Wherein
you will find answers to a number of questions that have been raised
every once in a while. And a few more to questions that have not been
phrased in these precise words yet.
The most important is: we don't mean it cheeky or arrogant in any way,
one needs to know that we take ourselves not to serious - only the products.
What
do TIDAL loudspeakers and amplifiers sound like? Does the "Sunray"
sound better than top of the range speakers from other manufacturers?
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The answer for the refined spirit
Some people prefer an English sports car over
an Italian "macchina", a hand crafted Davenport over a modular wall
unit, a Saville Row tailor made suit over off-the-rack premium label
apparel. Count us in with the former, each time. And, indeed, given
the choice, we noticed that people leaning to the former would rather
prefer to call a TIDAL their own, whereas others will likely find
complete satisfaction with another major league speaker.
By which we only wish to document that in the pantheon of speakers
there are numerous products manufactured in assiduous adherence to
as many philosophies as there are people they are aimed to satisfy.
Lucky the ones who have the luxury of choice. Wherever the senses
are addressed, only experience can teach us to fully appreciate things
and enable us to express our very personal emotions and preferences.
When it comes to the beautiful things in life, subjectiveness rules.
What is "best", then, is in the eye - or indeed the ear - of the beholder.
Nowhere else!
The answer for the seasoned audiophile
Our loudspeakers are no Divas whose conceptual
flaws need to be straightened out somewhere upstream by electronic
equipment. Most of us will have made acquaintance with the breed of
"lean and nervous sounding speakers calling for warm and rounded-off
tube amplifiers".
We need not go into detail (pun not intended ;-)) TIDAL speakers as
well as amplifiers deliver the musical information that is presented
to them untainted; their richness of fine detail together with the
lack of any added artifacts result in a self-evident truthfulness.
The latter enables the audiophile to focus on source equipment and
apply the ultimate stroke of the brush in satisfaction of her or his
tonal preference.
It also works the other way around and it will sharpen awareness of
shortcomings. What precisely do we mean by the latter? Masterpieces
they may be, our products cannot perform magic. If any other component
or accessory in your system or, indeed, the room in which they reside
is sonically deficient, TIDAL equipment will show it, mercilessly,
instantly. In most cases, though, if you spend the appropriate time
and dedication to the set-up of your system, you have some well mastered
recordings at your disposal, and your listening room is not plagued
by major acoustic flaws, then you will find yourself in the enviable
position of other TIDAL customers; you will have the comfortable knowledge
that your quest for the finest is over for many years to come.
TIDAL components are engineered and built for no lesser goal than
that. From the beginning
The answer for the technically versed listener
Hearing is a subjective act. Measuring, on the
contrary, spawns objective results: reliable, without room for interpretation.
Measuring, therefore, is the only way to ascertain what is "best".
No hiding behind philosophical concepts or factoids allowed. Certainly,
people have come up with the most astute justifications for roller
coaster frequency characteristics, awkward step responses or breathtaking
impedance drops that flirt with fatal short-circuits; none of those
will bring us any nearer to the desired outcome.
Of course, at TIDAL, we are very aware that measuring alone will not
lead to the audiophile goal either; however, once we lose the objective
base to build upon, every further effort may be filed under "philosophy"
or "marketing" resulting, in the best case, in a passable approximation
of the original signal. That being so, guess why everyone who's listened
to a TIDAL loudspeaker is convinced these speakers represent the state
of the art. There are blatant, documentable technical reasons for
that.
Frequency responses that look as if they had been drawn with a ruler,
step responses beyond comparison and RF suppression that leaves detectors
motionless, are just a few noteworthy characteristics. A few of many
that find their highest accomplishment in our Flagship, which is why
we can't help claiming the crown after all, sort of ;-)
BTW:
People who lend particular importance to jolly, colorful, buzzing
titles such as "Best Loudspeaker In The World" or "Best Amplifier
In The Universe", even to the point of it becoming the decisive
argument for their purchase must not remain empty-handed.
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Without
additional cost we can provide convenient decals: that may be
applied at one's discretion to any component one considers worthy
of such venerable title. The
beauty of it: one will always be right, … honni soit qui mal y
pense! |
Why don't TIDAL loudspeakers look as exciting as organ pipes, walk-in
closets or vessel hulls?
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In-crowd intimie often assert that TIDAL products do not look as exciting
as many creations from the drawing-boards of our esteemed competitors
in the monthly novated "New Best Speaker In The World Now Even Better"-series.
Tastes and colors are not argued over as the saying goes, indeed,
we think sometimes they can't be.
Which is why we unerringly adhere to our own clear and sober concept;
we will not surprise our customers every new season with semi-detached
tweeters, fashionably curved cabinets or fronts that are barely a
few inches wide. We have a good reason for that. We do not build mere
design objects, at TIDAL shape is a means to an acoustic end. Trends
will come and they will go, our achievements are here to stay.
Would this imply after 80 years of evolution in the construction of
loudspeakers that TIDAL could not come up with anything more exciting
than, say, the TIDAL Piano? Now then, compare shape and functionality
of the decanter shown above with the plain and simple milk bottle.
