The new TIDAL Piano Classic

We first heard of the concept of a more affordable entry speaker into the world of TIDAL back in June 2025, when we visited the outskirts of Köln in Germany to experience the all-new TIDAL factory. The day was centred around a detailed tour of TIDAL’s new workshop and manufacturing areas, followed by an impressive session in the new demonstration suite. Proceedings inevitably ended with extended, informal discussions in Jörn’s office, musing over future TIDAL products and new directions for the company now that the factory had received such a giant upgrade.

It was then, as we were finishing considering the Vimberg brand, that Jörn began to ponder the idea of reimagining TIDAL’s grassroots in a more affordable, accessible package. The inspiration product for this was actually standing there, right in front of us, tucked into the corner of Jörn’s office as an ornament: a well-worn original Piano floorstander, the very product which started the company all those years ago in 1999.

The conversation flowed forward naturally then as we had the physical product right there to take in and contemplate. So many small casual conversations in life – when the pressure is off and the mind can relax – result in large remarkable things, and the origin of the Classic is a fine example of this.

The Piano speaker holds a special place in Jorn’s heart, he has referred to it frequently in my company over the years. It founded TIDAL and set the stage for a whole forward vision and he very recently, rather lyrically, surmised that it was the first product he made and will one day be the last too.

Today the Piano has been improved over and over into the G3 Diacera in the current product range but what if some of the materials and adornments were carefully reduced in cost, the diamond tweeter was omitted and margins were reduced within the supply chain to bring a more affordable reinterpretation of the very original Piano to market ? A lower cost entry speaker available to a wider TIDAL audience than ever before ?

That day I was immediately very enthusiastic about this idea and it was an exciting moment between myself, Jörn and Fraser from our TIDAL partner Airt Audio. Whilst there is some great value in the industry right now – especially when it comes to electronics – loudspeakers have tended to become increasingly expensive and really great loudspeakers are not only few and far between but require ever larger sums of money to acquire. Whilst we would never want to see a compromised TIDAL, a loudspeaker that is slightly more accessible to a wider audience would be a fabulous thing as far as Lotus is concerned.

Remarkably then, in just over a year, the Piano Classic is now with us and in stock in the UK. Despite some tasteful cosmetic simplification to the feet and outriggers, and deletion of the polished driver surround rings, the Classic looks every inch a TIDAL. In piano black gloss they look very serious with a stealth-like persona. TIDAL’s famed millimetre thick lacquer and mirror flat finish is thankfully fully intact so the perceived build quality has not been degraded one jot. This is a TIDAL through and through.

Joining the 30mm ceramic tweeter are two 7” black crystalid woofers which were bespoke designed in conjunction with Accuton; they are not available anywhere else or by anyone else. At the rear we have the familiar Piano terminal layout featuring the connecting bar which can switch the speaker from pure 2 way to linear 2.5 way then gained 2.5 way for the biggest rooms requiring the largest amount of bass. Visually they look very similar to the 1999 originals except the small cylindrical feet are now on outriggers and there is a slope backwards for correct time alignment.

A further glance at the technical sheet and the renderings of interior multi chamber construction stress that this is no lazy regurgitation to populate market position. That wouldn’t be very TIDAL at all. No, the Classic isn’t a dumbed down G3 either, but a newly developed product created with all the very latest ingenuity which perhaps didn’t fully exist when any other speaker in the range was developed.

This is how TIDAL have always operated; they do not selectively supress or omit brilliance so that the product fits into its price category but rather, they are always fully committed to creating the highest performing equipment possible using the very latest advancements and materials. We have seen this over and over again in products like the Intra power amplifier which replaced the Impulse at the same retail price but was leagues better in out and out sound quality. The Contros as well was another great example; it was designed as a single box to do the job of the three separate TIDAL boxes yet was priced at half the money of an Arkas, Camira plus Prisma.

Anyone familiar with the TIDAL way of doing things will feel immediately at home with the Classics. They have that same magical purity, organic quality and richness of tone which defines the brand. The feeling of openness, of transparency to source is breathtaking, the best level really that one can experience anywhere and at any price and I genuinely mean that. Add another million Euros to the budget and you’re going to get a speaker at least ten times the size, but you won’t really hear any further into the music.

You never hear the Classic’s cabinet, the individual drivers or crossover points or any artifice or autobiographical character being imparted by the speaker itself. They play extremely wide and deep, the volume of space they project into the room makes you involuntarily grin and there is simply no impression of an electro-mechanical device being in the music making process in front of you. It is extremely impressive for a loudspeaker at this price. They go low too with really deep powerful bass that you would simply never expect from their modest cabinet and driver size. This is in linear mode too. Switch the bar over to gain mode and an even fuller and more bass powerful sound awaits.

But the Classics are doing something else too and it takes me – a TIDAL dealer and aficionado for some 14 years – by surprise. There is a new degree of neutrality that I did not expect. Has TIDAL outdone TIDAL ? The Classics actually remind me of the AP1 or Bugatti Royale in terms of their invisibility, their complete and utter freedom from noise and colouration. They are a masterclass in the art of the “not there”. I do not know fully what Jörn has done inside, but something truly special has been created here. The Classics are really quite astonishing, even when one overlooks the mechanics of the unusual pricing.

There is no elegant way of saying this, but at the end of the day this is commerce. The things that people buy exist within a price structure, and that structure has meaning in terms of value, what people can afford and the relativity to other similar products available in the marketplace. Bottom line is if these speakers were £50,000 they would still be deeply compelling and competitive and would sell extremely well all across the globe. Even in my own shop which is highly selective, they would be that. But they aren’t £50,000 but just £28,500 instead. A lot of money no doubt but unfortunately really not that much when it comes to very grown up high end loudspeakers of the finest kind.

These are a true gift to the industry and the buying public, and with any luck, this pricing will remain for some time to come. In just 2 weeks since they landed we have sold 2 sets with a third pair about to close. One of the customers was able to switch his entire system to TIDAL because of the Classics. They put TIDAL within reach of customers who hitherto would have been excluded and that, for me – someone who has dedicated a large part of his later years championing and crusading the brand and his love affair with it – is a truly wonderful thing.

The other point to mention is that they do not need a telephone numbers system in front of them to shine. They have been designed to work with almost anything and varying performance levels too. We tried them very briefly with a simple integrated amplifier and built in Dac/streamer and the results were fabulous. The factory has built these not just as an ultra high end TIDAL product but also as a potential pollinator and hybrid product that can introduce almost anyone into the world of TIDAL.

Please come for a listen at your leisure. I promise you that they will change your beliefs and expectations about high end speakers at this price. They will be playing all September and October here at Lotus in Walton on Thames, simply get in touch to arrange a visit.

For an an even more informal listen come to the Stereonet UK Hifi show at the Raddison convention centre, Heathrow, 12th-13th September (Earhart suite) where you can hear the very system pictured in the photographs.

I will also be hosting an open day event here on Sunday 18th October when customers can drop in all day, chat to other customers and TIDAL owners and natter with the whole Lotus and Airt team. Just send an email to book yourself in.