Tlahs are an interesting build. Much easier than the other boxes on this site, but precision is paramount. They're hanging in your house instead of hanging out at bars. They require out of the box thinking just like every other cab on this site. It's not even a box, it's truncated pyramid.
After I finished these in the shop they looked really big. But when I hung them they pretty much disappeared, because I painted them to match, and 12ft ceilings make 3ft look pretty short.
In this era of teeny speakers driven to the edge, the sound of TLAH's is effortless. I had forgotten what a difference physical size in a speaker makes. The size of the soundstage was startling. Depth, width, and height were enormous. I started with the Joe Pass trio. Joe's guitar was about 5 ft tall in the center, instrument placement in the soundfield was very precise. The sweet spot is very large, due to the corner diffraction, there was good imaging almost everywhere. I'm fortunate that the room I'm using is within a whisker of ideal ratios for reproduction, so that contributes also. The soundstage reminded me of the Epicure 3.0's and RS Infinity's I sold back in the 80s. Big speakers just give a sense of immediacy that no small one can recreate.
The tweeter array concerned me, as there's nothing I hate worse than a shrill top end. I cannot stand almost any metal dome tweet or ribbon, and the sheer number in these made me think it might be the same. Smooth and sweet describe it. The array of these .20 rascals sound as good (maybe better) as my all time favorites in my Epicures.
When the movies started, that's when the real fun began. Articulate, precise and defined midrange. Even in high volume scenes intelligibility never gets lost, as it does in so many other systems I've heard. The size of the soundstage wraps you in the movie immediately.
I built mine with some of the last NSB's PE had in stock. So for less than $25 in drivers, $25 in crossover parts, $25 in baltic birch in my mains, $40 in the surrounds, and a T24 (to be replaced by a table tuba) I'll put my system up against anything up to a couple of thousand, and anything below 1K you can buy will not compete at all.
WAF is not a problem once you watch Desperate Houswives on a 61" with these puppies running.
Leland
