[Eric]

has anyone had any experience with this company:

http://www.2baudio.com/

[Bucky]

i have bought two products and tubes from paul (TAD-60 / TADAC).  products are very good from a sound and build perspective.  his products are a great value for the money and he stands behind them.

[pearsall001]

I have Paul's TADAC & it is extremely musical top to bottom in it's presentation. I am very impressed to say the least. Paul is also very customer oriented & will go the extra mile for you. Highly recommended.

[Norman Tracy]

I ran into these guys on audiogon thinking TAD was the Pioneer division Technical Audio Devices. Instead I find their knockoffs of the B&W 805. My advice is be sure and read the fine print, here is a quote off the TERMS section of their web site:

"Minor cosmetic flaws (though rare) are not covered – a small finish nick, small light scrape, tiny crack or dimple in the finish or grill cloth wrinkle is hand made human character. Large cracks, corner damage or major grill damage are rare (extremely well packed). This type of damage is covered by the included shipping insurance. Damage claims can only be made within 3-days from delivery (courier will pick-up, pack in original cartons for inspection)."

What they call "hand made human character" some will call "factory seconds & QC rejects". I think some of the toy companies are having similar issues with their Chinese factories quality and material control. Contrast this to another factory direct on the 'net companies policy here:
http://www.tyleracoustics.com/return_policy.html

Just to be clear reading Tube Audio Devices policies I am struck here is the voice of experience making very clear how the shipping damage risk is to be split between them and the customer. And perhaps inoculating themselves against the more OCD infected audiophiles out there. This is an area often overlooked by bargain shoppers going direct on the web. When you shop retail at your local dealer shipping damage is something they have to hassle with and you only see on the scratch and dent table. Going direct we take the gamble if damage occurs the hassle is on my front porch in a smashed torn box. Then we discover what kind of company we are dealing with.

[pearsall001]

From your post I take it that you're talking about first hand shipping damage problems with Paul's gear. Please explain what was damaged & how well was it handled by Paul. We all know the pitfalls when we order from the web.

My experience with Paul's DAC is that it was so well packed, the UPS driver would have to go out of his way to damage it. Not a scratch, dent or anything. Well done from top to bottom.

But really, I doubt if you ordered anything & are just looking out for our best interest. Thanks, I'll keep that in mind if I ever order off the web again.

[tdangelo]

excellent product and even better customer service

[Bucky]

Norman,

You are way off.  TAD (or Paul) is not saying that he doesn't cover damage, he is just saying that the product may ship with a minor nick or insignificant scratch or case.  The two products that I have purchased looked perfectly fine to me. It may not be perfectly smooth if i run my finger along the edge of the front plate but its not noticeable when I step back and look at it.  He is just giving you the honest truth.  At the prices that he charges I don't believe he can afford to scrap a case for one tiny nick/scratch. Paul has been in business a long time and gives customers an unbeatable deal.  I can't say this for alot of small one man or small team manufactures.  Especially ones that have been in business a couple of years and charge thousands of dollars for a product that we all know does not cost them near that much to build.

[Scottdazzle]

Paul G. at TAD is honest, friendly, and easy to deal with. He modified my TAD-150 preamp to add a set of record outs at a very nominal price. I have a TADAC on order and can't wait to get it. I trust Paul and I believe you can, too.

[Jim N.]

No problems ever dealing with Paul of BizzyBee (TAD). I have had the TAD 150 preamp for 2 years. It arrived in perfect condition. His tube dampers (no longer available) are quite good. Great bang for the buck stuff. At least his policy is up front and honest. I doubt he has very large margins and swapping out a perfectly good unit due to a minor cosmetic flaw would force him to raise prices. Heck, I picked up the TAD 150 Signature Edition new for $921.00 delivered when he had a Chistmas sale two years ago.

