Yes, Thank You, from me, as well.
Tangent Acoustics - ???
- Thread starter lungin
- Start date
or do a search on, say, "Speakers" and about 4 or 5 entries are listed.
Tangent
Sweet nightmares!
They are original Tangent RS4 speaker boxes but the tweeters do not look like the KEF T-27. Note the original face plate - the retangular tab in gold, with "tangent" on it. The RS series had wood along the bottom of the front of the speaker which was velcroed on like the speaker cloth. The TM series did not have this wood along the bottom.
And they went for $6.00.....
And they went for $6.00.....
Tangent
Sweet nightmares!
Greensleeves
New Member
Tangent Acoustics - The Glory Days
I guess I have lots of inside info on Tangent, having worked for the CDN distributor which started off as Sound Physics Labs based on Carlton street in Toronto, sharing office space at a lawyer's who was also a principal of the company. The more observant will note that the SPL-1 was a bookshelf sized speaker bearing the the initials of the dist. It has a soft dome tweeter and a heavily doped mid/bass. They were a sweet little number done out in walnut or teak veneer. I was with SPL as it morphed into Tangent Marketing Int'l, with Pat D. as the maniac at large and Jeff S. as a salesperson. I wore quite a number of hats during my tenure of about three years or so as Tangent swept the audio scene off its feet - then off its very own. I was in fact there at the bitter end when the CDN distributor cut the cord.
There are many things to tell about Tangent and the audioscene from inside out, but suffice to say that megalomania on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean caused a huge about of money to be sacrificed to egos...who needs a Ferrari in England or a 450SL which reminded me of a Tiger tank with a chop and channel job. (by the way I was driving a frantically disheveled 1965 Morris Minor at the time - all engine, little brakes).
john Greenbank, designer of Tangents had a remarkable acoustic pedigree, and could create the most brilliant of loudspeakers. It was all about imaging.
The TM3 was a pretty bulletproof speaker mine still can crank it out 25 years down the line, be it with aCrown D60B, Lecson AP3, or my Nak integrated.
The RS2 proved that a different enclosure and baffle could create a more refined sound using the same crossover and slightly different drivers. The pyramidal RS8, though plagued with crossover and QC problems was astounding at the time - but like a Jaguar XJ12 it was very high maintanance. We had a pair of them done out in Ebony stained veneer in the condo.
The downfall of any world-beater is usually the same formula: Go as far as you can then take another big step into the unknown. The Tangent electronics line were supposed to ensure audio dominance in the global sense. The names were catchy (I contributed some Latin) and the amp and pre-amp (slave and master) were quite exceptional. A friend has a set to this day which perform dependently. The turntable, Lupus Circus (circus wolf) was another bag of snakes altogether. By the time they reached North America in the fantasticaly inadequate packaging (albeit in a sea-container, or air igloo) they were difficult to resucitate and many died on my workbench.
A last sidebar before I go would be to point out to the unaware that Greenbank was on the design team which designed the Lecson amp and pre-amp which were choked with design awards. A look at the Tangent electronics will confirm.
I own two of the originals.
now, as I used to say - off on a Tangent
Greensleeves
I guess I have lots of inside info on Tangent, having worked for the CDN distributor which started off as Sound Physics Labs based on Carlton street in Toronto, sharing office space at a lawyer's who was also a principal of the company. The more observant will note that the SPL-1 was a bookshelf sized speaker bearing the the initials of the dist. It has a soft dome tweeter and a heavily doped mid/bass. They were a sweet little number done out in walnut or teak veneer. I was with SPL as it morphed into Tangent Marketing Int'l, with Pat D. as the maniac at large and Jeff S. as a salesperson. I wore quite a number of hats during my tenure of about three years or so as Tangent swept the audio scene off its feet - then off its very own. I was in fact there at the bitter end when the CDN distributor cut the cord.
There are many things to tell about Tangent and the audioscene from inside out, but suffice to say that megalomania on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean caused a huge about of money to be sacrificed to egos...who needs a Ferrari in England or a 450SL which reminded me of a Tiger tank with a chop and channel job. (by the way I was driving a frantically disheveled 1965 Morris Minor at the time - all engine, little brakes).
john Greenbank, designer of Tangents had a remarkable acoustic pedigree, and could create the most brilliant of loudspeakers. It was all about imaging.
The TM3 was a pretty bulletproof speaker mine still can crank it out 25 years down the line, be it with aCrown D60B, Lecson AP3, or my Nak integrated.
The RS2 proved that a different enclosure and baffle could create a more refined sound using the same crossover and slightly different drivers. The pyramidal RS8, though plagued with crossover and QC problems was astounding at the time - but like a Jaguar XJ12 it was very high maintanance. We had a pair of them done out in Ebony stained veneer in the condo.
