Any experience with TAD 125 Hibachi Monoblock amps

Timothy Smith

Has anyone tried TAD "Hibachi" 125 monoblock amplifiers?

They sorta look like "plate amps" bolted to small BBQ cookers (maybe that is basically what they are?)

They get mostly great reviews.

Just curious if anyone has tried, seen, or heard them before.

Thanks!

Timothy Smith

Nuffin? I guess I pick some pretty weird equipment.

Wardsweb

Yep, look like plate amps in pretty piano black boxes.

polkfarmboy

I would go for something you know is gona be good with a ton of reviews.

ZLTFUL

polkfarmboy wrote: »

I would go for something you know is gona be good with a ton of reviews.

And I agree up to a point but there is some VERY good VERY underrated gear out there that never made a huge commercial impact but still made solid impact with the industry.
There are also those designs that never had the financial backing to really go anywhere that was bought up by another manufacturer and brought to market.

Just saying that you can't overlook something and assume it is inherently bad simply due to a lack of reviews. I am more likely to take a risk on a product with little or no reviews at all than something with a huge number of so so reviews.

Case in point, Stereoknight's Silverstone Passive pre could have very well been the benchmark of the transformer/magnetic pre market had it had enough financial backing behind it...instead, it fell by the wayside when the company fell upon hard times. A beautiful (both aesthetically and acoustically) piece of gear that never really got its chance to shine.




TLDR; Don't let a lack of reviews dissuade you. Let your own ears decide as even with good reviews, you may find something that *you* didn't like about a piece of gear.

SCompRacer

Paul Grzybek of Bizzy Bee Audio fame was the guy behind the TAD products. I owned a pair of his TAD-60’s and TAD-1000 mono blocks. He lived close by in Wheaton and I used to pick them up from him. He was a great guy and was all about good sounding audio at a value price. He would buy them from a Chinese company and modify/change parts as he said they sounded awful in delivered form. That factory was destroyed in an earthquake and never rebuilt. He had some neat sounding speakers too.

We even shared some meals at that restaurant in Geneva I can’t recall the name of. (Owner/chef died, long closed). They had a grand piano in there and Pat Barber would be there at times getting a meal and tickling the keys on it.

Sadly Paul passed away March 20 in 2012. Just three days after his 48th birthday. Too young. So the thing you have to be concerned of is service. I’ve seen schematics for the TAD-60’s posted, but unsure of his other products. Most techs won’t touch gear without a schematic to guide them. If you can pick them up inexpensively and think of them as disposable, go for it.

SCompRacer

Here is the TAD 60 thread started by fredv. Me and my best bud Normanality (RIP) chime in later.

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/41671/first-2-hours-of-tad-60

I had said on page two…

"I can't say they (TAd 1000's) are a McAlister killer sonically, but they do have tremendous bass with haunting imagery. I may have to brace my Silver Amazing’s. Detail, dynamics, timbre, ambiance, soundstage are all improved with only 18 hours on them. Soprano vocals and Oboes are silky smooth. I haven't tried any of the options (feedback control, Triode mode), they are in UL mode. $1525 with tax made them a fantastic deal. The outer box was a bit rough on one, but I'm still trying to find the dents. In regards to appearance, build quality, features, (and of late, service), they whup McAlister.

I tried SET mode with my TAD-1000 monos on the Silver's (88dB efficiency) and lost more than I gained. Great vocals, but dynamics took a big hit. I am burning in new MIT speaker cables so I'll eventually try it again."

McALister tube amps used a TV tube with custom hand wound trannies. Great sound but build quality was like crude diy. Also shipping damage due to poor packing, maybe you got exactly what you ordered binding post wise, etc.

Some old pics..



McAlister pp150 less power supply. A face only a mother could love...lol But they did perform!



TAD 1000's



Lit up...