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


stevewharton
“ I realize you measurement folks don’t care about the sound, but what about “measurements”? Your next reply: if there is any measured difference, it’s small, and beyond auditory level of any human. Why even bother “

Weak ... Predictably  weak !

I think you missed part of the point..
There are in fact no measurements presented here to suggest that the effects are inaudible or otherwise, other the one measurement that we do know about is the sensitivity, which is off by a 4x or more (6-7 dB). That should be audible? (There are no other measurements being discussed)

What is the design ethos that they are using to make a superior product?
This is hilarious...funnier than reading MC and the crew shilling the product..LMAO
OK aploogies to the board fora  bit of back  tracking my  opinions, Just cking a  old horn topic,,got it,, horns in fact have some issues.
Got that.
Apologies.
But I can confidently say Tek's xover at 1800-2200hz most likely will have  issues. Also  I am not fond of paper cone woofers and midwoofers.
So thats 2 strikes against even before I hear them.


https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/why-not-horns?highlight=horns

Which makes my WBer the ultimate.
mozartfan,
Your recent kick has been for wide band speakers, and now today, "horns rule".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No I always said, or if i did not, let me correct my past comment, Horns  are the  Gold standard, At least the hifi big $$$$$ horns, which i have zero interest in.
No one would  argue that horns are the highest fidelity.
If you don't know horns are the ultimate , you need to back to Audio 101.
But there are so many issues  with horns,  cost being the 1st.

My WBers are the next best bang. 
xover types like the Tektons, just can't  approach a  horn. 

I’m being honest here 
I like the design principles of tekton
speakers  may sounds really great but the looks alone border me too much 
I can’t have this speakers in my living Space 
hopefully they will come out with CNC cutting design  
mozartfan,
Your recent kick has been for wide band speakers, and now today, "horns rule". Then, today, Eric has a great idea with his Double Impacts, but "you're not buying in".
Time to see a doctor. 
Now you're just typing to see yourself type. Er, or something like that....
Hold on.
Just did a lil research into the Tek’s DI’s. OK, so center tweet is the T and the surrounding 6 are like a Midrange horn.
Got it. I actually like this idea alot.
Midrange froma single tweet or the mids from a single midwoofer , ain’t gonna cut it.
And Tek is using triple ring radiator tweeters which sounds interesti9ng,.
+ you can upgrade the 6 midrange tweeters.
All in all, I’d say its a winner on the tweeter side.
Now as for dual mid woffers 10 inch.. I think Eric should have gone dual Seas W22’s.
Now we are talking but the price on the Excel W22’s ain’t cheap.
had Eric employed dual W22’s, he’d have something that would blow away the Wilson’s.
Or maybe a Seas W26 Excel + W22 Excel.
If you want the best gotta use the best.
So yeah I like Eric’s ideas here with 6 tweeters acting as a horn midrange
..EDIT 20 minutes later...
No wait, Tweets  don't do well below say 2200, and Erics 2 midwoofers don't go well above 1800hz.
back to square 1.
Horn's rule, 
What we are after is  a  horn sound as close as psooible. Tek's are not going to deliver the goods. 
Its the 1800-2200hz band that will get these things into trouble. 
Sorry, I ain't buying in.
Just read through the OP on audioholics. Guy demands top priority 20hz bass.
Then Tektons are HIS speaker.
Thing is, he gets the whole package.
For me, not the least bit interested in 20-40 hz range.
So yeah if the guy wants deep  bass the Teks are his speaker.With dual 10's, he'll have it. 
WE all have different wants/needs/demands
Listening rm is small 10x12 with very near field  listening, so Tektons  in my case is not a good choice.
We should always keep rm size and field distaance listening SPL preferences in mind when discussing speaker choices.


Another pop up site on my IP is also of some interest in the Tektons.
read Kvn Walkers Dec3,2018 post.  about 7 posts from top
He has some valid  imput on things I was just now pointing out.
Specs sure don't tell much of how a  speaker will sound, according to one DIYer comments just came across the other day..., but sure helps to see something on paper.
Note his hunch *possibly inflated*. Seas with their Crescendo tweeter, has the db sens wayyy over  inflated. 

https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/looking-at-tekton-double-impacts-se-anybody-have-any-e...

