Australian "stereonet" reviews our Nostalgic TH-12 floorstanding loudspeakers.

THE LISTENING
This loudspeaker has an attractively balanced sound, yet is still capable of generating real excitement. It has a big character to match its physicality, and can sound great at low listening levels – and then go loud with very little sign of stress.

I enjoy listening to Chad Crouch's compositions playing softly as background music while I'm researching and writing. I sit well off-axis, to the side of the room where my desk is located, and even there, I can enjoy the realism of the naturally recorded birds and instruments on the track Part 17. Even when the track has no bass content, the Nostalgic TH-12 still sounds smooth and uniform in the treble and midrange, and shows a seamless transition between its drivers. There is a fine sense of fluidity, evenness, and composure to voices and piano, in particular, which is very enjoyable and leaves me wanting to listen longer.

With the ability to tweak treble and midrange levels, the TH-12 is capable of delivering a reasonably even frequency response – certainly one that should be to most people's tastes. Listening to The Rhythm Divine by Yello and featuring the amazing voice of Shirley Bassey, I can hear a satisfying sense of detail, speed and air. The music sounds atmospheric, with well placed backing vocals and sparkling cymbal work. It's a warm and friendly sound, with no harshness or irritation whatsoever.

Rachets by Hedegaard is a track with strong rhythmic bass, and this TAGA Harmony speaker delivers room-filling energy, plus a thump in the chest from the kick drum...

 The soundstaging is very good indeed. I loved how the speaker practically disappears from the room at higher volumes, letting the listener focus in on the music playing. In this respect it is more convincing than many other speakers I've heard, even at multiples of the TAGA Harmony's asking price. For instance, the blues-influenced Evil Memory by Crystal Shawanda has a broad spread of sound that pushes well beyond the speaker boxes, with the vocal line clearly set forward of the instruments. This speaker recreates the recorded acoustic convincingly, helping to fully impart the realism of the performance.

THE VERDICT
TAGA Harmony's Nostalgic TH12 is an interesting-looking loudspeaker with real sonic ability and charm, especially on well-recorded programme material. Whether you like the styling is a personal matter, but there's no denying that a pair of these will quickly become the focal point of your listening room. Overall, it's a solid thumbs up for this design, which offers very good value for money—especially when you factor in the bundled stands. Do try to audition a pair if you get the chance.