Turbosound TCS-121C Compact Loudspeaker
It’s been a long string of successes with the British firm Turbosound. From the mid-80’s to the mid-90’s, Turbosound’s TurboBlue boxes were a very visible standard in live concert sound, used by giant acts of the era such as Pink Floyd, Styx and U2, as well as at huge outdoor rock festivals. The original founders which included Tony Andrews and Tim Isaac converted the industry from large, mid-frequency metal horn users to believers in the hornloaded cone mid-frequency driver system that is still de rigeur in many designs today. Throughout some interesting ownership changes, Turbosound continued to introduce new lines including the first (and still current) TCS Series in 1999, the powered QLight DP Series in 2004, and now, the new TCS Compact product line with Sennheiser distribution here in the US.
First Impressions
While there are numerous models to choose from within the TCS line, we chose to focus on the TCS-121C and the TCS-118C subwoofer (see inset photo at right. Photos are not to scale). The TCS-121C cabinet is obviously designed to be easily flown with ample hang points for M8 and M10 rigging hardware as well as added M6 threads for brackets. It is nicely constructed of multi-ply birch plywood, and has a strong, tough-textured black finish with a foam grille behind a metal grille. All the full-range boxes in the line are two-way designs using a one-inch compression driver and terminating in Speakon connections. A little instruction booklet accompanied the product with basic hookup instructions.
Test Drive
We’ll go through the product with some observations and some simple measurements we performed. Note that all our data comes from ground plane measurements (where the microphone is placed on the ground to reduce reflections and comb filtering) and made in free space (where the nearest reflection was more than 30 feet away) with a NTI-calibrated measurement microphone and data adjusted for the ground plane. Sensitivity measurements were made with one-watt input measured at one-meter distance. Listening was done in the same free space but with the speaker (except the subwoofer) raised to an on-axis level of five feet. The subwoofer was placed on the ground for the listening tests.
The TCS-121C is a 12-inch system with a 1.8-kHz crossover in a well-engineered design. With a dispersion of 70-degrees x 40-degrees and an affordable retail price of $632, it has a nice balanced sound along with a good, high-sensitivity of 95.4 dB/watt.
This is a box I would have no qualms recommending, and with its compact 22-inch x 16-inch x 14-inch size would fit in many spaces and applications. It would do very well for a FOH (front-of-house) speaker, the youth center, the fellowship hall, and even surround speakers for effects channel speakers as part of a larger church audio system. Churches contemplating remote sites should also look closely at this model for their portable FOH speakers, even though it is intended as an install model. With its program power handling of 600 watts, SPLs in the mid-120 dBs should be easily achievable.
We also evaluated the TCS-118C as a companion to the TCS-121C. As you can gather by its nomenclature, it has a single 18-inch, eight-ohm driver. With power handling of 600 watts, a weight of 66 pounds and its modest size of 26-inch x 21-inch x 19-inch, it would be a good choice for systems with dual subwoofers. The price is also quite moderate at $799 and with its sensitivity of 99.3 dB/watt, it is a good subwoofer to match with the TCS-121C.
Listening Impressions
Since some of my earliest experience was in the audiophile arena, my criteria for good loudspeaker performance has been natural and un-colored sound reproduction with good, deep bass and extended highs. Builders of “nasal” boxes or “boomy” or “sizzly” products have not found a place in my heart. I need to hear “detailed” sound with the SPL’s of say…a good pipe organ. With these criteria in mind, how does the TCS-121C sound? Well, to begin with, it has a pretty nice balance. The mids have a nice clarity, not too “forward” or too “veiled”…so vocals are quite clear with not too much “honkiness” or “metal horn fatigue”. The highs are reasonably balanced with just a touch of brightness. The lows are what I expect from a 12-inch driver in the far-field — good bass that ideally is coupled to a sub-woofer for solid fundamentals along with the “punch” that a 12-inch driver with good transient response provides. This is a good multipurpose speaker that would feel at home projecting the spoken word, playing high-energy contemporary worship as well as for coffee house acoustic sets. The TCS-118C is a well-matched choice that extends the low-frequency with higher SPLs. It offers a pretty decent foundation with a bit of 100 Hz accentuation that is common with quite a few other subwoofer designs today.
Final Thoughts
With these latest additions to its installation- oriented lineup, and joining some very good products already existing in the TCS and QLight line, Turbosound is seriously interested in adding its very prestigious pedigree to the church installation market — and I would say overdue. Certainly the fit and finish are confidenceinspiring and with these products being quite affordable, this line is definitely worth considering. Besides the optional white finish, the cabinets can be ordered in a weather-resistant variant in addition to getting them unfinished as well. The TCS-121C is particularly distinguished, but definitely listen to the complete line. Of course, I always recommend personally auditioning a speaker for yourself — after all, who knows, the reviewer may have auditory challenges. It is also good to see Turbosound under the distribution experience of Sennheiser Electronics, and if you really do miss the TurboBlue color, you can always buy the color from them — its listed as PBL-10 in the catalog.
Arthur Yeap is a principal at Novo Group in San Francisco which specializes in video, audio and acoustics design-build for worship spaces. He like to tinker with his LMS, TEF, AP and NTI systems in his spare time and can be reached at art@novogroupinc.com.
