Acoustic Research TDS202 TDS Sound Enhancement Sound System (1-Speaker, Silver)

Rating:
Summary: Great sound processor, unique design!
Review: I purchased this item earlier this year may 2004. I would like to say. It's an excellent product for creating a more live soundstage to conventional home theater set-up to more refined high home theater systems. There are plenty of audiophiles such as myself who TWEAK their system irregardless of the components used from low-fi to higher end. Even without the additional sound processors I have bridged with this enhancer, my PIONEER HIGH RECEIVER WITH MAGNEPAN, SRSLABS, THEATER RESEARCH SPEAKERS just bloom into a much wider and lively concerto soundstage.
I have been using various sound processors for 25 years and as a former high end home theater installer, this is basically an advancement of the original OMNISONIC IMAGER made by omnisonix back in 1979, no longer in existence. Carver sonic holography replaced that, which I also had along with DBX 3BX III expanders w/impact restoration...That made any analog recording sound somewhat digital and "LIVE" presentation. The TDS-202 is the refined version of the CARVER HOLOGRAPHY. I have all these processors including the APHEX AUREL EXCITER/BIG BOTTOM which has great reviews and SRSLABS SPATIAL ENHANCER and the CARVER HAV-9 SONIC HOLOGRAPHY...the later version of C-9 made in 1981. I must say, this is a MUST for conventional home theater applications and 2 channel systems creating a 3-dimensional soundstage with wider dynamics. For high end systems, this will improve the 3-dimensional spectrum and expand the acoustical dispersion of your speakers.
If you interconnect all the processors I have included above, the soundstage is short of AMAZING! The recordings from a CD OR DVD sounds as if the band or people are in front or back of you.
The acoustic research TDS-202 enhancer can make any system as they claim SOUND MUCH LIVELIER and with clarity...I AGREE with my technical knowledge and experience to back that up. Remember, all these sound processors are all different and can compliment each other if one has technical knowledge and experience. They are all different and highly recommended. What is great about the TDS-202 is that it doesn't require any voltage or direct current to amplify it. Amazing product for the price and a recommended piece of equipment for the novice to professional/audiophile. Check also the DAXIOM STABILIZERS R-103 OR H-103, the latest technology in sound enhancement, coupled with the ACOUSTIC RESEARCH TDS-202 would create HARMONY in the audioworld.
Remember, Don't compare any of these sound processors/enhancers, they are all patentedly different and COMPLIMENT one another and NOT an ALTERNATIVE.
From a former high end home theater installer with 25 yrs of audio experience,returning to the US ARMY for patriotic reasons, a true audiophile who have been using various processors and accessories since 1979. This product is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent product for mid-fi systems
Review: I've had the original TDS-II box that does the same thing as this one for five or six years. Unlike other little black effect boxes I've tried in the past, this one I've never taken out of the signal path and whenever I play music cd's, I always have the box turned on. When you first hook it up and turn it on, the most apparent thing you notice is the sound becomes louder and slightly brighter. The effect may seem subtle initially but give it a few days and you will definitely prefer the sound being processed by this box because if you go back to ordinary stereo, you'll swear something is missing. Recently, I've used this to enhance cd-r's and playing them back on the car stereo is just awesome-sounding. This unit brings a certain presence to cd's on mid-fi systems & car stereos, especially. I'd recommend this unit over any cable upgrade in a second - I can't understand why the product has not become more popular. Grab one if they're still available. BTW, the description of this product here is quite misleading: this unit has no speaker - it's an effects box.

Rating:
Summary: A great upgrade to any CD based system!!!
Review: This is one of the most effective upgrade products that lets you squeeze the last ounce from your system, specially if it is CD based.

If you have had the chance of listening to an outbaord DAC compared to the built-in electronics on the average CD or DVD player and found that that is the way to go, then prepare yourself to feel that experience again.

I don't want to stress the fact that you need an outboard DAC to realize the benefits of the TDS (it also works greatly with stand alone state of the art CD and DVD players); just get another set of analog interconnects to insert the TDS between your DAC, CD or DVD player to your pre-amp, turn on the unit and that's it: a system upgrade that will bring out a sound experience very close to the megabuck dimension!

If you prefer, you can also insert the TDS between the stereo output of your pre-amp and the input of your amp. I have it connected this way and not only outperforms the high quality sound I thought I had before on my digital front end but the whole system (these are DSS, VCR, LDP, CD, DVD, TD, etc.), achieving the very same results with any of the components.

A caution note should be observed: as this is a completely passive device (doesn't need to be plugged into the AC outlets), it is propense to suffer from EM/RFI distortion produced by the active units nearby, so you will have to put it far enough from such devices in order to have it working properly (without noise distortion). The TDS comes with a pair of 1 meter lenght AR stereo interconnects, which are very useful and show the average quality of AR stuff; nevertheless, you can do better with higher quality ones.

The effect is, in a word, outstanding! TDS recovers sound info that otherwise is subtle or not audible from the recordings played in your system as is, which can be defined as: spatial presence (or 3 dimentionality), sound decay, differentiation (clean timbre), realism and all without altering the original signal passed thru it. Human voice, piano, guitar and strings sound in a very relaxed and natural way that could be addictive; the generally congested sound of a pipe organ is transformed to a very pleasant and detailed experience, without being edgy or harsh at all.

In summary, the TDS is a worthy upgrade for your system but don't expect that the magic begin just the minute after you inserted it in the chain; TDS needs some burn-in period before a reliable veredict comes out, so give it a break of at least 1 week before judging or enjoying the benefits that will arise.

So enjoy sound, music and life...!