Tidal Speakers owners

Any Tidalists considering moving to the new G2 versions of the models they currently own? G2 versions of the Piano series should follow the Contriva G2 late/r this year.

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Mike, it sounds like you are speaking of bloom in terms of macrodynamics and in that case the Piano Cera is very, very fine indeed. It will keep up with just about any conventional cone/dome speaker. It may not be the last word compared to a horn, or it may not have the slam factor of a Wilson. However within its power envelope, and even at background levels it sounds quite wonderful and lively.

Having had about three weeks with the Piano Cera, and having owner several other fine loudspeakers (e.g., Avalon, Acoustic Energy, AudioMachina), I can tell you that is absolutely NOT my experiece with Tidal. The image size seems very true, neither shrunken nor bloated as one might here from a large panel/line source. In fact, it reminds me somewhat of the image size of an Acapella horn system, albeit adjusted for the size of my small listening room (11 x 14). I can only imagine what it would image like in a larger room. Now about the body thing, I think lack of body is saying something about the musicality of the presentation. And rest assured, Tidal loudspeakers are supremely musical transducers. If your friend is hearing a lack of body, then look elsewhere in the system. I find them musical although very truthful to the source and by that I mean anything and everything in front of them right back to the recording.

Fla, I would advise you to contact you dealer and/or Tidal directly for that information. Karelfd, I am driving my Piano Ceras with Einstein's LITD hybrid power amp (80/115 wpc into 8/4 ohms). Again, I have a small room and do not feel any need whatsoever for more power. In fact, I heard the LITD drive the Contriva Diacera SE in the dealer's large room with great results.

I really don't know what the Ceras rate insofar as efficiency goes, but anecdotally the 88db value sounds about right. They are slightly less efficient than my 90db rated Ultimate Monitors.

Kclone, I don't know what your listening habits are, but I can tell you that the low level detail on my Tidals is exceptional and many times I find myself listening at what many might consider background levels. I think that would be overkill and your money may be better spent elsewhere.

Allow me to offer a bit on the virtues of Tidal speaker designs. I have had my Piano Ceras for a bit over a month now and they have about 525 hours. Right now I am listening at what many would consider background levels. Their hallmark to me is the musical way in which they offer astounding levels of transparency and coherency without coloration. Every system change I have made in terms of swapping powercords is easily recognizable, even at these background levels. This is not to say they don't excel at all the other stuff (transient response, dynamics, imaging/soundstaging), they do these things exceptionally well. It's simply that Tidal manages to do provide all of this within the context of such unforced musicality, no coloration and no artifacts. Congratulations to Tidal's craftsmen led by Jorn Janczak. I now know I have bought my last loudspeaker.

What is amazing is how incredibly well the Piano Cera works in a small room. The images are distinctively larger than one would get from a stand-mounted monitor, yet in soundstaging it gives up nothing to a mini-monitor. This is something I was totally unprepared for.

Calloway, be patient the wait will be well worth it.

Mike, since I was the first to order the Piano Cera (although not the first to take delivery), I received mine with 500 hours on it (i.e., already broken-in) and therefore not qualified to offer anything concerning break-in. It was also a seven month wait, during which time Tidal decided to incorporate variogain/terminal and tweeter adjustability features. My experience should not be typical for buyers of the Piano Cera, or any other Tidal product for that matter. I do think you would receive them faster by ordering the piano black finish though.

Argyro, welcome to the Piano Cera owner's club, presently a very small but discriminating group! BTW, did you ever have a chance to listen to the Piano Diacera?

Mike, thanks for clarifying that as there is no SE option for the Piano series loudspeakers (each version has its own customized crossover).

Be patient Mike, in the end the wait will be well worth it! BTW, what finish did you select?

Mike, that's what I have! Tidal's premium finishes are unbelievable but as they don't impact performance, I have a hard time recommending them for the upcharge required. At any rate, Tidal's piano black is by far the best I have ever seen. None of those nasty swirl marks that are so common in the industry.

