Musical, detailed, above average imaging and staging .........

Quick tight bass but not as deep as some.

5 star value monitor. I have owned three pairs of Ref Monitors over the years and they are awesome. Not a perfect monitor but this speaker will compete with anything in it's price range.

Customer Service

One of the best in the business

Similar Products Used:

Totem, Vienna, Paradigm, Gallo, Proac, Monitor Audio (platinum series)

hummm. at that price? Nothing

many at that price

Well, well – a bit of hype to say the least. I have read in the below review how these monitors outperformed some serious top notch contenders. I am here to tell you otherwise and the difference is such that I MUST conclude that the previous reviewers do not own and did not test these speakers against the others they claim. NO WAY ON GODS GREEN EARTH. I have now thoroughly tested the Tyler Acoustics Reference Monitor in three rooms. Bedroom 18X22, living room 20X48 and music room 14X16 music. I will clearly state that they are not as musical as the Merlins, Gallo 3.1, any Sonus or Silverline. First and foremost we ALL know they don’t move much air so on large scale music – we wont even go there. They reminded me allot of the Mirage MRM1’s. They most definitely prefer my 150W Solid State equipment to my 50W KT88’s. For those who have their feet better planted on earth and honestly want to know how they sound - along the lines of a Dynaudio Contour S 1.4 . Don’t by the Hype guys. You can buy the same sound for under 2K in most decent monitors. They prefer smaller rooms and don’t like cranked Rock & Roll. Images like other good monitors, but you must keep your head in a vice. They do disappear when things are set up correctly, but so do at least 3 dozen other monitors at half their price. Sonus, Silverline, DeCapo and many others eat them for lunch. For 4K? – no way Jose. Way over priced. Now if they were - $1,250 - then it would be a good deal.

Customer Service

Dont know - sold then after 30 days at a $500 loss

Similar Products Used:

MRM1, Aragon2, DeCapo's, Sonus (Extrema & Cremona, Silverline SR17.5, Dynaudio 1.4, and various other monitors

Detail, soundstage width, sense of venue, PRaT, timbre, vocals.

Not the deepest soundstage I've heard; otherwise, within its db limits, nothing to speak of.

Where to begin? Would you like to build these speakers as a DIY project? Sorry, but purchased "used" (of which I saw little sign), you can't buy the parts, MDF and veneer for the price charged. So you will build them at a loss. And they won't be these speakers anyway.

If you look below and on Audiiogon reviews, you will see that people who use these speakers (and other Tyler designs) have come to this line after trying and using some pretty formidable speakers. In my case, the comparables were Gallo Nucleus References (the old "robot" ones) and Merlin VSM with battery BAM. I've also used planars and many other dynamic speakers. But you get the point - this group isn't easily "wowed."

Wow. And HooWee.

Now, I wouldn't think of using the Ref's without a sub or two (I use two), but that is often the set-up of choice in a smaller listening room. Sub adjustment is a pain, but with larger speakers, you're left (with a few exceptions, I admit, that allow for tailoring bass) at the mercy of the designer for location, amount, and crossover point of bass notes. Bass in a smaller room is by far the hardest thing to control and get right, so subs become a necessary evil. I digress.

There is less box coloration than the Merlins, and the Merlins are, short of planars, as free of box coloration as I've ever heard before this.

There is a more exacting treble than the Gallos, and the Gallo tweets are world-famous.

They are spacious. They are subtle. They are raucous if called for. They move a lot of air and are therefore dynamic in the best sense. This is the first set of speakers where I can walk up to the plane between them and still hear the singer center stage, with the band behind, left and right. Vocals are stunning. Timbre is uncanny. But mostly, there is the sense of "easy detail" that allows you to relax and enjoy the entire listening experience behind the speaker plane. That is, "you go there." This is quite a trick, really - to get incredible detail without getting constantly bombarded wth electronic artifacts that remind you where you are. A tremendous balancing act. Maybe a bit too forward for you? Roll some different tubes for $30 (as I did), and you find exactly what you want. Amazingly responsive to small changes, but not fussy about set up.