He also  mentions audiogon as a  place for Tekton discussion/reviews..**if you are willing to tread the waters over at Audiogon**, Not sure what his implication is.
I find Audiogon a  most wonderful chat forum for open fair and comradiere discussion of all things audio.
Maybe a snide or 2 here  N there. Nothing offensive though. 
Just got off main computer and went to listening room , just  made a  last ck on my IP see if any other comments.
a  pop up was at bottom page of Iphone,, this comment may have some value,,I only read the 1st few lines.
Really not interested in reading the rest nor the entire discussion.
But I think this geek has some valid authority as his ears have to be very sensitive and attuned to proper voicing.
https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/62843-very-disappointed-with-tekton-double-impacts/#comment...
Must say  thats a  LOT of speaker for the low  price  PLUS!! free ship, wow, thats a bargain.
Considering other labs prices. Like Wilson.
tongueincheek
OK back in less than 20 seconds
Went to Tekton
WE need Mr Tekton to upgrade his info/spec page to include the above things we’d all like to know more about.
We needa dbhz chart.

Lets have a look.
Its not there, perhaps later today Mr Tekton will provide us with this chart.
Note the opening page to his site
**Its all about the sound**
100% agreement.
But we’d also like to ck a few specs.
Hopefully we will get this chart posted today.
In the meantime all we can do is just shoot the bull about Tektons.

https://tektondesign.com/product/full-range-speakers/flagship/moab/#color
What is your experience with Tekton, other than none at all?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
True
I try to explain above
WE have to look at the Tektons inner structure.
magnet weight/type/cone material.
db/hz chart.
A speaker that has too many peaks and valleys in that chart will have soem fidelity issues.
I finally figured out how to translate this chart as of 1 day ago.
Comparing 2 dif WBers a W3 and a  W4.
The W4 has fidelity  and the chart shows it  is well behaved. The W3  is good but no cigar. And the chart shows it has issues with peaks and valleys. 
So there might be something  to these db/hz charts after all. 
The W4 is $175/pair
The W3 $60 pair.
Get what you pay for. 
Lets take a  look at the db'/hz chart for the Tektons.

tsushima1
404 posts
10-13-2021 8:30am
“ I realize you measurement folks don’t care about the sound, but what about “measurements”? Your next reply: if there is any measured difference, it’s small, and beyond auditory level of any human. Why even bother “

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ok ok 
stay on topic. 
Note I do  rant 90% on my project, but always, always come back to the Tektons

We can't  talk about Tek's completely separated from speaker designs in general.
duhh
No speaker stands alone on a  island all by itself exception the big hifi horns which are the Holy Grail.

Measurements?
sens db and db/hz chart, magnet type, weight., cone material. 
these are the only specs I consider.
I now starting to understand the db/hz chart.
Too many peaks and valleys = not good.
Can't say more as i am now censored to stay only on Tekton  as main topic.
But what are Tektons db/hz chart? Sens db level?
magnet structure/cone material
All these things  have to be brought in to the discussion,. But again, specs will not say how a  speaker will actually sound. 
We are talking miniscule sound difs in speaker X and speaker Y. 
But a  nuance is a   nuance and only 1 can win.
How is the Tektons midrange.
This is what we all want to know.
Maybe the OP talks of the Teks mids. 
I don't know
“ I realize you measurement folks don’t care about the sound, but what about “measurements”? Your next reply: if there is any measured difference, it’s small, and beyond auditory level of any human. Why even bother “

Weak ... Predictably  weak !
@mozartfan     Stay on topic. The topic is not your never ending train wreck. You have multiple threads about what you are polluting this one with. The topic is "My experience with Tekton". What is your experience with Tekton, other than none at all? 
thyname1,397 posts10-13-2021 5:50amHi @mozartfan. I think you missed my point. It was hilarious as he posted two different things on speakers in the same day. Above on this thread (speakers are just some boxes with drivers and crossovers) and the one I quoted on another thread

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OK got it.
Well glad we have another jokester on board,
Keeps things light and adds humor into this discussion this way keeps things not serious.
I like the way Jason expresses his ideas
Straightshooter kind of a  snakeoil buster type audiophile.

