Tact tda2200 - big claims

I had a three week home trial of the SDAi2175 - its semi-digital integrated amp. I've decided to keep it - I was very impressed and did not find any hardness or forwardness about the sound. The 2 things that really stood out for me were the illusion of front-to-back stage depth, and the bass control compared to other amps I've tried with my ATC SCM12 which can be a touch ponderous in the bass otherwise.
Build quality is superb, feels like its made from a solid piece of metal.

At the price its being offered at it, surely its got to be on people's shortlists.

Regarding cables, I got best results from it using Linn K400 bi-wire cable to the ATC SCM12s. This was in preference to Kimber 8TC (still good though) and Chord Rumour bi-wire (shut-in constrained very bad).

However, I found pretty much the same interaction with those cables and speakers and my previous amp, so I reckon its probably more of a consideration for the speakers than for the amp.

With the home trial period available, I think people would be best off trying the TacT kit themselves rather than going on the small amount of opinion that is available so far.

 

Hi Alan,

In your post #3 you say the price of the SDA2175 is £990.00.

Following the tact link you posted shows the SDA2175 as £740.00.

What is the price?

Ken

 

The SDAi2175 is £990 - it may have just gone up to £1090 I think. Its the Integrated amp.

The SDA2175 is £740, but its only a power amp, no volume control, remote or switchable inputs etc.

Yes I agree.. the little "i" is not enough difference in naming between them.

 

FWIW, spent saturday with said southern gentleman. 6 hours in total with food/drinks included so thumbs up for service.

most of the afternoon was spent listening to the RC device and the top-end integrated. with the RC kit you might as well have been in the concert hall: amazing soundstage/3-D imaging/transparency/detail and tight/controlled bass. hugely impressive and when you consider that you can 'correct' elements of the sound you don't like (via the laptop) then it's even more impressive. same experience with the integrated (though it wasn't quite as impressive because it didn't have the RC facility). all in digital mode.

build quality on both units is v. good, the functionality is first-rate and - although i can't quite fathom tact's pricing strategy (profit doesn't seem to be a particularly important consideration) - for what's on offer i'd say both units are bargains.

BUT...the tacts - IMO - weren't musical (and suffered from a touch of glare). they weren't awful but neither were they near or approaching the best. they seem to lack that critical emotional/musical ingredient (interestingly, some of tact's current customers are ex-krellites). for me, the bel canto does a lot of what the tact's do and still keeps you involved in the music. i'm not sure the tact has soul.

the other thing is....i could very easily see myself in some sort of never-ending tweaking feedback loop, constantly manipulating the sound, endlessly trying to find my very own personal sweet spot, all the while inching toward insanity. choice is fine but when choosing becomes a problem, i'd rather balance my time with some of life's other pleasures - like sleep, for instance.

if you want transparency, rock solid imagery, wide soundstages, detail and rock-solid bass then tact may be for you (not sure there's much that can better it in those areas at the same price points). the densen/naim crew will hate the tact sound. in the end, i did actually take the baby integrated home to see if my initial concerns were correct and to test it in a more musical system. only fair. on verra...but i suspect i already know the answer.

 

If you choose to ignore my argument then suit yourself. Whether I believe in cables or not is not particularly relevant. What I said was even most people that do believe in cables would be unlikely to accept that they could turn a great bit of kit into a poor one as you seem to be suggesting.

Would you care to expand on the scientific reasons why the TacT SDA "doesn't take kindly to silver plated cables" to give some credence to your statement? Does it perhaps also not take kindly to facing North - perhaps because that aligns it with the earth's magnetic field?

Michael.

 

The SDAi is certainly not giving me any glare.... one of the things I am finding about the sound is the total silence between notes, maybe this is the much prized inky blackness.

This is also the first amp I've ever had in my system which has absolutely no hiss whatsoever coming out my speakers when there is no music playing. Everything else has always had a tiny bit of hiss even if almost inaudible.

 

alan

you're supposed to be listening to the music, not the silent bits in between

re: the glare...we were using silver i/cs and speaker cables. over to ben/michael.

 

Having just dropped a ton of cash cables (as I'm a believer), I'd still have to take michaels view. Cables help or hinder the final X% of a products performance not turn it 180 degrees. Any kit that reacts so violently with different types of cables is simply designed poorly.

 

Its the bits inbetween that make it music

 

and you could try non-electronic room correction

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep...s/realtraps.htm

 

Atc Scm12

Hi Alan

From your previous post, it looks like you have got yourself a pair of ATC SCM12 after selling the Quad ESL988, how do you find the ATC compared to the Quad? I always want to try a pair of modern Quad ESL, but unfortunately, I don't have the space for large speakers.

