eclipse td508 mk3 loudspeakers
a different approach to budget loudspeakers
Conventional budget loudspeakers usually consist of poorly braced MDF cabinets, usually adding their own "colour" to the listening experience, not really allowing you to hear what the drivers are supposed to be doing. On top of this, low quality drive units are usually used to stay within budget - the bigger they are, the lesser the quality is likely to be. Quantity usually overshadows quality.
The TD508 Mk3 reverse that. The single 8cm fibre glass driver naturally produces a much faster sound with better texture than equivalently priced speakers, as well as some more expensive ones, as well as reproducing a better spatial representation of the source material.
The TD508 Mk3 perform better in average and smaller rooms, and are ideal for near field listening due to their point source approach. They give even greater performance when accompanied by a suitable subwoofer.
In a conventional loudspeaker, everything is secured to the cabinet - the one thing that resonates.
Where the Eclipse TD508 Mk3 differs to virtually every budget loudspeaker on the market is that the drive units, crossover isn't screwed into the cabinet - in fact, the only physical connection between the driver and the cabinet is a small amount of damping material around the outer edge of the driver gasket so as not to transfer any vibrations from the cabinet back to the driver and vice versa, and also to maintain a seal.
To explain this a little further, the cabinet is essentially suspended around the driver by the "mass anchor", which is secured to the desktop stand via the "diffusion stay". This creates a "floating" cabinet around the driver. It is to the mass anchor that the drive unit is held firmly in place, which effectively makes every part of this design a single solid part of the table top stands, except for the cabinet itself.
As you can see from the cutaway detail above, rather than the reflex port being a plastic or cardboard tube glued to the cabinet, the rear port of the TD508 Mk3 is a far more rigid and integral part of the cabinet moulding.
This cutaway also makes it very easy to appreciate exactly what is (and isn't) inside an Eclipse loudspeaker - no 'lossy' passive crossover components dividing up the signal, and no energy absorption from acoustic material - just a mechanically isolated driver
The compact TD508 Mk3 speakers have a powerful motor system due to their high magnetic flux density.
The 8cm fibre glass cone is extremely lightweight and rigid, and along with the highly flexible rubber surround, produces an ability to start and stop that most other speakers can only dream about. This creates far better impact to the leading edge of notes, more accurate sustain and vibrato, better conveyance of texture in bass notes, and more accurate changes in pitch and note bending on strings. This all leads to a far more convincing and lifelike performance.
They're ideal for hi-fi systems and as satellite speakers for 5.1 or Dolby Atmos based home theatre systems.
The TD508 Mk3 also benefit from the three point fixing adopted for the higher models in the range, decoupling the speaker from the table-top stand as much as possible.
Optional floor stands are available for the TD508 Mk3 speakers for those who either have no shelving or furniture on which to place them. The stands also give extra flexibility, allowing the listener to experiment with placement in the listening room, or to move them near to a wall or corner when not in use.
The table stand also acts as either a wall or ceiling mount, meaning that no extra cost is involved, wherever you want to site them. This still allows the full flexibility of swivelling and angling the speaker to suit any purpose - ideal for directing sound to a listening position or listening area.
