The family business TAD Audiovertrieb GmbH is celebrating its 20th anniversary these days. To mark this anniversary, the German sales department is presenting a very special drive which was designed in collaboration with its long-standing partner Rega Research Limited, namely the Rega TAD anniversary edition.
How time flies… For 20 years now, the company TAD Audiovertrieb GmbH has been a constant in the German market. This makes the distribution company one of the most renowned in the German hi-fi scene, although after all these years it is still a family business with a traditional character.
Founded in the year 2000 by a – in the best sense of the word – veteran of the hi-fi scene, Hannes Knorn, with many years of experience in the most diverse areas of the industry, as well as Achim Spelling, from the very beginning it was the declared aim of TAD Audiovertrieb GmbH to look after brands for the German market with which one has a very special personal relationship, and thus to offer a sales activity with a mixture of competence and passion. Over the years, the company has built up a sales programme that always focuses on the best possible sound at an attractive price. Achim Spelling left the company a few years ago, and this was also the time when Hannes Knorn completely transformed the company into a family business, as in 2015 his daughter, Paula Knorn, took over the position of CEO of TAD Audiovertrieb GmbH.
Paula Knorn subsequently focused the sales programme even more strongly in the direction of “analogue”, whereby it must be pointed out that the topic of records has always been one of the most important at TAD Audiovertrieb GmbH. It can certainly be stated that TAD Audiovertrieb GmbH is a predominantly “analogue distribution”.
Over the years, the company has been responsible for many well-known manufacturers as a distributor in Germany, but a common thread has been running through the history of TAD Audiovertrieb GmbH from the very beginning, namely the very special enthusiasm, one could even speak of love, for the proverbial “English HiFi”.
The English hi-fi manufacturer Rega Research Limited, for example, has been a close partner of TAD Audiovertrieb GmbH for years, and its solutions have been supported by the team at Chiemsee since 2008.
So it is only natural that the company is now celebrating its 20th anniversary with a solution from Rega Research Limited.
It is the aforementioned long-standing collaboration with Rega Research Limited that has made the drive possible on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the company’s sales office in Aschau im Chiemgau, the Rega TAD anniversary edition. According to TAD Audiovertrieb GmbH, this is a record player which is limited to just 500 units, is designed as a complete package and comes with special features. This starts with special features of the drive itself, a special design, goes on to a pre-assembled pickup system and ends with an adapted motor control system.
It goes without saying that the limited Rega TAD anniversary edition is presented in the same style as the current product line from Rega Research Limited, i.e. with a particularly slim, very light chassis, for example, which features a high-gloss acrylic coating in the special colour grey. Naturally, the chassis features aluminium bracing, specially developed by Rega Research Limited between the tonearm base and the bearing mount, in order to fully comply with Roy Gandy’s design philosophy of maximum stability at minimum weight.
The turntable rests on special aluminium feet which are borrowed in this form from the Rega Planar 6.
The turntable is a float glass turntable with a thickness of 12 mm and a black felt mat. It is driven by a newly developed EBLT drive belt running over subplates and a motor built into the chassis. This motor is in turn controlled by a modified Rega NEO-PSU motor control unit, which is outsourced and thus forms part of the scope of supply as a separate, discreetly black box.
The tonearm used in the new Rega TAD anniversary edition is a Rega RB330, an impeccable tonearm for the best results. This special version of the tonearm is also equipped ex works with a Rega Elys-2 pickup system, which is also impeccable.
Incidentally, the crowning glory of the design is the logo of TAD Audiovertrieb GmbH, which is printed on the right-hand edge at the front of the chassis. The logo, which has been familiar for years, is flanked by antlers…
Incidentally, the Rega TAD anniversary edition also comes with a matching dust cover, which has been manufactured in transparent acrylic, also in grey, to match the grey paint finish of the chassis.
As already mentioned, the new Rega TAD anniversary edition is available in a limited edition only. Only 500 units of this special drive will be available in this configuration and with this equipment. The recommended retail price is stated at € 999.
Getting to the point
It is the long-standing collaboration with Rega Research Limited that has made the drive possible for the 20th anniversary of the sales company from Aschau im Chiemgau, Germany, the Rega TAD anniversary edition. According to TAD Audiovertrieb GmbH, this is a record player, limited to just 500 pieces, which is designed as a complete package and comes with special features. This starts with special features of the drive itself, a special design, goes on to a pre-assembled pickup system and ends with an adapted motor control system.
| Manufacturer: | Rega Research Limited |
| Distribution: | TAD Audiovertrieb GmbH |
| Price: | € 999,- |
