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TDL Studio 1

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df_genius

Solder slinger
I've just got these home after collecting them. They are a little scratched but not bad for circa 17 years. So far I am very impressed, they don't have the bass depth or clarity of my Kef Reference 2's but they're not far behind. They so seem a little more laid-back and I can't wait to get them in the 2nd system.

Seeing as theres a decent thread on improving the RTL speakers, any thoughts for these? At the top of my list is an internal re-wire and bypass caps.
 
Excellent speakers that really let music breath and give it some substance.
Best with a taut, meaty amp and in free space.

TBH there is very little to improve - solidly constructed cabinets, good drivers and crossovers.
They are better built than the cheaper RTL range which were designed to bring some of the Studio range qualities down to a lower price point.

I have good memories of them in a large room driven by an LP12, Cyrus 2/PSX.
 
I'm using them in my 2nd system in a 12x10 room and they don't boom at all, currently using my upgraded Crimson power amp but will either be an NCC200 power amp or an upgraded Exposure IV in a couple of months time. I'm very impressed by the bass, uncoloured and just seems to relay excatly whats on the recording. I thought these would be more like my old Castle harlechs (which are a similar design), in that they have plenty of scale but the bass slow and "one-note" in nature. They aren't like that at all.

I paid £150 for them, which I'm very pleased with as I have seen a pair of RTL's go for £140 on ebay.
 
I loved the Studio 1 in both its versions (and the earlier Rogers BBC derived model, but that's a different box altogether...:))

There used to be plinths/low stands available for them and I found both models liked being lifted a little to get the bass unit at ear level (the "1" has the metal dome tweet underneath the bass unit as I recall). Apart from a little "TDL Sparkle" in the non-"M" model there's nothing I can criticise, the speaker going quite loud and the small line extending the bass neatly in the manner of a Spendor S6 series (its spiritual successor)

The later "M" version is worth checking out as it's a little smoother in the treble (twenty years may have mellowed the original tweeter though). We sold quite a few in Harpenden, but the apathy elsewhere in other dealerships eventually killed it off, as cabinet batches had to be ordered up in quantity.

A forgotten classic IMO.

The more expensive and very much larger three way TL wasn't as even in the bass and the 0.75 not suitable for big orchestras or loud rock - the little bass unit going open circuit through stress even if it didn't pop the coil formers.....

As I said, the Spendor S6 and S8 ("E" or otherwise...) is where the Studio 1 would be today. Full yet articulate bass that ELA's haven't heard of, natural mid and pleasant top end. Lovely!

Lest any of you think I'm always taking a pop at Rega speakers, may I suggest any enterprising souls to take a gander at any NAOS speakers that come up. They sounded SUPERB if you found the Spendor/TDL balance a bit "sleepy" in your room. Grown up ELA's and then some.........:D
 
Hmm.

I'll post more later, but unless they produced different versions of the Studio 1, they aren't the same bass drivers as my old TDL studio 1 speakers (bought new c1991 and currently residing in my brothers system) and the tweeter should be mounted flush with a mesh grill covering them.

Does anyone knows if they updated the studio 1 with different bass drivers?
 
I could be wrong, but they look like very passable mk1's to me. The tweeter mesh was removable (was it there on mk1's?) and better without it, if very fragile. You've got the little metal plinths too, which is good.

P.S. Love the Nakamichi cassette deck - of all the Nak cassette decks I've ever owned, the 682ZX was the one I should have kept.
 
The drive units seem to match the pictures in the brochure on hifi engine, and the back of the magnet is also covered in bitumen. They certainly don't sound like a pair of hash-ups...
 
Remember the KEF Reference series was almost "money no object" in original drive unit design. The TDL drivers were, IIRC, the work of one man (mostly) - a lovely chap named Clive Gibson, who was the sort to explain simply what his drivers did, what they didn't do and how to get round it. Another db at 1KHZ? Change the coil from this to that and maybe change this resistor here from that to this etc.

Clive went on to make some of the best metal cone drivers I've heard and co-founded the well respected Musical Technology speaker brand, which was more a labour of love than a profit making business sadly. I find metal cone drivers a bit of a compromise - when they let go, they go big time, calling for complex crossover filtering to limit the damage - but the later Studio 1M sounded very warm and smooth toned and if it wasn't for a pair of MT Harrier SE's finding their way into our home just after we married, we'd have had some 1M's definitely, as my wife liked the clean and simple visuals.
 
DJSR, thanks for all the info, very informative. I was originally on the lookout for some Reference 103/3's for the 2nd system, but then these came along and I'm very happy with them. I doubt I could have got a better speaker for the money and they get suprisingly close to the KEFs in my main system in many areas. I will be keeping them for a while!
 
How does the TDL Studio 1 compare with the Studio 3?

How much should a pair of Studio 3 cost & are they any good?
 
I have to say I'm a little surprised by the wealth of positive comments. I was running a DPA DAC/PM-64II/TDl Studio 1's and found the tweeter (albeit the version with a grill) "fizzed" and "tisssssed" too much to be enjoyable. When my (seemingly irreplaceable) Rogers LS6s were connected in their stead, there was no going back.
 
Stu,

I've been polite and not said what I think about the studio 1s! You are right about the tweeter and the slow, plodding bass wasn't the best either. They were quite room dependent though, so maybe i just used them in bad rooms. I never got on with them.

My brother still uses my old pair and he seems happy enough with them.
 
The original ones did sparkle a little, but this is nothing compared to the out of control chrome plated ssssssssccccchhhhhmmmmuuuuukkkkk exhibited by the awful undamped scan-squeak tweeter used by Naim, Rega and Linn early on (sheep, the lot of 'em I tell ya ;)). String tone often needs just a little "tinsel" in the tweeter to sound correct at home - the LS3/5A relies on it.....

Ploddy bass? You guys wouldn't know bass even if it pummelled you in the stomach! :)

If the Studio 1's were used with plinths, a decent amp with some control (no, not really Naim in this instance) then the bass could be extended and quite expressive. We sold ours with AVI, Audiolab and Myryad amps at the time and we were very careful about the speaker cables suggested - Flatline when it was marketed by Chord and Rumour afterwards for example...
 
NeilR said:
Stu,

I've been polite and not said what I think about the studio 1s! You are right about the tweeter and the slow, plodding bass wasn't the best either. They were quite room dependent though, so maybe i just used them in bad rooms. I never got on with them.

My brother still uses my old pair and he seems happy enough with them.
Click to expand...

I must admit that while listening to the Studio 1s a thought kept recurring - I bet these would sound great in an appropriately damped room, such as a library/study.
 
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