BilboBaggins
Addicted Member
About 5 or 6 years ago, when I was first getting back into audio, a pair of these went for sale locally. I loved how they looked and I liked what I read about them, but in the end, didn't pull the trigger.
Last week, I was looking for a suitable pair of speakers to replace the JBL L26s I sold to make space for a pair of L96s that never materialized. Lo and behold! A pair of Tangent RS8s were available again on CAM. I arranged to audition them and brought my grandson with me. A really nice gentleman and fellow audio enthusiast had them, and we tested them. Everything was working well. We even compared them to a pair of Castle Conway IIs, which were blown away by the Tangents.
I decided to hook them up side by side with my Kef 105s. Now the Kef 105s are the best speakers alongside a pair of ESS AMT 1aMs i used to have that the Kefs replaced them with, but the tangents completely blew them away! It wasn't even a slight improvement, but a whole new level. Honestly, I didn't think they could be improved upon so much. On Saturday night, after my wife and I had been enjoying a bit of bubbly, I suggested to her that we sit down in the reference listening room and hear what they sound like. Right away, she loved them, and we spent hours listening to different music on them, and periodically switching back to the Kefs. She was completely taken by them! I suggested to her that maybe we could try them in place of the Kef Concerto's that she told me I can never get rid of. She agreed to my complete shock!
So last night, my stepson and I moved them into the new location. I had never been totally happy with the concertos matched with the MC2205. I thought they sounded better with my previous Kenwood Supreme 500. Well, the tangents totally killed it. They sound amazing being driven by the MC2205! The music is just so much more engaging, and when I played my audio test disk, it was clear these are going to stay. When Sade's Love is Found came on, it was like being back at the concert!
I've read everything I could find about the RS8s. Not very much. But one thing that stood out in the reviews I read were that they were a little bass shy, and that the tweeters blow quite easily. I didn't experience any of that. The bass on the Tangents is better than on the 105s. The bass is full and balanced and the tweeters sound light and airy, much like the ess's. I think I know why people found they were bass shy though. These are very inefficient speakers and need a good bit of power to sound their best. Based on the meters, I found them to be similar to the Kef 105s in power needs. I suspect many of the complaints about weak bass are because people weren't driving them with a compatible amplifier, and that the tweeters were blowing as a result of clipping.
Here are some pictures!
The top picture is in my reference system beside the Kef 105s. They are running through a Bose 4401 pre into a Bose 1801 power amp. One amp for the Kefs, one amp for the tangents, and I use the quad functionality in the 4401 to compare between the two sets.
The second picture is the McIntosh system. MC2205, C26, and MR74 with a B&O 4002 and CDX player. I've been told by the wife that it is now perfect. Please don't change anything.
Last week, I was looking for a suitable pair of speakers to replace the JBL L26s I sold to make space for a pair of L96s that never materialized. Lo and behold! A pair of Tangent RS8s were available again on CAM. I arranged to audition them and brought my grandson with me. A really nice gentleman and fellow audio enthusiast had them, and we tested them. Everything was working well. We even compared them to a pair of Castle Conway IIs, which were blown away by the Tangents.
I decided to hook them up side by side with my Kef 105s. Now the Kef 105s are the best speakers alongside a pair of ESS AMT 1aMs i used to have that the Kefs replaced them with, but the tangents completely blew them away! It wasn't even a slight improvement, but a whole new level. Honestly, I didn't think they could be improved upon so much. On Saturday night, after my wife and I had been enjoying a bit of bubbly, I suggested to her that we sit down in the reference listening room and hear what they sound like. Right away, she loved them, and we spent hours listening to different music on them, and periodically switching back to the Kefs. She was completely taken by them! I suggested to her that maybe we could try them in place of the Kef Concerto's that she told me I can never get rid of. She agreed to my complete shock!
So last night, my stepson and I moved them into the new location. I had never been totally happy with the concertos matched with the MC2205. I thought they sounded better with my previous Kenwood Supreme 500. Well, the tangents totally killed it. They sound amazing being driven by the MC2205! The music is just so much more engaging, and when I played my audio test disk, it was clear these are going to stay. When Sade's Love is Found came on, it was like being back at the concert!
I've read everything I could find about the RS8s. Not very much. But one thing that stood out in the reviews I read were that they were a little bass shy, and that the tweeters blow quite easily. I didn't experience any of that. The bass on the Tangents is better than on the 105s. The bass is full and balanced and the tweeters sound light and airy, much like the ess's. I think I know why people found they were bass shy though. These are very inefficient speakers and need a good bit of power to sound their best. Based on the meters, I found them to be similar to the Kef 105s in power needs. I suspect many of the complaints about weak bass are because people weren't driving them with a compatible amplifier, and that the tweeters were blowing as a result of clipping.
Here are some pictures!
The top picture is in my reference system beside the Kef 105s. They are running through a Bose 4401 pre into a Bose 1801 power amp. One amp for the Kefs, one amp for the tangents, and I use the quad functionality in the 4401 to compare between the two sets.
The second picture is the McIntosh system. MC2205, C26, and MR74 with a B&O 4002 and CDX player. I've been told by the wife that it is now perfect. Please don't change anything.
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