Superb imaging with a realistic soundstage, sense of timing and detail.

Used to sound slightly recessed in the upper-mid frequencies

Before buying these speakers I had spent about a year listening to everything under £1000.
Most speakers lacked in detail presence and realism and outright life. -Not a happy person. Until I stumbled upon a pair of RTL3 (originals) which did everything from major Orchestral works to hip hop, which brought forward new levels of enjoyent and excitement to the music. Admittedly I thought the highr frquency extremes were a tad too forward with poorer mainstream recordings but with most music this added an aire of detail i.e. cymbal crashes, clean acoustic guitars, leading edges of drums and delicate sounds in the background - great.

There is still not much that really compare with the TDL's in the sub £1000 market.
So I decided my next upgrade would be to re - wire (internally) the TDL's bell bell cable with LINN K400 copper oxygen free type.
The rewards this broght forth were quite astounding.
Higher levels of detail, control and a nolonger recessed upper-mid range.
Fantastic!! a worthwhile investment for a competent solderer.

I drive the TDL's with 2x Myryiad MA120 power amps with the Musical Fidelity X-PRE (valve pre stage)with the companies X-TONE (tone kit) to tailor the balance in the bass in various other rooms. All connected with LINN interconnects and K400 speaker cable all round.
A LINN CD 12 cd player takes care of the discs.


I'd say get hold of a pair of these, as they go like hot cakes in the second hand market!!

Similar Products Used:

Castle Harlech, LINN Keltic.

detailed and open mid-range,deep,deep bass and sparkling treble also quite a good looking speaker in black ash finish.

must be kept away from rear walls and out of corners.Benefit from some form of heavy duty stand.I have mine on concrete breeze blocks - the type builders use for house building etc.

There seem to be quite a few speakers on the market of similar size and power handling but they are either far more expensive or more coloured.
The RTL's are particularly good with big - band full orchestral works and surprisingly sweet with female vocals.Get them off the floor and away from walls and for the money they take some beating.

Similar Products Used:

have had big floor standing speakers from Mission,Kef and B&W all have offered similar sounds to the TDL's but none have been as good.I am currently using Marantz 63mk 11 K.I.signature c.d.player,Musical Fidelity pre and power amps(A50 mono blocks) and the RTL 3s.

Chocolate brown bass and icing sugar treble

The stupid spikes on the originals but apart from that absolutely nothing!

I bought my RTL3's in 1994 and were ex display so I got 100 off, a steal.
Mine are the originals not the mark 2's but all I can say is that I have changed virtually every other part of my original system since but not these magnificent speakers.
I run them from a Marantz CD63+ Cambridge DAC, and my Aura Evolution II amp.
I have heard more expensive setups but cost is the only thing extra as the RTL's just control everything in such musicial fashion.
I am having them re veneered in yew next week which is a way of saying that they will be with me an awful long time.
The only other improvement is that throw away the crap spikes and go and buy from Richer Sounds some ELTAX Spikes. These are strong and stable which are gold plated look good and last but not least tighten up the base even more.
I can't see why they had to go out of business, they should have carried on making these classics for years to come as speaker technology is far slower that other hardware.

Simon

Similar Products Used:

Mission 751

Thundering bass with the right amp, go very loud without distortion. HOME CINEMA HEAVEN

BI wire these and place well away from the wall for best results. They are huge! Music not as good as AV material

These puppies are huge and go deep. They were expensive put came with a free pair of mission 701. I audtioned them with the TRex attack scene. At first I thought the bass was awful! So I turned of the REL sub and moved them away from the wall. GOD DAM!! they shook the floor, they pummled my chest and made my ears beg for mercy. However they did this without sounding wolly. The shop had set the rel up for max noise not quality. I quickly bought them and got $100 off as they were ex demo. They can be had a lot cheaper these days and are 100% worth it. But get a good amp and a large room to get the best from them. Superb at home cinema

Similar Products Used:

KEF Reference Index

I have my pair of RTL3 hooked up to my Audiolab 8000A & 8000PX and Marantz CD63SE for about 5 years now and it still sounds great. For S$880 it is good value considering the clarity, depth and bass compared to the other high priced speakers. Highly recommended.

Soundstage, Bass, Treble, Crisp sound

None discovered yet

What lovely speakers! And for only US$ 220!!!

Had shortlisted AE Aegis 3 and the Tannoy R2, but am glad I settled for these, at less than half the price, instead.

