Maggies to Tekton?

Somewhat related commentary:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RxRTFx6Cd0

I’d like to back up what wester17 wrote about the small tweaks for the 1.7s. I installed a fuse bypass kit (in over 30 years if using Magnepan speakers I’ve only blown one fuse and it was my fault), silver jumpers, and Sound Anchors stands. These tweaks, along with experimentation in placement, make a big difference. I too plug my amp straight into the wall. I have a sub as well, but I rarely use it. Proper placement in a good room allows these speakers to produce more bass than most give them credit for. 

I have Tekton Impact Monitors, Spatial Audio M3s (the original version, not the upgraded versions), and the Maggie 1.7i’s all in my basement right now (I also have a pair of Magnepan LRS’s), and have been comparing them for the past three months. I thought the Tektons were my last speakers. I love them. But I came across the one-year-old Maggies on a local classified ad at a price that was $1k less than the new price. I couldn’t resist giving them a try, and I fully expected the Tektons to beat them. At first they did. But I upgraded to a silver jumper and a gold-plated fuse, and also upgraded my cheap cables. With each tweak the Maggies improved noticeably. They need all the current you can throw at them. At the suggestion of a well-respected audio engineer, I even took my power conditioner out of the system and plugged my PrimaLuna Prologue Premium directly into the wall to get better current flow (It made a huge difference. My ancient Adcom conditioner was actually choking off the current flow). With these tweaks, the Maggies eventually emerged as the best of the bunch – much to my surprise.  Both the Maggies and the Tektons are quick and detailed, and sound similar in many ways. The main difference is that the Maggies deliver a more natural and richer tone, and perhaps a touch more holography with the images. And the sound stage is unbeatable.

But there are some caveats. My Maggies are 8.5 feet into the room. Placement makes a big difference with Maggies, and in my room, they need that much space (my room is 15 feet wide, and 50 feet long!). I’m also using a pair of Goldenear Forcefield IV subs, and they are essential to the sound. The Maggies actually produce better sounding bass than the smallish Tektons, but they just don’t have the slam that a box speaker has. I cross them over at a very low 45 - 50 HZ, so that most of the sound and texture are delivered by the Maggies, but the slam and fullness are delivered by the subs. It works wonderfully.

So my recommendations: First, try the upgrades I’ve suggested. Second, and this is critical, get some good, quick subs. These additions will bring a ton of excitement to the party. With the subs, even the LRS speakers sound huge and amazing. But if you’re just itching to try something new, go for it. You’ll enjoy the Tektons as well. And yes, I’ve obviously got too many speakers in my life. As soon as COVID is controlled to the point I’m comfortable letting people come into my house to audition them, I’ll be having a sale.

I’m a little late to this party, but I have some experience here... I’ve owned Maggies (5 different models) for the past 33 years. I’ve also, concurrently, owned many other “traditional” speakers... including Tekton. There’s just something about them that sounds “real” that box speakers don’t seem to get right (IMO). I typically have more than one system running, and I swap components in and out, and I’ve *wanted* to replace the Maggies, but nothing has stayed in the main system very long. That said, I tried a pair of entry level tektons (mini lore), due to the price and praise. Honestly, they left me wondering what the fuss was about. Now these were their LEAST ambitious speakers, but they were purchased to replace PSB Alpha B1 stand mounts ($300/pr), and quite honestly, the PSBs sounded better to me. I gave them a chance.. different amps, positions, rooms, sources, etc., but ultimately decided to return them. Paying $200 bucks for shipping them back kinda stung, and then they “forgot” to refund me (until I contacted them to find out what’s up). That’s my Maggie/Tekton story! I’d keep the Maggies so you can compare directly in your home. Also, speaking from a lot of experience, Maggies can sound great in many rooms with many different amps, but it sometimes takes some work and patience. And they DO NOT need a million watts of power. I currently have a 100 w/ch tube amp (Music Reference RM200II) driving them and I’m very satisfied. Ymmv

If you want low and dynamic, would never mate a Mcintosh to a Maggie.  I would look at an older Classe amp. I currently run CAM350's with my 20.1"s. I know you're saying those are much bigger than the 1.7's. Prior to the 20.1's I had the MGIIIa's, those things sounded like they would bring down the house with those Classe CAM350's. I would look for something around 400 watts per channel @ 4ohms... I was looking to change things up, just added a set of Acoustat Spectra 33"s with the TNT200 Amps that I'm going to have Roy Esposito rebuild... Once you go Flat, you never go back...(Panels)...lol

I had considered the Spatial OB lineup before, but read several commenters who suggested that, in their opinion, there wasn’t all that much difference between the Maggies and Spatials. Others, like gkr7007, thought it was an acceptable trade. However, general consensus seems to be that they like as much (or almost as much) space as Maggies.  I've been leaning toward the Ohm Walsh lineup as much as anything else besides the Maggies.

