Boy am I late to this thread! I'll answer the original query first:
1) I listened to them from Taboo balanced -> HE1000v2

2) I'd pay $400-500

To me, they're a very nice, handmade, wood computer speaker that doesn't compromise on sound like all other computer speakers. Marketed that way, to complete a gaming/music/music setup where limited run keyboards can cost $4-500, these will have a strong appeal.

Steve, how much power do they need for a bedroom/office sized room? No need for them to play loud, but I wouldn't want to compromise on any part of the range at mid-volume. Would the Taboo be enough? What about my CSP2+, or handful of other semi-portable solid state headphone amps?

What would complete the appeal would be to be able to drive them from something pocket sized, or small tablet sized. At that point, they're a true tiny desktop speaker solution when space/price is at a premium.

Thanks,
Richard

Hi to the group, this is Kevin.  Just purchased the red sapele TR's.  I can't take credit for stalking, I just happen to be on Facebook when they were posted there and jumped over.   However, stalking the page does seem like a good idea!  Excited to receive them especially after trying to build a pair for myself from the plans...didn't work out too well.  I have a Zen on order but will run them on a PS Audio Sprout while I wait.

khedspeth,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting!  I look forward to your impressions with both amps!

Steve

I went from 18’ all the way to 18 feet..I have one in the dining room and one radial in the family room...they have disappeared,crazy imaging,classical,jazz,piano,guitar,simply incredible.

It's been a few weeks and I am enjoying my TR's very much. I had been using them with a Line Magnetic 218ia mini but wanted to see what a "better" SET amp would do so I went and picked up a well used Rachel.  IMO, these speakers have limitations and sound better to me with the "softer" genre's rather than more modern music. Even though my particular pair are dense and a bit heavier (s/n#004 see early posts by Steve) they still "bounce" and "walk" when I play more "lively" music and push the volume. They do a good job filling a small 12 x 14 office and have a nice bottom end despite the tiny 1.5" drivers, (great job on the design).

I hope to get a second pair eventually w/ the nicer binding posts, the heavier top piece and a fancy/rare/exotic wood with some nice shine and depth to it. I'm happy to let you guys fight over them for now, I can wait, and have no desire to stalk the page, I'm enjoying "watching" Steve master these little buggers one week at a time.

I put them head to head w/ my Falcon LS3/5A's and the truth is the Falcon's sound cleaner, richer, more natural with better Timbre, detail and depth to me, but NOT so much better that I would feel lacking or deprived with only the Tiny Radials as my daily drivers. The TR's are also NOT as amp picky as the Falcon's and at a savings of over $2k in comparison allow you plenty of amplifier and source choices if you were to build a nice small room set-up based on the Tiny Radials. They take well to a subwoofer and I have found them extremely easy to integrate with even an inexpensive sub. I prefer mine spaced about 5' apart and all that's left is for me to figure out some kind of isolating base for them to keep the vibrations off my desk. I'm really loving these and look forward to my second set a bit later on in the year. Good health to you Steve, stay well please and keeping making such awesome stuff for us.

Wow Steve, much respect for your restraint, and then the perseverance to continue to figure out solutions to make them workable TR. Just wow. They would have become firewood for me for sure, though maybe not because it's currently summer..

I think I requested a Burl or two! Hopefully this isn't one of mine causing you such aggravation.

Richard

Tubecan, Bottlehead, JohnWatson & Nick324  thank you for posting your results!  It really helps to learn how each pair of these is getting used.

Steve

khedspeth welcome to the forums!  Since you bring up 3D printing, now is a good time to mention that I have been thinking of hosting a contest to see who can 3D print the coolest Tiny Radials and wondering if a $500 prize to the winner is any kind of real incentive, and wondering if there is a particular place to announce such a thing.  I am sure there are some great artists out there who can stun us all.  Besides the prize money we would name the design after the artist.  Do you think something like that would fly?

Steve

Steve,

I agree on the 3D printing contest, great idea.  I'd love to see what some of the creative people can come up with.  I think I better buy up a few sets of the Tang Band speakers, they might run out of stock!

My current 3D prints are to test sound only, I get no points for creativity in the design.

Is there any back wave on these Tang Band drivers?
It sure doesn't look like it.

Hmm, if not that changes everything on our initial plan of some sort of exotic looking horn.

Some ideas were thrown about some sort of spherical radial-horn mashup.

I'll think of some way of inspiring the designers to keep thinking.

You used to be able to buy DNA speakers with a Zen amp built into the cabinet. . . .  I have never heard anyone comment on them at all. If you're really interested I would talk with Steve or Sarah. . . .

I keep watching these hoping they'll be listed for sale soon

Wow!! Those almost look like old world cartography on a tiny radial.

Was that the end result of the Burl that gave you so much trouble a few posts above? Thank goodness it didn't get turned into firewood..