Thats kind of how i see xover style speaker.
Boxes with speakers and xovers.
To me they all have their very own house sound and so I lump them all into one big pile.
Xover styles do not at all sound like big hifi horns. 
Thats a fact.
My speaker project was  all about trying to get as close as possible to a  big hifi horn system
Adding in the DLW4 the other day brought this system a little bit closer to the horn system soundstage.
I know it was a  success as Diana Krall's CD When I look Into Your Eyes turned up the magic.
Diana never sounded so good.
So yeah, Jason is a big voice here.
Guy knows his stuff. 
Tektons might very well be *the real deal* = horn like. 
But we will never know for sure until we get a  horn geek to give them a  listen.
Horn geeks don't listen to xover box styles  so we will never know this answer.
All speakers are judged against a  hifi horn system.

jasonbourne521,137 posts10-12-2021 6:59pmA speaker is just a box with some drivers and a crossover. That manufacturers can make and sell them for the price of a luxury car is ... rather appalling, eh!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Its long been common knowledge among seasoned audiophiles especially the DIY campers that speakers are grossly overpriced.
No news there.
I just read that  opinion on a  DIY board some weeks ago.
This idea hit home after I made up my speaker system. 
I had no choice.
The Seas Thors upgrades cost me a  bundle and did not transform the speakers into Super-Thors.
Tried to go 3 way with a  Seas high tech DEDICTAED  midrange. Tech said *you gotta be joking*
Thats all he said.
it was at that very moment I dumped xover speakers and put my full 100% attention into these *odd strange unusual* WBers.


dabel
352 posts
10-12-2021 6:50pm
@mozartfan, only classical?! Okay, I can respect that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WEll this term *Classical music** is such a  generalized broad catchall tag which really is  only for convience sake.
Nothing more.
My music starts at Debussy and of course includes Mozart, Wagner, pinch of Vivaldi (Only his minor key concertos, ONLY, so within V's concerto grossos, I skip the major tracks, and  only listen to the minor tracks. 
= 1/2 of  the cd...
Henze, Schnittke, Pettersson, Carter.
Classical composers?
Very unlike say Brahms, Dvorak, Mahler. 
My collection is complete with say 15 composers represented on my shelf, quickly losing interest in Shostakovich and Prokofiev. Time changes us. 
Replaced with Schnittke, Henze , Carter, Pettersson. 
15 composers represented, thats it. 
I love Szymanowski and do not like Chopin.
Thats how my collection goes. I hear superior music in Szymanowski and so *Get* my Chopin in Szy's music. But superior, new style, Chopin I hear as dated material thus a  bit boring.
So classical fan? Not really, 
My new speaker designs have me listening to Diana Krall all the way though to the end of the cd. 
Diana's voice has taken  on  such charm and magic with my added WBer W4 DavidLouis. WOW factor off the charts.
Going for more will add the Tang Band W3 2178 in late Janurary for possible more wow factor.
The Dayton W3 did not work in as i figured it would not.
The TBW32178 absolutely must be not same but superior to DLVX8+DLW4 if its going to work in. And I looked at the specs/db sens hz chart looks just wonderful . hanging very close to 90db and w/o any major dips , peaks , valleys. Its 4x's the price of the other TBW3 but a superior speaker.
This is how i designed my Wide Bander
Trial and error.
Tektons look like they've been working with the same ideas i have = more can be better.

Hi @mozartfan. I think you missed my point. It was hilarious as he posted two different things on speakers in the same day. Above on this thread (speakers are just some boxes with drivers and crossovers) and the one I quoted on another thread 

Just hilariously funny.
But actually I have to agree.
You guys are very predictable! I knew exactly what you were going to say. Which brings me to my next question I have lined up: no such “measured results” between speakers? I realize you measurement folks don’t care about the sound, but what about “measurements”? Your next reply: if there is any measured difference, it’s small, and beyond auditory level of any human. Why even bother 🤦‍♂️

holmz217 posts10-12-2021 11:33pmYour Fezza example is certainly different than a Pinto though.