The downfall of any world-beater is usually the same formula: Go as far as you can then take another big step into the unknown. The Tangent electronics line were supposed to ensure audio dominance in the global sense. The names were catchy (I contributed some Latin) and the amp and pre-amp (slave and master) were quite exceptional. A friend has a set to this day which perform dependently. The turntable, Lupus Circus (circus wolf) was another bag of snakes altogether. By the time they reached North America in the fantasticaly inadequate packaging (albeit in a sea-container, or air igloo) they were difficult to resucitate and many died on my workbench.
A last sidebar before I go would be to point out to the unaware that Greenbank was on the design team which designed the Lecson amp and pre-amp which were choked with design awards. A look at the Tangent electronics will confirm.
I own two of the originals.
now, as I used to say - off on a Tangent
Greensleeves
.
GaryP said:
Now THERE is a great first post!
Thanks for that, and Welcome to AK!
Thanks for that, and Welcome to AK!
Hey Mech986: When you are going through the HiFi Answers, can you keep an eye out for a review about the Connoisseur SAU 4 arm? There is some interest in this oddball and shortlived arm over at VinylEngine, and I remember a review in HiFi Answers or maybe Practical HiFi, but no longer have any issues to look at myself (sob!). Thanks
Greensleeves
New Member
Sine, Cosine, Tangent.....
Thanks for the welcome guys...
Being as I am an old audio dog I wonder if this whole picture of audio from the inside out beginning for me in about 1964 is of interest. So to keep things simple I propose this; I'll just list a series of topics, and if anyone bytes, I will expound.
Lemme see now...
The two transistor radio
The ten transistor Standard am/fm/sw radio
Eaton's Viking Stereophonic turntable with detachable speaker
Clairtone Canada and the Project G
Clairtone T-10 SH chassis, coupled with a set of RSC speakers, a pre-amp, a home built noise filter, remote to my bedroom via intercom, and a Dual platenwurpher with a Shure Cartridge on springs to impede skipping on ocean liners, e.g.
The list goes on, but I have to stop now and go home. Please indicate your interest. I will add to the list as we go.
Happy Tunes, happy days,
Greensleeves
Thanks for the welcome guys...
Being as I am an old audio dog I wonder if this whole picture of audio from the inside out beginning for me in about 1964 is of interest. So to keep things simple I propose this; I'll just list a series of topics, and if anyone bytes, I will expound.
Lemme see now...
The two transistor radio
The ten transistor Standard am/fm/sw radio
Eaton's Viking Stereophonic turntable with detachable speaker
Clairtone Canada and the Project G
Clairtone T-10 SH chassis, coupled with a set of RSC speakers, a pre-amp, a home built noise filter, remote to my bedroom via intercom, and a Dual platenwurpher with a Shure Cartridge on springs to impede skipping on ocean liners, e.g.
The list goes on, but I have to stop now and go home. Please indicate your interest. I will add to the list as we go.
Happy Tunes, happy days,
Greensleeves
Greensleeves
New Member
Sine, Cosine, Tangent.....
Thanks for the welcome guys...
Being as I am an old audio dog I wonder if this whole picture of audio from the inside out beginning for me in about 1964 is of interest. So to keep things simple I propose this; I'll just list a series of topics, and if anyone bytes, I will expound.
Lemme see now...
The two transistor radio
The ten transistor Standard am/fm/sw radio
Eaton's Viking Stereophonic turntable with detachable speaker
Clairtone Canada and the Project G
Clairtone T-10 SH chassis, coupled with a set of RSC speakers, a pre-amp, a home built noise filter, remote to my bedroom via intercom, and a Dual platenwurpher with a Shure Cartridge on springs to impede skipping on ocean liners, e.g.
The list goes on, but I have to stop now and go home. Please indicate your interest. I will add to the list as we go.
Happy Tunes, happy days,
Greensleeves
Thanks for the welcome guys...
Being as I am an old audio dog I wonder if this whole picture of audio from the inside out beginning for me in about 1964 is of interest. So to keep things simple I propose this; I'll just list a series of topics, and if anyone bytes, I will expound.
Lemme see now...
The two transistor radio
The ten transistor Standard am/fm/sw radio
Eaton's Viking Stereophonic turntable with detachable speaker
Clairtone Canada and the Project G
Clairtone T-10 SH chassis, coupled with a set of RSC speakers, a pre-amp, a home built noise filter, remote to my bedroom via intercom, and a Dual platenwurpher with a Shure Cartridge on springs to impede skipping on ocean liners, e.g.
The list goes on, but I have to stop now and go home. Please indicate your interest. I will add to the list as we go.
Happy Tunes, happy days,
Greensleeves
Tone Depth
New Member
Tangent
Sweet nightmares!
Hi, Tone Depth! Glad to see another (high class, discerning) music lover here. 
Love those Tangents....
There are no equivalent drivers available. Heck, even the tweeter is pretty hard to find! Keep searching around locally to see if you can find used pairs for parts.
I don't know where you are located but in Toronto there is a repair place on Queen Street called Ring that used to make their own speakers using Audex drivers and KEF T-27 tweeters. Sometimes they have broken speakers flow through their shop.
My wife blew a driver in my RS6 speakers by playing loud music using a 40W amp. Be careful with them!!!!!
