TAD Chronology

TAD History

1937 Pioneer founder, Nozomu Matsumoto, develops the A-8 dynamic speaker.
1938 Fukuin Shokai Denki Seisakusho (precursor of Pioneer) established in Tokyo
1961 Fukuin Seisakusho changes trade name to Pioneer Electronic Corporation.
1975 The TAD Project launched to develop professional speakers.
1976 The SPEC15L horn driver, featuring the world’s first beryllium diaphragm, released.
1978 The TD-2001 and TD-4001 drivers unveiled at AES.
1979 The first TAD-branded speaker units TD-1602, TD-4001, and TL-1601 released.
The TL-1602 released.
1981 The TM-1201 released.
1982 The TL-1601a released.
1983 The TSM-1 and TSM-2 released.
1987 The TL-1601b released.
1990 The TM-1201H and the TL-1801 released.
1997 The TL-1601c, the TL-1102, the TD-4003 and the TD-2002 released.
2003 The TAD-M1 with the CST Driver, the first TAD-branded speaker system for consumer use, released.
2007 Technical Audio Devices Laboratories, Inc. established.
The TAD-R1, the first Reference Series speaker system, released.
2009 The TAD-M600, the first Reference Series audio component, released.
The TAD-CR1 released.
2010 The TAD-M4300 and TAD-2500, the first Evolution Series audio components, released.
The TAD-D600 released.
2011 The TAD-E1, the first Evolution Series speaker system, released.
The TAD-C2000 and TAD-C600 released.
2012 The TAD-R1MK2 and TAD-CR1MK2 released.
2013 The TAD-D1000 and the TAD-DA1000 released.
2014 The TAD-CE1 released.
2015 The TAD-D1000MK2 and the TAD-M2500MK2 released.
2016 The TAD-ME1 released.
2018 The TAD-M1000 and the TAD-E1TX released.
2019 The TAD-R1TX, the TAD-M700, and the TAD-M700S released.
2020 The TAD-CR1TX released.
2021 The TAD-E2, the TAD-D1000TX, and the TAD-DA1000TX released.
2022 The TAD-CE1TX released.
2023 The TAD-D700, and the ET-703a released.

The Trail of Being True to Intentions of Musicians

Pioneer has been in the audio business for more than 80 years since 1937, when it introduced the A-8, the industry’s first dynamic speaker in Japan. Since debuting in 1978, TAD speakers, originally developed by Pioneer, have won the hearts and minds of thousands of top-rated musicians and sound engineers around the world and found themselves in famed recording studios, concert halls, and movie theaters. In 2007, TADL was spun off from Pioneer to extend the TAD brand’s acclaim, engineering excellence, and design philosophy into the consumer market. Since its founding, TADL has been at the forefront of the high-end audio industry, bringing out one innovative audio product after another, all of which have been fascinating audiophiles and critics around the world.

The philosophy that the TAD brand has upheld for more than 40 years can be summed up as “genuine technology is true to the basics and that genuine technology places greater importance on sound quality than on technology for its own sake.”

For years to come, we will continue to create high-end audio products that are true to intentions of musicians and that deliver a truly immersive, soul-stirring music-listening experience to proud owners.