Treble Clef Audio's TCA-M Loudspeaker-Danish, Active, Expensive, and Dazzlingly Original

[@willbrink]

I'm scared to even ask what they cost but they are are pretty.

[@dougschneider8243]

Well, I can tell you the speaker does carry a high price -- just a little past $100,000/pair. So definitely not for anyone.

[@projectordude]

Can't wait til best buy gets em in stock

[@jcjko5504]

Boxing day is near!

[@pigafettalyon1270]

German here. I've always admired the drive of Danish culture for quality products. For my part, I own a pair of humble ESS speakers from my youth, and the air-motion transformer AMT is still operating flawlessly today. That said, I almost always listen to music via my AirPods pro now. I don't disturb the neighbours, and I can roam my apartment with complete freedom.

[@chrisbender1614]

Absolutely stunning!!!!!!!!

[@soundstagenetwork]

We think so too!

[@josephoutward]

My humble Klipsch RP-600M's sound great to these ears, But wow the look of those TCA-M's.

[@tkrios1]

Nice to see something different for a change.

[@tomhill4003]

The $105,000 price tag means I'll probably never get to hear them, nor will anyone else. Kudos for creating something that only billionaires will ever get to experience.

[@dougschneider8243]

While it's certainly expensive, it doesn't mean that it can't exist. It also doesn't necessarily mean you can't hear a pair. I'm sure that if you worked on it, you could. From what I understand, Treble Clef Audio is looking for ways to demo the speaker around the world.

[@allwayzactive4599]

Am 99% sure my setup is better lol don't get me wrong it's not cheap but not 105k maybe ten all in but that's amp dac speakers wires

[@dougschneider8243]

@@allwayzactive4599 It could be. But do you know for sure? You'd really have to listen. That said, I hear the TCA-Ms and they sounded pretty fantastic. I'd like to try them in my own listening room. Like most, I'd never be able to afford a pair. But that's OK -- someone else can.

[@allwayzactive4599]

@dougschneider8243 maybe your right but I've listened to so many speakers and amp combos that I think it will be hard to say one speaker beats all but looking at how they build them they might be very revealing on the bass .....if the soundstage is out off this world maybe it's worth the money I don't have

[@dougschneider8243]

@@allwayzactive4599 Hi: I don't think any one speaker beats all. In fact, all speakers are balances of compromises. Just some comprise less -- or in less-objectionable ways -- than others. It's also important to note that good speakers have similarities in terms of design, then it's really up to the listener to decide which is best for them. Lots of choices.

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

if this is the first version, i can only imagine what the next ones will be,...... gorgeous design b&w style, but more

[@bbfoto7248]

1:50 Further proof that Duct Tape is a marvel of modern engineering and worthy even in the R&D of high end loudspeakers. 😜

[@EskWIRED]

If they sound half as good as they look, then they are likely Sublime. The tweeter and mid-range enclosures are gorgeous and likely work better than any rectangular enclosure possibly could.

[@robinkleinsteuber5217]

Wow!! Quite the speaker system!! 😮😉👍🎶🎶🎶

[@oliv9768]

Unlike some of the “ Nothing new, yada, yada, wolf, wolf . . . ” detractors, here ; I find it, at least, intriguing that a, curious, engineer would go through, painstaking, trials and lengths to understand what, musical, instruments actually emit ( proper ) - and then do his damndest to replicate those findings. Recognizing the many facets of, human, behavior and mannerisms ( for years ), it’s plain to see that this man was and is obsessed with knowledge and perfection - traits that escape, roughly, 90% of humanity. A beer for you, Mr. Siig. 🍺❤️✌🏽✊🏽

[@dougschneider8243]

I agree with you. The internet is full or armchair quarterbacks throwing darts -- but who will cry if hit with a softly thrown sponge. It's not easy to make a speaker -- let alone pull features in rarely or never done. I went to Treble Clef Audio with the intention to see what was happening there and left realizing there's a serious effort to make a seriously good speaker.

[@oliv9768]

@ . . . ” Tell me about it. SMH. On a, lighter, note ( no pun intended ) ; it’s neat that you took the opportunity to experience this work. 👍🏽

[@BuzzardSalve]

John Dunlavy did the same experiments in an anechoic chamber and came to the conclusion that the radiation patterns of instruments are quite complex but he still built speakers in a box. To say that one type of speaker is better than the other at reproducing musical instruments is an over simplification.

