Prepare to get your wallet out, these new TAD speakers are drop dead gorgeous

Looks aren't everything, of course, but these high-spec, luxury speakers are stunning

TAD ME1TX speakers lifestyle image
(Image credit: Technical Audio Devices Laboratories, Inc.)
Carrie Marshall
By
published
in News
Quick Summary

Japanese audiophile brand TAD has unveiled its TAD ME1TX speakers, which start at around £14,600.

That's reasonably priced for the brand, considering other ranges retail around the £80K mark.

If you're looking for a set of very stylish, high-spec speakers to match one of the best turntables and don't mind dropping five figures on them, the Japanese audiophile brand TAD has just the thing.

Its new TAD-ME1TX bookshelf speakers are the latest in the Evolution Series, and are based on the acclaimed TAD-ME1 speakers the firm launched in 2016.

These are the smallest, most affordable speakers in the TAD range, but that doesn't mean they're cheap. Prices start at £14,600 ($18,200 / about AU$29,127) for the speakers themselves, while you'll have to shell out another £2,450 ($2,900 / about AU$4,888) for the stands.

That being said, it's small potatoes in comparison with the same firm's TAD-CR1TX stand mount speakers, which currently retail in the UK for £79,500. The stands are a further £5,000, making these new models quite the bargain.

TAD ME1TX speakers: key features and availability

There are five key features to the TAD ME1TX speakers. First of all, there's TAD's proprietary mid-range driver, a 9cm Coherent Source Transducer that TAD says delivers clear imaging, and a natural sound field across frequencies from 420Hz to 60kHz. That's paired with the firm's rigid beryllium tweeter, which also goes up to 60Hz.

The mid-range driver has a new magnesium diaphragm that's been created to reduce resonance, and there's a 16cm Multi-layered Aramid Composite Clone (MACC) woofer with an upgraded Linear Drive Magnet Circuit for the mid to low frequencies.

The fifth key feature is the design of the cabinets. They're made with a "silent enclosure", which TAD says eliminates adverse standing waves, and their port design enhances the bass response. The optional stands are slightly angled for improved reflection management.

The new TAD ME1TX speakers will be available worldwide from spring 2025 in two colours, black and silver. You can see the full specifications on the TAD website here.

Carrie Marshall
Carrie Marshall

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).

Latest