Best speaker in the US $ 30-45.000,00 range

Hello Ben,

I guess some have an issue with the term mini monitor, i would be interested in hearing what one should call the TAD1's.

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.

This was not determined just from the size of the speakers, but more specifically the tweeter height if placed on the floor.

IMO the TAD 1 are mini monitors , where the Consensus are full monitors and are floor standers, funny in the 60's my dad bought a set of KLH speakers, that were very similar in dimensions to the TAD1 and yep they were classified as bookshelf speakers..

With marketing being what it is , they (TAD) can call them anything they want, i guess ...

What about 40K Godzilla Monitors with optional stands?.... :)

Regards,

Ohh almost forgot ,

While i do read TAS, the fact that they do not do any objective testing of any kind makes there analysis very hard to swallow, when they sprout of their best of the best.

Hard data is very essential in determining good ears or good wine..

regards,

Bookshelf speakers , bigger than TAD1?

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1298727958

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.

Again John, i said fullrange monitors not "Monitors" and relative to studio monitors the term is applied differently in the commercial field, such as nearfield and or farfield monitors (genelec is of recent).

There are various terms used today and most are applied loosely today, via marketing. A manufacturer can call his speakers anything he wants, but based on the past, i reserve the right to accept or not to.

The TAD1 are mini monitors or bookshelf speakers, take your pick ...

Regards,