Richard

So this is actually the one that launched across my shop and tormented me.  



You can see the repair in the right mitre (scroll right) if you know what to look for.  I was able to hide it in the radius with the high gloss that keeps your eye moving to the next surface.

https://decware.wistia.com/medias/up43wjmz63

Here is a video of the pair, be sure to watch this, it is just beautiful wood.

Steve

They look amazing, just bought one of these beauties, looking forward seeing (and hearing) them in person!  :)

Sure thing, I can also do the unfair comparison to my ERRx  ;)

Still waiting for the next batch to go on sale so I can try one for desktop use

The tough part may be figuring out whether to snag the next one available, or to wait to see if any of my suggestions turn into TR. Good quandary to have I think.

This one is absolutely beautiful. If it's available for sale, I may not be able to hold out.

Thanks,
Richard

Bottle,

2 small rooms  with a couch between them,those master series would be here if I had the ‘room’.just have to keep waiting till they’re the size of my head with that rs5 alnico...I swear I dreamt  that,and a tiny version of the DNA,same woofer.

CINNAMON AFROMOSIA & EXOTIC AMBOYNA BURL SOLD last night. Better luck next time.

Is there an adjacent wall you can mount the amp on?

Thx, I like the hanging it off the wall idea

UPDATE

Tonight I want to talk about the lens...

So far my 3D printing with resin experience has been mostly miserable despite the good results, the time it is taking and the failed prints for more reasons than I could list.  Since I am OK with the print when it comes out right, I did the logical thing and sent it to a real 3D printing business.  One that could 3D print metal if I wanted.  Hehe, in fact I priced a lens printed in solid gold and it was only $28,000.00.  I'm pretty sure that any company with the ability to do that, and the balls to list it on the site can handle my little task.  The price for the lens comes to about $20.00 a lens.  Worth it in my opinion if they come out good.  I should know next week.

The lens design works on pressure, not reflection.  I designed it to make the speakers sound like they were in the next room, and that's exactly how they sound.  That said, if you are using them as desktop speakers or setting directly in the sweet spot, you may like a bit more presence in the top end.

After a week or so of designing more esoteric lenses now that I can 3D print it vs. make it from wood, I received such a Zen solution it's just mind numbing. Any reflector needs a large surface area that is either flat or very slightly arced, like your hand. Anything like that has two issues right of the bat... A) it looks like shit and B) it's directional.

An upside-down Hershey's kiss shaped reflector does not work because counter intuitively it is round and makes no pressure. Neither does a solid crystal sphere the same diameter as the driver or smaller, which is sad because that may have looked cool too. In fact you can't hear the spheres when they are placed and removed. Does basically nothing but actually reduce presence.

So, once again the answer was so obvious, I couldn't see it, looking for something more complicated until finally the Audio Gods had had enough and stuck me in the eye with the answer. It hurt too. Nevertheless, here is the answer, straight from above, and man does it work well.




It is like adding a tweeter, but it's 100% radially dispersed! I'm still shaking my head at how well these work for the intended purpose.

You can't make this shit up.

I will sell the extra lens on the Tiny Radial Project Page when they become available.  I will call it a "presence layer".  




Steve

Yes,

So now that I am listening to the Tiny Radials with a second "presence layer" there is a dramatic change to what I am used to. Before they sounded like they were in the next room, which is to say that I kept thinking I was listening to the speakers in the listening room instead of in the  adjacent space where myself and the speakers actually are. This mod makes the speakers sound like they are in this space, no question, and for desktop listening it takes things to another level.

It changes the sound from a background sound to a foreground sound. I would like to eventually make them magnetically attach to the existing lens so you can easily take them on and off.

This is only the second time I have gotten to hear a true radial high frequency pattern that works right. The other time was the egg speakers. This is better because it doesn't rely on peaked frequency response to make up for dispersion losses. The lens design on the Tiny Radial increases efficiency so it is just the opposite of the egg design.

So, in summary, yes they are in the room now, not in the next room and as soon as I want to have big background music coming from the next room I'll simply remove the second lens.

This has taken foreground listening with the little subwoofer to new heights as well! Crap, with the sub and the added 6dB of highs from the second lens, the sound is pretty damn good in a small space, it would be some real head games to play on unsuspecting friends when they find out the sound is coming from a 2 watt amp driving 1.5 inch speakers with a tiny 8 inch subwoofer.  

Remembering back to the oringal Bose Acoustimass® system, while in fairness it got a lot louder, this Tiny Radial rig just spanks its ass all over the place... not even close. The Acoustimass® cubes I measured in my lab had a 12dB peak at 200Hz. The sub was crossed at around 180Hz. The plastic enclosures made playing loud sound like a plastic dildo burning on the stove...  but it was the general publics first exposure to the illusion of a hidden subwoofer and tiny speakers... and for that they deserve a lot of credit.