Ptmconsulting, the first production pair of Tidal's newest speaker (Piano Cera) lives with me in Rhode Island. You may want to pursue the owner network as opposed to the dealer network.

Morgan is now an owner of the Piano Cera which is Tidal's high value product IMO. BTW, Tidal has not dropped the Piano which John Potis reviewed in 6moons.

Morgan, I forgot to ask what you had before the Tidal Piano Cera and in what ways was the Tidal an improvement.

Kclone, I think you misinterpreted my post. Tidal still offers the Piano (sometimes referred to as the Piano Classic) in addition to the Piano Diacera and Tidal's latest design, the Piano Cera.

I have the same experience as Mike with my Piano Cera's. It sounds great at background levels which is a signature of its great microdynamic response. In fact if you check my older posts you will see that this was a hallmark of the design upon my receipt 10 months ago. You may also want to check into your powerline conditioning. I am going to take my system to the next level and order a power regenerator (APS PP1050). Every change I make in my system can be easily discerned through the Tidals.

Congrats George! After a year of ownership the Piano Cera still amazes me. I recently added APS's PurePower 1050 regenerator and didn't realize this level of performance was possible. It's been a while but they now sound better to me than my recollection of the Contriva Diacera SE within its performance limits in my small listening room.

Bostonbean, I have the first production pair of Piano Ceras and live in Providence (RI). I can demonstrate them on Doug White's behalf.

The 2010 (and current) retail price of the Tidal Piano stands just below $23,000. I don't think the seller was deliberately misrepresenting the price, but may not have realized that there was lowering of retail prices when Tidal established new distribution over a year ago. Insofar as the older price ($16-17K), that was circa 2006 when the dollar was much stronger against European currencies and (yet again) had a different distributor as well.

Johngp, Bostonbean has the mighty Piano Diaceras (latest version with variotuning technology and black drivers). I have the first production pair of Piano Ceras.

I love my Piano Ceras and to my amazement they sounded quite wonderful when driven by the class D Spectron Musician III Mk II power amp and Wyred-For-Sound's STP-SE linestage. Was surprised at the difference over my Einstein LITD hybrid power amp. More dynamic, transparent and denser if I can use that adjective.

I tried a BMC S1 solid state stereo power amp (200 wpc) and it was revelatory compared to an Einstein LITD tube hybrid on my Piano Ceras. The Einstein is a great piece but this simply confirmed my suspicion that Tidals love power and I won't consider tubes at all. My Tidals are now back at the factory where they will be morphed into Piano Diaceras!

Tbg, have you considered getting your Tidals updated with the black graphite drivers to reflect current production?

The Piano Cera/Diacera include the variotuning feature which has settings for bass augmentation, flat or as a two-way (disabling the lower woofer). I ran my Piano Ceras in a room as small as 14 x 11 feet and the bass integrated very nicely.

I believe the Sunray will be redone using Tiralit (Tidal's proprietary cabinet material). Schubertmaniac, I have owned the Eclipse, Eidolon and Eidolon Diamond and can assure you that Tidal's Piano Cera will exceed the performance of the Eidolon Diamond in all parameters except for low bass extension. This is in no way intended to critisize Avalon as the Eidoln Diamond came out over 10 years ago. The Radian was a step down fron the Ascent II and I never understood its raison d'etre so to speak.

ABSOLUTELY. Put it this way, my speakers were damaged and I got a nice insurance settlement and guess what I am doing. I am having them repaired at Tidal and updated with the new black graphite drivers. The only speaker I would consider as a replacement would be the Piano Diacera.

X-tender will also work with the Amea series according to Jorn. Don't know about the driver choice/configuration.

The black drivers are close enough in performance to the white ones such that they can be swapped in without any crossover changes. It is my understanding that there is a small performance gain. The Sunray has always used the black drivers so it it not a question if they are newer, Tidal simply decided to employ them in the rest of their designs.

Attention all Tidalists. As great as the Piano Cera is (and they are remarkable at their respective price point), I am moving on to the Piano Diacera next month. I really can't imagine owning anything outside Tidal after my experience with the Piano Cera.