Played with a NAD 114 / 216 THX combination, I am hearing sounds on my CDs that I never knew to exist. Frequency separation is awesome, different instruments stand out very clearly and vocals sound completely lifelike. Soundstaging is excellent, treble sweet, bass tight and the overall effect incredibly crisp. Comparing these to my earlier Bose 901s is a no brainer; the RTL3s win hands down, that too without even being completely broken in. And to imagine that they will only keep getting better!!!

5 stars for value and 4.5 stars for performance – only because there are better speakers out there. At this price level however, these deserve more than 5 stars.

Now intend purchasing the NAD 319 for bridging with the 216 THX; cannot wait to find out what 400 watts of crisp power sounds like.

Other equipment currently in my possession: Yamaha DSP A2 amp, Yamaha CDC 775 CD player, Yamaha 592 cassette deck, Dynaudio Audience 70 speakers (Too gorgeous for words – but that is another story) and Infinity Overture 2 speakers (superb performers).

Similar Products Used:

Bose 901, Infinity Overture 2, Dynaudio Audience 70

clear crisp sound, reasonably good bass, reasonably good treble, good looks, good size.

for the price i paid no weakness. a pair cost me 220 usd on promotion!

i drive it with a teac 90W rms/channel amp and teac equaliser, marantz cd player and yamaha tape deck, it sounds superb, clear and crisp, though its 20-120 watts, i should have gone for rtl 4 for a higher output.

Similar Products Used:

jbl tlx6,bose301,

Transparency,musical talent,sweet treble,low frequency response, very balanced sound

good point, but no!!

System:
Marantz CD 63
Technics SU-A900 MK 2
Sony MDS 510
TDL RTL 3 MK 2
Cable talk talk 3 bi-wire
Ixos 103 interconnects

Standing proudly 90*20*37.5cm these TDL's rock, dance and mello classical sounds sweetly aswell.
Most people would primarily comment on the prodigious low frequency bass output of these floorstanders but not me........These are speakers which can do no wrong.I been into hi-fi for around 6 years now and I have to say that very few speakers under several thousand pounds compete with their absolute musical ability so far to say the nearest I have heard to match them aare the Mission 753's with a REL Strata subwoofer (cost £1300 at the time).I am very serious about my music and this is what the RTL3's are all about!

Similar Products Used:

B&W 603, AE 209, Mission 753/752, TDL RTL4

Plenty of bottom-end, and good looks.

The size may be a problem for some.

I have just recently purchased a second hand pair, only 4 months old, for £150.00. What a bargain! I use them with a NAD 502 CD player & a Kenwood KA3020se amp. I listen to a very mixed selection of music, and they seem more than able to handle everything I throw at them. The top-end is as crisp as you could want it, and there is enough bass to keep anyone more than happy. I spent a good couple of hours positioning the speakers, and it was well worth it - Only the slightest change of angle made so much difference to the sound. Plus, on top of the fantastic sound, they look absolutely gorgeous. Good work TDL!

Excellent all-rounders. All round musicality even with complex orchestral works. They Rock,Dance and Jazz too.
Glorious pitched musical bass

The Size may put some off. A highly sort after 2nd Hand find...

They do outclass everything at the sub £1000 level and shame many high cost designs. I agree with the other reviewers comments about the Naim system and unfortunately it doesn't just stop there. The RTL bass does provide the growl you need for Home Cinema but unlike sub-woofers (Rel etc) provides pitched bass (a rare quality), so you can hear 32ft organ fundamentals.

Still considering the other dynamic speakers that roll off at 40-55HZ? Well also consider that putting the bass back in to a speaker that was lacking in this department by adding a REL subwoofer will cost you more than the price of these!!:-)Then there is the question of it not offering pitched musical bass just the growl for home cinema bass effects. And futhermore there is the debate of needing two for stereo and succesfful matching (more headaches!!)

None of the other speakers compared could handle complex orchestral work with the aplomb. Which reminds me of how many dealers have only simple unchallenging classics to offer you as test program in Hi-Fi shops.

These speakers will please Rock and Home Cinema fans to with their exciting kick butt presence.

Other speakers may sound "tighter" not because they are better bass performers, on the contrary, because they roll-off at 50HZ and don't have any bass! And, because these gems are cheap they may not be partnered with the type of muscular amplification they deserve.

Similar Products Used:

Mission 752,753 Castle Harlech, B&W P5, Acoustic Energy AE 120