[@oliv9768]

@@BuzzardSalve I don’t, ever, recall this fella making any ( outlandish )claims ; but rather, expressing ( for six, excruciating, years ) scientifically researching and trying, and then concluding ( based upon his evidence ) what he sensed as, optimal, reproduction - followed by a consortium of, third-party, confirmations. Please . . . Relax. 🍺

[@cvrart]

Ok, now I'd like a professionally produced sound test video.

[@bikall1]

that's why i got magnapan. no baffle, dipool. no box

[@mybachhertzbaud3074]

I cannot really say how good they might sound obviously since I am listenng to my tablet on my car stereo. But, I really like he design.😁🎶🎹🎶🎸🎶Play On

[@soundstagenetwork]

We appreciate the enthusiastic sentiment

[@turbo5483]

Reminds me of the Anthony Gallo 3.5

[@adsph]

Thank you for sharing this content. Well done.

[@dougschneider8243]

You're welcome!

[@soundstagenetwork]

Glad you liked it!

[@Hog-g2z]

Good morning 🌅, I like the idea and shape of them, but the truth is when we can hear 👂 them, for a perfect soundstage, everyone is listening and waiting , I am listening to my music through my very large hand built transmission line loudspeaker cabinets, with SEAS DRIVERS 150w , NAD POWERED. good luck on your journey, I am listening from France,

[@VickersDoorter]

Imagine how pleased the Mrs will be when this contraption turns up.

[@chefmike8888]

How many different hardwoods were tested before finding one that was for the most part consistent? And are sets timber matched? Maybe it ‘s a combination of timbers like a blended whiskey. I know with instruments the wood plays a key roll in the tone and character.

[@Trebleclefaudio]

Thank you for this important question - the answer to which is in fact none! The reason being that one of several objectives, as explained in our white paper available to download, was that the speaker construction would contribute no sound characteristics of its own. The construction of the bass system makes the cups acoustically inert by: 1) force cancelling through coupling the two opposing woofer’s magnet systems together into one physical system of ca. 30Kg vs. the moving mass of about 200g, while floating it in a rubber surround avoiding the woofer chassis being screwed to the enclosure, thus virtually completely eliminating mechanical vibration, 2) the semi-spherical shape of the bass cups having no weakest or strongest points and the hardwood outer shell being about 20mm thick, 3) a cement-based syntactic foam insert glue into the hardwood cup with a polyurethane compound that hardens into a rubbery constraint-layer damping construction about 50mm thick altogether, 4) that syntactic foam cement insert is absorbing the quite massive internal acoustic low frequency energy with about a -80dB peak loss converting it to equivalent heat instead of vibration. The end-result is a bass system that can output very viscerally hefty and loud uncoloured bass down to 16Hz without any vibration felt to the touch no matter what hardwood is used in terms styling the speakers to personal preference.

[@chefmike8888]

@@Trebleclefaudio Ah, I understand. Like you stated about sub woofers. Bass, like all sounds created by an instrument isn't 'non directional' like a surround sound system. So you treat the low end speaker almost like a sound proof room with mass and air space between the 2 sets of walls. I can imagine that it produces a punchy, clear focused low end. I found at the age of 5 that I had been blessed with the gift of musical ability. I remember even while playing drums in some heavy bands that when listening to music I much prefer my music as clear as possible, not necessarily loud. But to have the option to crank it if one felt the urge, and not start hearing/feeling the low end break up. that must be a beautiful thing. Color me green. : )

[@Trebleclefaudio]

@ exactly! Preserving the complex dispersion pattern of the natural sound sources that we are accustomed to hear, also in the bass region, is important for an authentic experience. The attack with a drumstick on the drums for example is full of details that must be communicated and be time coherent preserving the relationship in time between the complex frequencies that defines the sound. To that end we need air velocity to transduce the sounds creating pressure gradients in the room, not pressuring it as a conventional especially vented box design bass loudspeaker would.

[@chefmike8888]

@@Trebleclefaudio It actually seems so logical now that I think about it. The biggest problem with most systems is simply the listening environment. You can throw all the money you want at the best gear available. But if the room its in isn't tuned to tame reflections and standing waves it will never sound good. Low end produces larger waves that with the ports in traditional boxes just turns the next box/the room, into a turbulent sound destroying environment. You built the bass traps hypothetically into the design. Allowing for sound without the colliding waves. Definitely impressive. But I'm sure knowing what the problem was and creating a fix for a simple problem... Not so simple lol. Well done.

[@Trebleclefaudio]

@@chefmike8888 Thank you!

[@kurtgrutzner6607]

Thank you for showcasing this fascinating speaker. Any chance you will review it Doug? I‘ve enjoyed you tweaking & enjoying the best of the best in the past.

