Amps for driving Tekton Electron SE


Hi all,

Anyone have experience mating amps to Tekton Electron speakers, or other similar Tekton speakers (Double Impact being probably the closest analogue)? I ordered a 4 ohm version and the Tekton site says they are 99db sensitive (I doubt it). The speakers haven't arrived yet (6-8 week delivery time!). I presently have a pretty low powered and inexpensive 300b amp (7.6 watts per channel). 

What do folks recommend for amps? I'm curious about First Watt amps and Decware amps, but also just curious.

Thanks!
Josh
128x128joshindc
I have Moabs running with my 50 wpc Melody tube amp. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 I barely crack the volume to reach a nice satisfying listening level. Can fill my 17x24 room with very high levels, like start to worry about my ears, way below max power. I went through the same 4 ohm worries talking with Eric and others. So let me tell you, everyone will tell you to worry about 4 ohms. They will give you all this malarkey and they mean well but they are wrong. You will be just fine. That amp will make those Electrons sing. 

My question would be, why Electrons? Eric has the Perfect SET 15 and it is tailor made for your amp with 3dB greater sensitivity. He actually makes speakers tailored for your amp. Why buy something else... unless you are already thinking of changing amps? 

If you want a great amp, I can only plug Raven again. https://www.ravenaudio.com/product/nighthawk-mk3-tube-amplifier/
Hi MillerC! Thanks for the suggestions. Will check out the Raven. 

Electron SE and Perfect SET 15 are rated at more or less the same sensitivity on Tekton's site. I decided to go for the Electrons as they seem a bit closer to the Double Impacts that are too tall for my room, but have a similar compliment of drivers and a good review. Wasn't blown away by Steve Guttenberg's review of the Perfect Set 2 10 either. So will see. 

The 300b amp I have was pretty inexpensive and might switch it out at some point as it's a bit grainy. But I haven't yet tried it with upgraded tubes. Here is a review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dExnR7CJMSo

Josh
One comment on that video got it right: what you hear with a tube amp is the output transformers. Okay, technically you hear everything, the whole package. But it gets the point across that there's much more than tubes to a tube amp.  

If you're really into 300B then I would talk to Eric about which speaker will be better. Steve Guttenberg is neither here nor there. Literally. Not sure what planet he is on. Electrons certainly will work fine with the amp you have now, and longer term probably more flexible in terms of sounding great with a range of amps. Electrons and a Raven Nighthawk with some good wire between them will be impressive. When you hear Electrons you will know why owner's rave about Tekton so much, and when you hear a Raven you will know why the guy said its the transformers not the tubes. No grain there just massive detail and plenty of power.  
Hi Josh,
I haven't heard the Tekton Electrons but have heard the Double Impacts (DI) and also the DI SE in a friend's home system. These are 4 ohm speakers that I found to be easily driven by my Coincident Frankenstein 300b SET mono blocks. I suspect the DI mpedance curve is pretty flat and they probably  lack steep (Amplifier challenging) electrical phase angles. So all things considered a reasonably easy speaker load.

There was a sense of ease with use of my amplifier and the sound was very open , transparent with very good tone and timbre reproduction. I do agree with comments pertaining to the to the output transformer. The better the transformer quality,  the better the sound.  The same is true regarding power supply quality and robustness. 

I don't know your specific SET amplifier but I can attest to the high quality transformers and power supply of my 300b mono blocks. If your 300b SET meet this criteria you should experience good sound using the Electrons. Lastly I'd give serious consideration to the Perfect SET speakers. Best of luck of luck,
Charles 
Josh,

I have the Electron SEs and I'm driving them with a Pass XA30.5 and a Linear Tube Audio microZOTL 2 as a preamp.  I love this combination.  I can't say enough nice things about the LTA piece.  Especially if you get some NOS tubes in there.  I was originally looking at First Watt too but found a great deal on the XA30.5 so I pulled the trigger on that.  I would still love to hear my Electrons with an F7 though.  I also would love to hear them with the Raven integrated as that was another route that I almost took.  I think you will be very happy with the speakers.  I am.  Best of luck
I own a pair of 8 ohm Pendragons which are listed as 95dB sensitive. I’ve tried running an Elekit 300B SET amp through them, and it sounded beautiful and drove them with ease. My point is that it seems that most Tekton speakers pair well with many different amp types in general, be it an 8 wpc SET amp or a 100 wpc Class A/B amp, etc.
It also wouldn’t hurt to give Eric a call and ask his opinion. He’s very helpful, knowledgeable, and just a friendly guy.