Saturday, September 17, 2011

TAOC Tite-13GS

The TAOC Tite-13GS is tiny, especially compared to its much larger and heavier siblings in the TAOC range.

Picture from TAOC's official website


Measuring just 25 mm in diameter and 10 mm in thickness, each piece weights 30 grams. Sold in a set of 8, their primary use is to act as an isolation disc in between the base of bookshelf speakers and speaker stands.

Apart from that, their use is limited only by your imagination. The local dealer suggests that you can also use them as equipment footers to support very small equipment (like USB/SPDIF converters, power supply boxes etc), or on top of equipment to damp chassis resonance.

I tried a single piece each on top of my Audio-Gd DAC-19 and Kingrex PSU-MkII. Initial results were not encouraging, with the tonal balance simply feeling a bit unnatural. After some experimentation, they ended up close to the transformers. Interestingly, they sounded better off center, rather than directly over the transformer.

In typical TAOC fashion, there is a slight improve in focus, and noticeable improvement in midrange and bass texture and weight.

Used in their intended application, I had mixed results. The reduction in bass boom results in a tighter and leaner presentation. There is an improvement in separation and high frequency extension. However, the midrange becomes more forward and the overall soundstage becomes a few rows closer. The midrange had a lack of ease which I found quite unnatural over time. I ended up re-deploying them on top of equipment, where I had better results.

They cost about SGD 140-180 for a set (depending on promotions offered by the local dealer). Best to try before you buy.

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