[@dougschneider8243]

Hi, getting a pair of speakers this expensive here is a little complex, but the company is trying. As a result, it's possible but not guaranteed.

[@bbfoto7248]

@@dougschneider8243 At least you had the opportunity to hear them when you went to visit the manufacturer, right? Was the pair of speakers you listened to still in the development phase or a final production model? Cheers

[@Trebleclefaudio]

@@bbfoto7248 the TCA-M is in production and built to order. The website photos from our NYCxDESIGN launch in May are of the production TCA-M with brushed aluminium and black frame both with american oiled walnut. Our website Configurator has several styling options to try and show in your listening space using Augmented Reality

[@Artcore103]

wonder how much bass they can put out, and how deep.

[@soundstagenetwork]

The answer is on the company's website

[@BobbyBass-x6i]

That is one funky looking speaker. It could be in the movie Robots.

[@wellroundedsound2422]

Awesome job!!!

[@soundstagenetwork]

Thanks for the feedback

[@龔一峯]

this is an artwork .

[@darwinsaye]

There is a lot of good science presented here. Some of the basic premises raised some questions however. Starting from the idea of wanting the speakers to most accurately represent the instrument/ sound like the listener is listening directly to an instrument, not through the medium of a speaker, but then concluding that therefore, it was necessary that there should be no baffle and no box; however if we consider one example of an instrument - the acoustic guitar - its own means of amplification for the strings’ vibration *is* essentially a baffle and a box. The guitar’s hollow body acting as the box of a speaker does, and the resonant guitar top acting “somewhat” like a speaker baffle (arguably acting more like the speaker itself I suppose, but we could also imagine that the speaker itself is acting more like the guitar strings, perhaps).

[@SupersonicDiscsOfficial]

You make a valid point. While a speaker’s primary purpose is to reproduce sound rather than generate it as an acoustic instrument does, it’s true that even a benchmark instrument like an acoustic guitar relies on a hollow body and a resonant top to shape its tone. In this sense, both a guitar and a speaker employ physical structures that influence the resulting sound. The key difference lies in their intended function. A guitar is designed to produce its own characteristic sound, while a speaker’s ideal role is to remain as neutral as possible. Traditional speakers are often built into rectangular enclosures out of practical necessity, but these boxes introduce acoustic challenges such as resonances, standing waves, and diffraction at the edges. As a result, a conventional speaker can never be completely “invisible” in sonic terms, since its physical structure invariably adds its own signature to the reproduced sound. This is where Treble Clef Audio’s new speaker design comes into play. By eliminating or radically altering the conventional rectangular enclosure, they aim to avoid the acoustic pitfalls common to box-type designs. Their approach, reminiscent of open-baffle principles, and employs cabinet shapes engineered to minimize diffraction and internal resonance. This approach reduces enclosure-related distortions and allows the speaker to convey the original sound source with greater fidelity. In other words, this type of design increases the likelihood that the listener perceives the sound as if it were emanating directly from the instrument itself, rather than being reproduced through a loudspeaker. While achieving this kind of sonic “disappearance” is no easy feat, it’s precisely the engineering goal that Treble Clef Audio has set out to accomplish through their innovative cabinet solutions.

[@jordeng3959]

I absolutely love the look of these speakers. Excited to get a chance to hear them in the future.

[@bentleygt3716]

better start saving. cause those ain't cheap.

[@dougschneider8243]

@@bentleygt3716 It's true -- they are not inexpensive. But, that's also like it is with many high-end speakers.

[@bentleygt3716]

@@wj6818 i highly doubt tat they use cheap cables, but rather some of the highest quality components.

[@dougschneider8243]

@@wj6818 "looks like" and "is" are two different things. But it also misses the point of an active speaker system: In a traditional passive system, the user can mix and match components, which is fine. In an active system, the designer has controlled all these variables and, if they've done a good job, optimized them.

[@sundaru1]

Dont forget we listen to the speaker system not looking the visual appearance , my old decent MK II martin logan drive by old Carver C 25 , never disappointing these old ears

[@humanbass]

Send a pair to Erin's Audio Corner. If it is really good, his review will be the best marketing ever.

[@Trebleclefaudio]

This could be within the frequency range of the possible.

[@stogies3]

This speakers sound is in its looks,it would serve a better purpose as a sculpture in the Museum Of Modern Art

[@dougschneider8243]

Can't it serve two purposes: sound and art?

[@blnokc6793]

Looks like the love child of Gallo and nOrh.

[@funkyfurballs1078]

Yes it certainly does!

