Other than an approximate three week delay in my order delivery, I had a mostly positive experience with the Tekton Lore Reference Bes. I was a little disappointed in the thickness of the packaging cardboard, but luckily they arrived without a scratch.
The speakers did perform better than what can typically be achieved for <$1200, especially in the highs, not surprisingly given the SB Acoustics Beryllium tweeters. My only notable gripe with their sound was audible cabinet resonance. But really, what can one reasonably expect from $1200/pair speakers that include at least $800 worth of raw materials ($600 worth of tweeters, over $100 of Eminence woofers, Clarity caps, Cardas binding posts, MDF, damping, paint and floor spikes)? Truly, I suspect he barely breaks even on that particular model, probably in hopes that customers will eventually upgrade within the brand.
Further, I didn’t have to take as large a hit on their resale price when I moved them on out relative to the loss I took with more popular brands.
However, despite those positives, I would be reluctant to place another order with Tekton given the reputation Erick now has for threatening litigation. I once had to deal with such an issue with another factory direct brand—the owner didn’t want to honor his satisfaction guarantee and began acting like a nightmarish toddler. Eventually it got to a point where the guy had the gall to threaten me with litigation for wanting to return his pathetic product according with his own satisfaction policy. This guy was/is probably less pleasant to deal with than Erick is on his worst of days. Anyhow, these days, if I becomes aware of even a couple anecdotes of a dealer or brand being difficult on a customer, or a reviewer like Erin, that’s enough to deter me. There are too many great alternatives out there to choose from.