Tyler Acoustics & Quad


Does anyone have any knowledge of Tyler Acoustics speakers- I was interested in the Linbrook Floorstanding Reference Monitor and the Freedom line. I have not found much information available. Also, how would these compare to other speakers- the Quad 21/22L in particular. How well would either of these speakers pair with a Musical Fidelity A3.2 integrated? Thank you.

jatay81
I bought a pair of the Tyler Reference monitors and was so impressed with their sound not only did I keep them for my den system, I ordered a custom pair of Linwood 3 ways from Ty for my living room system. (I had a height restriction which Ty accomodated.)

I've read good things about the Quads and I'm sure they are good speakers, but I'd be surprised if they are in the same league as the Linwoods. The Linwoods are some of the best quality speakers you'll find without the exotic shaped cabinetry or prices tags associated with some high end speakers.

If you're interested you could order a new pair and test them out. As I remember, Ty lets you return them within 30+ days if you're not satisfied.
Thanks Cdc2.

What speakers would you compare the Tyler sound to? I have listened to Totem, DynAudio, Martin Logan, Thiel & Paradigm.
I just picked up a pair of the Linbrook Floorstanding Reference Monitors from Tyler Acoustics last week and they are a vast improvement over the Snell E.5 MKII's they replaced.

The highs are significantly more extended and airy - but not bright. The midrange - especially on vocals - is outstanding. The lows (while not as deep as the Snells) are tighter, more easily separated and identified (i.e less one-notey) and less boomy.

The Linbrooks also have better imaging and a wider and deeper soundstage (even with less than optimal placement - i.e. about 12" from the back wall in a 20' x 25' x 8' room).

I expect the Linbrooks will only get better as they break in.

I personally preferred the Linbrooks to the Snells, the Paradigm Reference 100's, the Dynaudio Audience 72's and 82's and the B&W 804's, 704's and 703's (which are about the only brands I could audition locally).

I suggest you call Ty Lashbrook at Tyler Acoustics and ask him for recommendations based on your electronics and your room. He is a great guy to deal with and his fair pricing, 20 day return policy, upgrade program and ability to do custom work (multiple veneer finishes to choose from and the ability to choose alternative drivers and/or wiring) are nice bonuses.

The Linbrooks look great too.
How do the Tyler's sound compared to other speakers. Compared to various Theils I owned, the Linwoods are less harsh, easier to listen to and dissappear even more completely. I would say they are more like Proacs but I have only owned the Proac Tablettes (great little speakers.) I haven't listened to Martin Logans in a while but the Linwoods throw a clearly defined and large soundstage like the Martin Logans.

I have a pair of Hale Transcendance 1s at the office and they image even better than the Hales or the Theils.

Actually I'm a bit stumped in terms of describing what they sound like. All I hear is the music.

Caveat: Any speaker including the Linwoods are system dependent. I had them playing with some Cardas Quadlinks, and they sounded good, but not as live as I thought they could. I added Pursang interconnects and they sounded incredbily dynamic and the sound stage grew dramatically, but the overall sound was harsh. I added in a Wolff source cord and now when I hit play, it sounds like a band is in the house. Life like and easy to listen to.

My advice. Get a pair. Listen to them. You will need to play with your interconnects and power cords to get the most out . The better gear you put in front of them the better they'll sound.

P.S. Call Ty and ask him about the custom 3 ways he built for me. I think they look better than his standard Linwoods. Of course he matched the cherry finish of my other LR furniture perfectly which made the wife happy too.
I own a Linbrook Signature System w/bass modules in natural Cherry. In every aspect of sound quality, they are in a totally different league from any cone and dome Quad speaker.

Like Cdc2, I couldn't actually tell you how the Linbrooks sound like but the Seas Excel magnesium cones are very revealing of electronics/wire/power cords/tweaks. They aren't too forgiving of poor sources or equipment either. I usually drive the Linbrooks with my ARC REF2 MkII pre / Rowland 8T amp combo.

With a friend's Meridian 588 cdp, the sound was outstanding and very musical. But with my current Cary 303/200, the sound is sterile and cold. I recently hooked up a $250 JVC RX-ES1 digital receiver and to my great surprise, I'm enjoying music again, despite the Cary!

Btw, Ty is a wonderful person to deal with. Goes above and beyond the call of duty to help his customers.

Linbrook , dual 8 inch seas + dual 7 inch seas + Millinium tweet. Very nice, but more that my 15 X 20 room can handle, besides out my budget. . The Signature is prefered vs their 7U's, the 7U is a MTM with the Scan speak tweet, the Signature has the Millinium tweet.
I have a pr of Thor's which is the Tyler Signature MTM, W18 + Millinium + W18, but quite possibly slightly different xover, although Ty does say they use the D' Apollito design. I bought the Madisound model with the upgrade xover.
I'm very happy with these speakers. I'm running them with a little Jadis Orch Refer, which I use with tone controls all the way up. These speakers need some power to reveal the dynamics. So I plan toget a Jadis DA60 in 2 yrs.
Here's my evaluation of the Seas' drivers compared to at least 50 different speakers I've heard in the past 20 yrs.
Bass, superior, mids, superior, highs, superiot.
And that ain't no hype.
Regards Paul
Thanks for the responses. Out of the speakers I have auditioned I really liked the Totem Forest and Hawk (I also loved the Martin Logan Aeon i...but I needed a sub with them which put them out of my price range). How would the Linbrook Floorstanding Monitor compare with the Totems. They will be driven by a Musical Fidelity A3.2 Integrated. I listen to most types of music- but mostly rock, blues, jazz and rap. The room is 12' x 22' x 8'.