[@bbfoto7248]

Agreed. I've never heard any of the Gallo loudspeakers, but I still own and love my old nOrh 9 marble speakers.

[@francmauler8837]

Piękne kolumny ❤

[@UncleChisel]

These look exactly like the Anthony Gallo Nucleus system

[@davidkoehler3265]

Exactly!

[@saardean4481]

First time i see the speakers in this video. Reading your comment i got curious and checked the Nucleus out. To call them exactly the same looking is a bit far fetched. I would say the only thing they have in common is that the bass woofer is sideways (but completely different looking) and the drivers are in separate enclosures (and again completely different look) . Thats about where similarities in look stop imho but i could always be wrong

[@nielsphilbertmichelsen3626]

Look at the gallo ref 3.1. I’ve had a pair for 13 years, and i love them. Increditable soundstage. I is quite a clone you’re got, but maybe you cured some of the issues with the bass and lower midrange, that i have have had in smaller listening rooms. Nice looking speakers

[@saardean4481]

@ 1) it sounds like your room has the issue. At least the vast majority of times it’s the rooms fault 2) clone? We might have a different definition of what clone means. People keep mentioning these gallo speakers but I see no resemblance apart from the placement of the woofer. By this logic I could say that any dappolito speaker is copying any other dappolito speaker or any 2 way bookshelf copies any other 2 way bookshelf and so on.

[@bbfoto7248]

Now all he needs to do is create a matching "Bass Clef" subwoofer. ;)

[@soundstagenetwork]

Good one!

[@Trebleclefaudio]

Good thought and an idea we put to bed for now, because the TCA-M bass system provides 105dB SPL at 16Hz 1m. So a Treble Clef really can play bass 🙂

[@dougschneider8243]

@@Trebleclefaudio I can confirm that the TCA-M *can* play deep bass at a level sufficient for most. Could a subwoofer help? Not likely in most situations -- maybe only in extreme situations, but even then, hard to say.

[@bbfoto7248]

@@dougschneider8243 @Trebleclefaudio Thank you for the response. 16Hz @ 105dB/1m is impressive. I need to remember that you are essentially using 4 bass drivers...and some of the best available, at that! It's a bit difficult to tell, but are you using 10", 12", or 15" Acoustic Elegance bass drivers in this design? I realize that very few music recordings have much information below 30Hz, but there are some, in addition to motion picture soundtracks/home theater, and it does add some excitement and realism with certain sources & instruments. For reference, I use a single AE 18" IB18AU subwoofer in one of my high end car audio systems (combined with Purifi PTT6.5 midwoofers, Dynaudio Esotar2 430 midrange, and BlieSMa T25B beryllium tweeters), so I'm no stranger to Deep, Dynamic, and "musical" low end bass. The small cabin of the vehicle elevates that experience. :) "Jurassic Lunch" from Telarc's "Great Fantasy Adventure Album" is one of my litmus tests for low-end bass response, along with the cannons in the 1812 Overture, plus a few reference recordings of the Kodo Taiko Japanese drums...in addition to reference pipe organ recordings. Also check out Prokofiev's "Bass Drum Concerto, Movement 4: Allegro brilliante (May speed)"... Joby Burgess with the Ural Philharmonic (available for lossless download on Hyperion Records UK, Catalog # SIGCD584). Doug and Ole, what tracks would you use to test low end extension, dynamics, and SPL capability? I'm a drummer/percussionist (and saxophonist), so lifelike and dynamic drums are important to me, though the fundamental of a typical bass "kick" drum is only in the 45Hz-60Hz region.

[@roberthart9886]

Way back when Accoustats first came out the came with tube servo amps, but the audio community wanted to use their own amps, I had 2+2s with 4 servo amps- they were amazing, but the amps had issues that at the time scared the crap out of me, eventually I sold them. And of course someone figured out how to stabilize them. Sigh! That said my Emerald Physics 3.4s (open baffle) provide most of what the 2+2s did, This video did not mention whose class D he uses

[@dougschneider8243]

I can tell you that the amps come from Pascal. He mentioned it, but we have to edit for brevity to get as much in within a timeframe of 5 to 6 minutes.

[@barneyrubble9309]

Nothing original here. Mid and treble are similar to the B&W 800 series rear absorption and the bass unit is pretty much a copy of the Celestion 6000 system from the 90s. Look lovely and bet they sound as good as they look.