No speaker is right for everyone. Last I checked, there were still a lot of speaker companies doing pretty well. And as I haven't tried every speaker in the world, I can't tell you these are the "best" for the money. You might like a slightly deeper soundstage (my little Linn Tukans did this, for example). You might like a darker sound (darker in the sense of less treble energy, which can be compelling, especially when attempting to layer an orchestral soundstage properly - here, my Eminent Tech LFT VIIIs were wonderful). You might enjoy the openness of electrostatics (which my Gallos most closely emulated). That's all fine. But the point is this: for $1,200 "used," you are now talking about matters of taste, and not matters of competence. These speakers aren't "almost as good as" anything. They are just plain good. If you're looking for speakers for a smaller room to match with a sub or two, want a good "kick" from the mid driver and tremendous articulation and staging, well, start concentrating on the sub purchase, because you just found your mains.

Customer Service

Ty is about as good as it gets.

Similar Products Used:

Gallo References, Eminent Tech LFT VIII, Merlin VSMs, Linn Tukans, Epos, Opera, Infinity, VonSchweikert VR1, Totem 1 Sigs, many others

These speakers are a final purchase!

Extremely low bass will require either a subwoofer or larger Tyler Acoustic speakers.

OK folks. We've all been there. Spent hundreds of hours haunting your local high end audio emporium with your favorite CDs, praying for a pair of the right speakers at the right price. And they all sound wonderful in the showroom with $50,000 worth of electronics and $5000 worth of room treatment. But when you get 'em home, they sound just OK. Well, have I got the speakers for you! Taylo Reference Monitors! These speakers are built like tanks by a craftsman who really cares, have extremely expensive drivers and crossover parts, and smoke the competition by a large margin. I won't bore you with all the usual audiophile details, except to say that with decent equipment, proper stands and appropriate room placement, they are simply stunning!

Similar Products Used:

Sonus Faber Amator Electas, Wilson Audio Watts, Sound Lab A1 Electrostatics, Beverage Electrostatics, Dayton-Wright XG8 Electrostatics, Martin Login CLS Electrostatics with Entec Subs.

smooth, liquid extended highs. very clean and articulate midrange. beautiful cabinets with high quality drivers.

Missing lowest octave but easily rectified with subwoofer.

Over the last several year, since I became really active in audio, I have auditioned/owned over 12 pairs of speakers. My goal was to acquire a pair of speakers that provided three requirements; 1) smooth liquid highs, 2) cleanly articulated midrange, and 3) solid/tight bass (though not necessarily at the very bottom octave). I found my requirements in the PBN Audio Montana SP3s. Is this a review of Montana SP3? No. But my point is that the $2400 Tyler Acoustics Tylo Reference Monitor acheived 90% of the sound of the $5000 per pair floorstanding Montana SP3s. They sang with clarity and articulation as did the Montanas in the midband frequency and returned the sweetly extended highs without strain. What they didnt posses was the solid chest-felt low frequency that stretch the dynamic range that only a floorstander could. However, what they did have down to 40hz was a taught, quick responsive bass that gave me a great deal of satisfaction. Rectified with a decent B&W subwoofer for recovery of the lowest octaves, the Tylers were no less than excellent. Just for comparison the follow list of speakers (which I have owned) included: Boston Acoustics VR975, Vienna Acoustics Bach, Triangle Zerius/Titus, Meadowlark Audio Kestral 2s, Soliloquy 5.3s and 5.0s, and, of course, the Montanas. However, next to the Montanas the Tyler were hands down next in line.

Similar Products Used:

See above.

Accuracy! Sound stage soars. Melodic for reference monitors, IMHO.

Deep Bass -- nothing a good sub won't fix.