For the record, I’m running a B&K EX-442 Sonata SS amp (350 wpc into 4 ohms).

I had 1.7i's and I like the effect of a dipole speaker.  I can't handle the sound of boxed speakers any longer.  Since you already are used to the sound of a dipole, you may consider the Spatial Audio line up.  I went to a pair of X5's earlier this year and never looked back. It does everything the Maggie's do, plus adds tight bass and dynamics.  Much more efficient than hard to drive Maggie's and Spatial love tube amps.  The M series Sapphires are a great speaker too, and may fit better into your budget.  

I’m somewhat in the same boat (minus the divorce......been there, done that years ago).

My family room is smallish and having my MMGs three feet off the wall out into the room (about 7’ apart) really takes up a large amount of space where little existed to begin with. I absolutely love their sound but have been wondering about other floorstanders or stand-mounted speakers that I could back up 2 - 2.5 feet toward the front wall to open up my family room a bit.

I’m just afraid of losing my Maggie soundstage and image.

Interesting thread! When I divorced, my gear went into storage for 5+ years. It was older to begin with but when I finally got another place of my own where I could really settle in, I found getting my familiar gear out and setting it back up again rather comforting. For a couple years it never occurred to me to get new stuff! It was nice to refamiliarize myself with my old friends. Time went by, a new house and new wife (who loves the music!). Now for the past couple of years I've been upgrading and tweaking, and while I don't see me changing speakers, getting a new amp, preamp, cables, etc. have proven to be fun and actually therapeutic. Sorry for babbling on! Do let us know how the change goes. Good luck!

@dancole "and now have the Tekton DIs (but with ribbon tweeters instead of the standard arrays)."

I didn't realize that Tekton made ribbon tweeters an option for the DI or for any of there other speakers for that matter. This is news to me.

Hey, thanks again everyone for your advice, comments, etc. Much appreciated. Here’s a photo of my listening/living room. Very soon, I’ll have a finished basement to equipment with audio gear. I have stuff laying around, so no sweat at all. 😀 ~ Jerry 

https://1drv.ms/u/s!An_54gE357_Hgz7DOHj7tWsOVwsX

@pure_dave, bass in my set-up is next to nothing unless I crank the bass control on my McIntosh. Even then, I wouldn’t call it powerful or dynamic. I’m talking about the Maggies without the powered subs, so maybe it’s a moot point.  My old 250 wpc Musical Fidelity integrated definitely had the HP to control the low end on my 1.6s. Forgot to mention that...my old Maggies, in the large room, were 1.6s. Maybe I’m comparing apples and oranges? I wouldn’t think the 1.7s would sound much different than the 1.6s. 
@pinwa, Like you, I’m not sure I’ve optimized the placement, but I just don’t have a lot of room to play with. Also, on some recordings, the Maggie magic is there, on others it’s missing. I suppose one could say that about any loudspeaker. Maggies have their “lane”, and when they drift out of that lane, the results can be underwhelming. I still love them though. : ) 

Based on the pictures on the Maggie site, it was probably the 1.7i. 

I'm not really a Maggie fan, but I just wanted to comment on the demo I had a few months ago at my dealer of a current Maggie. I don't know what model it was, but it absolutely had bass slam and I was surprised. But it did have trouble with image focus. Just my $.02.

I have the Maggie 1.7's in a large room.  Unclear if I have really optimized their placement.  Often I am enthralled by the soundstage and precision/definition I hear but other recordings just don't seem to be that engaging which may be the lack of that "dynamic" quality you are mentioning.  I will say the Maggie's sounded a lot better with something like the Crown XLS 2502 which really brings out a sense of fullness and presence or the PS Audio Stellar S300's which are very precise and open but a little sterile than they did with a 45 watt tube amplifier.  If you want to give your Maggies a different sound cheaply I would suggest buying the Crown XLS 1502 or 2502 on Amazon and seeing how they sound.  If you don't like them it is an easy and often free return.  I think the Crown's sound amazing but the soundstage is quite a bit smaller than the S300's.