[@kelainefes]

Mid and treble are also similar to the B&W nautilus, together with the concept of having no baffle

[@davidkoehler3265]

Gallo Nucleus Reference

[@rasherbilbo452]

Yep to point 1, nope to point 2. They share directivity benefits, but Celestion units were physically in phase (electrically out of phase) in an open frame enclosure to create a virtual open-baffle. Wonderful sound, albeit limited spl. Source: I owned a set for a decade.

[@saardean4481]

I believe its like in music. It is almost impossible to have anything really new. However it looks unique enough to be its own thing. Yes i could say it looks a bit like the Nautilus and the Bass looks a bit like a remote cousin of a Tymphany Lat500 subwoofer but in the end it does not really look like it really. Only reminds me of it. Around 20+ years back i was designing some enclosures for a diy speaker and after a while, if you want less baffle you always end up with teardrop shapes or spheres and eggs. It is logical. I find these here pretty good looking. I can imagine these much easier to integrate in my home than a nautilus which looks like its best displayed at a museum art thing if that makes sense

[@LoneWolf-pw5wv]

Can't believe they left screws exposed!

[@AlOne-xg6dv]

This version is designed like a treble clef. The version 2 could be designed like a bass clef.

[@soundstagenetwork]

Let's see!

[@JohnLee-db9zt]

The midrange/tweeter are copy of B&W. The dipole subwoofer is a copy of Gradient subwoofer. All the drivers are off the shelf. Active speakers have been around for decades. Looks like amplifiers are class D. What’s exceptional about this speaker, except for the astronomical price it will command because it looks like a cool audiophile speaker?

[@st170ish]

Dipole or Ripole?

[@bbfoto7248]

@JohnLee-db9zt I don't see anything wrong with using "off-the-shelf" drivers. Why "reinvent the wheel" when there are already exemplary drivers available? While certain elements of the design have been used before, IMO this is still a very unique and pleasing design that sets itself apart and stands on its own. I've used all of these drivers in several of my own DIY home, studio, and car audio projects over the years, and they are among the finest available. It all comes down to the implementation, and venturing to become a new bespoke transducer designer and manufacturer is a HUGE undertaking all its own. Let's face it, acoustics are acoustics and you're not going to get around the physics, so ALL loudspeaker designers are bound by that same framework, rules, and limitations when creating any loudspeaker that is using current technology (transducers). The ultimate litmus test is, do they sound natural, life-like, and dynamic, and do they play at realistic SPLs? The second question is do they appeal to your eyes as well? That is entirely personal preference, but definitely a deciding factor. If I had the money to spend, I'd at least put it on these performing quite good in every regard.

[@JohnLee-db9zt]

@ Ultimate litmus test is price. Anyone can make a great sounding speaker if you throw ungodly amount of money at it. I would be surprised if he can keep the price under $10k USD. If he can, it’s a speaker worth looking into. But I bet you it’s gonna come in above $50k.

[@bbfoto7248]

​@@JohnLee-db9zt LOL, well, unfortunately, your just a tad off on your guestimate and wishful thinking of being under $10k. 😜 FYI, Doug at Soundstage Network visited the manufacturer earlier this year, and at that time had reported that these TCA-M loudspeakers will be just north of $100k for the pair. So there's that. 😉 You might be surprised by just how many people have no problem dropping that amount of coin for all sorts of products if it is deemed as being desirable and "worthwhile" to them. I'm not so sure about just "anyone" being able to design a truly great sounding loudspeaker. Perhaps if you pay others who already have the expertise to design them for you. Sure, as he stated in the video, Ole hired competent people to help with this project. It was a massive undertaking. But AFAIK, Ole was the one who did all of the research and investigation into acoustics and proper loudspeaker design and implementation. Ole even purchased a Klippel NFS system to help with the design process of these loudspeakers, so I'd imagine at the very least he'd want to recoup his investment in it at some point in the not too distant future. However, you can start by reading the video's description. Ole started this as a Personal Project with no intention to make them publicly or commercially available. This was reportedly a "pure passion project" for Ole, as let's just say he was already quite "financially established" from his other businesses prior to starting Treble Clef Audio. The fact that Treble Clef Audio now holds multiple patents for some of the design & technology in these loudspeakers pretty much dispels that they are blatant "copies" of other manufacturer's designs, including Ole's patent for the folded dipole bass unit design, so I'm hesitant to believe it's a direct copy of the Gradient subwoofer. 🤷‍♂ If you care to learn more, you can listen to the following recent Soundstage Network Podcast on KZbin beginning at 8:30 ... "New Loudspeakers Galore - DALI | Treble Clef Audio | Radiant Acoustics | Arendal | Focal (S3:E16)"