When my DVD/CD player went on the fritz, I decided I'd take the opportunity to upgrade my set-up. I did a lot of research on Audiogon and this site, and spoke with audiophile friends. Since already had an extensive SACD collection, I settled on the well-reviewed Denon DVD-5900 universal player ($1545 at All Home Theater). But I knew that if I wanted to get the most out of my system, I needed to upgrade my speakers: more online research. I went to a dealer and listened to Revel M22a’s and a slew of B&W speakers, both floor-standing and bookshelf (which were going to work best for my set-up). All had positive qualities, to be sure, but I wanted to try and hit closer to $1,000 than $2,000 if possible. In the process of doing all that research, I kept coming across these incredible reviews for speakers made by Tyler Acoustics. I went on the site, checked out some of the used Taylo’s, which fit my budget to a “T”, and gave Ty a call. He couldn’t have been nicer or more accommodating. He explained the pro’s and con’s of his various speakers, and made me very comfortable that the Taylo’s were the right fit for me. They arrived looking like new with beautiful fit and finish (in fact, Ty said these were so little-used they’re going to need additional break-in time). I guess that from there, I start to sound like many of the other folks in these reviews, in that I now feel like I’m hearing my music -- and the instruments contained therein -- for the first time. The accuracy is amazing! It was quite a transition, especially once I realized that between the Denon and the Taylo’s I was now hearing just the music, absent the distortion and coloration I was undoubtedly used to. I have a friend who is quite the audiophile, with a system to match. I remember the rapturous astonishment I felt when I first heard his system. Now, my own gives me similar enjoyment (at a fraction of the cost). My next upgrade will be to replace my amplifier and get one of Ty’s sub-woofers. All in good time…

Clarity Ease of listening Detail Tight base Imaging Speakers disapper just leaving the music to enjoy.

Need mid to high quality components to shine.

After reading al the reviews, I had great expectations for the Reference Monitors. I bought them to upgrade the sound in my two channel Audio/Video second system. When I first hooked them up to my Jolida 1501 amp, I knew they sounded amazing but it took a Cardas Microtwin interconnect to tame my Denon cd/dvd player. The result, it outstanding. Whether playing cds or watching dvds or high def TV, its hard to turn them off. And they image beautifully, even placed on our wall shelves. My troubles started when I took them out of the den and tested them against my main system Thiel 1.5s and a pair of Hales Transcendance 1s, I have in my office system. The result was that the Tyler Reference Monitors smoked the other speakers, in speed, life like sound and ease of listening. The Thiels are now gone and have been replaced by a pair of custom Tyler 3 way Linbrooks. Do these sound better than the Reference Monitors? In a word yes. The Reference Monitors have a permanent place in our den and get regular everyday use. And when I really want to sit down and just listen, I fire up the Tyler Linbrooks. My advice. Start with a pair of Reference Monitors and you'll discover how good speakers can be and then if you fell the urge you can always trade up.

Similar Products Used:

