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TDL Studio 4

The deeper I dig, the more issues I find. I have taken one of the HF units out. Was expecting an Elac 25DT. But instead I have a 6Ω Vifa unit in my hand (D25AG-67-06). Which I very much doubt was the original spec. A possible reason why the original crossovers were abandoned?

I'm starting to think this might not be a go-er (returning them to original spec) as there's too much to do and there are so few sources of info, especially now it turns out they are an even less common model. Maybe I should just enjoy them for what they are - they do sound great since I've been Bi-amping them, and despite the disgraceful soldering, whoever put together these crossovers had some idea of what they were doing.

I didn't get a chance to call Lockwood during office hours Si, but I have emailed and will let you know what they come back with.

You mentioned you might be considering moving yours on? (did I read that right?) If you ever do take that decision, pm me - they would find a good home here if the logistics worked out.
 
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Dan, is that Vifa tweeter a metal dome? They did make metal dome ( aluminium ) tweeters. I did a quick search for Vifa drivers and I spotted an aluminium cone midrange with six hole fitting and cast basket that looked very similar to that in your TDL Studio M. Have you removed a mid range unit yet? That might just be a Vifa unit too.

Yes I might consider moving my TDLs on. I've had them a long time and I've never seriously thought of parting with them until recently. They are part of a second system which doesn't get much use though I'm still quite attached to them.
 
davidsrsb said:
Also interesting https://www.stereophile.com/content/tdl-studio-1-loudspeaker
Skip forwards to the measurements page and observe the double impedance bump at 20Hz and 50Hz, which is a sign of a reflex port.
My T-Lines measure more like a transmission line should.
Wasn't it Gilbert Briggs who said impedance tells you the truth?
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I sold on my pair of Studio 1s fairly quickly. Once the short term bass impressiveness wears off, you realise that it can't actually play in time. rapidly becomes annoying.
 
Chops54 said:
Dan, is that Vifa tweeter a metal dome? They did make metal dome ( aluminium ) tweeters. I did a quick search for Vifa drivers and I spotted an aluminium cone midrange with six hole fitting and cast basket that looked very similar to that in your TDL Studio M. Have you removed a mid range unit yet? That might just be a Vifa unit too.

Yes I might consider moving my TDLs on. I've had them a long time and I've never seriously thought of parting with them until recently. They are part of a second system which doesn't get much use though I'm still quite attached to them.
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Hi Si,
Yes the Vifa tweeter is a metal dome. Interesting what you say about the aluminium Vifa mid range units, I will look into that - I had always assumed that all TDL drivers were Elac as they were essentially the same company - but maybe there was a gap between the separation of TDL and Elac and the eventual buyout by the Richer Sounds group which left TDL looking for alternative suppliers?

However, it just occurred to me - there is a striking resemblance between the midrange units on these and the metal bass/mid driver on my 0.75m. Don't know why it hadn't occurred to me before. I took one out and the casting for the chassis is identical, the magnet assembly looks identical - The shape of the cone differs slightly, and the surround is a bit more heavy duty on the bass driver from the 0.75m, no doubt it needs to allow greater excursions. There's no manufacturer names on the chassis of this either, but it does say - "5 DC 04" - which is listed on the ELAC/IMF/TDL DRIVE UNIT DATASHEET on the Falcon Acoustics site, so I'm thinking that both must be Elac units.
 
I have a vague memory that there was a fire at the Elac factory at one point, that affected TDL assembly.

NeilR said:
I sold on my pair of Studio 1s fairly quickly. Once the short term bass impressiveness wears off, you realise that it can't actually play in time. rapidly becomes annoying.
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Impedance shows this model is really a high Q reflex with the dreaded showroom friendly bass hump, which means that you have lost the main reason for owning a TDL or IMF
 
davidsrsb said:
The bass circuit doesn't have any way to drop output unless the DCR is unusually high.
Are all your driver original?
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Perhaps the bass is working just fine, but the mids and highs are lacking some attenuation that would normally be present?
 
Quite likely, The schematic, posted for the Studio 4, which is not the same model as this one, has series resistors on both mid and tweeter drivers.
 
I don't know anything about a fire at the Elac factory but it's not beyond the realms of impossibility that Elac bought in some drive units from another manufacturer at some time for whatever reason.
 
I've just had another look the Studio Monitor and Reference speakers on the cover of the brochure and they both have three bolts in the centre of the tweeter and the face plate looks plain. The Elac tweeter had four bolts surrounding the dome and the name TDL embossed in the front plate. So maybe these two models had some drivers from a different manufacturer. By the way the 'M' stands for metal if we guessed that already.
 
Chops54 said:
I've just had another look the Studio Monitor and Reference speakers on the cover of the brochure and they both have three bolts in the centre of the tweeter and the face plate looks plain. The Elac tweeter had four bolts surrounding the dome and the name TDL embossed in the front plate. So maybe these two models had some drivers from a different manufacturer. By the way the 'M' stands for metal if we guessed that already.
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Its very possible, but the later Elac 25DT, like the ones in my 0.75m and on the studio 1m did have three bolts around the dome. But, as you say, they still had the TDL logo embossed on the plate.
 
SubsonicDan said:
Its very possible, but the later Elac 25DT, like the ones in my 0.75m and on the studio 1m did have three bolts around the dome. But, as you say, they still had the TDL logo embossed on the plate.
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The T-Line 3 has a 25mm Elac sourced and TDL marked tweeter with 3 screws around the dome too. This one of the last models before John Wrights death
 
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