The difference between a Skoda, a Pinto and a Ferrari is that we have measured results for acceleration, cornering/skidpad, braking, etc for all those vehicles.

And yet, here is what Jason Bourne Identity posted today in another thread. Hilarious!

jasonbourne521,134 posts10-12-2021 4:36pmThe truth is that most well-designed and well-built preamps will sound darn close! Want to hear a real change? Try a different transducer - phono cartridge or speakers! Most electronics today are already pretty transparent to the source.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just hilariously funny.
But actually I have to agree.
AS I've stated numerous times  on this board amp=amp
A tube amp = a  tube amp.
The real game changers is the speaker
Which is why I take  all things speakers dead serious.
My tech geek adores Uesugi which have to admit is really super high tech design. 
But to me a  tube linesage = a  tube linestage.
Yes even his Uesugi.
However I did havea   used older model Prima Luna Prologue for a  few hours before I packed it up and shiped it back to seller.
Not sure what that was all about perhaps I did not give it enough test demo, Not sure. All I can say has 6 12AU7's in slots.
I love AU's. 
But for some reason I think not having some 12AX's in there presents a  sound I did not care for.
Ran that over with my  tech geek he disagrees.
I don;'t know why it did not perform as i hoped.
I'm convinced a  linestage needs some AX's amplification factor involved. 
My Jadis 20+ yr old DPL employs 2 AX's but as per tech suggestion that one slot could go AU if I wanted.
And so I swaped  the AX for a  AU and sure enough made a  nice lil gain.
IMHO a  linestage should have a  balance of AX and AU for best  bang.
Off topic back to
Tekton-ICs
Midwoofer = midrange + woofer = ain't buying.
These things distort over 1800
Tweeter = midrange tweeter.
Again best they go go low is maybe 2k.
So this 1600hz-say 2200 hz sits in limbo, 
Not sure if you are aware this is a super critical hz  band width for all our music. 
Which is why i completely abandoned these midwoofers/midtweeters as main principle singers in my speaker system. 



Your Fezza example is certainly different than a Pinto though.

The difference between a Skoda, a Pinto and a Ferrari is that we have measured results for acceleration, cornering/skidpad, braking, etc for all those vehicles.

No one I have seen, has ever taken a Pinto’s typical ~20 second quarter mile time, and then fudged it by 6 dB to say it is does the 1/4 mile 5 seconds. If they did then I missed it.

The magazines and their testers can also wax poetic about the sublime handling, but the facts are not hidden in outright measurable lies.

But it is still true that they are all cars.

However, if we put 18 wheels on one of the cars, then some of us would likely call it a truck.
And if we only put 14 wheels on it, then I guess it would be a truck missing 4 wheels?

Lastly the Fezza and Skoda probably have the design philosophy written down somewhere. They did not start out with a clean sheet of paper like that tricycle looking Leman’s car, or the Deisel powered car… But even those had a clear, and stated,  design ethos.
Absolutely spot on Sherlock Holmes! Exactly! A Ferrari is just a moving vehicle with wheels and some seats. No different than a Skoda. Truthful and factual statement 
At least saying that they are “just a box with drivers and crossover” is somewhat more truthful and factual, than saying that they’re somewhat imbued with the magic of pixie dust.
well guys c’mon, whats the problem?

the mona lisa is just a piece of parchment with some oil stains on it

surprised it might be worth more than wheelbarrow full of dead leaves... sheesh...

it is THE jason bourne schooling us here....
And yet, here is what Jason Bourne Identity posted today in another thread. Hilarious!

jasonbourne521,134 posts10-12-2021 4:36pmThe truth is that most well-designed and well-built preamps will sound darn close! Want to hear a real change? Try a different transducer - phono cartridge or speakers! Most electronics today are already pretty transparent to the source.
Jasonbourne52 has it figured out. I do hope he will share with the rest of us the speaker that is the perfect balance with price/performance.
A speaker is just a box with some drivers and a crossover. That manufacturers can make and sell them for the price of a luxury car is ... rather appalling, eh!........Dumbest thing ive read in quite awhile
well, when i was an exchange student at Toyota, the Camry rate was about 1 per minute… there is thing called….wait for it…..scale.

imagine if Scanspeak at volume production….. ?