Hope this helps...
Love those Tangents....
There are no equivalent drivers available. Heck, even the tweeter is pretty hard to find! Keep searching around locally to see if you can find used pairs for parts.
I don't know where you are located but in Toronto there is a repair place on Queen Street called Ring that used to make their own speakers using Audex drivers and KEF T-27 tweeters. Sometimes they have broken speakers flow through their shop.
My wife blew a driver in my RS6 speakers by playing loud music using a 40W amp. Be careful with them!!!!!
Hope this helps...
monteverdi
New Member
The UK range of Tangent speakers
I designed ALL the speakers made by Tangent Acoustics Ltd between 1974 and 1979. When the company collapsed I briefly manufactured speakers branded Beam, but then returned to teaching mathematics and physics.
Now I live in happy-but-hectic retirement in the peaceful county of Dorset.
Unfortunately, there is little that can be done for defective Tangent speakers, unless the exact same driver types can be found. Crossovers can be precisely rebuilt of course, but only if charred remains can be identified!
I am re-emerging because I have been quite touched by comments I have read, and because I might still be able to give some helpful advice and clarification. For example, I noticed in a different thread comment about the sound of the RS2 and RS4 being like the BBC LS3/5A. There is a very good reason for this!
I am, for myself, currently finishing off a pair of corner horns, very much like those I designed for Wireless World in 1970 and 1972, but now using Behringer Ultragraph Pro equalisers and class-D amplification.
I designed ALL the speakers made by Tangent Acoustics Ltd between 1974 and 1979. When the company collapsed I briefly manufactured speakers branded Beam, but then returned to teaching mathematics and physics.
Now I live in happy-but-hectic retirement in the peaceful county of Dorset.
Unfortunately, there is little that can be done for defective Tangent speakers, unless the exact same driver types can be found. Crossovers can be precisely rebuilt of course, but only if charred remains can be identified!
I am re-emerging because I have been quite touched by comments I have read, and because I might still be able to give some helpful advice and clarification. For example, I noticed in a different thread comment about the sound of the RS2 and RS4 being like the BBC LS3/5A. There is a very good reason for this!
I am, for myself, currently finishing off a pair of corner horns, very much like those I designed for Wireless World in 1970 and 1972, but now using Behringer Ultragraph Pro equalisers and class-D amplification.
Hello Monteverdi (reference to the car?) and Welcome to AK!
Perchance, you might be the answer to this part of the post above by Greensleeves?
"John Greenbank, designer of Tangents had a remarkable acoustic pedigree, and could create the most brilliant of loudspeakers. It was all about imaging."
Having never owned or even seen Tangents other than in UK audio magazines of the day and current internet photos and descriptions, it does appear that your primary driver suppliers were KEF, Audax, and possibly Dalesford? During the mid and late 70's, they certainly were supplying many great British companies and to good effect! Both the KEF T27 hard dome and Audax HD100D25 (or similar depending on mounting plate) silk fabric dome seemed to be your top end while mostly Bextrene coned bass-mids from either company were the basis of your designs. I myself built the Tabor from Badger Sound/Falcon Acoustics DIY design which used the Audax HD20B25H4C9/HD12-9D25 so a passing resemblence.
It appears you used a BBC thin wall approach to your cabinets at that time as well?
Thank you for coming by and hope to hear more of your recollections of the time. I am the moderator of the Yahoo! LS3/5a worldwide newsgroup and am in contact with the sons of Maurice Whatton (from BBC Designs Dept.) and Malcom Sced (Of Rogers Developments and Rogers Swisstone), contemporaries of yours.
Perhaps we can get Greensleeves to return to add more information to the Tangent story as well.
A nice information and photo resource can be found here:
http://www.thunders.ca/tangent/tangent.php
Regards,
Bart
Tangent Acoustics
Hi
I am a newbie to Audiokharma.
Great site. Thank you.
I have the Tangent Acoutics(UK) TM1's and the matching amp and preamp ( serial numbers 0055 and 0099.)
I am amazed at the sound of this system. It caused quite a stir at the store when it was traded in.
I have heard the RS4's sound more refined, than the TM1's.
The cabnets appear to be identical except for thinner walls and the audax driver of course.(crossover unknown)
I wonder if the TM1's would benefit from a cabnet rebuild using the same box dimensions, crossover, drivers and front baffle, but thinner walls, like the RS4's.
Any oppinions?
Steve
Hi
I am a newbie to Audiokharma.
Great site. Thank you.
I have the Tangent Acoutics(UK) TM1's and the matching amp and preamp ( serial numbers 0055 and 0099.)
I am amazed at the sound of this system. It caused quite a stir at the store when it was traded in.
I have heard the RS4's sound more refined, than the TM1's.
The cabnets appear to be identical except for thinner walls and the audax driver of course.(crossover unknown)
I wonder if the TM1's would benefit from a cabnet rebuild using the same box dimensions, crossover, drivers and front baffle, but thinner walls, like the RS4's.
Any oppinions?
Steve