[@JohnLee-db9zt]

@@bbfoto7248 Lol so you’re a shill or a friend of this designer. I’ve been designing and building speakers for 40 years and know the cost of designing and building and selling speakers, as I also have friends in the industry. Even with dealer and distributor markup, these speakers shouldn’t cost more than $20k. $10k if factory direct. I’ve seen high end audio transform from a hobby with true audio enthusiasts who wanted to recreate the sound of live performance in their home to nothing more than expensive toys for rich boys to show off to their friends. Audiofools and many reviewers won’t take equipment seriously unless they go for ridiculous coin. The patents for classics designs have long expired and getting patent for tweaking an old design is not that hard to obtain. There is nothing truly innovative about this speaker as far as I can tell. If there is, the designer failed to convey it. If it’s patented, there’s no secret sauce to hide.

[@litoboy5]

Great

[@infn]

$100K for an active loudspeaker. This is a very, very small niche of hifi enthusiast. More billionaire probably.

[@dougschneider8243]

Yes, definitely. In fact, any hi-fi product even a fraction of that price -- say anything in the five digits -- is a niche. Six digits is even more niche.

[@FrankDrebin00]

Class D amplification.?

[@audio_acoustic_engineering]

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@LetsGoTrue]

This is some very funny danish humor that will only cost you $200,000.

[@JOSECORTES-w3m]

To play or not to play Hamlet audio on those speakers it may be wonderful or deadpool!🤔💜🙏😁

[@ThoughtfulAl]

OK I hear you

[@michaelcorlet2998]

Exactly.nothing new under the sun in speakers.just recycling old forgoten ideas. Audiofiles are suckers for the so called nxt best design.

[@omeryehezkely3096]

It's a nice sculpture that makes sounds. People are paying a lot of money for things they find fitting their aesthetic taste.

[@bbfoto7248]

@michaelcorlet2998 Ultimately, all that matters is how they sound. Design and aesthetics have ALWAYS been a Personal Preference, and each individual will make their decision in that regard. But acoustics are acoustics, you're not going to change physics, so everyone's design is obviously bound by those principles if the goal is "good sound". He's using top notch drivers in optimized "enclosures" with optimized active crossover network filters to achieve the desired directivity. So there's not really anything I see as being detrimental in regards to their Design, or potential performance. Will they appeal to everyone? Certainly not simply based on their aesthetics or "looks," as well as their price. But for those that want something unique and different from just another typical box speaker (and can also afford them), here's at least one more option. And they will certainly be a conversation piece in any home, while also producing quite amazing sound. I'd put money on them sounding incredibly life-like, which is the ultimate goal.

[@bbfoto7248]

@michaelcorlet2998 I don't see anything wrong with using "off-the-shelf" drivers. Why "reinvent the wheel" when there are already exemplary drivers available? While certain elements of the design have been used before, IMO this is still a very unique and pleasing design that sets itself apart and stands on its own. I've used all of these drivers in several of my own DIY home, studio, and car audio projects over the years, and they are among the finest available. It all comes down to the implementation, and venturing to become a new bespoke transducer designer and manufacturer is a HUGE undertaking all its own. Let's face it, acoustics are acoustics and you're not going to get around the physics, so ALL loudspeaker designers are bound by that same framework, rules, and limitations when creating any loudspeaker that is using current technology (transducers). The ultimate litmus test is, do they sound natural, life-like, and dynamic, and do they play at realistic SPLs? The second question is do they appeal to your eyes as well? That is entirely personal preference and definitely a deciding factor. If I had the money to spend, I'd at least put it on these performing quite good in every regard.

[@robertj1701]

You incorrectly spelled “audiophile”. Hard to take you seriously…

[@rcpmac]

⁠@@robertj1701Not really but if that’s the case then I will point out that “Hard to take you seriously“ isn’t a sentence.

[@scanspeak00]

Sorry but any speaker designer will tell you that cabinet shape is the worst for diffraction and there's no way on earth these will have anything resembling a flat frequency response.

[@SupersonicDiscsOfficial]

Hi, I understand the skepticism since most traditional loudspeaker enclosures-typically box-shaped-do indeed face significant challenges with diffraction, internal resonances, and thus an uneven frequency response. This is precisely why Treble Clef Audio is taking a different approach. Instead of a classic rectangular box, they’ve developed an design whose shape and construction are specifically intended to minimize these acoustic issues. By avoiding traditional, parallel surfaces, sharp edges, and by employing open-baffle principles, they reduce the reflections and distortions that commonly degrade sound reproduction. The result is that Treble Clef Audio’s speakers are perceived as more “invisible” in the soundstage. This doesn’t mean they completely eliminate all diffraction, but their design philosophy focuses on substantially reducing these effects. In doing so, they strive to deliver as neutral and linear a frequency response as possible-something that clearly sets them apart from many conventional speakers whose inherent form factors prevent achieving a truly flat response.

