New speaker day - Tekton Enzo 2.7 review


These are my initial impressions of the Enzo 2.7’s. I considered their Lore model and even the Enzo XL, but decided on the 2.7’s in part because as I get older, the big heavy XL’s seem like backbreakers, and the Lores don’t have the mid/tweeter array. I was able to snag a pair Tekton had in stock, so i was lucky to avoid the long wait time others are experiencing right now. They were well packed and arrived safely. I set them up in the garage and gave them about 50 hours of break-in. Once inside, I hooked them up to my Primaluna Prologue/Denefrips Ares DAC. Blue jeans cables, nothing exotic. I only use CDs at this time - no streaming yet. My space is a small family room opening into a kitchen. The whole space is about 15 X 30 with a cathedral ceiling in part of it. I have about 30 sq ft of acoustical absorbing panels installed and a hardwood floor. The Enzo’s are sensitive and I’m happy my front end is quiet enough.

At first listen, the sound was disorienting, but in a strange, good way. The first thing that stood out was the midrange: it was huge, but not in your face, blown out of proportion kind of way, it just had more presence and scope. It (midrange) doesn’t sound warm or syrupy, or compressed, but rather very fast, neutral and detailed. These speakers keep different elements of the record well sorted and they sound effortless doing it. It’s hard to describe, so I’ll give examples of what I hear with different music.

Electric rock music is dynamic and punchy and also sounds good a low listening levels. Jazz ensembles sound organic. Trumpets and saxophones are detailed and clear. You can hear the breathiness of the players easily. I like the way reverb sounds through these. 

Vocals: 3 or 4 part harmonies actually sound like 3 or 4 people singing, each voice retains its own character and space. When complex percussion is behind the vocals, and sharing similar frequencies, you hear distinct percussion and vocals, they coexist, one does not overwhelm the other. Listening from another room, they still sound great - very present and effortless.

Orchestral music: I put on Beethovens 7th symphony, and the different sections of the orchestra are fully apparent. Instead of one big homogeneous sound, the horns are separate from the violins which are separate from the cellos and so on, more so than other speakers I’ve owned. The violin section also sounds more natural, and when playing in the upper registers much less like a musical chainsaw - the best I’ve owned in that regard. I put on some Handel chamber music and during a pipe organ section, I thought the cd was skipping, but it was some clicking sounds made by the organ itself. Soft, delicate passages are still dynamic and detailed, just quieter overall. Large orchestral crescendos, both sudden and gradual don’t seem to cause any distress. Sudden, dramatic endings decay very nicely. Solo piano and guitar are very pleasing.

Drums/percussion: Very quick and dynamic. I played some world music with complex percussion and these speakers always sounded in control and on top of it. Jazz drummers sound great - cymbals sound clear and detailed, sometimes floating in space.

Bass: Electric bass guitar sounds very good - almost like there’s a bass amp in the room. Acoustic bass also sounds very good. Bass heavy music like reggae or Marcus Miller sounds very convincing. These woofers are similar to what bass guitar amps use (I used to play bass guitar among other things). Using a tone generator, I found that these speakers start rolling off around 40 Hz , I can hear 25 Hz from them but barley. They really pick up steam around 65 - 70 Hz. Not scientific and I’m sure my room acoustics influence all this. Although in Mahler’s 1st symphony, the 3rd & 4th movements, the huge bass drum comes into play and sounds convincing and I'm guessing that goes pretty low. The bass is punchy and strong for the most part. The lower midrange which is handled by the woofers is slightly less clear, it’s a little peaky in a few spots. I think these woofers need more break-in time. I used almost identical ones in a DIY project a few years back and they took over 100 hours till they started to relax even a little. These pro audio drivers are capable of handling 100’s of watts and are stiff in the beginning. They don’t reach as low as a sub, but the bass they produce is entertaining.

The cabinet is very sturdy and has 2 internal braces which support each woofer via black speaker putty. The front baffle is 1" thick, don’t know about the sides. The paint is attractive (charcoal grey), but chips easily - beware.The tweeters in this model are made by SB acoustics and sell for $33 each on the Madisound website. I think they sound great. The woofers are custom made by Eminence. All in all really liking them so far. I wish I hadn’t waited 2 years to pull the trigger on Tekton Designs!

dtapo

Showing 7 responses by dtapo

@millercarbon The center one is crossed higher than the other 6. I used a cardboard tube to listen to one at a time at low volume. I know, very high tech. I've built maybe 6 or 7 pairs of speakers in my life, I had to know what was inside.
@millercarbon Correction, the baffle thickness is 3/4 inch. I measured just now, earlier, I assumed it to be 1". Most speakers I've owned have been in the neighborhood of 5/8"
@glupson No, never heard them first. But several years back I built a pair of speakers and tried to copy the Lore model - and they sounded pretty good, but were so ugly, I finally got rid of them. I spoke with Eric several times and read every private sale description, forum post and review I could find about his products. The tweeter array models were of particular interest and I'm happy they sound as good as I hoped. 
@tablejockey. You are correct that the woofers are surface mounted, not routed in flush. I understand that Eric at Tekton has done some custom things for customers in the past. Zu speakers are also surface mounted, in fact they (Zu) have a metal ring between the speaker and cabinet, pushing them out even further. Maybe something to do with timing the tweeters and woofers?
@millercarbon Also, I'm noticing the clarity of the  highs is also very pleasing. I have about 75-80 hours on them now and I think the speakers are  coming together even more. I played around with the Ares 2 DAC and tried the fast filter on the OS setting, and wow, the highs are even faster, tighter and more extended without any harshness or sibilance. The transient response from bass to treble is very, very good. The tweeter (in the middle) seems to be crossed over rather high, so maybe its more like a super tweeter. These speakers seem to convey whatever is upstream. I rolled tubes in my PrimaLuna and the differences were a little more apparent than in other speakers I have used. I don't listen loud very often, and I'm impressed how good they sound at low levels, they're still dynamic and have strong bass response. I'm using my Elekit 8200 8 w/c amp more because they're so sensitive and dynamic. When I'm in another room reading, I keep getting pulled into the music and end up putting the book down.
Yes, still enjoying them. The drivers have broken in nicely and the bass and low mids have opened up and smoothed out. Right now I’m using my 10w/c tube amp with them with very good sound quality and a deep soundstage. My SS 85W amp also sounds very good, with slightly tighter bass. They are dynamic and sound good at both high and low volume levels, although I don’t really listen to music as loud as I used to. I find them to be very entertaining. I’ve never heard any other Tekton models.