TAD ME1TX review

TAD was originally founded in 1975 as a premium sub-brand to help Pioneer sell high-end speakers to the professional market. The brand’s name is an acronym for Technical Audio Devices – not a particularly poetic name, but that hasn’t stopped the company from developing into a standalone high-end manufacturer of considerable repute. Currently, its product range includes pretty much every part of the audio chain from digital electronics to stereo speakers.

The original Micro Evolution One speaker first hit the market in late 2016. The new TX version on test here was introduced last year, and features many detail improvements without changing the basic formula. The TAD ME1TX remains a beautifully made, immaculately engineered standmount that puts detail resolution, sonic precision and transparency at the top of its priorities.

It may come as a surprise to many that a speaker costing this much is only the entry model in TAD’s speaker range, though that fact does provide a good indication of the brand’s positioning in the hi-fi hierarchy.

Build & design

Standing just over 41cm high, the ME1TX speakers are relatively compact, but unusually for such small speakers, they are a proper three-way design.

The midrange and higher frequencies are handled by TAD’s CST (Coherent Source Transducer) driver array that positions a 25mm beryllium dome tweeter in the throat of the 9cm magnesium cone midrange. It is a similar arrangement to KEF’s Uni-Q technology and offers plenty of advantages on paper.

Aligning the acoustic centres of the two drivers improves overall dispersion characteristics and benefits integration.

In practical terms, this means the ME1TX should deliver a wide listening sweetspot and maintain its sonic characteristics more consistently as the listener moves around the room.

A 9cm driver is too small to deliver much in the way of bass, so TAD’s engineers have chosen to partner its CST array with a 16cm woofer.

This woofer uses a multi-layer aramid composite cone with a corrugated surround made of foamed polycarbonate, and vents through the enclosure’s sides behind the 5mm-thick steel plates mounted on either side. Having the vents on either side is said to cancel out any vibrations generated by them.

The ME1TX’s cabinet is a substantial affair and weighs in at a hefty 21kg each. Be careful when you lift them out of their packaging, as that weight can catch you by surprise. The impressively rigid construction consists of MDF panels braced internally by birch plywood.

The addition of those steel plates on the sides adds mass and rigidity, while also giving the engineers a fixed boundary for the air coming out of the vents to interact with.

This TAD speaker’s build quality is exquisite, just as the price demands. The monitor’s fit and finish is flawless, as is the attention to detail, right down to the quality of the biwire speaker terminals and shorting wires used between them to allow single-wiring.

There are two finish options for the ME1TX: the deep gloss black of our review sample and a silver-white combination that looks just as smart.

Compatibility

At this level, careful system matching is a must. The ME1TX has a lowish claimed sensitivity at 85dB/W/m coupled to a demanding 4-ohm nominal impedance, so in electrical terms, it makes sense to go for an amplifier with plenty of drive.

The bulk of our testing is done with Burmester’s 088/911 MkIII pre/power (180 watts per channel), though even PMC’s 95 watts per channel Cor integrated also drives these speakers well. Our main sources are Naim’s ND555/555 PS DR music streamer and a Technics SL-1000R/Kiseki Purpleheart MC record player.

The performance of any standmount speaker is highly dependent on the quality of the partnering support. TAD makes dedicated metal column stands for the ME1TX, and they work well in visual and sonic terms.

Given the price of the speakers, it will come as no surprise that these chunky stands are pretty premium too, selling for £2995 (around $2900 / AU$3599) for the pair.

While it is tempting to position relatively small speakers right up against a wall, we would avoid doing that in this case. In our 3 x 7 x 5m (hwd) test room, these speakers sound best around 50cm into the room and angled in towards the listening position. Such a placement retains a convincing tonal balance but also gives us a focused soundstage.

Sound

If you are expecting sonic fireworks, then these TAD speakers will leave you disappointed. These monitors are as understated as they come, preferring to allow the music and recording to take the limelight.

Their presentation sounds pure and unvarnished to our ears, almost a blank canvas that leaves any energy and drama to come from the music itself.

If the source material doesn’t bring the fun, the ME1TX won’t help out. Equally, that applies to the partnering system. If there are any shortcomings anywhere in the system chain, then these speakers won’t hide that fact. That just isn’t their purpose. We would avoid bright or lean electronics in general, as such a balance just doesn’t work with these speakers.

However, given that these are impressively transparent and highly revealing monitors, they will also allow the listener to dig deep into the production of a piece of music and analyse every aspect for good or bad.

It wasn’t long before we started to think of these TAD speakers as an audio microscope, something that allows us to hear low-level details with a class-leading clarity most alternatives just don’t have.

Time after time, we hear a small piece of detail, a subtle reverb or an extra sense of space between notes that other speakers simply ignore. It is the TAD’s superpower, and goes some way to justifying this speaker's high price.

We also appreciate the ME1TX’s tonal neutrality. They sound wonderfully even-handed throughout their operating range, giving them the ability to render voices and instruments in a convincingly balanced way.

As we work our way through Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the live recording of Keith Jarrett’s Köln concert, and Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard And Soft set, we marvel at the effortless way these speakers bring instruments and voices to life.

Their exceptional composure leaves the listener confident that the speaker won’t fudge any aspect of the sound, even when the music becomes demanding. When it comes to control and sonic stability, we have heard little that betters these standmounts.

We are big fans of coincident driver arrays, and our time with these TAD monitors just reinforces that view. Once optimised, these speakers deliver excellent stereo imaging and a wide listening sweetspot.

Their soundstage even stays stable when we move around the room, and the tonal character doesn’t shift notably. Image focus is terrific, as is the way the ME1TX layer their expansive presentation to create a proper three-dimensional soundfield.

These are relatively small speakers, but unlike many rivals, they don’t exceed the expectations set by their size by producing a generous dose of bass. The laws of physics aren’t bent, and you certainly won’t be looking around for an additional bass driver or subwoofer hidden in the room’s corner.

However, the bass they do produce is proportionate, articulate and beautifully integrated. If you have a larger room, we would suggest adding a subwoofer or, preferably, going for one of TAD’s bigger models.

The modest amount of bass also limits the sonic authority on offer, and to a certain extent, contributes to the speaker’s slight restraint with large-scale dynamics.

The JBL Summit Ama and the Fyne Audio F1-8 are similarly sized to the ME1TX, but both convey the dynamic contrasts of the Beethoven symphony with greater conviction and muscle. Billie Eilish’s thumping basslines come through with greater heft, too, through these alternatives.

Rhythmic drive is surefooted rather than enthusiastic, though these TAD speakers still do a good job of conveying the musical momentum and bristling energy of a song like Michael Jackson’s Jam. We can’t recall an alternative that does better when it comes to outright clarity and the ability to unravel this song’s dense production. Every crash and bang on this track hits the mark, without a hint of exaggeration.

Even so, it is hard to escape the feeling that these speakers prefer to deliver the music in a slightly aloof, dispassionate way rather than to get on the dance floor, metaphorically speaking. The ME1TX are about control, precision and organisation more than they are about verve or drama.

Verdict

There is no denying that these TAD ME1TX standmount speakers are beautifully engineered and offer more insight into the production of a recording than pretty much any standmount we have heard. Given a carefully chosen partnering system and recording, they can certainly deliver moments of musical magic.

However, their measured approach won’t appeal to all, so take a good, long listen before you consider buying.

Review published: 6th August

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 5
• Compatibility 4

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