Also, has anyone listened to Tyler Acoustics Freedom line?
Curious why you are considering the Linbrook series and the Freedom series and not the Taylo series?

Tyler from highest performance to lowest is

Woodmere
Linbrook
Taylo
Freedom

Should be a vast difference in performance between the Linbrook and budget Freedom series.
Maxxc,

I want tower speakers and cannot afford the Taylo 7U or Ref. III (the Ref 3's would be my ideal). I asked about the freedom line because the F-4's look interesting.
There are some used Taylo Ref II at their website for $2550 with warranty. Might want to check them out virtually the same price as the Linbrook floorstanders.
Yes we gotta sort out all Tyler's models.
Not sure why they came out with so many. They should never have incorporated the Scanspeak tweet. Keep is sipmle and sweet. Just use all seas Excel drivers...
Now onto their models.
The 7U's($3200) are MTM, W18+Scanspeak tweet + W18. Much prefer the Millinium tweet. Thats that.
The Ref III($4K+) are a Scanspeak tweet + W18 + W26. Now whaty interests me here is the awesome W26. But still for my classical listening I prefer to have the wider soundstage with the dual W18's in the MTM, and forgo the low end with the W26. Which brings us to the Linbrook Signature bookshelf($3200) MTM, W18 + millinium + W18. They may have that model in a tower cabinet. Thats what i have , MTM towerin the kit from Madisound,the Thor, had a friend solder the wires to the xover, you need a good solder and a friend to help, but its quite simple to follow. Takes 4-6 hours to put together, 2 people. Your call.
Like I say I would love to have the W26 in my system, But as in all things stereo, there is a trade off. If i get the Ref III's , a 3 way, Scanspeak(which i would ask tyler to upgrade to the Millinium) + w18 + W26, I get the extra low end, but sacrifice the wider soundstage with only the W18 as mids. The Solution? Is for me to upgrade my Orch Refer amp to the big Jadis DA60, now there I'll get that extra bass out of the dual w18's. But of course not the beautiful 15-30 hz's. One day I may build a sub with the W26. I'll get the sub amp from Madisound + W26 + an old cabinet.
Please feel free to join in.
Actually, the Scanspeak Revelator Tweeter sounds great with the SEAS W18s. I own both the Taylo Reference Monitors (that use the Revelator and a W18) and the Linbrook Signatures (that use the Millenium and 2 W18s in an MTM design)...

While the Linbrook Signature Monitor clearly gets better bass and throws a wider soundstage (although the Taylos seem to have a taller one), I am not sure yet if I prefer the Millenium to the Revelator. They both are fabulous tweeters, but each has its positives and (to a much lesser degree) negatives. I would describe the Revelator as the more detailed tweeter vs. the Millenium that is just a bit more "natural" sounding. You really can't go wrong with either when paired properly to the W18s. I know Ty uses very different crossover points on the different tweeters.

The bottom line is that Ty makes some fabulous speakers, and quite frankly it is hard to go wrong with any of them in my opinion (although I admittedly have not heard the new freedom line).

Good luck,

---Dave
Dave, That perty much what Ty said. To his ear the Scanspeak is smoother and more detailed. The Seas more natural. But still they are very close in these areas.

Ty will perty much let a buyer choose the tweeter they want. There are Linbrook owners who have opted for the Scanspeak and Taylo owners who went with the Seas.

Cost of the raw tweeter is very close.
I picked up a pair of Ref III with the Scanspeak tweeter and they sound great, very smooth and detailed.
I also am trying out some Silver speaker wire and liking them alot. Ty uses silver jumpers to connect the upper and lower speakers. As said above either tweeter will work great. Just depends on the sound your looking for. What works for me may not work for you! Give Ty a call as he is top notch person.
Happy Listening!
Yes, the 9900 revelator is silky smooth and detailed. Montana loudspeakers $55,000 WAS flagship model uses the same tweeter as does Sonus Fabers Amanti Homage ($22,000).

I don't really view the Seas as a upgrade more of a lateral move or different flavor.
Well at least I opened up a discussion about some of the world's FINEST drivers, the Seas' EXCEL line. These drivers have 50 years of solid research behind them. I feel they made the best. I would not change out my Seas Millinium T25 tweeter for anything. Its natural, as you say. Why look/listen further. If you like Scan, than fine. I prefer Seas.
More importantly, are not these W series midwoofers just awesome in their natural bass, NO BARK low midrange!!! Finally after 5 years of research I found a speaker , "til death do us part".
I plan to get the Jadis DA60, has 8 KT88's, should really bring forth all the dynamics in these MTM's.
2 years from now.
Any other Seas fans here???
Please do not be shy. This is your thread. Please share the good news/your impressions.
What i like most about the Seas drivers is that they do not just produce noise like most other speakers i've heard. they make music, and do not crowd out the room with high distortion levels as most speakers do.