OK, that was all an aside.  I have a pair of Moab Short speakers (62" version) being delivered tomorrow.  I've listened to the Moab's in two different setups.  I am hopefully they will provide all the positive qualities of the Maggies and then some.  One guy that let me hear his Moab's also had a set of Lore's set up in a different room and I got to listen to them also.  They sounded detailed and musical but also just sounded small compared to the Moab's.  I would not have been happy trading the 1.7's for them and I don't think you would be either.  A lot of the excitement/magic around the Tekton's comes from that 7 tweeter array that handles the midrange and high end.  I'm not sure you will get what you want from a Tekton that doesn't include that tweeter array.  So my suggestion would be to move up a bit in the Tekton product line and maybe buy used if your budget is strict.

And Zu Audio is having their  OMEN DIRTY WEEKEND [MK.II] sale starting this Thursday where a special edition of the MK II's is marked down to $999. I've never heard them but a lot of people love them. Final idea for a small room is to pick up a used pair of the KEF LS50's. I think somebody else mentioned them.  All the reviews are great but I've never heard them either.

As you know the 1.7s present a large image, which for some is a fair trade off for dynamics. 

The Lore Reference may disappoint in two areas... image size and low end. 

Consider upsizing to the Lore (with its 10” driver).. or even larger.  Zu may also be worth looking into.  

Remember that you will have return shipping costs if you buy new.  And don’t be afraid to buy preowned... there are a number of good Tekton offerings and much of the depreciation is out of the way if you decide to resell. 

you may want to check out quad esl 2812 or 2912 or even esl64's. your amplifier is powerful enough to drive most speakers. if you want some high efficiency dynamics, tannoy or klipsch are very nice also.

At 100 WPC, your McIntosh amp should be adequate to power your Maggies, however the size of your new listening room may not be large enough to get the performance you were used to. When Maggies don't get that combination of enough space and enough power, they lose their magic and I don't know how much a sub would help. I've not heard any of the Tektons, but suspect  an apple-to-oranges type comparison which might be just what you're after considering all the recent changes in your life. Best of luck and please keep us posted.

I had a pair of Maggies (the small MMGIs) and now have the Tekton DIs (but with ribbon tweeters instead of the standard arrays). To be sure, they are very different animals. I used the Maggies, with a suitably fast subwoofer, in a small room. In that context, they were great - so detailed, transparent, and spacious. I have my Tekton DIs in a much larger room, in which the Maggies would have been lost. In that room I needed something that moves a lot of air. The DIs are wonderful for that purpose, but they are also great to listen to a lower volumes. And they are very easy to place, which cannot be said for the Maggies. As others have observed, you have a ton of options, when it comes to speakers that give a different experience from Magnepans. But you won't find many at or near the Tekton's price point.  

@uberwaltz 

m3 sapphires

@lpretiring, thanks for the comments. I’d like to spend less than a grand, hence my focus on the Lore Mini or Lore Reference. I’m just dipping my toe into the waters of efficient, dynamic speakers. If I had $3k or $4k to spend, the OB
Spatials would be a contender for sure.  I’m pretty sure I’ll pull the trigger on the Reference model. At the very least, it should be fun to try out some new gear!  All the best, Jerry 

@jjss49 
Which Spatial?
Would love to hear your thoughts when you have them and given them some play time.

i really haven't been looking for new speakers to try but have a set of spatials on their way

highly recommended by several folks whose knowledge and ear i really trust

Abnerjack.

Due to room design and constraints all of my speakers have to be a fair distance from side and back walls.
This has usually hurt box speakers but really works well for Maggie’s and even more so for the Spatial.
About 5 ft from back wall, 4.5ftfrom side walls and 9 ft apart from each other. Imaging is simply stunning. The Maggie’s were really good in here but the Spatial OB took it to another level.

uberwaltz,

I would love to hear the Spatials.  Do you find that they need a good amount of space between them and the front wall, as do the Magnepans, due to the dipole/second wave effect?

@jrod68 

    I am particularly interested in your decision and the results. I run the Maggie 1.7s and have been considering the Lore Reference for a second system. If you do get to audition them, please share your findings. 

Jrod68
Yes the Spatial Audio msrp. Is a little high but.....
They usually have some specials on their site and even listed here in Audiogon at very good prices.
That is how I got my pair, definitely nowhere near msrp!

