Since the i-fidelity.net test speakers were already broken in, we could skip the procedure specified by the Danes at about 150 hours. A loudspeaker of this caliber must also be able to handle shallow content, so I was playing »He's The Greatest Dancer« by Sister Sledge. Here you don’t have any expectations and will be »Lost In Music« pretty soon. Soundwise this is the typical late ’70s style. What was taken down to tape back then at the recording studio, is now brought back to life with a well rooted groove, by light and breezy guitars and the sisters’ vocals. The first surprise is that nothing sounds like insipid canned music here, instead the projection of the music appears credible. Okay, we don’t need to mention that the TD2.2 is underchallenged with such stuff, but at least this music can be listened to in a relaxed mood.
From underload to challenge
Konstantin Scherbakov from Russia plays Beethoven’s piano sonata no. 23, and now things get really serious. The grand piano is pictured like a holographic image between the speakers, the hard, focused work of the hands is coming alive, comprehensible, and due to their momentum, single touches develop something impressive, partly even threatening. The instrument’s timbre is unsurpassable in its naturalness, the timing as perfect as it can get. With your eyes closed the illusion becomes consummate. Such a level can only be achieved with absolute top-class loudspeakers; adducing other speakers for a comparison will make them rather sound like toys for minutes. By contrast, the grand piano sounds matured over the Raidhos and to top it all off, the reverberation creates a phantastic spatial sensation.
Let’s now switch from the solo instrument to the Dallas Winds orchestra. How successful a composition for a movie background has been conceived can only be noticed when there are no pictures to the music. Thus the »Superman: March« from SACD is like the admission ticket to a concert hall. For the actual experience the sound level isn’t the crucial factor, but it happens rather rarely that even with high volumes there are still never-ending reserves on tap. Moreover, the masking effects are smaller than with loudspeakers by the competition. With the TD2.2 the delicate ’plings’ of the triangles are clearly audible in the midst of the complex piece – something which I attribute to the foil tweeter. The composition is dominated by the brass players who even in the energetic forte passages can’t keep the Danish lady from staying so cool. This is just superb!
When the guitars ring out with force ...
… Eric Clapton’s Crossroads 3 accounts for it, turning »Lay Down Sally« into a demonstration of finest guitar craft; the live character of the recording arises in a natural way with an instantaneously real effect. The good fun of the musicians which results from the seemingly easy mastery of the guitars can be felt to an incredible extent. When Eric Clapton finally leaves the stage to Andy Fairweather Low for his solo, you’re sitting at your listening spot, seriously pondering because the musicians’ performance is obviously a perfect fit to the skills of the Raidho while the substantial, energetic bass seems to belie the elegant appearance of the cabinet completely, because it now sounds more like an open-air PA system. Until this day I have never heard this magnificent CD in a better way than over the Raidho TD2.2. This is a true revelation and the uncompromising fulfilment of the high-end promise.
