sid-hoff-frenchman
Thanks for updating us that the Encores work well with the Aegirs in monoblock mode. That's good to know. Are you satisfied with the sound or do you have any pangs of amp-upgrade-itis yet?
Can I ask when you received your Encores? I think you said that you placed your order about 2 weeks after I did, so hopefully that means mine will soon be on their way to me.
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Thanks! I did join the group a few weeks ago. Useful--someone just posted answering a question in my mind that I had not asked (whether the Schiit Aegirs in monoblock mode would have any problems with the Encores--his experience so far was that they work with no problems--still trying to decide whether to go with Aegir or buy up to XA25--I know where you come out on that question :) ).
I agree with you on the midrange--I think that's why I like the SEAS Pendragon's so much--very nice integrated midrange and bass, I lose some of the detail in the highs relative to my prior speakers, but since I can't fully hear the highs anyway, not surprising that the SEAS Pendragons come on top for me. I find speakers and headphones that have a highly detailed top end (e.g, my Monitor Audios and Focal Utopia headphones) to be thin and fatiguing now--probably related to my hearing loss.
I thought the poster also stated that a new change on all Encores going forward is that they won't be ported anymore. That's interesting--I wonder how that changes the sounds--tighter bass perhaps?
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Yup. I also asked him to make me a center channel SEAS Pendragon which may be taking him extra time since he doesn't make that model any more.
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I just ordered a pair of the Encores. I've owned a pair of the Tekton Seas Pendragons since 2013 and love them but was getting the upgrade bug so I called Eric to ask about the Encores and Moabs. Eric thought if I liked the full sound of the Seas Pendragons, the Encores would be a better fit than the Moabs for me.
I'm currently using a Yamaha home theater receiver for the Seas Pendragons because many of the audio sources I am amplifying are HDMI audio. I may want to use the Yamaha as a preamp and feed into a two channel power amplifier. Any suggestons for a stereo power amplifier that would be a good fit for the Encores? I wouldn't want to spend more than $2K for a power amp.
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Thanks for the suggestions. I asked Eric for a recommendation for amps, and he also recommended Parasound. Looking at their amp line, I don't think I'd get enough of a bump-up from their lower priced amps relative to my Yamaha--I think I'd have to move up to something like the JC5 to get a significant bump up and that's more than I want to spend right now.
I'm more of a videophile than an audiophile--I have an 11.2.4 projector home theater in the basement--the Tekton Seas Pendragon are going to replace the mains on the home theater system once Eric builds me a center channel speaker that matches the Seas Pendragons, which he's going to do and send me together with the Encores. I might also later buy one of the Tekton subs, although mysteriously they get very little press and reviews.
The Encores are going into my listening/computer room, but it is a multi-use set-up for listening to music, watching TV on a 77 inch OLED, and my son's gaming. I do have a nice but very overpriced DAC (the Chord Dave) in this set-up so music quality could be great. I am curious about tube amps, but given the amount of use, replacing the tubes will probably be more frequent and headache-inducing than I'd want, even if I convinced myself to take the plunge on the initial start-up cost.
Thanks for starting this thread--it certainly contributed to my taking the plunge on the Encores.
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Thank you both. I'm going to wait to purchase the power amp until the Encores arrive which--given Eric's busy backlog--who knows when that will be--I placed my order at the end of June and he told me the lead time was 6-8 weeks but I remember from my previous Tekton order that that can skip.
@sid-hoff-frenchman, when you get your Encores, please post whether or not the monoblock Aegirs work out with them. If you just ordered your Encores, I may get mine before you get yours, but in any case, I'd still be interested.
@jcarcopo, using the XA25 with the Encores, do you feel there would not be not be significant benefit to adding a tube pre-amp to the mix, like the Schiit Freya+? I was thinking about adding the Freya+ to try out some tubey sound, but if the XA25 sounds good enough by itself, I can just use my Chord Dave as a digital preamp and skip getting a preamp (which would help dull the pain of the $4,900 XA25).
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@sid-hoff-frenchman My previous Tektons were the SEAS Pendragons. Back in 2013, I called Eric to inquire about trying out his Pendragon speakers which were getting a fair amount of rave press at the time for their "live" sound. I explained to Eric that I wasn't really an audiophile and I have some mild high frequency hearing loss, and I wanted to try out his Pendragon speakers thinking that the "live" dynamic sound signature might appeal to me and my hearing problems. Eric suggested I try out the SEAS Pendragons instead which was very new at the time, explaining that he thought its more linear sound signature might be better than the Pendragons for my hearing issues. I took his suggestion and I've enjoyed the SEAS Pendragons since then, but every year thereafter have been watching with dismay and envy as Tekton launched a bewildering array of critically acclaimed speaker designs, so I decided to make an upgrade purchase this year.
I settled on the Encores for much the same reason as you. I wanted to get one of the Tekton flagships but the Ulfs are simply too big for my listening room which is about 12X20 with low ceilings. Moabs I could barely fit, but they would be really be pushing it too. I didn't want to get any of the others for fear that I'd be itching to upgrade again in a few years. I called Eric and asked him what he thought for me between the Encores and Moabs. Eric said that if I liked the SEAS Pendragons, the Encores might be a better fit for me than the MOABs. He described the Encores having a fuller more refined sound like the SEAS Pendragons' sound signature type, whereas the MOABs emphasized the "live" sound signature type that Tekton is known for.
Eric is also building me a SEAS Pendragon center channel so I can move my SEAS Pendragons out to my home theater to replace some Monitor Audio fronts and center which have decent high frequency sound but the midrange is not as good as the SEAS Pendragons so moving them in there is an upgrade to the home theater as well.
