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Tangent TM1 speakers

S

say it as it is

pfm Member
ok hands up never heard of tangent but seem to use good quality kef drivers are they any good?

worth taking a punt i presume the crossovers will need refurbished?

just wondering if these will pair with old rotel or olive naim?
 
Oh, oh, oh, Mr. Cotter! I know, I know...

I liked Tangent loudspeakers, and their record deck was well cool, and their Lupus Princeps and Lupus Servus pre/power were positively odd.

TM1 are a mid-size stand mounter with B200 SP1014 and T27 SP1032 with a rather complex crossover (seen below). I'd have a pair in a heartbeat. My neighbour, the last 2 years of uni, had a pair of the smaller TM3 sealed box two-way which he didn't appreciate because they didn't go loud enough with his 50wpc Technics receiver. TM3 used the same drivers and crossover as TM1. Oddly, in between the two model designations were TM2, a large standmounter with B139 added on. There were other models that I am less familiar with. This fan site is a good place to start... http://www.thunders.ca/tangent/tangent.php

(credit: www.thunders.ca/tangent)
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The TM1 is a lovely speaker that can be bought at a very low price nowadays.
Bass is very deep, treble soft but detailed enough for its age and the midrange is a bit laidback, perfect for rock and blues music IMO.
Much much more listenable than many contemporary speakers according to me and worse case, you will be able to sell the same price you payed if ever you don’t like them.
Been listening to these for several years with a Sugden/Conoiseur turntable and A48 mkII integrated.
If it was for me, I would change the electrolytic caps for something as similar as possible and also the wiring inside the speakers.
Just make sure the tweeters are in good condition as this is the most delicate components while the woofers seem to be built to last 100 years !
 
Tangent TM1 and TM3 came closer to taming the bextrene "quack" than any other speaker using the KEF B200. TM1 was a poor man's BC-1, definitely worth a punt.

In that photo there are only two electrolytic capacitors (the black/red ones), the others should not need service.
 
There were also RS4s made by Tangent, with Audax bass/mids. & T27 tweeters.
How different they were, I don’t know.

A work colleague bought at pair of these Spendor BC1 size Tangents, but I can’t recall which model.
They sounded good, a little more ‘laid back’ than my BC1s.
 
The Popular HiFi/ Chris Frankland recommendation at the time was the Sugden A48II with Tangent RS4s
 
Chris said:
The Popular HiFi/ Chris Frankland recommendation at the time was the Sugden A48II with Tangent RS4s
Click to expand...

There’s a review of the RS6s in the first HiFi Choice loudspeaker book. They were not recommended and had a frequency response that looked like the Himalayas. I think this was due to Tangent deliberately wiring the drivers out of phase - something they also did with the smaller RS4.
 
Yank said:
Tangent TM1 and TM3 came closer to taming the bextrene "quack" than any other speaker using the KEF B200. TM1 was a poor man's BC-1, definitely worth a punt.

In that photo there are only two electrolytic capacitors (the black/red ones), the others should not need service.
Click to expand...

The B200 worked well in the Celef Monitors.
I recently refurbished a pair ( new tweeters required ) and I was surprised how good the midrange was.
Not up to my BC1s, but more than acceptable.
 
I used the TM1 for 20 years with a Nytech amp. Sounded great. Bass could get a little plummy, but that might be helped by more powerful amps.
 
HiFi Choice 1976 speaker book review of the big floorstanding Tangent RS6.

Gets a bit of a pasting but I don't always agree with the reviews! Many well-loved speakers "absolutely cannot be recommended" etc etc. Measurements generally don't lie, but I also wonder how the taste public has changed over 4 decades as to what constitutes good sound.
Also bloody hell it's shockingly hard to drive according to this?
Anyway here it is:



by
 
I had some RS4 here for a bit and really liked them. Slightly sucked out in the mid range iirc but gave a great spacious sound.
 
Still a pair of RS4's here and a pair of the RS2's, both pretty good. I think the RS2's have been described as "LS3/5a's with bass".
 
There’s a pair of TM1s on eBay in good condition, but fitted with a Kef DN13 SP1015 crossovers.
I have always fancied buying a pair to listen to, as they were something of a competitor /alternative to the
Spendor BC1.
I wonder why the Chorale crossovers were fitted.
Someone experimenting, possibly.
 
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I always associate Tangent and RAM speakers together... maybe because they were rivals with similar products at the time. I recall being quite shocked that these two companies went bust as they were major players in the UK market back in the early 80's.

I'd avoid those ones with KEF crossovers unless they are VERY cheap and the drive units are known to be original and in good order. I would then build some new crossovers to the original design as above.
 
Could be an interesting project, if not too expensive ( as Arkless said ) and drivers in good condition.
They look OK on the eBay pics.
 
VanDerGraaf said:
HiFi Choice 1976 speaker book review of the big floorstanding Tangent RS6.

Gets a bit of a pasting but I don't always agree with the reviews! Many well-loved speakers "absolutely cannot be recommended" etc etc. Measurements generally don't lie, but I also wonder how the taste public has changed over 4 decades as to what constitutes good sound.
Also bloody hell it's shockingly hard to drive according to this?
Anyway here it is:



by
Click to expand...
From memory, I believe this version of the RS6 was quickly changed after this review. Same cabinet and retaining the T27 but replacing the Kef B110 and Kef B200 with a couple of those Audax bass/ mid drivers per cabinet, similar to those used in the RS2 and RS4.
 
Just build new crossover with basic opponents with point to point soldering. This will be cheap and good enough. You may fall in love with these speakers !
 
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