Напольная акустика — TAD REFERENCE ONE LIMITED EDITION R1TXLTD

The Reference One Limited Edition, model TAD-R1TXLTD, is a special build of the Reference One TX floorstanding speaker from TAD Laboratories of Japan. Only 25 pairs are offered worldwide, each built to order. The enclosure was developed over five years together with Tendo Mokko, a Japanese furniture maker founded in 1940, and is finished in a deep Santa Maria aquamarine that brings out the grain under changing light, with an Aurelia gold trim ring around the coaxial driver.

Key specs that matter

The three-way bass-reflex system uses two 25 cm woofers and a coaxial unit that combines a 16 cm midrange with a 3.5 cm tweeter. Crossover points are 250 Hz and 2 kHz. TAD rates the response from 21 Hz to 100 kHz, sensitivity at 90 dB for 2.83 V at 1 m, impedance at 4 ohm and maximum input power at 300 W. Each speaker measures 554 mm wide, 1,308 mm high and 698 mm deep and weighs 162 kg. Six spikes with holders, shorting links, a hex wrench, woofer covers and a cleaning cloth are included.

Engineering and use context

Against the regular R1TX, this version gains a sturdier enclosure, a 15 mm thick aluminium base weighing 12 kg that lowers the centre of gravity, redesigned spikes of hard, wear-resistant alloy steel and new hybrid spike holders that damp vibration. TAD also applied a separate tuning to suit the reinforced cabinet. The rest follows the Reference One TX. Its SILENT enclosure is a birch plywood frame with transverse bulkheads, clad in thick laminated panels and formed into a teardrop outline to reduce diffraction. The CST coaxial unit uses vapour-deposited beryllium in the tweeter dome as well as in the midrange cone, and ISO Drive mounting keeps its vibration away from the cabinet walls. Each woofer has a Tri-Laminate Composite Cone of foamed acrylamide between layers of oriented aramid fibre, a 100 mm voice coil and a large neodymium magnet. The reflex port borrows its shape from compression driver horn design to avoid air noise. Isolated crossover networks with PP film capacitors and air-cored inductors sit on a 27 mm aluminium rear panel that doubles as a heat sink.

Pairing

The high sensitivity reduces the power needed for a given level, yet the low impedance still points to a power amplifier that stays stable into low loads and supplies plenty of current. Given the cabinet mass, the floor must carry a heavy point load.

Alternatives

The TAD Reference One TX is the standard production version of this floorstander with the same driver complement and crossover points.