A wise man once said that perfection has been reached where nothing
more can be taken away (and nothing more must be added) …, we rest
our case.
We invite you to take a few moments and get acquaintanced with our
products. You will discover the same obviousness that tells you why
a wheel comes in a circular shape. When all is said and done, everything
our products have been praised and awarded for was the reward for
the painstaking implementation of our unshakable conviction that form
must follow function. Yet, there is ample reason for amazement if
one cares to take a closer look.
Consider a lateral cut of the TIDAL Piano for instance. We believe
we are not being overly immodest in finding that rather more impressive
than loads of tinsel surrounding a tweeter, bizarrely jagged cabinets
or chrome-plated ornaments that blind the eye. Lo and behold! Many
of our products even count among the most beautiful worldwide and
manifold are references to the Bauhaus principles.
That makes us feel genuinely proud and it proves that a fine product
will almost unavoidably look attractive as well. Just like the wheel
does.
Why are TIDAL speakers so expensive, and aren't there any cheaper
models on offer?
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Admittedly, a TIDAL is not a cheap acquisition. Even our entry level
Amea will set the purchaser back about the same amount of money she
or he would have to dig up for a cruise across the Atlantic, cabin
with ocean view, naturellement! At the other end of the price scale,
we enter the range of two convertible German sports cars with all
paraphernalia included.
At that point, we must take a deep breath of fresh air ourselves.
The fact of the matter is, though, our products just cannot and will
not be cheap, full stop. Cost constraints are not the guiding principle
at TIDAL; each component is designed and engineered without consideration
of cost of the material necessary to build it.
To be sure, that has nothing in common with the widespread misconception
following which the highest possible overkill of - for example - gold-plated
massive high-grade copper by itself equals High End and, by the same
token, justifies any otherworldly pricing. Instead, at TIDAL the cost
drivers are lengthy, dedicated engineering, manual production in highly
skilled craftsmanship and a fleet of expensive parts - but with a
purpose.
And so, the cost of our speaker cabinets or the front-plates of our
amplifiers alone is likely to bring the ordinary cost-cutter to tears.
We shall be pleased to demonstrate this to you any time on our premises
(demonstrate our way of doing things, that is, not the weeping cost-cutter
...) Certainly, it is possible to build gear - or imitations thereof
- cheaper. However, a premium quality product, manufactured in accordance
with the highest professional standards, sporting a "hand-made in
Germany" label cannot be offered at dumping prices.
In any case, to our customers the purchase of a TIDAL loudspeaker
or amplifier will not be driven by cost considerations. Instead, they
will make their choice based on performance, build quality, service
and the certitude that they are acquiring a benchmark product that
addresses the senses in a way that can never be reduced to a mere
number.
Then again, human we are, so everyone may be forgiven for also being
allured by the exclusiveness of the product that goes hand-in-hand
with its price ;-) So, lest we forget, nice and cheaper models do
exist in a multitude of colors, clad in handsome cardboard boxes,
readily available to everyone! However, they will never be labeled
TIDAL.
Why do TIDAL loudspeakers as a standard come in black only?
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One important fact to bear in mind: TIDAL-black is not just black
ash or any similarly uninspiring finish. At TIDAL, black stands for
the noblest of all finishes: genuine black piano lacquer. We take
pride in being the first manufacturer, worldwide, to have offered
all our speakers with this finish serially.
To us, piano lacquer documents elegance, timelessness and value, both
optic and haptic. We trust you will not have seen that many grand
pianos in trendy aluminum or rustic beech. Neither have we, for a
reason. And that is precisely why TIDAL and black piano lacquer are
inseparable. Now that we have broached the topic, there are huge variations
in what has been called piano lacquer.
What is labeled piano lacquer by some manufacturers would not stand
the test to serve as undercoat at TIDAL. Look at the saturation of
"blackness", the undistorted reflections and the optical depth of
the images in a TIDAL speaker: you are looking in a perfect black
mirror. Moreover, the lacquer coating which is several millimeters
thick, serves an acoustic goal since it lowers self-resonance and
the acoustic impenetrability (penetrability??) of the cabinet quite
considerably.
Music lovers all over the world have very well understood this, which
is why this finish is requisitioned in most cases. As an alternative,
we offer superior wood veneers coated with transparent lacquer and
polished to mirror finish.
How susceptible to damage is piano lacquer?
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TIDAL piano lacquer consists of complex multilayered polyester coating
that is polished to perfection in an extremely laborious and time-consuming
manual process. Deep carves or dents in "naked" veneer are mostly
irreparable. Piano lacquer, on the other hand, has the advantage of
higher resilience compared to such veneer.
On top of that, it is much easier to mend and can be repolished to
its original high-gloss even after decades. It is also possible to
preserve lacquer by treating it with car wax every few years, thus
lending even better protection.
It can be cleaned free of stains with the microfiber cloth that is
delivered with all speakers and a feather duster will be sufficient
for every day's care. It is not quite recommended to apply a hammer
to our little gems forcefully, though.