[@RasheedKhan-he6xx]

I wonder how well it sells. There's nothing new in the geometry (there wouldn't be, since physics doesn't change) there does not seem to be anything exceptional about the drivers and amplifiers (or he would have talked about them), few audiophiles then would invest so much in what's basically a packaged system so anyone who does buy this is probably only interested in the exclusivity conferred by its price and doesn't care about sound. Perhaps they're even counting on it. 😅

[@david_davinci]

oh my....looking at them, I thought they would be expensive. I just ordered a pair for my living room and a pair for the bedroom. Are they BT, because I want to play metalcore right from my iphone?

[@rirkc]

You lost me at "hello." Oh, yeah. And the price tag.

[@joemalone7385]

Those Tweeters are Scanspeak Illuminators, R3004's. I know because I just upgraded a pair of Stradivari Amorat Tweeters with them. A fabulous tweeter, but nevertheless, a stock off the shelf item.

[@skandahle]

Sigh. Considering that the wavelength is about 7 meters at 50 hz and 17 meters at 20 hz, you'll need a pretty enormous room (or be outside) to get much benefit from sideways cancellation in the bass region. Normal size rooms are simply pressurized at these frequencies. You'll excite less room modes with a dipole, but it won't be the game-changer he makes it out to be. Further up in the mids and highs, on the other hand, it's a different story - but there he uses the more normal monopole strategy. I do like the baffle-less anti-diffraction enclosures, which probably do wonders for imaging, but at the cost of efficiency. They probably can't get very loud. The group delay aspect is on-point though, but dipole again comes at the expense of efficiency. It's the beauty of speaker design: there's no free lunch, you have to compromise, and match the listener with the product. No single speaker is for everyone. These probably play jazz and classical music fantastically, but meet their limits in other genres, movies, etc. I wish designers could be more up-front about these things. It's OK that your speaker isn't the holy grail, or doesn't do anything new. Be honest, and you'll come across as more serious = trustworthy.

[@Trebleclefaudio]

With conventional speakers seeking to contain half the energy inside a box, yes one side effect is that the room gets pressurised with loss of low-end detail, because at low frequencies / long wavelengths the distribution pattern will be fully omnidirectional reflecting with equal energi off of all room surfaces feeding room modes/standing waves just a few Hz apart. However, this does not happen with instruments played in the same room, nor does it with the TCA-M, because the dispersion pattern is more complex. More details in the bass region are preserved because more sound pressure gradients results, which is a requirement to hear and experience a much closer to the authentic sound of say the deepest octave on a grand piano, drums and even a double stop organ pipe. Our white paper explains this and much more, available for download.

[@gibbogle]

Very funny!

[@mahealanihawaii9830]

The price is offensive. $100000 for a speaker with starving people, homeless and poverty, so many humans disenfranchised and in need. Anyone who would ignorantly waist money on this would be tone deaf from birth.

[@senseibear2436]

I learned nothing fron this video! Except that this system is likely easy to build amd does nothing new technically. There were no input/output graphs,.no technical descriptions of the speakers or anything. A glimpse at a basic amplifier circuit and some old maracas...

[@dougschneider8243]

The purpose of the video isn't to show you how to build the speaker -- it's to show you what it's comprised of.

[@morbidmanmusic]

the math isn't there.

[@soundstagenetwork]

Can you explain more?

[@johnbaldwin2948]

Copied the B&W Nautilus...

[@jazzman642]

I was seeing similarity to the Nautilus as well

[@wally7856]

There is a reason most air planes have a similar look - physics. If you want the expanding pressure wave from the mids/highs to behave in a certain manner you need the shape that does that, there is no way around it.

[@johnbaldwin2948]

@@wally7856 And yet...nobody else is doing it that way. 99.999% of speakers look like...boxes with a speaker in it. Are they all wrong? This is the equivalent (but opposite) of an airplane that looks like a flying box...when all the rest are streamlined. It's the odd man out. Why doesn't everyone do it that way instead of a speaker in a box? Are they stupid? Uninformed? Lazy?

