Tag Mclaren.

Well I am not using the Tag's DAC yet. However, I will say that the DAC I used for testing today sounds better than the Realtek onboard in the PC I use here. I have no idea what DAC chip is in there though.
 
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Now that's a sexy-looking case. The red latches set off the blue nicely and really make the Bosch logo pop! :D Yeah, I'm a tool-aholic. Just...need...one...more tool! :D
 
So today I machined what will hopefully be the last pieces. Last night after I posted I drilled and tapped the little table thing for the digital sound thing. I then fitted that properly. Today I made something similar for the filter in the rear.

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I just didn't want it hovering around in there.

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That should be all of the machining done. I do have a couple of things left to do, namely painting the edge where it meets the face panel here.

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The top used to have tangs in that area that push fit into the sides of the front. Problem is it had been mangled and when I repaired it it ended up that the tangs would not go in there. Not even with a plastic hammer :D so I cut them off, but now you can see that silver metal through the gaps. I will likely just cut some vinyl pieces and stick them down.
 
OK just a quickie. I decided to cover those parts with vinyl. If I paint it the likelihood is it will scratch off very easily. I ordered the vinyl but it didn't arrive in time (common theme).

I also needed a 5m HDMI cable to set it up properly. 3m will reach but will be hanging in the air (never ideal). Problem is every 5m I have ever used has been crap, and either dropped signal or didn't work at all. Decided to splash on this, £35.

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Looks like it's been a fun little project! Are there any things you wish you'd done/designed differently now it's done?

TBH you don’t get a lot of choices in such a tiny shell.

I’d like to have fitted a BR. That said I only have one of those…. Also if the drive ever packs in I will go with a slot loader for sure.
 
The 4312G Ghost Edition look really well priced at the moment, heavily discounted.

Their size is an obvious concern, but there seems to be differing opinions over what sort of power is needed to drive them appropriately.

Do you have any first impressions?
 
Yes many. They sound amazing. They are also nowhere near as big as you would think either. Like, before I was running two pairs of small speakers up front. I didn't realise that what I was looking for wasn't achievable.

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What I mean is? dynamics. I had always had big speakers with three way designs. Apparently stereo imaging is better on small speakers but it wasn't that I wanted. So I relocated the L52 classics to the rear, put the Revel in the bedroom (ongoing project in there) and these actually take up less space than what I had before.

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Sadly when I returned I returned with a nice dose of Covid, but that has given me a lot of time to listen. BTW the legs? yeah, after I got the speakers for £999 delivered I was in no mood to spend 1/3 of that on the stands. So I spent £30 on 8 chrome legs, 8 M8 spikes, and a pack of 16mm screws and did it that way.

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Just a simple drill and tap and they were good to go.

So as for the sound? forget what you think they will sound like. I really thought I had gone too far and it was worrying me. I don't want to be evicted. However, they sound nothing like you would think. I suppose "Studio Monitors" should have given that away but they go no deeper than what I had there before. However the 3 way design? is what I had been missing. I forgot just how dynamic larger speakers sound with a purposely fitted mid range driver. IE, taking that duty off of the woofer.

To save you many hours in research... The difference between these and the L100? not much. The bass driver is pretty much identical, same frame etc, just a slightly smaller magnet. The mid driver is the same one, and the tweeter is all but the same only the dome is alu instead of Ti. The biggest "cut" is the cabinets. Whilst almost identical they are covered in white plastic veneer instead of real veneer and apparently there is less bracing. So basically yeah they are a slightly cut down L100 but then the L100 sell for over 4 grand. These had an RRP of 3 grand, but at £999? you will feel like you just pulled off the great train robbery.

I would imagine that loud they are absolutely mind blowing, but I have found myself actually turning them down. Simply because of the details and dynamics. It almost feels like if you turned them up really loud you would lose that.

End game speakers for sure. Something that no bookshelf speaker, no matter how expensive, can match. I had a set of Revel M105 there (£1600 RRP) and a set of L52 Classic (£1000 RRP) and these sound very different and far more expensive. And again, nothing like you would expect either.
 
Oh and as for power to drive them? don't worry about it. I have the Tag 100P going into them and it is more than enough. They are "only" rated 100-200w. It's the sensitivity that helps them no end. The Revel? low 80s. That means to get what you want out of them you had to drive them pretty hard. Meaning loud and shouty. These are the complete opposite. They emit buckets of sound at much lower volumes. And again, the dynamics make them fill the entire room with sound without driving them in any way hard. I would say 60w per channel will be more than enough for the desired result tbh. I've never turned the volume up more than 43db on the pre amp, which is less than half of what it goes to.
 
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