[matix]

If I only have 1K to splurge,  should I go for room treatment products or get a used Tact RCS2.0?  I know doing both is best,  but just want to somehow put a "value" on Tact's room correction feature.  

[CJ Paul]

Room treatments do more than just correct for frequency response.  Does the Tact address overall decay etc? or just FR?  I've never used one.

[bpape]

Definitely treatments.  

EQ is a nice thing to have - especially something like the TACT.   But, EQ can only do so much, won't deal with nulls, won't get you appropriate decay times at all seats, etc.

[95bcwh]

I would first do the room treatment with acoustic materials. Tact has its limitation, you still need room treatment to bring the best out of Tact.

I have been thinking about getting a Tact just like you but decided to take my time. Part of the reason is because Tact keep changing/upgrading their technology. They're coming up with Tact 2.2XP to replace the 2.2X. Tact 2.2XP will be shipping next week.

If you're looking at Tact 2.0, that's using a 2-generation old technology from Tact.

For me, I am convinced that doing room treatment will be enough to make me happy for the time being. Room correction with Tact will be the next step up, but I can wait until they upgrade the existing Tact 2.0s with the technology they have in Tact 2.2XP.

[Ethan Winer]

Treatments for sure. Besides what Bryan said, EQ won't help first reflections or ambience / echo problems. I think of EQ as icing on the cake, not the cake itself.

--Ethan

[miklorsmith]

Tact 2.2XP will be shipping next week.

How do you know?  Link?

[Glenn K]

If I only have 1K to splurge,  should I go for room treatment products or get a used Tact RCS2.0?  I know doing both is best,  but just want to somehow put a "value" on Tact's room correction feature.  

Go for the room treatments.. I have read 100's of reviews after some treated there room about how it was $ for $ there best improvement, but can't remember one that was about a EQ doing the samething..

Glenn

[95bcwh]

miklorsmith,
  I just called Tact, spoke to the sales person and also spoke to the engineer to learn about the difference between 2.2X and 2.2XP.

2.2XP is a completely new design. It allows dynamic room correction, e.g. as you change your volume level, the curve will change accordingly. It also has more storage for different curves than the 2.2X. It's more user-friendly than 2.2X.

[Kevin Haskins]

Room treatment first and then a good PEQ on each channel.   I'd pass on the TACT because the only thing I'd want to correct for in the electronic domain is the bass room nodes and then only the peaks, not the nulls.

[RichardS]

Seems like there's a lot of recommendations here from people who haven't used the Tact equipment. (':?') I would encourage folks to try it in their systems (there are few who have tried it and not been very impressed with what it can do).

I've used lots of room treatments. At one time I had eight Argent Room Lenses, two Roomtunes, two Bassbusters, four corner tunes, four echotunes and several other diffusers. These made a notable improvement, but not even close to being in the same league as the Tact 2.2x. I still use a couple Bassbusters and Roomtunes, but could easily live without them. I couldn't live without the Tact.

Bass nodes can (and do) absolutely ruin midrange openess and clarity in many rooms. To me, controlling these is dozens of times more significant than controlling reflections. Yes, Tact is making upgrades. That's a good thing. It doesn't in any way minimize the usefullness of their older products.

There are actually many positive reviews of the Tact equipment, including  a recent TAS and several online at Stereotimes.

If I had $1k to spend in an all-digital system, Tact room correction would be at the top of my list. My system sounded better with the Tact and a $1K DAC than it did without using a $5K DAC.

You won't know how much improvement it will make for you though, until you try it.

[Carlman]

I have both; physical room correction and TacT.  They correct different sets of things but overlap in some also.  I can't live without either now.  I'm 50/50 on room correction via panels/bass traps and the TacT.
If you get a screaming deal on either, go for it, you'll pleased either way.

-C

[ctviggen]

The question is where to put the 1k.  For my 1k, I chose room treatments.  The TACT is not a cure all.  I also plan on implementing my own room correction (for free -- at least from a software perspective).   I think to get the best sound, you'll need both room treatments and digital correction.  It's up to you as to which you buy first.

[95bcwh]

I don't think you need $1k to do room treatment but you probably need  $1k or more for Tact.

If you're happy with what RCS2.0 can offer, and if you can find a used RCS2.0 for $1k, then I would still spend another $200 to place a some DIY panels in your room. Hence for $1.2k you can get both. I must say I find it difficult to get a super deal on Tact. The best deal I have got so far was 17% off on a brand new RCS2.0S w/ DAC.

