I'm happy there is an all knowing poster here to decide who is and isn't a "proper audiophile". We are blessed.
NEW Tekton Design Speakers - The Bonnevilles
I have in for review the Tekton Bonnevilles, described by Eric Alexander as a “passion project,” and easily the most attention-grabbing speakers set I’ve had in-home. These speakers aren’t for everyone, but if you have the space and can tolerate the eccentricities of setup, the Bonnevilles offer strengths that many other speakers really can’t match.
They feature four 15" woofers for deep bass, six horn-loaded tweeters arranged in a Tekton Polycell array for midrange, and a seventh dedicated horn-loaded tweeter that handles the high frequencies. Paired with the right amplifier, they can fill a room beautiful and visceral music, like a few other speakers. With proper setup, the Bonnevilles sound vibrant, alive, with absolutely amazing bass.
The Klipsch Jubilees are the closest comparison in terms of bass pressurization that I’ve heard. The Jubilees arguably have a bit more punch in the mid-bass, but the Bonnevilles seem to extend lower. I would also say the midrange and treble on the Bonnevilles are better than what I’ve heard from the Jubilees. The midrange of the Bonnevilles have the characteristic speed and detail that Tekton speakers are known for, but also seem warmer and more relaxed than Tekton’s smaller speakers.
Logistically, these speakers can be a challenge – in more ways than one. They require a lot of real estate in the listening space, they need 2-3 people to move, and turning a corner can be a real problem. But once they’re set up, the Bonnevilles deliver an absolutely gorgeous sound.
As a final brief observation, the Bonnevilles seem to require careful amplifier pairing. While the sensitivity of the Bonnevilles is relatively high – just a couple of watts will create a lot of sound – there seems to be a strong correlation between an amplifier’s power supply and current output, and the overall quality of sound. In short, the Bonneville’s seem pair well with amplifiers that can drop a lot of current.
I currently have three well regarded amplifiers available to pair with the Bonnevilles. Of those three, my current favorite is the Coda No. 8, which has an unusually large power supply and can deliver over 150A of current when needed. The other two amplifiers, while brilliant with smaller speakers, did not drive the Bonnevilles as well as the Coda.
Again, the Bonnevilles will not be for everybody – but a really fun set of speakers to listen to if you ever have the opportunity.
I’ll be publishing a full review of the Bonnevilles in the coming weeks in Stereo Times.
*For a sense of scale – the "little speakers" (as my kids call them) are the REL 212/SX subwoofers.
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@carlsbad2 I am not a fanboy of any brand... But, you gotta give some credit when it’s due. When I briefly owned the Double Impacts, I tore it down and it took me quite a while to simulate it/understand what he’d done with the crossover, etc..even the small I delay I thought he had in there to mimic a baffle curve, etc. There is no unnecessary complexity, but he made it work ingeniously.. I’d rather not get into it too much of what i recall...on a open forum, as it is their in-house design. It is funny watching the ’all knowing’ hater van criticising the array all day, as if it were the stupidest thing on earth. Here’s monitor audio trying to do the same now. It looks like the monitor audio engineering crew has been busy tearing down a few tektons and studying it... https://www.monitoraudio.com/en/blog/introducing-m-array/ Get prepared for the sticker shock though when monitor audio reveals the price tag on their plagiarized offering. I am certain there’s a razor thin margin on Tekton speakers or he barely makes any money selling his speakers. In consideration of an underdog non-greedy (fatalistic even) brand made in the USA, I’ll willing to keep the hater van in check from time to time. He’s maybe the American version of Andrew Jones.
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