T+A (Theory and Application) is a German audio company best known in North America for their electronics and source components, not their speakers. That’s about to change with the appointment of Dynaudio as T+A’s North American distributor, and the introduction of the T+A Criterion line of loudspeakers. Asked whether Dynaudio—which, of course, is a loudspeaker manufacturer—has collaborated with T+A on the design and/or manufacturing of their speakers, Dynaudio’s Mike Manousselis quickly assured me that Dynaudio functions only as the distributor for T+A; the T+A speakers are manufactured entirely in the T+A factory in Herford, Germany. Dynaudio makes loudspeaker drivers that are used by quite a few speaker manufacturers, but T+A is not among them.

A perusal of the brochure for the T+A Criterion loudspeakers and a brief listen to a pair of TCD 210 S speakers ($10,000/pair) convinced me that this is a company with a very serious approach to loudspeaker design. The photo shows T+A founder and CEO Siegfried Amft leaning on the TCD 210 S and the smaller TCD 310 S ($7500/pair). The price range of the Criterion line goes from $4500/pair (TCD 410 S ) to $13,000/pair (TCD 110 S).