[@wally7856]

@@johnbaldwin2948 Every single square/rectangle box must deal with baffle step, edge diffraction and high frequency ripple. This shape they do not. Boxes are easy and cheap to make and baffle step can be corrected by a second woofer. They still suffer with edge diffraction and high frequency ripple. IE - they suck. That truncated sphere is the ONLY shape possible that eliminates that. Been building speakers for 36 years.

[@wally7856]

@@johnbaldwin2948 Search for "Loudspeaker Diffraction Loss" and look at the different baffle shapes and get back to me. These shapes have been known since the 1950's.

[@utubecomment21]

$75,000 and some of the most outrageous nonsense about acoustics and speaker design I've ever heard. The Audiophiles will lap this up n doubt!

[@dougschneider8243]

Hello. When someone makes such assertions, I like to know what's behind them. So what exactly in there is "outrageous nonsense" to you?

[@bbfoto7248]

@utubecomment21 You honestly can't pass judgement on these or any other "wild" design until you actually hear them. These loudspeakers are using some of the absolute finest individual drivers that are available and have optimized the "enclosures", active crossover filter networks, frequency response, and dispersion characteristics of each one for the desired directivity. The designer researched and implemented legitimate acoustic science principles in the development of these. It's not just a hodgepodge of parts thrown together into a fantasy of industrial design. Will they appeal to everyone? Certainly not simply based on their design and "looks" as well as their price. But for those that want something unique and different from just another typical box speaker, and can also afford them, here's an option. And they will certainly be a conversation piece in any home, while also producing quite amazing sound. Again, don't pass judgement until you have listened to them. Sure, they may sound like poo to you, but I'd put money on them sounding incredibly life-like, which is the ultimate goal.

[@bbfoto7248]

@utubecomment21 You honestly can't pass judgement on these or any other "wild" design until you actually hear them. These loudspeakers are using some of the absolute finest individual drivers that are available and have optimized the "enclosures", active crossover filter networks, frequency response, and dispersion characteristics of each one for the desired directivity. The designer researched and implemented legitimate acoustic science principles in the development of these. It's not just a hodgepodge of parts thrown together into a fantasy of industrial design. Will they appeal to everyone? Certainly not simply based on their design and "looks" as well as their price. But for those that want something unique and different from just another typical box speaker, and can also afford them, here's an option. And they will certainly be a conversation piece in any home, while also producing quite amazing sound. Again, don't pass judgement until you have listened to them. Sure, they may sound like poo to you, but I'd put money on them sounding incredibly life-like, which is the ultimate goal.

[@gibbogle]

It's a very lucrative market.

[@AnalogueBliss]

Dear lord, am i the only ine thinkinh these are butt ugly speakers?

[@dougschneider8243]

Whenever you have a really different-looking speakers you'll have admirers and detractors, so your response is no surprise.

[@sammencia7945]

You can buy 2 top drivers and mount them in a No Baffle or OB configurstion for $2k all in including a boutique capacitor for the XO to the tweeter. Or one full range on a plywood board with Quad or Wharfdale dimensions. You can't sell it as it will be visually ugly with no WAF. But it will sound as good or better than this. $2k tops. Save thousands.

[@dougschneider8243]

So what you're claiming is the same thing DIYers always claim. And wanna-be DIYers often claim it the loudest. I feel the need to say something to set the record stratight, so consider this: You're not talking about the same product -- you're talking about a product that has really no resemblance to this one using two of the same drivers. Are you creating the bass section this speaker has? No. Are you taking the time to experiment with the cabinet sizes and shapes? No Are you making it active? No. Are you including any of the electronics? No. Are you making the "stand" that the drivers attach to. No. You're not describing a speaker that is even close. But you're saying it will sound as good or better. But let's say you were describing making the same speaker. Could you? Prove it. Also, consider this as well: In about 1990, I was looking to buy some Tube Traps (from the actual brand) and I looked how they were built -- and what they were built from. I costed the parts and they were a fraction of the price I'd pay for the commercial version, so I mentioned to a friend handy at building things that I was considering making them myself, because of how much money I could save. His response was: "Try and see how yours turn out. See if they're actually easy to build and you can finish them as well. I can guarantee they won't be built as well and the finish will be poor in comparison." I couldn't disagree -- so I bought them and was happy with the purchase. Sometimes you do have to pay for things beyond just parts -- time, effort, experience, and innovation count for something.

[@JohnScot-c8h]

So, where is a sound demo?

[@soundstagenetwork]

We never include "sound demos" because unlike what many people might think, they're effectively value-less at accurately transmitting what a product sounds like.

[@gibbogle]

Sound demo? What they look like and cost is more important.

[@JohnScot-c8h]

@@gibbogle Exactly.😄