TAD TSM-2201 TSM-300 RadioShack Maximus 7

Click pics to enlarge. Left, stacked TAD-TSM-2201, but only the bottom was heard (Ed: from own experience, cannot speak for stacked pair; but for just a pair horizontal placement sounds better, preferably with stock supplied cushions; see links below; just as his previous TAD TSM-300).  Radioshack Maximus 7 in front. Right, from top, Audion SE Amp, not heard; "Raven" amplifier; side of US expensive TVC; and foreground Rayaudio CDP.

Letter from Hong Kong (22-8): ELO Unearths some Unusual Items! Some of Questionable Provenance?

Errata Sept 19,2022 Earlier confusion of the Radio Shack model name corrected.

Editor: ELO casually and innocently tossed some morsels my way on social media, without much detail, but they turned out to be highly interesting to me at least, and we decided to publish them. And so, please excuse me, my comments are long. These visits also serve to illustrate that HK is likely the capital of audiophiledom. It’s really insane, everywhere you look, there are unexpected things, from all eras and all corners of the world.

My old schoolmate Dr Lo recently moved and his listening room size has increased. With a lot of recent upgrades from Rayaudio, it was time for a re-visit (Editor: in fact, even ELO may have forgotten; he wrote about Dr Lo's previous abode here, and one can see some of the gear that have remained).

The source comprised Rayaudio CDP (widely acclaimed in Japan), plus CAS using Macbook powered by dedicated LPS built by Rayaudio (with signal isolation transformers). Still no Streaming though. These were fed to an expensive US made passive preamp (Editor: Footnote 1) and amp made by “Raven”, a label with a cult following in HK (Ed: Footnote 2). TAD (Ed: Footnote 3) and the tiny RadioShack loudspeakers (Ed: Footnote 4) were played. While I was amazed by the soundstage and imaging cast by the tiny speakers, I much preferred the TAD going solo (not able to hear the stacked pair). TAD simply fleshed out the sound while the tiny RadioShack’s sounded congested and compressed when music got complicated.

The same night, we compared my newly acquired “Studer” cable (as recommended by Kwong)(Ed: Footnote 5) to his silver custom-made interconnect. Overall, by using different PS, isolation transformers and CDP his system had vastly improved since last time. The sound was very musical, with superb imaging and timber, and one could listen for a long period of time without fatigue. The difference between two cables was obvious yet there was no better or worse. The silver cable had more air, details and microdynamics, while the “Studer” had more body in the mid’s and low’s, plus more sustain of music notes - more musical IMHO.

I also lent my icOn4 to him for trial and played the devil in offering to bring my Dynaudio Crafft to his place!

Editor’s Footnotes: 1) This doesn’t look like those that I know of. If readers can tell from the pics what it is, kindly please post a comment; 2) This is NOT the Korean designed, Texas made, Stereophile reviewed Raven Audio, not to say Raven Guitar amps. This was something sold by Elite Audio of HK. But the eccentric and secretive owner of Elite (a maverick that many swear by) never revealed much about it. I don’t like things of uncertain provenance. In a way, it gained fame after someone (R33 moniker 7308) used it to peer acclaim in driving the same TAD loudspeaker. Some HK readers may know more about this than I do; if so, I’d appreciate a comment if you do. Elite was also UK Audion dealer at the time, so note that the faceplate of the “Raven” looks, except for color, highly similar to that of the Audion amp above. Even the knobs and screws to the faceplates are the same! Intriguing? Also, this particular unit has the "preamp" section bypassed to be used with the owner's TVC "preamp". 3) This is the TAD 2201-LR (atypical for the company and quite a teaser) that I used to own; it’s likely rare in the West - for more info, refer to here and here; Also, imho these, like the previous TSM-300, sound better placed horizontal, monitor like. 4) The RadioShack’s look like the vintage Maximus 7, which is famous and infamous at the same time (many iterations) and on the fringe of audiophilia. You can google better than I can behind the great firewall. Also, in case you are interested in RadioShack, I urge you to read also the Stereophile review of Optimus Pro LX5 (that’s one reason why I like this magazine). These are fun for us old-timers; 5) I could be wrong, but I am highly skeptical of this so-called “Studer” branding. The sellers in China claimed it’s NOS and delivered from Germany. I’m instigating a little bit of detective work. I have loaded a pic and Readers who know please comment on the provenance. Mind you, I have a “Belden 1309” cable here that I think is suspect (but it sounds great) and ELO and I are going to do a ?provenance cable article together down the road.

Below 2 pics. US expensive TVC. If u know what it is, please leave a comment.

Below, back of "Raven"

ELO on his trip to Montreal had what is reputedly to be the best Pastrami Sandwich. I'm drooling.