Once again TAD has had a part in a Standout Demo, and once
again the company has used a new speaker to accomplish the distinction -- this time the
Compact Reference, which is a very large minimonitor that will cost around $30,000 per
pair when it's available. The electronics were all from Bel Canto -- Reference 500 mono
amplifiers ($2495 each), CD-2 CD player (used as a transport, $2995), and DAC3
digital-to-analog converter ($2495), which also provided volume control. The cables were
all Argento Serenity, with the SXR rack provided by Harmonic Resolution Systems.
The sound was finely detailed and rich with ambience,
satisfying even those listeners seated to one side or the other. We especially enjoyed
playing our own demo cuts here, comparing and contrasting their sound with this system to
the way they sounded with other collections of equipment. Our verdict: This was one of the
very best-sounding systems at the RMAF. [www.belcantodesign.com]
