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Any thoughts on TDL speakers? Transmission lines in general

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DijonMaster

Active Member
I'm going to have a chance to pick up a pair of TDL T-Line 2s for $100. They seem pretty cool, but very little info about them. A very nice guy on reddit gave me some details, but buying things scares me, so I'm also asking here for more info.

99% of the info I've found on these have been about the TDL RTL line. I'm not sure how comparable the two are.

I mainly value detail in my speakers. Blues guitar, bebop, etc. I currently use Emotiva B1+s.

Does anyone know how these sound? And if they're worth the price. Are they that much better than my Emotivas? The T-2s only have one woofer. How much does that matter when I won't be playing them very loudly?
 
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I am impressed by how much bass you can get on little watts. But after owning one for a few years and comparing to others, there is a sound that comes with that. It's not a bad sound. There's something about the dynamics of a transmission line speaker that seems subpar. It's subtle, but it has influenced me to look elsewhere.
 
Isotonic said:
I am impressed by how much bass you can get on little watts. But after owning one for a few years and comparing to others, there is a sound that comes with that. It's not a bad sound. There's something about the dynamics of a transmission line speaker that seems subpar. It's subtle, but it has influenced me to look elsewhere.
Click to expand...
Is it subpar in terms of bass quality ? Or is it all around
 
DijonMaster said:
Is it subpar in terms of bass quality ? Or is it all around
Click to expand...

It should be superior.
However, my guess about the execution of several TL designs: Considering that a transmission line is meant to 'load' the lower frequency spectrum over a broader range than a bass reflex cabinet typically would, it is harder to get right.
~
Next to this, it's higher production cost (more wood required in the cabinet) leads to bass reflex still being the commonplace design.
 
Had the TDL RTL2..
Are they real TL enclosure ?

I heard that RTL stands for '' reflex transmission line ''.

They were not bad.
Smooth at low volume but fatiguing at moderate volume.
For myself, moderate is now high 'cause, at 62, I try to go easy on those 2 ears.

Yes, at low volume, pushing them with vintage gear, they were easy to listen to. Warm and envelloping.
As for stereo image, my room is a mess for that particular parameter.

The foam on the end of the labyrinth was gone on mine, it never seems to make any difference for me.
They are now long gone.

My best TL speakers...? B&W DM2a.... wish I'd still have them. They were outstanding, for me.

Does not bring much, hey ?
 
sax6 said:
Had the TDL RTL2..
Are they real TL enclosure ?

I heard that RTL stands for '' reflex transmission line ''.

They were not bad.
Smooth at low volume but fatiguing at moderate volume.
For myself, moderate is now high 'cause, at 62, I try to go easy on those 2 ears.

Yes, at low volume, pushing them with vintage gear, they were easy to listen to. Warm and envelloping.
As for stereo image, my room is a mess for that particular parameter.

The foam on the end of the labyrinth was gone on mine, it never seems to make any difference for me.
They are now long gone.

My best TL speakers...? B&W DM2a.... wish I'd still have them. They were outstanding, for me.

Does not bring much, hey ?
Click to expand...
These are the T-Line 2s. I THINK they're supposed to be a step up from the RTLs, but it's really hard to find specific information about them. There's a lot less info out there, vs the RTLs and Studios.

Attaching a Pic I found below.
 

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They look like TDL RTL 3. Did they just '' modernized '' the name to >> T Line << ?

My RTL2 were known to have a 40hz to 20Khz bandwidth
These go down to 30hz.

Still, they are Reflex Transmission Line.
Maybe someone could explain a difference between Reflex Transmission Line loading and Transmission Line ( like IMF ).
 
sax6 said:
They look like TDL RTL 3. Did they just '' modernized '' the name to >> T Line << ?

My RTL2 were known to have a 40hz to 20Khz bandwidth
These go down to 30hz.

Still, they are Reflex Transmission Line.
Maybe someone could explain a difference between Reflex Transmission Line loading and Transmission Line ( like IMF ).
Click to expand...
I just found the catalog https://digilander.libero.it/piani/tdl_electronics.htm

It seems like they're also Reflex Transmission Lines.
 
Pretty interesting catalog, thanks !

Still, at 100 Can, you cannot go wrong IF all drivers are perfectly working.

Foam at the bottom of the cabinet should have desintegrate... not much to worry about.
 
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sax6 said:
Pretty interesting catalog, thanks !

Still, at 100 Can, you cannot go wrong IF all drivers are perfectly working.

Foam at the bootom of the cabinet should have desintagrate... not much to worry about.
Click to expand...
It's actually $100 USD, but counting transportation (i have no car) it'll be about $140/$130. I'll be able to test it out there, thankfully.

Yeah, the bottom foam is gone. Do you think that'll effect the sound too much? It seems like they used aquarium sponge-type foam.

I might have to refoam them anyways to stop my cats from going in.
 
Like any other speaker design, the end result is dependent on the execution and variables used for the TL design. The type of line, cross section size, length, stuffing used, how much stuffing, etc. They're less common because they're more expensive to build, and tougher to tune well. There's plenty of upside in general... typically deep tight bass from a given driver with minimal cabinet resonance. I've never heard the ones you're looking into, but for ~ $100 it seems like a great deal.

I've been running t-lines for about 35 years. I've always liked the tone of the bass I was getting, but adding a solid state amp to the woofers recently has really brought the TL to life.
 
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DijonMaster said:
It's actually $100 USD, but counting transportation (i have no car) it'll be about $140/$130. I'll be able to test it out there, thankfully.

Yeah, the bottom foam is gone. Do you think that'll effect the sound too much? It seems like they used aquarium sponge-type foam.

I might have to refoam them anyways to stop my cats from going in.
Click to expand...
Ah.. US currency brings it up a bit.

Yes, it is like aquarium cell foam. I did not made difference for me, actually, the foam was already gone !

No cat could get thru the port anyway.

One thing: mine were black vinyl wrapped. Not so much pretty.
 
sax6 said:
Ah.. US currency brings it up a bit.

Yes, it is like aquarium cell foam. I did not made difference for me, actually, the foam was already gone !

No cat could get thru the port anyway.

One thing: mine were black vinyl wrapped. Not so much pretty.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the wood gives them girlfriend approval. Not sure how that would've gone with black vinyl
 
knotscott said:
Like any other speaker design, the end result is dependent on the execution and variables used for the TL design. The type of line, cross section size, length, stuffing used, how much stuffing, etc. They're less common because they're more expensive to build, and tougher to tune well. There's plenty of upside in general... typically deep tight bass from a given driver with minimal cabinet resonance. I've never heard the ones you're looking into, but for ~ $100 it seems like a great deal.

I've been running t-lines for about 35 years. I've always liked the tone of the bass I was getting, but adding a solid state amp to the woofers recently has really brought the TL to life.
Click to expand...
I'm quite excited to be picking them up tomorrow. I guess there are worse things I can spend $100 on
 
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