Tekton's are great rock speakers IMO. Very dynamic and easy to drive. Of course if your wife does not like the looks of the Zu I'm thinking she will absolutely hate the Tektons.
Need speaker suggestions for my evolving system!
Fair warning: I'm a total newb - on this site & with audio gear - with a pretty decent (to me) budget and pretty tough WAF standards to meet.
My use case:
- Building a system for both music & tv/movies
- Living room is 17'w x 15'd, with 12' vaulted ceilings.
- Speakers on the 17' wall, facing a wall of windows
- The right side of the room (when looking at the speakers) opens to the dining room & kitchen. So a pretty big space.
- Want speakers that can fill the room & rock out (my 9yr old likes impromptu dance parties), but also play well at low volumes, since that's when a lot of my listening happens.
My journey, to date:
- Bought a used pair of Zu Dirty Weekends and LOVED them. Full sound, super clear to me (coming from a soundbar, that's probably not saying much!), loads of bass even without a sub, and they could CRANK!
- Bought a used Marantz NR-1603 50wpc AV receiver to drive them. Worked great!
- Wife was not at all happy with the DW's look (that 10" driver was a bit of a surprise), size (12" x 12" x "38), or color (deep, reddish Maple Sangria). No matter how good they sounded, it was tough to get buy-in on them.
- Same hifi shop got a pair of used Totem Arros in cherry, which were a much better match in size & color. I tried them out, and they sounded amazing at low-to-moderate volumes, especially with acoustic and vocal music. I decided to keep them & sell the DWs.
- I love the Totem sound, and am still stunned by how clearly they create that broad soundstage! It's like magic.
- But...they really struggle to fill the room - and don't seem to handle rock music very well, to my ears.
- Thinking that the Marantz was the issue, since it isn't rated for 4 ohm speakers, I splurged on a used Peachtree nova220se, which drives 350wpc at 4 ohm. I figured that'd give them the boost they need. I was wrong.
- With the Peachtree, low-volume listening is a bit fuller & clearer, which is great. But I think the Arros just aren't made for rocking out - or at least not in a big room. Perhaps their size & my basic understanding of physics should have made that connection.
So now I'm looking for suggestions on what I should consider, as replacements for the Totems, using the following criteria:
- Wood (maple, cherry) finish
- Small (< 38" tall, < 12" wide) form factor
- Capable of filling a room
- Similar imaging & clarity as the Totems (don't have much experience with other speakers)
- Priced ~$3k
There are some used Totem Forest Signatures I've had my eye on, and I saw that Zu is having a sale on their Soul Supremes ($3,700) which I might be able to make a case for. But I haven't heard either.
Curious to hear what other speakers I should consider!
Thanks for the help!
My use case:
- Building a system for both music & tv/movies
- Living room is 17'w x 15'd, with 12' vaulted ceilings.
- Speakers on the 17' wall, facing a wall of windows
- The right side of the room (when looking at the speakers) opens to the dining room & kitchen. So a pretty big space.
- Want speakers that can fill the room & rock out (my 9yr old likes impromptu dance parties), but also play well at low volumes, since that's when a lot of my listening happens.
My journey, to date:
- Bought a used pair of Zu Dirty Weekends and LOVED them. Full sound, super clear to me (coming from a soundbar, that's probably not saying much!), loads of bass even without a sub, and they could CRANK!
- Bought a used Marantz NR-1603 50wpc AV receiver to drive them. Worked great!
- Wife was not at all happy with the DW's look (that 10" driver was a bit of a surprise), size (12" x 12" x "38), or color (deep, reddish Maple Sangria). No matter how good they sounded, it was tough to get buy-in on them.
- Same hifi shop got a pair of used Totem Arros in cherry, which were a much better match in size & color. I tried them out, and they sounded amazing at low-to-moderate volumes, especially with acoustic and vocal music. I decided to keep them & sell the DWs.
- I love the Totem sound, and am still stunned by how clearly they create that broad soundstage! It's like magic.
- But...they really struggle to fill the room - and don't seem to handle rock music very well, to my ears.
- Thinking that the Marantz was the issue, since it isn't rated for 4 ohm speakers, I splurged on a used Peachtree nova220se, which drives 350wpc at 4 ohm. I figured that'd give them the boost they need. I was wrong.
- With the Peachtree, low-volume listening is a bit fuller & clearer, which is great. But I think the Arros just aren't made for rocking out - or at least not in a big room. Perhaps their size & my basic understanding of physics should have made that connection.
So now I'm looking for suggestions on what I should consider, as replacements for the Totems, using the following criteria:
- Wood (maple, cherry) finish
- Small (< 38" tall, < 12" wide) form factor
- Capable of filling a room
- Similar imaging & clarity as the Totems (don't have much experience with other speakers)
- Priced ~$3k
There are some used Totem Forest Signatures I've had my eye on, and I saw that Zu is having a sale on their Soul Supremes ($3,700) which I might be able to make a case for. But I haven't heard either.
Curious to hear what other speakers I should consider!
Thanks for the help!