01-01-11: Weseixas
Years ago, any speaker of such dimensions were classified as Bookshelf type, years later such size speakers were referred to as Mini monitors when placed on stands, coupling them to the floor, as opposed to full size monitors that were placed directly on the floor.
There was never a time when "monitor" equaled "floor-standing" and "stand-mounted" equaled "minimonitor." There are many non-floorstanders which are not minimonitors.
Monitor makers such as JBL, Altec-Lansing, Electro-Voice, Westlake Audio, and Genelec make or made very large heavy monitors. e.g., 28"h x 40"w x 24"d, that weigh from 130-300 lbs. each, that are not meant to sit on the floor. They are full range, of imposing size, with enormous dynamic range, but no one would ever call them "mini-monitors" just because they are designed to be stand- or wall-mounted. Many monitors are purposely NOT floorstanders to make sure all drivers are in line-of-sight (really, line of ears) of the mixdown engineer and to minimize floor boundary reinforcement of low frequencies.
Today's mini-monitor morphed from two lines--the compact bookshelf speaker (not the oversized ones) and the compact remote monitor--an easy-to-transport monitor for onsite use in nearfield mode for playback and mixdown. Most true "mini-monitors" have little meaningful bass extension below 70 Hz. The CR-1 is certainly not one of those.
Examples include The Wilson WATT without the Puppy and the M&K mini-monitors, which were often supplemented with their own powered subs.
The operative word here is "mini". A true mini-monitor is small, maybe 6"x8"x10" up to 8"x10"x14" (1120 cubic inches). Meanwhile, the TAD CR-1 is 24.7"h x 13.4"w x 17.5"d, making for a volume of ~5792 cubic inches (and a weight of 101 lbs. each). This is the equivalent volume of a tower speaker of about 45"h x 10"w x 13"d. There is nothing "mini" about it. The stand it sits on is about 18" high, not the 32" or so that 10"h minimonitors require.
The CR-1is "compact" only relative to the speaker it derives from, TAD's flagship Reference One, a 330lb. 51"h x 21.75"w x 27"d floorstander that retails at $70,000/pair. It has some of the most advanced and exclusive driver technology on the pro or home audio market. The stand-mounted CR-1 offers the same overall performance, but gives up one woofer and about 1/2 octave of bass extension for a little over half the price of the flagship. Given their provenance, they may even represent a particularly good value, regardless of what they sit on.
