@mozartfan The perfect set 15 look cute, especially the 7 HF/Mid diver array, don’t you think so?
My Experience With Tekton
I know this is a polarizing discussion point and was thus hesitant to share unless I could keep it objective, helpful, and concise
I have no intention to be inflammatory, sway anyone’s current opinion or beliefs
I merely want to share information in two specific areas, my results of product performance and my experience with the manufacturer
Background and reference point
I replaced a pair of Revel F36. The F36 is the upper end of Revel’s lowest tier floorstanding speakers and retails for $2,000 MSRP per pair
Took approx. 45 mins to unbox, level and connect
Like for like drop-in replacement, same location on the floor as the F36s, the listening position did not change, identical electronics and cables
We’ve all got our preferences, biases, different levels of experience, etc; but share the common limitation that we just don’t know what we don’t know
I’ve not heard a pair of 30K speakers but expect to someday and envy those that own them
In my VERY limited understanding, it’s near impossible to pinpoint how any specific system change will behave and perform across the board, contingent on the variances in electronics, set up and room. These three items alone (electronics, setup and room) make me think that while similar in nature, but at a critical listening level, each combination is unique and a different snowflake or fingerprint
Listening results
Product delivers as advertised
Meets or exceeds every performance expectation I had hoped for
After approx. 5 hours of listening over 3 days I tried to characterize the sound. The first thought was neutral, but that was understating what I was hearing. I eventually landed on natural or real. The voices and the instruments sound VERY real to me. This is as close as I have come with my electronics, setup and room to sensing that someone is singing to me or that someone or an entire band is playing for me
To date, each song that I’ve played, is the best version of that song that I have heard in a playback, and I’ve listened to all of them 100s and 100s of times
Some of the improvement was by a small margin, but most songs, 65% conservatively speaking, by a vast margin – night and day, game changing stuff
Chet Baker didn’t sound like a presentation from 1958, it sounded as fresh and real as a new recording with the benefits of 60 years of technology advancements. Exile on Main Street didn’t sound like a home recording from 1972 it sounded like 2022 with many layers of percussion, keyboards, horns and background vocals
Is the sound of this $5,000 pair of speakers comparable to the sound of a $30,000 pair of speakers? I don’t know, as mentioned I’ve not heard a pair of $30,000 speakers.
What I do know is the $5,000 pair of speakers, simply put is the best my system has sounded by a wide margin
Again in summary, it sounds real, like someone is singing to me
Experience with the manufacturer
I had hemmed and hawed for 2 or 3 months before placing my order. One day the website mentioned a future price increase but until mmdd you could still order at the current price
I called and spoke with Tammy and told her I wanted to lock in on the current price point but wasn’t sure what product or configuration I wanted
She built an open-ended order with current pricing and told me to contact her when I knew what I wanted
With work travel and other commitments it took me 4 months to finalize which speaker, Moab, which upgrades, beryllium tweeters and Cardas connectors, and what color, white
I was never pressured to make up my mind or that my window for the lower costs was going to expire
Since I was the one dragging my feet, I offered multiple times to pay for the product
Not once did they hint or take me up on my offer to pay in advance
They did not bill me until the product shipped
Once I had made all the config decisions, the build and delivery were again, as advertised
Tammy mentioned a 4–6-week supply chain delay with beryllium, that arrived within her estimated timeframe
Once the beryllium arrived, she said she was waiting on cabinets, eta 5-7 days, followed by build and paint, and shipping approx. 10 days after she received the cabinets
Within 2 weeks Tammy emailed my owner’s manual, unpacking instructions and told me to expect a call from the freight company within the next week
Freight company contacted me on that Fri and scheduled delivery for the very next Mon, Aug 30
The boxes arrived scuffed and with multiple impact points that dented the packing material
There are no blemishes or damage to either speaker cabinet, the packing and packaging worked as designed
Upon unpacking, I didn’t experience a heavy smell of paint or wood, if I put my nose to the cabinet, I could smell fresh paint
The cabinet finish or construction does not appear inferior to anything else in my inventory, KEF, Revel, Klipsch, Paradigm, Polk, and Elac – permission in advance to laugh
Enjoy the journey and happy listening
Respectfully
Showing 6 responses by seamaster300m
OK, the perfect set 15 is $2190 a pair that is included shipping in the US. I know, I know, those HF/Mid Audax drivers are only $35 a pop but add up 14 of them is whopping $490 that is at least 20% of the speakers’ asking price. I Google around the web, people seem to endorse the cheap Audax’s sound quality, for $35, what else can you get really, that is proven, has good heritage, and is not made in China (OK that was a joke)? I think Eric does his design and research work very carefully.
