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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 6 responses by shakeydeal

shakeydeal
979 posts
 
I agree with Roxy. Very few manufacturers go to the trouble of installing magnets behind the baffle, then make the grilles optional.

As is the case with the Pendragons, the grilles are an option you request when ordering the speakers. As for the cost, there are far more expensive speakers that don't even offer the option of a grille.

As you said, the speakers sound very good. I had a pair for a while and thought they were exceptional for the money.

Shakey
shakeydeal
979 posts
 
When I received my Pendragons from Eric there was a small issue with the finish on one of the speakers. He offered to exchange them or a partial refund. I opted to do the work myself and buffed out the speaker with rubbing compound and wax. Issue solved, and he credited 200.00 back to me. I think that was excellent service after the sale. Eric was very concerned about making me a happy customer.

Shakey
shakeydeal
979 posts
 
Just have him send you two woofers (of which ever color you prefer) and change them out.

Wow, that was tough. But even a "clown" gets it right sometimes.....

Shakey
shakeydeal
979 posts
 
"I should be hated for wanting a decent product for my $2,500 ???"

So now you didn't get a decent product for your money?

This gets better all the time.

Shakey
shakeydeal
979 posts
 
After seeing the pictures I agree that I wouldn't be happy from a cosmetic standpoint. And grilles are never an option for me, I would never use them.

So I would call Eric and ask him to ship me matching drivers. Then I would swap them out, and send him the extra pair (at his expense). Problem solved. But trying to retrofit grilles to speakers not designed to use them is silly. There are other options.

If I were Eric, I would offer this solution at no charge. And if you insisted on speakers with grilles after ordering the opposite, I would swap them out at YOUR cost.

This really doesn't have to be so difficult.

Shakey
shakeydeal
979 posts
 
I am going to say it again. It would have been far easier to swap out drivers and be done. The OP didn't originally want grilles, so that is a non issue. The mismatched drivers, however, IS the issue. I wouldn't want to live with it either, but I know how to use a cordless screwdriver, so the problem would be easily solved.

Shakey
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