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Anyone have any experience with the Schiit Freya+ and Aegir for the Encores? I read in another thread that 2 Aegirs in monoblock mode was a good match for the Tekton Double Impacts, but I also hear that running the Aegirs in monoblock mode is not a good match for 4 ohm speakers and can trip up the protection circuit on the Aegirs.
Jcarcopo, do you like the XA25 with the Encores? I am thinking about the X25 too after your previous reply to my original question about power amps, but $4,900 is a big jump from the $1,600 for the Schiits (or $2,400 for 2 Schiit Aegirs and a Freya+), and with the XA25 I can't go all balanced with the XA25 using the balanced out from my Chord Dave.
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viber6,Unfortunately, my hearing loss is worse than just normal hearing loss due to aging. Almost 10 years ago when I went to an audiologist to get my hearing checked), the tests revealed that I have accelerated high frequency hearing loss starting at about 6000 HZ and with an accelerating decline for higher frequencies. I still am waiting for a good audiophile headphone solution which can boost selectively boost the high frequencies but leave other frequencies as-is!
As to your specific question, I'm afraid I reproduced as best as I could remember Eric's specific words and don't know much more than that. He didn't describe/contrast the speakers by referencing frequencies. He drew a parallel between the Encores and the SEAS Pendragons which I already have and like very much. I am guessing he was saying the Moabs were like the live sound of the non-SEAS Pendragons, but since I haven't heard the Encores, non-SEAS Pendragons, or the Moabs, any such comparisons would basically be meaningless to me. I can say that the SEAS Pendragons have a more full-bodied sound than the Monitor Audio speakers that I was coming from--when I had better hearing, I recall that those speakers had a more delicate high frequency sound than the SEAS Pendragons, but with my hearing loss, they sound more lifeless than the SEAS Pendragons, which have a better mid-rage, bass, and have a more coherent sound. Since I was leaning towards the Encores anyway due to their smaller size, that was enough for me to take the plunge.
My wife thinks I am crazy to spend $7,000 on the Encores without ever hearing them in person, but I wanted to experience a flagship speaker before my deteriorating hearing was at a point where I could no longer tell the difference.
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Is charcoal black or dark grey? I ordered just basic black on 6/27. Oh well.
Did yours come ported or not ported?
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After waiting about 10 months, My Encores arrived earlier this month and I've been listening to them for the past two weeks. I had followed jcarpopo's excellent recommendation using a Pass Labs XA25 as a power amp (I was afraid of quickly getting the upgrade bug if I started with a cheaper power amp), and am using a Chord Dave as a DAC for PC audio (music), and a Yamaha AVR 3070 as a preamp in Pure Direct mode (mode that shuts off video circuitry for less noise) for input switching, volume control, and as a DAC for my home theater sources that use HDMI (unfortunately, no HDMI input for the Chord Dave).
For music, even with my high frequency hearing loss, the Encores sound spectacular--lush and with a full and integrated sound. Midrange is wonderful (particularly with female vocals--KD Lang, Sade, Shelby Lynne--all sound lush and live). Base is tremendous--almost too much base for music--before receiving the Encores I was considering adding one of the Tekton subwoofers to this setup, but after hearing the Encores, I don't think a subwoofer is needed at all, at least for music. Highs don't particularly stand out as good or bad, though that is almost certain due to my high frequency hearing loss. The Encores are massive--my wife is convinced and accepts this purchase as a mid-life crisis, but my teenage son who usually is content to listen to music on his small bluetooth streaming speaker or worse, his speakerphone, now enjoys regular listening sessions with me with all kinds of music (his tastes in music differ from mine, but almost everything sounds great in this set-up)--discovering new music in our listening sessions--even if it is sometimes music following my son's eclectic music tastes :( -- is a wonderful new father son activity that brings us closer together.
No complaints with home theater usage of the Encores either. Soundtracks for movies and TV shows sound much more live and impactful than the SEAS Pendragons I had been using previously for my music setup and are now in my home theater.
As the Chord Dave has a digital volume control and can serve as a digital preamp (but not for HDMI sources), I tried bypassing the Yamaha and hooked up the Chord Dave directly to the XA25 power amp for music listening. The resulting sound is somewhat leaner and cleaner, so the Yamaha AVR, even in pure direct mode, appears to be adding some noise to the sound which my brain is interpreting as fullness. I don't mind this added noise/fullness for most types of music (and for acoustic music the additional fullness is actually more pleasing to my ears), but for louder and more congested music (e.g., hard rock, metal, electronica) the added noise/fullness is a bit of a detriment. Regularly switching the wiring between source direct and using the Yamaha as a preamp is too much of a pain to do, so after the Encores' sound has settled, I will probably investigate getting an actual preamplifier instead of the AVR which can accept the SEL or balanced outputs from my Chord Dave and the output from my Yamaha AVR for HDMI sources. I had been thinking of the Schiit Freya+ as a reasonably priced preamp which can alternate between tube mode and solid state model,
but additional suggestions for a preamp (particularly any suggestions known to play well with the Chord Dave and/or XA25)
would be welcome.
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Thanks. I am just using the AVR as a DAC for my HDMI sources because most standalone DACs do not accept an HDMI source, and I don't use the multichannel or theater modes--just straight decoding in pure mode. For music I use a Chord Dave DAC.
While the Osprey looks great, I don't need an integrated amp as I am already using an Pass Labs XA 25 as a power amp. I just need a pre-amplifier to switch between the the Chord Dave and Yamaha AVR.
I did install an old Oppo HA-1 that I have as a premplifier and the pc audio sound significantly better using the HA-1 as the preamp instead of the AVR. It will do until I find a better preamp.
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