Review of the TIDAL Sunray

TIDAL was exhibiting at the Rocky Mountain Audio Festival: Piano Cera, Preos & Impact
1. October 2011
BEST SOUND OF CES 2012
1. January 2012
Show all

Review of the TIDAL Sunray

"An assault on the state of the speaker art that honors the music."

...A more relevant face-off for admirers of the TIDAL sound is between the Sunrays and the Contriva Diacera SEs, which I reviewed more than a year ago. 

I expected that the Sunrays would be more accomplished than their smaller, less expensive brethren, owing to the ambition of their design, their sheer size and their driver complement, but their performance was significantly better in every way. 
They sounded bigger, more transparent (especially through the midrange), and wider in bandwidth...

 

They also revealed more about each piece of equipment in front of them, but unlike speakers that are ruthless in the way they expose such variation, the Sunrays always sounded composed, always made deeply involving music.... 
...After spending months with the Sunrays, I get it. These are uniquely revealing and musical speakers whose spatial characteristics and tonal sophistication befit their stature and unusual design. 
More than enjoying the Sunrays, I valued them as an alternative to so many big, expensive speakers whose promise goes unrealized for one reason or another.

(You can find the whole review at > SPEAKERS > SUNRAY > SPECIFICATIONS)