@jrod68, I've owned 3 different pairs of Maggies a very long time ago. Nowadays I owned Electrons and now I listen to Double Impacts for the last 3 years.
You are right on target about the extra dynamics you would find with all or at least most of the Tekton line.
I'm not sure what your budget is but for me what makes the Tekton line an elite product is the tweeter array. It's that special.
How about the Impact monitor. They are $2000 retail new. Tekton models go on sale regularly, or just find a pair used.
Good luck with your new life!

Tekton has been around a long while, and take what I say with a grain of salt as I have never heard a pair, just have read a lot about them here.

It seems to me that Tekton really took off as particularly special after introduction of the DI’s. If I was going to buy into the brand it would be at least that level, probably the Encores.

I am only not interested in them because of their large size for the room they would go in. Not worried sound wise, but it would overwhelm that particular room aesthetically.  Not just the Tekton, any brand speaker of that size.

jrod68, I think some are missing the fact that you are now in a different and smaller room than you were before.  Like you, I too have a set of maggie 1.7's and love them, but will not be getting rid of them. I'm also playing around with some 2 ways:  Vandersteen 1ci and a Sonus Faber Venere 1.5.  Both are good in a small room and with subs.

I would recommend something that would play well in a small room and in a nearfield setup.  Besides the two speakers mentioned above,  I think the Kef ls-50 might be great.  I see them selling around $800 now.  Since you have subs already, this would make a nice system.

This is probably a good time to be looking for the Kefs as a lot of owners will be going for the new ls-50 Meta.

@david_ten, thanks for the info!  

@uberwaltz, the Spatial Audio speakers look really cool, and by all accounts (reviews), sound awesome.  At $3450 for the M5, that's beyond my budget right now, but maybe pre-owned is an option down the road?

@pmm, I actually have 2 Syzygy subs, and they are great. 

@northman, yeah, that event certainly set my life on a different trajectory.  But all is good now with a new lady, new perspective, etc.  Maybe the quest for a "new" sound is just an extension of that. By the way, I have no plans to sell the Maggies...just curious about different speakers I suppose. At the price point of the entry level Tektons, even if they don't work out, I'm not out a lot of money. Thanks for the kind words.  

I say this with genuine respect: you mentioned your divorce twice in this thread and it sounds like you're figuring out your world and your music anew. You have a new life and a new house (and new listening space) ... and it makes complete sense to me that you would want a new sound. I've had Maggies and *love* that sound but sometimes a change is exciting. I don't know you but it might be fun to have a project, audition speakers, research and explore. That's what I would do--really dive in. Maybe look into the used market. I know it's not a great time to try to listen to new speakers but the stores in the Northeast are mostly open. In any case, whatever direction you take, good luck!

Ever consider a Sub?
A nice compliment to your Maggies that will give you " oomph and excitement".

I replaced my Maggie's with Spatial Audio M3 Triode Masters.
These are OB design and I have no interest in looking at a change of speakers again.

Plenty of options besides Tekton out there.
Good luck.

@jrod68  Member @aolprodj replaced his Maggies (3.7s, I believe) with Tekton Moabs. Reach out to him via PM because I believe he hasn't been active on the forum. It was a very tough decision for him as he was really happy with the Maggies. However, he is happy he made the move.

All the best.

@gdnrbob & @speedbump6...thanks for the input. Consider me warned on returns. At less than a grand, if I don’t want to mess around with a return and the speakers are pretty good (but not exactly to my liking), I can always set them up in a basement listening area. My 1.6s were magical in my old house (a really big room and muscular amp), but the 1.7s not so much in my smallish listening room now. I sold most of my equipment after my divorce. The MA 252 is a nice piece, but I’m afraid it doesn’t have the horsepower to make the Maggies sing.

I haven’t had Maggie’s, but I have had Martin Logan’s. They’re great at what they do, but as you’ve mentioned, they don’t do dynamic. And they don’t go low. Tekton’s seem to get mostly great reviews from buyers, and though I have seen a couple of people mention that tekton has problems with fingerprints , etc on them if returned, the numbers of people I’ve read that returned theirs is really super small. I’d say you’re likely to find that you like them very much. I have some of their bigger ones, the moabs and ulfers, though I’ve read about everything I could find online about all their models, and the ones you mentioned also get great reviews. 

As they have a trial period, why not give them a try to see if they float your boat? For me, I would pass. I know and love the Maggie sound, and any non electrostatic speaker other than Vandersteen isn't going to make it.
But, be advised, I have seen many negative posts regarding returns-The main point being that Tekton will be very anal with regard to the condition the returned speakers are in.
YMMV
B