Full-range/horn loaded on a budget?

The original TL-D1's came with a basic finish. Nothing special, does show some flaws, but overall they look decent. You could have special ordered them with a premium finish, I think birds-eye maple was a popular one, and those looked quite nice. These days Tony is paying a lot more attention to the finish and it shows.

Let us know what you think after you hear them.

TL-D1 + 10 watt SET Monos: What kinda music are we talking here? And not?

Finsup - we are talking glorious, immediate, scary-dynamic, hyper-vivid, lightning-fast, life-changing music. They've earned kind of a cult following amongst some very experienced audiophiles, and most folks who have owned a pair will tell you they far outclass stuff like the Zu's, although I did speak to one owner who felt that Zus equipped with subs were somewhat more versatile - better able to handle rock. In addition to a relative lack of bass, the extremely revealing nature of the TL-D1s can be punishing on some badly recorded rock without the right sources and amplification upstream. Another thing is, TL-D1s can be finicky when it comes to amps. I've known a couple of folks who've had great results pairing with Fi 2a3 monoblocks, Korneff 45, Shindo and Atma-Sphere OTL amps, for example. I also hear that Sam Kim's Heathkit and Eico amps in full triode are a revelation with the TL-D1s. But another TL-D1 owner recently told me that, for whatever reason, they didn't like his Mastersound 300 reference amp at all. Solution? Sell the amp!

And the speaker is; Tonian TL-D1. I found a pair which the owner had changed their mind and upgraded to the PHY-HP driver model. I would have preferred that too, or the AER, but budget didn't permit. I'm excited and look forward to hearing what's possible with these speakers. I hope they exceed my expectations. I'm not expecting the same sound as my Horning's, but if they do provide a substantial part of the sound I was accustomed to, and at a fraction of the cost (1/7th) I will be elated. If not, a learning experience. But I'll know from personal experience.

I was also very interested in the Tekton Uruz or KatzMeow in custom wood finish but after no response from multiple emails over 3 weeks I gave up. There was also a used pair of Zu Essence I would have enjoy hearing. But when the TL-D1 and it's great price came to my attention I had to jump on it.

Cfluxa: I concur. Sell the amp. If an SET didn't mate well with my previous Horning speakers the amp would go, not the speaker. Fortunately, that wasn't the case since the pair already had a known synergy.

Finsup: Actually, it's 8 musically pure, spine tingling, evocative, orgasmic watts. And what kind of music did I play with these flea-powered SET's paired with Horning Agathon Ultimates? Everything and anything. And to more then satisfying levels. The most natural, neutral, accurate and tonally pure sound I've come to hear from my system in 20 years of high-end audio. But please don't take my word for it. Listen for yourself. Even my 15 watt ViVa VeronaSET monos demolished my 150 watt Rowland Model 10. And that was with 89dB Kharma Ceramique 2.1 SDSS speakers. The ViVa may not have played as loud without distorting, but then again this was 15 watts with an inefficient speaker. Regardless, the SET sound was glorious, beyond words, and even the bass was better. How can that be you ask? I was skeptical too, and then disbelief. But there it was, hearing it with my own ears. Sure there are going to be situations where it doesn't work, but that's also true of solid-state. But once you hear that veil of distortion wiped away you'll realize what you've been missing, especially in terms of that emotional connection to the music. And then NOS tubes took it to a whole other level.
Check out the Positive Feedback review where the TL-D1 challenges a reviewers skepticism and his $9K Dali Euphonia speakers putting the myth of efficient, full-range driver, light weight cabinet speaker design inadequacies to rest, at least in this case. Note: The review TL-D1 was the original kit version. The new MKII has different plywood, modified woofer and tweeter, plus higher grade crossover and hookup wire.

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Schopenhauer

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Sakahara - congrats, and do keep us posted! Will you be pairing them with those 300B monoblocks? If so, that's the only thing that gives me pause, given the recent experience of a friend I related in my above post - he ended up selling his Mastersound 300B Reference to keep his TL-D1s. But there are a lot of amps that will really make them sing!