[ken]

I've purchased several items from Paul over the years starting with the cayin tad 30  the signature 150 preamp and the Tad 1000 monobolocks.  all represent outstanding value and sheer musicality.  I would have to spend appreciably more money to approach the sound I get from the 1000 monoblocks / 150 combination and have no plans on replacing either one anytime soon.  I have had no problems with any of his gear cosmetically or otherwise.  Paul's customer service is great and have had many conversations with him over the years and  he is sometimes difficult to get off the phone with, and I don't mean that in a disparaging way.  Bottom line is that Paul stands behind what he sells and I'll  be purchasing his Tadac in the not so near future

[TheChairGuy]

3rd purchase from Paul at BizzyBee....all good for me 

Here's the latest - their 805SD is quite good - and remarkable at the price. The product looks good upon arrival....not the finish of a $1000 speaker, but passable, absolutely.

The pack job was excellent...as good as it gets on that.

Here's a story and pics I think are on p.5: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=47755.20

You'll do fine, Eric, with Paul @ Bizzy Bee

John

[Eric]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I am interested in the TAD 1000 monos. Has anyone heard them? How would you characterize their sound?

[jbsl]

I have bought 2 products from Paul.

Cayin TA 30
TADAC

Both great products for the money. 

For anyone interested here is what I think after having it for 3 months now.

I bought a Cayin TA 30 tube int amp from Paul about 3 years ago so when I read other good posts on Paul's TADAC I ordered it. Paul is one of the great things about buying the TADAC he has great customer service!

So I only had an extra $100 so I had to choose between the tube knob or the gain volume control
I went with the tube knob but sent it back to get the gain volume knob.  Now both the tube knob and volume gain control is standard on the TADAC.

The volume knob is a plus cause it lets you adjust the gain from the TADAC to match your system.

My speakers are 104 DB and the gain that is set on the TADAC was too high for my speakers. I would get some distortion when I turned up the volume on my preamp to levels that I normally used with my cd player. So with the gain volume control it let me set the gain to match my speakers and no more problems.  So you may find the gain volume knob usefull.

The tube knob lets you adjust the amount of harmonics to the sound.

I usually have it set about 11:00-1:00.
7:00-4:00 being the range on the knob, 7:00 less of the extra 3d rich harmonics I guess more of a SS state sound. Turn the tube knob up and you get more of the 3D rich harmonics that tubes give the sound.

With the tube knob certain recording just sounds as close to live as i've heard from digital sources! On other recordings it does add but not as much, and on some there is not much of a difference to my ears.     

I was using the TADAC with a Denon 2900 DVD player as transport and now I have it hooked up to my NAD C542 tsolink and have a USB cable from my computer a Soundblaster live external sound card and out to the TADAC by a digital coaxial cable.  I record cds to my computer using EAC and use FOOBAR to playback music.  This works great!!!  I'm listening to a playlist with 350 songs, just hit shuffle and I have a jutebox.  This is great cause never have to change cds out and the sound quality is just as good as cds. 
Now one thing I have noticed is that sometimes a album sounds better from the computer and sometimes a album sounds better from the cd player.  The computer plays bad recordings better than my cd player does but don't misunderstand me it's not like they sound outstanding now just bearable.

The TADAC does play SACD CDs , if the SACD does not have a cd version it will not play, do not confuse the stereo version for the cd version. You can also use the TADAC with some DVD Audio but you may have to go into the set up and set it for 2 channel, stereo, dobly digital. I have used it with movies and does a great job with centering dialouge but not as good as a 5.1 surround set up for movies.  but on some movies it does not work.

My Luxman has a balanced input  an I always wanted to try the balanced inputs since I got the Luxman so this was another reason I got the TADAC.  Now RJMO(RememberJustMyOpinion) but the balanced out from the TADAC to my Luxman sounds more detailed, better soundstage than the regular rca cables. 

This is the first DAC I've owned and I'm very happy with it! 

I've been using Mullard CV4003s in it and they sound great also. The EH sounded more detailed, the Mullards have smoother midrange.
No regrets on my part and recomend it to anyone wanting a DAC that sounds great and lets you add some features if you want it.

[Bucky]

I felt that the Mullards CV4003s sounded like mush in the TADAC, way to warm.  Much worse than the supplier EH.  Per Paul's recommendations I swapped the JJ EC99s from my TAD-60 into the TADAC and the TADAC sounded much much better.  I need to try some other 12AU7s in there.