LOL!!! Humans’ insanity has no bounds. And when I thought I had heard it all, here is Jason Bourne. Identity 

jasonbourne521,134 posts10-12-2021 7:59pmA speaker is just a box with some drivers and a crossover. That manufacturers can make and sell them for the price of a luxury car is ... rather appalling, eh!
A speaker is just a box with some drivers and a crossover. That manufacturers can make and sell them for the price of a luxury car is ... rather appalling, eh!
Post removed 
I attended three Grateful Dead concerts: Fillmore East (1969), Vancouver (1973, 74). The last two had the Dead's famous "Wall of Sound" amp/speaker array. Sounded real good in the Vancouver Colosseum! I'd like to hear a large pair of Tekton's driven by my go-to-muscle amp - the Perreaux 2150B (340, 680,920 wpc @ 8/4/2 ohms) playing some of the CDs from Bear's Vault of the live shows! I bet the Tekton's would do a bang-up job!
Exactly. thats my reason for pulging in all sorts of **~~,, and such , for innuendos and emphasis, questionable opinions, possibilities, doubts, affrimations, and perhaps for a bit of humor.

Maybe people with innuendos, questionable opinions, etc… can just high light the truth in bold.

Whoa… wait a minute… there is no bold font ability on this forum.
When I read it that way, it has a cadence, or galloping nature, to it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Exactly. thats my reason for pulging in all sorts of **~~,, and such , for innuendos and emphasis, questionable opinions, possibilities, doubts, affrimations, and perhaps for a  bit of humor. 

btw the Dayton W3 went in 
And as i figured did not work out.


Those big Tekton Double Impacts look like they'd be good on loud rock

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Earlier today this  same idea occured to me, the Tektons look like they would make great rock and roll music.
Thing is  i listen only to classical.
Post removed 
James Baldwin is on the burn list of books for team Tekton

That’s subtle, but I like where you went with it.

One can probably hear a pin drop with those Textons.
Some people don't use enough punctuation. You, however, throw it around like it's raining commas.
Maybe it is like a James Baldwin speech, where the punctuation is to emphasise breaks in thought?

When I read it that way, it has a cadence, or galloping nature, to it.
Good questions. I was about to answer when scanning above noticed you do not trust the messenger. So no soup for you.

^Nice Seinfeld quote.^
But I was giving you and others the opportunity to stay on point here with some factual input.

It is the 1/2 truths/opinions that are hard to integrate into some holistic truth.

But if we stay towards the reality side of things, then we avoid having sugar coated opinions and overly subjective stories.


This quote of @northman seems to continue to be ‘ringing true’:
Everything I know about Tekton speakers I’ve learned on this forum. Unfortunately, that’s not saying much.
holmz- Let’s bring this back to reality a bit…
What is the purpose of all the tweeters/drivers running in unison?
  1. Is it to reduce the excursion as a way to lower non-linear distortion?
  2. Or is it to make the driver appear to be coming from a point further behind the cabinet?
  3. Or is it to make the phased area nature of it reduce floor and ceiling (wall bounces (By make it more directional?
  4. Or something else?

And then how are all these drivers wire to make them appear to be 4 ohm load?
  • Are they in series and then paralleled up?
  • Or resistors in series?
  • Or how?

I did see something that mentioning “time and phase coherent”. Are there usual step function plots floating around somewhere? 

Good questions. I was about to answer when scanning above noticed you do not trust the messenger. So no soup for you. 
@ghasley

well said, agree completely

@three_easy_payments

you’ve been around long enough to know that there is value in this forum, if not in this thread

like going through the daily mail delivery... lotsa junk, some treasures in there too, worth checking, though with a mindset that much of it is garbage
@ghasley
“Im pretty sure those who detest Tekton the most do so because of the personalities behind the company or its ardent fans. Hey, there is absolutely zero chance I would own Tekton due to the owners quick fuse, commentary over the years,”

In no small part you may be correct in your observation.
Morphing onto a forum and throwing threats of litigation around rarely goes down well.

Likewise reining in his ‘Familiar’ from spamming every speaker thread going may well work out better for him around here in the long run!