Theil 1.5s Hales Transcendance Ones B&W CDM1

Everything

None

I was lucky enough to find these speakers 2nd hand on eBay whilst searching to upgrade my office system. The guy selling them was only doing so to purchase the Tyler Linbrook model. We listen to music most of the day (only pause for the phone and clients). It's a burden. Although I have been a keen listener of music for over 30 years and have always had pretty good equipment (and lots of good music), I am now more aware of the difference between what seems good and what is 'affordably exceptional'. In the last 12 months, I have taken a crash course in Audio upgrading and read everything to try to get to a new level of musical pleasure. I have sifted through hype, obsessed about this and that, made a few mistakes and purchased pretty well in the end to gain dynamics, details and smoothness. I believe that I now understand a lot more about achieving useful gains. The purchase of these Tyler Taylo Reference Monitors have certainly made the biggest impact and have continued to show big gains as other components improved. They were the 2nd thing I purchased in my current system. If you don't feel passionate about them its probably because your system is lacking elsewhere. I love them. Everything good already said about these speakers is true and the best things said are probably the most accurate. I have personally noticed a few things that may be worth considering... They like weighty amplification and this also brings out the best in their lower end. The do work better bi-wired and good amps work better with good power cables / good or no power blocks. Our setup is in a really compromised space and yet the sound is fantastic because they front vent, the cabinets are so rigid (and without a hint of vibration) and they seem to be able to image and disperse sound so well that they overcome obstacles. I have heard them in proper space and yes they sound better. I would also highly recommend them for less than ideal listening areas. Another strength is the fatigue factor. I chose monitors because I understood that they tended to be accurate, tended not exaggerate or colour sound and were made for smaller spaces and for longer periods of listening. Many people told me that these speakers would be inadequate because of their paper spec (bottom end). Rubbish. With good amplification, you couldn't ask for a more pleasing speaker to listen to for long periods and if I am missing anything I couldn't tell. Fast, accurate bass (over time) is much easier to listen to than deep slow bass and smooth highs are better than glass. They are set within 5 feet of G5 Macs and have no problem with shielding and are so free of resonance that nothing near them vibrates at any volume . They also sound great at lower volumes (with a good amp) and everything we listen to sounds good on them unless it's an inferior recording. They are revealing, but not such that average recordings sound terrible - rather good musicians / mixing / recordings sound vibrant and alive. I drive mine with either valve or solid state amps as warm-up time and the mood suits (I have a cable arrangement which works extremely well). They handle a lot of power and the driver is amazingly fast and really travels. The only question I am left with is that if these are so good, how much better are the more expensive and larger Tyler units. I would buy more Tylers (maybe the Linbrook) but I will never sell these ones. They are an exceptional speaker and as others have said, I can get on with buying more music and really enjoying it. I was inspired to take the time to write this review because so many others had done the same and, as a businessman, I hope that my praise helps the brand and the maker. It's really pleasing that so many people think so much of the guy and his craft and that I've got something that he made. My partner loves them too. By the way (I was going to be brief), 'cryo' treatment of cables and power cables is a very effective way to smooth them further without any loss of fidelity. It apparently has something to do with particle alignment through crystallization (I think) and it really works. It's a very inexpensive way to improve your system and it's permanent.

Similar Products Used:

nothing worth mentioning in this context

Highs, Midrange accuracy, detail and refinement, Top quality drivers, Top-notch fit and finish, Value.

Lower bass extention, Dynamics (to a lesser degree).

I purchased a pair of the Reference Monitors in Rosewood (along with the Model 1 Tyler stands) slightly used on Audiogon, and I can safely say that I got the steal of the century. Fit and finish of the Taylos is first rate, and even surpasses the excellent finish on my previous mains from Legacy Audio. I did not think I would ever say that about any speaker. The drivers used in the Reference Monitors are first-rate. The mid-bass is the very expensive, and very fast 7 inch Seas Excel series metal driver, and the tweeter is the even more expensive Scanspeak Revelator textile dome tweeter. With these two drivers in the speakers, I expected great things, and the Taylos delivered in spades (and more)... The Revelator handles the highs with ease, but it never calls attention to itself. The highs are jst "there." That said, they are very detailed and high-end extension is fabulous. Midrange is also a major strength, as the Taylos seemed to capture the tone and detail of any instrument thrown at them (within their frequency response). Soundstage width was the best I have heard... period. I am still in awe at how the Taylos can extend the stage so far wide of where the monitors are located. Stage height is also superb. The only areas that I feel are a *bit* lacking are dynamics and lower octave bass extension. The latter is pretty much expected of all mini-monitors, so that can easily be forgiven. The former I believe is a design decision. What I mean is that the Taylos are a very refined and neutral sounding speaker. In order to achieve the fine qualities the speaker offers, I think that while many other speakers emphasize certain frequencies to achieve a certain "slam" on Rock music, the Taylos avoid this in an effort to remain truly faithful to the music as it was played/recorded (accuracy). Not a bad call in my opinion, and you learn to really appreciate it the more you listen to them. So in summary, the Taylos are outright the best mini-monitors I have heard, and they also are the best value in monitor speakers I have come across to date (even at full price). I should also mention that Ty Lashbrook is a true gentleman, and a pleasure to deal with (I am buying a new Taylo center channel speaker in Rosewood from Ty to match the other Taylo mains I bought used on Audiogon). He was very honest in answering my many questions, and gave me a lot of money saving and sound improving ideas. Also, it is nice to still find a guy who will only close the deal over the phone, because he wants to get to know his customers.

