Evolution Ones localize individual voices and instruments with nano-accuracy and, as a result, I could easily track movements of the hands of the piano player or identify which kettle’s skin was hit and where. The TAD can convey the music in a very visual manner which lends the be-there feeling to the listening. Once you get accustomed to their way of presentation it is very difficult to get back to your resident stereo, unless you have the TAD Reference Ones; yet the Reference Ones were not so immersive and projected a rather forward soundstage - they were more pushy and less inviting and that is why I marginally prefer the Evolution Ones.
Recommended resellers
D&D Distribution, Krefeld, +49 2151 932 618
Manufacturer's website: http://www.tad-labs.com
Associated components
- Sources: Accuphase DP-700, TAD D600
- Amplifiers: Accuphase P-7100, TAD C600 preamplifier, TAD M4300 power amplifier
- Interconnects and speaker cables: Nordost Valhalla V2
- Power cables: standard stock power cords
Gallery
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