TAD officially launched in Malaysia

There we were listening to a high-end TAD sound system costing more than half a million ringgit at AV Designs' showroom in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.


The event was the official launch of TAD components in Malaysia by Kazutoshi Takahashi, managing director of Pioneer Malaysia. TAD is Pioneer's high-end brand.


On demo was a system comprising the TAD D600 SACD/CD player (retailing at RM129,000), TAD C2000 preamp (RM128,000), TAD M2500 amp (RM115,000) and a pair of TAD CR1 standmount speakers (RM148,000).

Audiophiles listening to the TAD system.

The TAD system that costs more than half a million ringgit.

The TAD D600 SACD/CD player (top), its power
supply (middle) and the TAD C2000 Preamp.

The TAD CR1 speaker.

The system had actually been on demo at the Kuala Lumpur International AV show in 2010, but the TAD range was never officially launched.


I recall that many audiophiles were impressed by the sound quality of the TAD system at the KLIAVS 2010 and many opined that it was one of the best-sounding systems at the show.


On Wednesday, the situation was more or less the same - the sound quality was excellent and James Tan of AV Designs slipped in CD after CD with songs ranging from Fleetwood Mac to Chinese music.

AV Designs' James Tan slipping in a Fleetwood Mac CD.

The audiophiles who turned up sipped wine and and nibbled finger food as they were taken on a trip to sonic heaven.


Later Kazutoshi had a chat with hi-fi bloggers.


When asked why TAD launched an SACD/CD player when the trend now is for downloads of hi-res files, he said there is still a market for a high-end SACD/CD player as audiophiles already own high-quality CDs and they want a player that can play them so that they can hear the difference.


He added that while most people think Pioneer is a mass market company, Pioneer had been developing high-end products under the TAD brand for the professional and studio market for a long time.


"Those in the pro business are aware of the TAD brand, but not the consumer market," he said.

Managing Director of Pioneer Malaysia Kazutoshi Takahashi.

TAD had been in the pro/studio market since 1975 but it only entered the consumer market in 2003 with the launch of the TAD R1 speakers.


After that TAD developed the amplifiers, CD players and more speakers.


"TAD will continue to develop products. They are all hand-made in Japan," he said.


TAD's largest market is the United States followed by Japan.


When asked why TAD's Coherent Sound Transducer with midrange cone and tweeter dome made of beryllium is found in the EX range of Pioneer-brand speakers, he said some of the TAD technology has filtered down to Pioneer speakers, but TAD uses the best technology for its range of speakers.


On how many years' worth of spares are kept by TAD, especially parts that break down often like CD transports, he said TAD has sufficient spares to last a long time.


TAD components are available at AV Designs, Unit M-W-1, Mezzanine Floor,West Wing, Rohas Perkasa, No.9, Jalan P. Ramlee, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: +603-2171 2828 E-mail: sales@avdesigns.com.my