Similar Products Used:

Legacy, ACI, Norh

Extremely fast drivers Wide dispersion, soundstage Top quality components Solid cabinet Simple, elegant styling

Crossover Amplitude accuracy Velcro to attach the grills? Crossover: There's some blur from phase incoherence. The Taylos use a textbook crossover design executed with top-quality components; the Taylos are not the product of a hi-fi sound engineering team that can afford R&D for innovative design and endless tweaking. Amplitude response: More expensive hi-fi speakers achieve more accurate amplitude response by smoothing the curve with crossover components, integration of drivers and cabinets.

Why are these speakers getting such phenomenal reviews? I can think of a few possible reasons: -- people want to justify the purchase -- hatred of hi-fi salespeople -- like the mystique of a lone individual making the speakers -- reviewers haven't auditioned better -- the speakers really are that good So which is it? A little of each, perhaps. In my opinion, the Taylo Reference Monitors (which I requested custom with the Seas Millennium tweeter) are the best value in a bookshelf speaker at this price point. After using up most of my 20 day free trial period, I've decided to keep the speakers. There are some other excellent options that I would consider, though for significantly more money--$1000 to $7000 more. Here are my impressions of the Taylos versus: B&W 805 Signature: similar treble extension; more distinctive styling; Taylos have more bass, which doesn't matter if you're going to pair with a sub; Taylo drivers are faster. Thiel PCS: phase coherence makes the crossovers sound noticeably cleaner than the Taylos; more accurate; the Thiel drivers aren't quite as fast, however, and the tweeter doesn't extend quite as high; also, the PCS are more demanding on amplifier and other components because of greater accuracy. VERDICT: If Thiel could achieve the tweeter specs from the PCS that it gets from the 2.4, I'd choose the Thiel without question. Failing that, it's a tradeoff, and the Thiels are $1000 more expensive. KEF Reference 201: Cleaner crossover with the Uni-Q driver, similar high frequency sensitivity; Taylo drivers are faster; KEF 201s have very distinctive styling which may be a pro or a con; larger size (3" taller, 5" deeper) makes them closer to the Linwoods than Taylos. VERDICT: If purchased used, the KEFs cost about the same as Taylos. Worth auditioning and considering. If money and size are no object, I might choose the KEFs. Dynaudio Confidence C1: not as divine as the Evidence, but a remarkable speaker all the same; similar character to the Taylos, with a deceptively simple 2 way design; the Taylo drivers from Seas might be slightly faster, but the C1 crossover is cleaner and the accuracy slightly greater; C1 has a distinctive appearance that some may prefer; cabinet resonances better compensated for, thanks to that hi-fi design team. VERDICT: The Confidence C1 has an edge with the crossover and cabinet, with drivers of comparable quality. If an extra $4000 didn't matter to me (about triple the price of the Taylos), I would certainly buy the Confidence C1. Revel Ultima Gem: fussier to set up; distinctive styling that may not be to all tastes; but phenomenal accuracy, the best of any bookshelf speaker; more faithful to the recording than the Taylos; similar driver speed; better crossovers; much more demanding on amp and other components--the Taylos are very forgiving in comparison. VERDICT: If I had the money, I would undoubtedly choose the Revel Gems over the Taylos. SUMMARY: The best value I've heard for the price. The Taylos are not a ground-breaking hi-fi speaker, but they're about the best that can be achieved given Tyler Acoustics strategy: buy the best components available, use a tried-and-true crossover design, and build a solid cabinet without elaborate analysis of possible resonance and complications. If, like me, your heart is with the little guy rather than the big companies, this is another good reason to buy from Tyler.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 805 ($2000) Thiel PCS ($3000) KEF Reference 201 ($3000) Dynaudio Confidence C1 ($6000) Revel Ultima Gem ($8000)