be wrote:

The TAD 4001 and 4002 have a number of sharp narrow resonance peaks  in the  range  10kHz-20kHz

I would think it was lover – somewhere around 8kHz. That was exactly what did not like in the TADs – it was some kind of “alien syrupiness” that wrapped all music. There was some kind complete sonic vacuum anywhere before or after the “alien syrupiness” and then in the region in the “alien syrupiness” the driver suddenly threw some “glyceriny pings”…

Thanks, Paul

I have seen your comment about the TAD bug screens at AA. The bug screens are a touchy subject – with some driver removing them works fine with some made sound worse. I did not experiment with TAD’s bug screens…

Generally the bug screens do slightly more than preventing the cockroaches to crawl down into the gap and to build a colony in the driver. The bug screens acts s very effective diffuser. Also, and probably the most important, the bug screens has own acoustic impedance and create a very mild additional contra-pressure from the trout. Some drivers with reliving from this contra-pressure behave better and some worse.

There is another interesting aspect of it – the compression drivers do suck dirt from air and I usually once in a whale clean them. It is good idea perhaps to use very fine nylon stockings atop or instead the bug screens.  I use black nylon condom around my Water Drop tweeter - the nylon is perfectly transparent but has much higher dirt catching capacity then any mesh metal screen.

vuki wrote:

I was also in Munich this year. Cessaro had one of the best sounding systems at the Show, but I thought I could hear some droning bass from BLH. Of course it could also be the room, but somehow I doubt it - I have heard few (some even made myself) BLHs and that kind of bass keep bothering me. Avantgarde Trios were mechanical, unmusical and just wrong as usual (to my ears). The best sound at the Show (to my ears, again) was in Hiraga/Melody room.  Regards, Vuki

It looks like Cessaro roll out tier Beta system to show. I still wait the Gamma but it is not Alfa anymore. I have no idea how it sounded in Munich. Setup-wise the installation looks like was made very uninformed but I am sure it made good pictures that is pretty much the objectives at the shows:

http://www.cessaro-horn-acoustics.com/index.php?id=38

http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/munich09/1.html

http://marcs-hifi-blog.audiodoo.de/high-end-2009-hifi-anlage-cessaro-horn-tw-acustic-tla/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9dozdOTeG0&feature=related

Interesting that Cessaro used some kind of TruLife Audio 833-based 150 watts SET amps. I did not read a lot about them (I less and less care about the amps of other people) but configuration-wise I look as the TruLife amp was the only one amps that was used – sound ridicules to me. The Cessaro Beta is begged to be DSETed.

Oliver,

It is hard to understand or describe what might be with Cessaro in Munich. Sometimes even if you are there it is hard to guess what is wrong. To debug Sound you need to go action and to observe how this particular installation reacts to the actions. This is a whole another subject. My nomination of Cessaro as the “best commercial horn loudspeaker” is not an empty marketing label by rather my recognition of the topological configuration that allow to achieve maximum possible results if the all “other little things” were done right. How all “other little things” were done in Cessaro I have no idea, the opportunity are there however.

Anyhow, judging from the images HOW the Cessaro were installed I do not feel that they invested any efforts into that installation and even if the rest the thing were done “right” (that seldom happen) then I would not expect from the Cessaro room in Munich any offensive results. The fact that they dragged the Beta on the show however does make me happier.

The Lansche top model? I really do not know it. Lansche were a company that playing with plasma Coronal tweeters and if I am not mistake then did mostly direct radiators with plasma. I do not think they did any horns, at least I never heard about it.

The dome and Tractrix horn do not work? I do not know. Again, it is about the little things. Avantgarde MF driver is non-compression dome in Tractrix. Does it work? It is hard to judge based upon just one Avantgarde implementation; particularly knowing the Avantgarde implementation is much compromised. I would not closed the book on dome and horn based on the failures of Avantgarde and few others, not to mention that I do not consider the Avantgarde’s MF cha is a complete failure - they did accomplish what they need in context of their limited definition of success.