Regards
Hon

 

I use Omiga cables, no silver plating!
I would politely suggest you accept that i did not like the amp, and that you dont try to make excuses by blaming other parts of my kit when you have absolutely no idea of my system.

 

The ATCs are quite different to the Quads. The Quads have more open sound and more precise crisper presentation. The ATCs by comparison have more weight to the sound and less focused imaging. I didn't really choose them for their similarity to the quads, but after auditioning several standmounts they were the ones I eventually felt most comfortable with and enjoyed most... though initially I has some doubts about them after the Quads.

The speaker I tried which was probably most like the Quads tonally was the Sonus Faber Concertino, incredibly good value for only £600 new... very precise imaging and direct presentation of the sound. Eventually I preferred the slightly more comforting tone and warmth of the ATCs. Since changing the amp to the Tact any suspicion of bass flabbiness with the ATCs has been dispelled.

 

I do accept that you didn't like the amp. That's absolutely fine. Differen't folks - different strokes. I prefer Blades to ZXR's.

I seem to have received a lot of venom for what was intended to be a helpful post based on my experiences. I like to learn from other peoples experiences.

I haven't heard the Omiga cables. Their website is interesting. I can't see any reference to materials used in their interconnects, but I thought this quote was apt...............

'Choosing the right analogue interconnect for your system can be a difficult task, especially when faced with the daunting number of cables already on the market.

The chances of finding the right 'key to your door' figuratively speaking is not an easy one.'

I would be interested in knowing what your system comprised of if you wouldn't mind.

Just to go back to my original post. I wrote ...........

The SDA is a stunning amp and I would politely suggest that the gentleman who had problems may have had an issue with cables.

No offence was intended.

Many thanks.

Ben

 

Alan

It's interesting to find your view of the ESL988 and SCM12. I am quite happy with my SCM12 and Sugden A21 amp. I had a pair of ESL57 a few years ago. I really liked them, but they were just too wide for my tiny listening room, so I had to sell them. Perhaps one day when I have my own house, I will try a pair of Quad ESL again. Enjoy your ATC.

Regards
Hon

 

Ben,

I may have taken your stance out of context, sorry. As you say, one mans meat...

My system --
Rega Jupiter CDp (soon to be upgraded)
Transcendant sound Grounded Grid pre
Bel Canto Evo4 power amp
Meadowlrak Kestrel hotrod speakers
Various supports and mains cables/conditioners (if your interested in exactly what let me know)

I realy did find the Tact rather forward and almost brash, but my listening room is fairly small. Seating is about 5 - 6 foot from the speakers with rear wall imediatly behind the seat, so any forwardness does appear to be very much in your face. Obviously personel taste applies aswell. Dont get me wrong tho, i would not disuade anyone from auditioning the Tact amp, i feel it is a very capable performer, and at the price point it will be a sure winner for many people.

As for ZXR vs Fireblade, we all know Honda's are slightly gay

 

Thank God I don't have a Blade then. KTM Duke myself. :JPS:

Very often, forwardness can be due to too much energy over a given frequency range, usually excited by room modes/reflections.
People often use cabling to try and get arround this, but that's like doing brain surgery with a Black and Decker Drill.

With Room Correction, and some time and experience, the user can learn how to control the Target Curve (desired frequency response) to give the desired sound. You have total control over any forwardness. With sytematic tweeking you can create a very deep, wide and tall soundstage.

The most dramatic thing is getting rid of the main room modes below 300 Hz, that all rooms have, these modes create massive ammounts of sound energy that can take over a second to dissipate. This masks a lot of what is going on in the midrange.

I believe the TDA2200 will have a Room Correction internal module available in about 6 months for an additional cost of approx. £700. Then there is to be a new amp with up to 8 channels. 6 channels will do me nicely. Can't wait for that one. Digital x-overs, room correction, EQ and tone controls, all in one unit.

Regards
Ben

 

Oi!

:lol:

 

Never heard it, but it sounds an interesting idea for a studio, not the home.

I was lead to believe that room correction only sounds 'better' in the optimum seating position, whilst the rest of the room sounds 'worse' than normal. Ok, if your on your own, but what if you have friends / girl round etc?

Also, if I had one I'd always be sodding about with the millions of options and not relaxing. This is one reason I want to ditch my sub and get bigger stereo atc's - as I'm always messing with sub positions / dials etc. Each time you add another box, it's just something else to go wrong or need tweeking. I'm sure it will sound different, but not necessarily better. I prefer just listening to music and not tweeking stuff, personally.

 

Serious music robber though, but if great imaging, almost dynamicaly right and tonal plate are you bag, then worth a listen, but please do upgrade that awful psu in the Pre-amp, one big area that improves it no end.
I'm afraid the musical soul just goes get sucked out though.
If you have a crap room can help no end though, a must for classical music lovers & those people that have expensive systems and only 50 cd's imho.