Quality issues with Tekton speakers....


I was reading all the buzz about these Tekton speakers and after sorting through all the reviews, decided to order a pair of the Pendragon (the big ones... $2,500 a pair).

When they arrived, I found them to be boxed well and in perfect shape, although one thing was very noticeable once I looked at the speakers. The woofers had a slightly different tone (color). The upper woofer in each tower was basically dark gray or black (like most paper woofers you might come across) and the lower woofers were slightly blue in color. After looking on the web some, I could not find a Pendragon speaker photo ANYWHERE that had this color difference. Since they did not come with speaker grilles, I knew the color difference would bother me as long as I owned the speakers.

I contacted Tekton (Eric Alexander) via e-mail and explained the issue. After almost a week of not hearing back, I sent another e-mail and his response was...

(copy and pasted right from my e-mail)... " I'm sorry. Please refresh my memory. What seems to be the problem? Thanks, Eric"

I described the issue again and he offered to exchange the speakers. I said there was no need to ship back a huge pair of 85 pound speakers and have him send me another pair and suggested maybe he just send me grilles at no charge to cover the speakers and I could live with the slight color difference in the woofers. I really feel that grilles should be included in a $2,500 price tag however.

All of these e-mails took several days to answer by the way.

He agreed and said he would get the grilles out right away... they were sent a few days later and upon arrival, I realized there was a pretty big problem. I had a normal type speaker grill with 4 pegs on the back and a speaker with no peg holes. After all the time, e-mails, no answers, etc., I was not interested in wasting any more time with the matter and asked for a partial refund through PayPal and asked a simple question... why send me grilles for a speaker that he just shipped to me with no holes to put them in? His reply was to offer to make new grilles and send "velcro dots" to affix them to the speakers with.... WOW.

The WORST part about all this: Within 30 minutes of making a PayPal claim about the issue and asking for a partial refund from him, Eric tried to call me right away... now that there was money at stake.

The really sad part of all this is that the speakers actually sound pretty damn good now that they are broken in... I just hope the quality and communication come up to the same level for the sake of Tekton as a company.
128x128audiofreak32

Showing 8 responses by chrshanl37

Right and the photos on the website also show the speakers with matching woofers what's your point? Should he have asked if the woofers would match or perhaps if they would be wired properly? The fact that the speakers came like that is astounding to me. Why should he have to manipulate speaker grills to cover this mistake? I feel like so many audiophools are use to taking it in the arse by manufacturers and now feel like its the norm. Sad.
Why should he have to pick up where tekton left off? The fact that the woofers came mismatched is bush league at best. I think many on here are quick to point out that he got good sound for the money and the cosmetic issue is a minor oversight by the manufacterer. What a load of shite. Who would put up with the this from Wilson or magico? There is an obvious problem with QC and it needs to be pointed out. Christ two out of two posters who have said they own or have owned tekton speakers have had problems with the cosmetics of these speakers. If tekton cannot deliver what is promised then they will fall to the wayside as they should. Nuff said. This is not a gray issue where words like cooperative and flexible apply. Its black and white right or wrong. Anyone who sides with the manugacturer on this is dillusional.
Quoting reviews in your post has nothing to do with this thread....using an episode of chopped where a judge didn't like red onions to draw some parralel to the issue here makes about as much sense as that silly show. FYI no industry professional watches that shite its fodder for rubes and amatuers who would rather sit on the couch than step into a kitchen. If you think the food network is real and not produced garbage then you have zero cred in my book. Although you bring up a few good points in your retort your original post had nothing to do with the thread.
And now you are trying to say the op is bashing tekton because he may be a competitor? Really? I run an successful restaurant because I take care of my patrons. Most restaurants have a comp line item in the p&l to take care of patrons when mishaps occur. Like bottles of wine, desserts and so forth. In my restaurant there is no such thing. We get it right the first time.
Of course it happens (albeit rarely) however a lot of restaurants use comps to compensate for mediocrity. The independent restaurant is a dying breed and that is one of the biggest reasons why. My whole issue in this thread has to do with tektons quality control and yet many on here seem to want to point the finger at the op like he is out to smear tektons reputation. That's nonsense.
Some have even critacized him for not calling instead of emailing. Why? If the company has an email address listed as a means of contact then it should be as good as the phone. If they don't, won't or can't even check their emails then they should pull the address of the site period.
So the guy constructing the speakers is the owner and sent them out like that? That's what your saying? That's even worse yet. I'm not out to bash this company nor am I debating that they are a good bargain. I've recommended tekton to my friends who are tube guys. That's not the issue here. But if Eric wants to stay in business he needs to sort out the QC issues as well as his communication. Unfortunately that's the reality of running a business. I have sent emails to numerous manufacturers in the past both big and small and have gotten prompt replies from the owners. To defend the lack of communication is senseless in my opinion if the guy sends an email stating that he had an issue with the speakers, from that point forward Eric should be the one to initiate further contact. And yes if it where me I would have opted to switch the woofers out myself but that doesn't mean everyone would be comfortable doing that simple task. Also its been said he offered to replace the speakers but no where In the thread does the op mention if Eric offered to pick up the cost. If I missed that I stand corrected.