Johngp, congrats on your new acquisition. I was thrilled with the performance of my Piano Ceras. It was an unusual event (not Tidal related) that necessitated a trip back to the factory that made this possible. Quite honestly, they were the best speakers I have ever owned by a significant margin and that would inlude the Avalon Eidolon Diamond, albeit a 10 year old plus design but still highly respected (with good reason). BTW, I was the first customer for the Piano Cera.

Georgemg, I think I will have my Piano Diacera by the end of the June!

My Piano Diaceras will arrive on Monday!! Epic2776 congrats on your purchase. I am amazed that you are able to shoehorn the Contriva successfully into such a small space. My room is approximately the same size and it is on the small size for the Pianos IMO. If you move to a larger room you will get better bass performance and soundstaging.

Schubertmaniac, I misspoke. The Radian was an attempt to eliminate the outboard crossover enclosure of the Ascent (i.e., single box approach). Now back to Tidal....

Johngp, how soon will you receive your Piano Ceras? I think my Piano Diaceras may be shipping within a week!

My Piano Diaceras have shipped and I expect to have them late next week. You will love your Piano Ceras. Did they have any break-in at the factory as far as you know?

As a former Piano Cera (and presently Piano Diacera) owner, there will be incremental improvements as you continue toward the 800 hour mark. An amazing product, well balanced with good to outstandig performance in all attributes IMO.

Epic, these are two different products that share a cabinet and bass drivers (different tweeters and crossovers). Each offers remarkable value at their respective price points. My Diacera only has around 260 hours so it still has a long way to go. It has a coherence and transparency that the Piano Cera only suggests. It also has a greater sense of depth and dimensionality, along with more precise imaging within the soundstage. The Piano Cera probably offers greater value at its price point (be happy about this!)and I am unaware of anyone else who has gone this route. The caveat here is that I could change my opinion in another 600 hours as the full potential of the Diacera is revealed. I had an unusual set of circumstances that presented this option to me.

What kind of nonsense post is this?? What big Tidals did you supposedly own?

I don't believe that Sonus faber would think that the Contriva is a copy of their design. Which version of the Contriva did you own (the earlier ones did not use Accuton bass drivers)?.

The Piano Diacera is magical, an uncolored transparent window into the original recording venue. With familiar recordings, background details that I never heard previously are easily revealed. When it comes to Tidal speakers, it's really all about the subtlety and nuance inherent in the recording, and bringing these elements out but without losing any musicality.

Kw13, the wait will be well worth it. You can thank me later!! BTW, check with Tidal concerning factory break-in. Mine arrived with around 250 hours on them.

Tbg, I don't believe Tidal has any US representation other than Doug White of The Voice That Is since the Aaudio distribution relationship ended. Tidal seems to be very busy with the European shows and Asian markets.

I owned the Eidolon Diamond and later went to the Piano Cera. The Tidal is way more transparent and musical. Bass definition might be a tad better on the Avalon but everything else is so much better on the Tidal it doesn't matter. I had heard that the Eidolon Diamond was a better speaker than the Indra.

I bought my Eidolon Diamonds 11 years ago and I feel it is somewhat unfair to Avalon to compare that design to the Piano Cera/Diacera. That being said, I think the Piano Diacera has been around for maybe four years and Jorn really can't improve on this 2 1/2 way gem. I am thrilled to own it and it is indeed my last speaker purchase.

Rjthomas4, both Bostonbean and myself own Piano Diaceras. I assume your room is large enough to support the Contrivas? Like yourself, the only reason I would ever part with my Tidals would to be move up in the product line. Nonetheless, given the size of my room I am very happy with the PD's. Sounds like yours will be the first G2's to arrive in North America.

I've heard that the Piano series will have G2 versions as well, possibly by the end of this year. New enclosures (tiralit composite material first used in the Agoria), binding posts and stands/bases are in order. I believe the crossovers and drivers are the same. Insofar as the sound goes, I heard from someone who is not a Tidal dealer and he reported that the sound was denser and more dynamic (Contriva G2). Can't imagine that the Contriva extenders would be necessary.