News

Eclipse Launches TD508II Compact Time Domain Speakers (20/3/2006)

£600.00 a pair. These replace the TD508, offer improved sound and are available in White, Silver and Black.

Purity and clarity of sound - Stunning aesthetics - Newly flexible mounting for stereo, surround or install

Following in the footsteps of the larger Eclipse TD510, the new TD508II enjoys the same phase and impulse signal integrity as its' larger sibling and delivers unparalleled clarity and signal accuracy for smaller scale applications. The small size and new multi-angle wall/ceiling bracket, make the 508 ideal for surround and install. Press and audiophiles praised the original Eclipse Time designs, musicians like Brian Eno, Randy Brecker and John Williams use Eclipse and Eclipse are the reference speaker at many studios and at London's Royal Academy of Music. With greater all-round abilities than it's predecessor, the new TD508II is even better, as advanced materials and magnet technology upgrade the performance and the overall sound quality.

Egg-shaped for a reason - To varying degrees the sound from most loudspeakers is coloured and 'warmed' by the ¥apping panels and resonances of a box shaped wooden or plastic cabinet. The TD508II is built to let you hear only the accurate signal from the drive unit, with the cabinet itself adding nothing. The construction and design of the enclosure, with the egg-shaped mineral-loaded resin cabinet, provides the most rigid form known to nature. This eliminates internal standing waves and resonances, preventing masking of the audio signal. The baffle is curved at its edge with the drive unit to reduce diffraction and the driver assembly is floated from the enclosure and mounted on the internal stand to avoid transmission of energy to the cabinet. A large zinc/aluminium/steel anchor weight at the rear of the driver improves transient response, and an exhaust port at the back dissipates energy from the rear of the driver. A single full-range drive unit is employed in order to maximise time, phase and impulse characteristics. The 8cm driver in the TD508II provides a useable frequency response of 50Hz Ð 20 kHz (-10dB). The use of the single driver avoids the further time and phase distortion associated with any form of crossover circuitry.

The sound of these compact speakers is exceptionally transparent, with a remarkable sense of scale and possibly the world's finest stereo imaging. The clarity and sense of integrity in the reproduction and sound staging across the entire frequency range is as much a characteristic signature of the £600.00 TD508II, as it is the £4000 TD712z. There is nothing like these, except their big brothers. Ashley Slater, Noted Trombonist, Composer, Producer commented; "I loved ECLIPSE speakers, the music ¥floats out absolutely effortlessly. It seems quite weightless, but fully coloured. When I had to go back to my boxes, it hurt to hear the sound struggling to get out of them."

- Unobtrusive high-end sound for medium and small rooms
- Stunning stereo imaging and musicality
- A unique sculptural artefact, in which form totally follows function

Two are stunning in stereo, five or seven are magnificent for surround. The matching high speed 316SW subwoofer makes a perfect match.

Time domain design looks at maintaining the time and phase integrity of the source, in effect attempting to bring the listener to the point in space and time at which the recording actually occurred. The most obvious difference from conventional speakers is the egg shape of the TD enclosure. The absence of any flat surfaces, presents sound waves with an effectively infinite baffle. The absence of standing waves and reflections, combines with the structural rigidity of the egg and the inert marble composite from which it is made, to ensure that there are no cabinet resonances to colour, mask or distort the sound. This is a speaker with no acoustic signature, a truly transparent design that allows playback of recordings, free of phase distortion and time delayed signal components, maintaining the time and phase integrity of the musical signal.

The superior impulse response and the uncanny ability to convey coherent images and precisely reproduced spatial information, allows listeners to forget the speakers and be transported to the original recording.

"I have been using Eclipse TD speakers for direct digital signal monitoring while Jamiroquai were rehearsing and they are truly amazing reference speakers. I can hear all the details with precise imaging and, unlike other systems, there is no masking or enhancing effect from the enclosure. They produce a surprisingly punchy, powerful and fast bass as well. It is an ideal speaker for reference." Rick Pope, Chief Engineer, Jamiroquai Studios.

www.eclipse-td.com