IMHO, digital technology is changing very fast, I cannot predict how Tact products will evolve in 5 years time.  But I know whenever new technology comes out, hardly anyone will want to look at the old one. If I buy a Tact, I would want to get it modified and that would add additional $1k. I'm not rich, so I am hesitant to spend $4k on Tact right now, knowing that it will probably worth nothing in just a few years time, and i will need to splash out another few thousands to buy the newer version.

[zybar]

IMHO, digital technology is changing very fast, I cannot predict how Tact products will evolve in 5 years time. But I know whenever new technology comes out, hardly anyone will want to look at the old one. If I buy a Tact, I would want to get it modified and that would add additional $1k. I'm not rich, so I am hesitant to spend $4k on Tact right now, knowing that it will probably worth nothing in just a few years time, and i will need to splash out another few thousands to buy the newer version.

You are correct that the technology will continue to improve and get cheaper.  What you simply have to ask yourself is it worth "x" to have it now and enjoy it over "y" number of years.

For me the answer is yes, but for others it is no.

I went through the same exercise on a digital pj and bought a Marantz VP12-S1 four years ago.  Was it worth it to me?  ABSOLUTELY!!

George

[zybar]

If I only have 1K to splurge,  should I go for room treatment products or get a used Tact RCS2.0?  I know doing both is best,  but just want to somehow put a "value" on Tact's room correction feature.  

Acoustic room treatments should be your starting point regardless of budget.

Want to improve your system?

1.  Proper speaker/listener placement (free)
2.  Acoustic room treatments (cheap to expensive)
3.  Room or signal correction (cheap to expensive)

In terms of the TacT...

If you don't do #1 and #2 above, you are minimalizing its effectiveness.  As others have said, the TacT isn't a magical fix for ALL audio issues.  Instead it is a very effective tool that when used properly and within the correct scope, can make a very big positive impact to your system.

George

[95bcwh]

You are correct that the technology will continue to improve and get cheaper.  What you simply have to ask yourself is it worth "x" to have it now and enjoy it over "y" number of years.

For me the answer is yes, but for others it is no.

I went through the same exercise on a digital pj and bought a Marantz VP12-S1 four years ago.  Was it worth it to me?  ABSOLUTELY!!

George

Indeed, I cannot agree more! I just have to work harder until I make over $200k a year, then I will budget $5k to $10k a year doing what you're doing..

[miklorsmith]

Per TacT:

The 2.2XP upgrade entails a new motherboard and new floating-point based DSP
engine. The new DSP engine is required to run the DRC internally - this is one of
the departures from the 2.2X: all target curve info storage and processing
occurs in the unit. This new approach is what allows for on the fly
adjustments.

The cost for the upgrade is 1,990 USD.

The cost for the new 2.2XP is as follows:

RCS 2.2XP D.DD : 4,490.00
2.2XP AD Module: 549.00
2.2XP DA Module: 449.00
RCS 2.2XP A.AA: 5,937.00

[zybar]

Per TacT:

The 2.2XP upgrade entails a new motherboard and new floating-point based DSP
engine. The new DSP engine is required to run the DRC internally - this is one of
the departures from the 2.2X: all target curve info storage and processing
occurs in the unit. This new approach is what allows for on the fly
adjustments.

The cost for the upgrade is 1,990 USD.

The cost for the new 2.2XP is as follows:

RCS 2.2XP D.DD : 4,490.00
2.2XP AD Module: 549.00
2.2XP DA Module: 449.00
RCS 2.2XP A.AA: 5,937.00

So far the reviews/comments on the new unit haven't been glowing.

From my perspective, that money would be much better spent having Anthony Padilla turn the 2.2x into a world class preamp and dac.  

George

[matix]

edit: double post

[matix]

miklorsmith,
  I just called Tact, spoke to the sales person and also spoke to the engineer to learn about the difference between 2.2X and 2.2XP.

2.2XP is a completely new design. It allows dynamic room correction, e.g. as you change your volume level, the curve will change accordingly. It also has more storage for different curves than the 2.2X. It's more user-friendly than 2.2X.

I am new to Tact..... It seems that the orignal owner started his own company known as Lyngdorf, and there is a "perfect room" technology or something like that in the pipeline.  Is this similar to the 2.2XP?