The pricing of Tekton is very generous. By contrast, look at those greedy big distributors, name one: Tone Imports, they mark up minimal 200% to US consumers on the stuffs they represent. Line Magnetic for example, they sell for less than half the price in the domestic market, and because of the trade agreement, the factory refuses to sell 110V version outside of their distribution chains, is it smart of the manufacture? I don’t think so as they don’t pocket the markup profits.
Maybe Eric should hire a good carpenter to make the speaker cabinets pretty, and looks like 10K, some of you may think they sound good by the look alone in the first place.
People do all that trash talk without hearing the brand or did not know how to use them (similar to hand tools, how many of you know adjustable wrench and saw are one way tools?) People should keep an open mind and give some respect to others’ work and efforts.
Best
Griffin |
Nice to meet you. The price they charge, the service they provide, and the products you get do not match. You just answered your own question, the equipment they import went through extra QA QC, really? Are you sure? Or just the sales person said so? Did you go to their factory and check? Even under the contract the manufacture suppose to do extra quality screening on products that ship to Tone Import; but unfortunately they don’t, how do I know this? My friend is a (oversea) Melody and Tannoy dealer, and he almost became a LM dealer. How many time do you see a properly designed and manufactured tube amp have transformer brunt down? Come on, I have two pair of McIntosh MC30 and a Scott 222D, they work just fine. When I bought my preamp from Kara of DeHavilland, I let amp ran continually for 395 hours without any problem. The LM amps sell for half of the price in China, and the factory and network STILL provide repair services!!! When I said those greedy importers, I really mean it!!!
Please read how Grant Fidelity Canada and Psvane divorced, it is a similar story, an industry wide decease. Psvane makes great sounding tubes, I have their KT88 TII, and WE845 that bought from GF. I can't speak for the KT88 because I sold them after I sold my McIntosh MC75 anniversary, abut 200 hours on them. I only used my WE845 matched pair for about 300 hours and one was dead. I had to buy another single tube from GF for around $500, sorry I don't remember the exact price. That one tube show up, marked 90% value of the "strong export" tube I had. It is not I can hear the unmatched tubes because the amp I have has auto bias, it bothers me that a $400~500 tube only last for 300 hours or less. |
LM do have authorized dealers in each major cities in China, mostly are local HI Fi shops of different sizes, the factory covers the most major repairs but the shipping price in domestic China cost really low. I understand the warranty cost money, should it be covered by better QA QC instead pass down to consumers? What about the brands that are known for excellent quality and reliability, does it mean they pass the savings to consumers like you and me? Let’s not to point fingers at LM only, how about Accuphase? How much do they charge?
"The Line Magnetic that Tone imports, in most cases, are specc’d with different transformers. " Really? China is a world factory, LM never though about voltage differences when they design amps and source parts...... "It is irresponsible of you to disparage the value added by responsible importers bring to the table. You also ignore the true cost of importing, shipping container prices, proper tariff payments, living wages paid, appropriate taxes, etc." Were you ever in trading business and know the cost break down when you deal with this type high value goods? "PSVane tubes are nothing special, they have proven unreliable and yes, they appear to be overpriced as well. What was your point? The qc reject rates experienced by reputable dealers is astronomical." You misunderstood my point, yes, the QC reject rate is very high and it was very hard for GF to enforce the QC on the ground in the first line. "Tone is consistently higher than rest of the world" I already stated "high price" it is like an industry wide decease. How many domestic small brands/shops offer great products at great prices when they sale direct? Look at small brand like deHavilland, Kara just run the shop by herself. She priced the UV3 with remote for $2495 in 2004 when Enjoy the Music reviewed it with a Blue Note Award, and I bought mine from her for $2500 in 2014, a whopping $5 price hack in 10 years!!! The best part? I have used the preamp almost daily have not yet need warranty repair. "You are not speaking from a position of knowledge, you are speculating and guessing, overlaying your opinion and presenting it as fact which is unfair and disingenuous." Are you speaking from a position of an insider or just assume and believe what they tell you with a good heart?
I am a working class in the USA, it is very hard for me to throw my money around just because......
|
@ghasleyI am a retired Army mechanic (91X), and currently running a small trading company, thanks.
"That’s terrific but I don’t consider a one person operation a sustainable business model, especially if they don’t have pricing power. I don’t know anything about the brand you mention nor the specific product but this example actually proves my point. Sometimes a product is so simple that anyone can follow a schematic and repair/recap it or DIY. Me? I prefer to purchase from a going concern."
This went full circle back to Tekton, each person have right to express his/her own opinions. I am tired to argue, convince, or explain here, if you think you are right, that is perfectly fine. BUT certain consumer behaviors are the driving force of this greedy Hi Fi industry, that is my last word on this topic. Have a nice weekend guys! |