Item: TAD CE-1 & TAD Stands
Location: Sydney
Price: $20,000 + Shipping + Fees [RRP$35,200 with stands without import duty and shipping calculations]
Item Condition: 10/10 As new - 2 months old
Reason for selling: Possible upgrade
Payment Method: Pickup - Cash, Paypal, COD Only
Extra Info:
I bought these gorgeous speakers from @thewaves who having owned them couldn't fight the temptation to explore what the rest of the TAD range sounded like. To be fair if I were to pick one issue with these speakers, it's that upon hearing them the affliction that plagued @thewaves takes on a contagion affect and you're left wondering at just how amazing the rest of the range is, and that gentlemen is exactly what's happened to me. These speakers have turned on their head everything single assumption I've had about box speakers.
Prior to owning the CE-1's I owned a pair of Magico S1's and didn't think I could get a better sound in my room. Having sold the S1's there was about a 3 to 4 week wait where I was between speakers. During this time my mind started flirting with the notion that the CE-1's would be more of the S1's with a much higher price tag. Well, I was wrong. While the S1's are a tremendous speaker the CE-1's pick-up where they left off (as they should given the price differential) with respect to weight through the mid-range, top to bottom coherence, imaging, and then there's the extension and impact through both high and low frequencies. *SIGH* oh the extension. I have to admit I thought I'd heard it all when it came to stand-mounts. The CE-1's have highs that extend to the heavens without a hint of grain or fatigue, just the right amount of warmth through the mid-range and then there's the bass. I have never heard bass as textured and visceral as these CE-1's. You feel it in your chest, just stunning. This speaker has no right to perform the way it does and portrays the sort of dynamics I assumed was the sole domain of floor-standers.
Now, why the EOI? Well, like @thewaves I too can't fight the urge to go up the TAD product line and have my sights set on the the RRP $50K CR-1. Hence the EOI. This is an opportunity to dip your toes into the TAD eco-system with what may well be the only pair of CE-1's in Australia (given TAD are no longer distributed locally). Please though, be warned: having heard this speaker exploring the rest of the product line will haunt you.
I'm using @thewaves pictures as they are better than I could muster:
Some reviews:
Pictures:
