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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.

<blockquote data-quote="cab586" data-source="post: 590271" data-attributes="member: 1999">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.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="cab586, post: 590271, member: 1999"] 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. [/QUOTE]

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