A fool and his ebay`

Whoops... I've just bought a pair of TDL transmission lines on ebay... I was bidding for a bit of a laugh as I have fond memories of the old studio range mainly the 1's, a pair of 0.5's came up so I thought I'd have a punt, unexpectedly I've won.

Can anyone remember anything about these old coffins, goodness knows what I'll tell the missus!!!

Anyway I thought now I've got them I thought I'd have a go at refurbing the. Maybe have a local paint shop spray them up to match the room if they sound any good as at the mo they are big black and ugly..

Thoughts??? Complete waste of time or billy bargain and worth the effort?

 

you got a link so we can have a laugh, sorry - look..?

 

LOL hey, old TDL's were alright before they got taken over... I remember the big ones were into the thousands price wise and cant be compared with what richer sounds are banging out now....

anyway laugh all you like http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9704970798&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1

 

Hi Jools, you're not alone. I recently bid on a pair of speakers at the starting price and was sure I'd be outbid. I ended up driving to Switzerland to pick them up ...

 

That's why I avoid eBay like the plague. I have no self-control, and our house is choc-a-bloc with tat as it is. One day I'll want to sell stuff, but I'll have no feedback as a buyer!

 

Oh yeah that as well, Grimsby and in in London...Although hes offering to meet halfway which is bloody nice.

 

That's a relief - i thought i was the only one!

Couple of weeks ago i checked Ebay before leaving work on a Friday afternoon and found a non-working Technics SLP-1200B CD player - £20, no bids, 1 hour to go. Well, thought i, I'm sure someone will snap that up, even non working, but i thought i'd enter a quick £20 bid "just in case".

It's now sat in my listening room, looking very cool, whilst i wonder if i'm actually ever going to repair it...........

 

well I'm actually quite pleased, drive units are available (although they are apparently working well) My local panel beaters have just quoted me 30 quid for a high gloss black paintjob on them. I just hope they sound OK 92 vintage so I'd imagine they are going to be at least acceptable and at best very good based on TDLs from that era being not bad speakers at all....

 

i think my ipls are very similar to some tdl speakers if they are they should be wicked fun speakers.

 

Well I've yet to try a TL so I thought it was worth a punt. I reckon they will sound OK and I can't wait to get them on the Lavardin and have a go!

 

If you like the bass but not the mids and highs you could use an active crossover (Behringer put one out that costs peanuts) and run them with any small standmount you like the sound of. You could get a used amp that will do the bass for a few quids.

Regards
Steve

 

I used to own a pair of TDL studio 1s many years ago. They were quite a lot of fun, but the bass was ultimately a bit OTT and underdamped and the metal dome tweeter a bit fierce at times. They were quite detailed speakers though. In fact my brother bought them from me and still uses them.

The studio 0.5s are similar to the 1s in sound quality. Use them in a big room, well away from the walls (1/3 of the way into the room if posssible). There would be a lot of mileage in replacing the crappy Alcap electrolytic capacitors in the crossover with polypropylenes and rewiring.That'll get rid of a lot of the treble harshness.

They'll wont sound that good with the lavardin though as the lavvy is not the most grippy of amps and the 0.5s need loads of power to control the bass.

I did have a hifi world review of the studio 0.5s, but I think I have thrown that issue away. NK though they were OK.

 

I also had Studio 1s and used them at my last flat in a much bigger room. Loved them on the end of Naim and was really gutted when they didn't work in the new flat.

0.5s are pretty small IIRC - similar to a Rega Ela in size.

 

You can adjust the bass by adding or removing stuffing from the line ....

I thought one of the bass drivers surround look a bit iffy ...but if the units are still available its not a great problem.

 

I have to say the web is surprisingly bereft of information on them, but my plan is to see what is and isn't working (although the vendor claims they are fine) and then use them to try a few things, I have a spare Rotel RB850 pre-power and may set them up in the kitchen/breakfast room if the Lavardin isn't up to the job. Really it's a bit of a project for me, I'm going to rebuild the crossovers and rewire them as suggested, change any drivers (not only are original spares available but Wilmslow say that there are some decent replacements around that work well for not much money) and have them refinished in gloss black (the local panelbeater reckons 25 quid. I reckon 150 will see me with a fine little set of speakers for somewhere!

Still it would be nice to find some info on them.

 

Hmm, last time i was in a nearby Cash Convertors, they had a pair of 0.5's for £50.
Reading this gives me the impuse to nip round there at the weekend, see if they've still got them...............:duck:

 

That's a good price I had RTL2s for a DAY in 1997 (last pair in Richers, damn that broken tweeter on the right speaker ).

Bass was a bit sluggish, but there was a lot of it. I reckon the biggest problem was the lack of grip on my then-JVC amp. I wander what they'd have sounded like on the end of my now-Naim gear?? (tweeter fixed, of course!)

 

Thanks Garrardman Oh well!

 

Sorry for dragging up an old topic but i finally made it to that Cash Convertors at the weekend - Studio 0.5's still there and mine for £40!! :banana: :beer:

 

My ex girlfriend bought some 13 years ago. Not bad with cheapo yamaha gear at the time