Risk is zero. Once you hear them, no way they're going back.
Focal 1028BE2's or Tekton Moab Towers
Hi - I'm fairly new to the hobby, I've always really enjoyed listening to music but at home was more focused on Home Theater. Over the last several years I've shifted my focus to 2 channel listening, upgraded my amp, pre and DAC/Streamer.
Currently I have Focal 1028BE's, a Primaluna Evo 400 integrated amp, REL TI9, Lumin D2 with Sbooster upgrade. I stream Tidal 99 % of the time and on rare occasion will pop in a CD. I've also had HAF create some filters in Roon as well.
At times my gear sounds really, really good, other times, specifically with Rock and poor recordings it can be bright, harsh, fatiguing. Prior to the Primaluna I had a Parasound A21 and P6 combo. My room is large, man cave, finished basement, open except for the staircase that splits up the room. It's a shared space, HT, sectional couch, Pool Table, arcade games with an office tucked in the corner. Acoustic drop ceilings are 8 feet, flooring is vinyl / blank style, area rug in the seating area, leather sectional couch. I sit around 12 feet from the towers, the sectional splits up the space, there is another 20 feet or so of open space behind the sectional. I can't really room treat, that's the one spot my very understanding wife won't let me go.
So, I've seen a lot of posts about Tekton and Moab's with commentary that they are less fatiguing, easy to drive speakers that punch far above their weight class, are great with Rock. Negatives I've read are size, they are huge, fit and finish isn't up to the same standard as other manufacturers. Some have stated they didn't get a full, robust sound that most describe, saying the speakers are thin, not very cohesive.
I chose the 1028's because they punched above their weight, with the trickle down effect offering some of the features in the Utopia series along with Focal's reputation for building and designing everything in house. I got the 1028's last year, several audiophiles said Focal had taken them out of the line up and with them gone the jump to get the BE tweeter and W Cone in the Focal line up was a big one price wise with the 1028 and 1038's being discontinued. I also read they are one of the largest speaker / driver suppliers to other manufactures. Common sense would tell me Focal's should be a better speaker. Reviews I've read rave about Tekton's and specifically seem to reference the Moab's as being the best speaker in returns to diminishing returns in the line.
I'm a novice, just stayed at a Holiday in Express last night, would I be crazy to sell my Focal's and buy the Moab's or would it take my sometimes great sounding set up to a sounds great with everything?
Currently I have Focal 1028BE's, a Primaluna Evo 400 integrated amp, REL TI9, Lumin D2 with Sbooster upgrade. I stream Tidal 99 % of the time and on rare occasion will pop in a CD. I've also had HAF create some filters in Roon as well.
At times my gear sounds really, really good, other times, specifically with Rock and poor recordings it can be bright, harsh, fatiguing. Prior to the Primaluna I had a Parasound A21 and P6 combo. My room is large, man cave, finished basement, open except for the staircase that splits up the room. It's a shared space, HT, sectional couch, Pool Table, arcade games with an office tucked in the corner. Acoustic drop ceilings are 8 feet, flooring is vinyl / blank style, area rug in the seating area, leather sectional couch. I sit around 12 feet from the towers, the sectional splits up the space, there is another 20 feet or so of open space behind the sectional. I can't really room treat, that's the one spot my very understanding wife won't let me go.
So, I've seen a lot of posts about Tekton and Moab's with commentary that they are less fatiguing, easy to drive speakers that punch far above their weight class, are great with Rock. Negatives I've read are size, they are huge, fit and finish isn't up to the same standard as other manufacturers. Some have stated they didn't get a full, robust sound that most describe, saying the speakers are thin, not very cohesive.
I chose the 1028's because they punched above their weight, with the trickle down effect offering some of the features in the Utopia series along with Focal's reputation for building and designing everything in house. I got the 1028's last year, several audiophiles said Focal had taken them out of the line up and with them gone the jump to get the BE tweeter and W Cone in the Focal line up was a big one price wise with the 1028 and 1038's being discontinued. I also read they are one of the largest speaker / driver suppliers to other manufactures. Common sense would tell me Focal's should be a better speaker. Reviews I've read rave about Tekton's and specifically seem to reference the Moab's as being the best speaker in returns to diminishing returns in the line.
I'm a novice, just stayed at a Holiday in Express last night, would I be crazy to sell my Focal's and buy the Moab's or would it take my sometimes great sounding set up to a sounds great with everything?
Showing 2 responses by millercarbon
Moabs definitely do have a full, robust sound and are extremely cohesive. Sorry you were so horribly misinformed. Mine sound great with everything. Classical- full orchestra and intimate quartet both equally compelling and realistic. Rock- U2, Springsteen, Roxy Music, Nilsson, Styx, you name it. Jazz- Satchmo, Sinatra, Brubeck, does not matter. Male vocals, female vocals, chorales, organ, piano, are you getting the picture? Moabs are easy to drive and put out monster sound levels with real punch, authority and drive, and that’s with my little 50 watt tube amp. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 I was playing Nilsson Jump Into the Fire last night at realistic drum levels, actually louder than I probably should be listening (had a bit of ringing afterwards!) and yet the volume wasn’t even cranked to full power. Look at my room. Its not a small room. People using more power, or saying they need more power, either they really like damaging volume levels or its not registering just how loud it really is because the speakers are so freaking strain free at any volume level you lose track! But they don’t need to be cranked up loud to sound good either. One of the more pleasant surprises is realizing I can enjoy listening at lower volume levels. I still turn it up sometimes and when I do its really nice because its surprising how loud I can listen without any sense of strain or fatigue. But its equally surprising how good they sound even at lower levels. They are not- repeat NOT - made for people who want a work of art. They are presentable enough, but that’s about it. Good honest speakers that do not pretend to belong in the pages of Architectural Digest. And yes they are big. But while they are big they are not two-man speakers. I was able to bring mine in, unpack and set them up all by myself no problem. Mine are the normal Moabs with only the standard cap, wire and terminal upgrades. About the only thing I would - might - do different would be to order Ulfberhts instead. Encore and Ulf are the same MTM array as Moab, but with somewhat upgraded drivers. Although if you read my thread you will see when talking with Eric he said the Ulf tweeter is better, but the difference is hard to hear. He even said I probably wouldn’t hear it. Which mirrors what teajay told me. He owns Ulfs and reviewed Moabs and straight up told me to get the Moabs. Said except for the one little region of upper bass where the Ulfs have the extra drivers, except for that little bit they are the same. This is a guy who owns Ulfs telling me to buy Moabs. Like teajay told me, you could buy a lot of stuff for the price diff from Moabs to Ulfs. A lot of stuff that would make a lot more difference than there is between the speakers. Like in my case I could (and probably will) get a Raven Osprey. The Focals are probably quite good speakers for what they are. Old technology. Eric has pretty much obsoleted everything. For now. The market will catch up. But for now, if you want the best sound - and not the best looking Faberge egg - then you want a Tekton. |