"...a sony boombox at Best buy will fit your needs." SONY boombox from Best Buy was easily my best buy ever. It served me for five years as a sole source of music. It still works just fine although I hardly ever use it. Never a hiccup, never craved anything better. It brought much more joy than current much more expensive set-up. Please have respect for actual fine equipment. |
Well that turned ugly quick. I have heard the Tektons a few times, and while I don't think they are the ultimate in refinement, they are a respectable speaker at the price point. It appears they do some critical things well, namely a flat frequency response and smooth off axis response. A lot of far more expensive speakers do that very poorly. I am guessing a lot of the negative posts are not based on actual comparative listening but just trolling. |
one watt of tube power equals 5 of solid state? Well you should have told the VTL MB450 that when it choked out playing Dire straits money for nothing intro while the Krell hit every note distortion free. A tube amp powering 4 12 inch eminence woofers with NEO magnets and 3 inch voice coils will not get the job done. |
I think my old Krell FPB 400CX will power the F208's with 400 wpc in to 8 ohms, 800 into 4, 1600 into 2. I have ordered f208's. they are coming this week. Bear in mind one tube watt equals about three to five or more solid state watts. Turns out running the signal through all those extra wires and circuits chokes the life right out of the music. Had a friend with some monster Krell monoblocks couldn't hold a candle to my 60 watt Aronov. Thus Robert Harley's famous quip, "If the first watt isn't any good why would you want 200 more of them?" On the fence between Moab and Double impact se tekton to compare.Search around, those who have heard them feel the Moab is a significant step up, with Encore and Ulf each being a little better still. The big step seems to be going to the full MTM array. This creates what is in effect one incredibly high quality 9" midrange/tweeter capable of covering everything from around 270 Hz to 20kHz. This is the range the ear is most sensitive to and accounts for the number of people saying the midrange is perfect. Once you get the full MTM in the Moab it becomes an exercise in refinement. So not the best but it sure seems to be the sweet spot. The wild card is if you decide to go for full Be. Not just the one tweeter, all of them. Big price bump but that is where you start to get into real giant killer territory. |
I have the Revel F208s. They have been modded significantly. The have been driven by Parasound JC1 monoblocks and Canary 140 wpc monoblock tube amps. Prior to breakin the tube amplifier did not spank them and make them sing like the parasound monoblocks. No, after breakin the Revels sound great with the tube monoblocks in triode mode - about 90 wpc. They play very loud but I agree they are not overly dynamic headbanger speakers. I thought long and hard about the Tekton speakers. Kinda got scared off by their allegedly cheap drivers and one of my audiophile buddies heard them and did not like them. Nevertheless, I am still fascinated by them though have never heard them. The F208 Revel is a fine speaker for sure that is going to be harder to drive with low power amps. |
I will never forget spending an evening with John Dunlavy at his shop in Colorado Springs, ca: 1994. Gene, an 'experienced' audio salesman friend of mine from The Sound Shop took me there to see and hear the SC line and meet John. I thought John was quite an amazing person. It is a nice memory. The speakers were great and a firend got IVs |
John Dunlavy also said this, Dunlavy: That's right. You can go one way but not the other. Flat on-axis response provides very poor correlation, in general, with what you hear. On the other hand, if you have near-perfect impulse and step responses, it follows that you must also then have from that a near-perfect frequency response on-axis. And using a first-order crossover network is the only way you can achieve accurate impulse and step responses. As soon as you go to a second-order crossover, the impulse response is hideous. And as Toole proved when at Harman, a flat on-axis response was absolutely critical to how well a speaker will be considered to sound. |
Physics and electrical engineering does not change suddenly because you don't own a speaker company. I don't own a speaker company, but I likely know far more about truly advanced active speaker design than David, Richard and John combined. Pass has done extensive measurements with his amplifiers driving real speakers, so his body of knowledge extends well beyond just the terminals on the back of his amplifiers. |
This is a really old article, and still relevant and covers this false notion about the perfection of 6db crossovers... https://www.passlabs.com/technical_article/phase-coherent-crossover-networks/ |
Only smaller gauge inductors appear to be targeted at the upper frequency where there already appears to be resistors for level matching so the largest gauge really does not matter. The low frequency inductors are not air core for the intentional reason to reduce DC resistance. rikkitik8 posts12-15-2020 4:58pmThe 208 uses small guage, high dcr coils, and iirc, at least one electrolytic in the signal path |
I have seen and heard the Tektons for years at RMAF as well as Revel and am surprised (others may not be) they are mentioned together at all. They seem so different sounding to me. I believe the Revel to be a far superior speaker in engineering and more importantly in fine sound quality. When I see 'unique' engineering and logic I wonder why I don't see it elsewhere. I remember thinking the Tektons looked a bit garage-built in a woodshop and the sound never did it for me. Different strokes... Please, for your sanity, pick the Revels and enjoy for a long time! I hope all the Tekton owners love and enjoy their speakers as well; that's why we got our stuff anyway. |
I would upgrade the quality of components. It's tricky business though. The esr/dcr values of the upgraded components can throw the "balance" out of whack, so that needs to be accounted for. The 208 uses small guage, high dcr coils, and iirc, at least one electrolytic in the signal path. The transparency of the 208, imho, would greatly benefit from better quality components. |
The 208's do look nice, and don't sound bad, they could sound so much better with just a few $ in parts@ rikkitik what would you change in f208's crossover and why? |
@millercarbon -- about two years ago, a local craigslist ad popped up for ferrari red Tekton DI's. I went for an audition, and actually was quite impressed. At the time I didn't have a dedicated listening room, and my wife just let out a big "hello no!" after seeing the pictures. But I agree that there was something about the speakers that still make me think about them. Unfortunately, I spent very little time with them and can't remember what amplification was used to drive them. I did find them a bit bright sounding though. It seems that you are using them with tubes and I bet the tubes have mitigated the somewhat forward presentation. Now that I have a separate listening room, I would love to bring them in for an in house demo, but the thought of packing them up and sending them back is kinda scary. Also I've heard that Tekton are anal about the returns, even finger prints can cost you a penalty. |
So much nonsense. All in ignorance. Stunning, off the charts ignorance. Come by and hear. Heck just read the comments on my system page. From those who actually heard Moabs, driven by 50 tube watts. Integrated. Slaughtered. Good one. Takes me back to what, the 70's? Crack me up. Just one thing if you do ever come, don't forget the drool cup. |
Since you mentioned crossover upgrades, I'll throw in my 2 cents. I have owned 2 pair of F208's, the first pair were new, but were returned after auditioning. They did some things well, but I didn't feel they had the right price/performance ratio. They were definitely not "tube friendly". I measured the same two impedance dips (3 ohm) that Stereophile did. I later bought a second, "previously owned" pair (much cheaper) to explore them further. Despite what Revel might claim, they use "off the shelf" SB Acoustics drivers. I think I came up with about $315 retail if you bought them yourself. Markup is expected, and they are nice drivers in other implementations. What really hurts their performance, is the crossover. While well designed, the drivers integrate well, with decent imaging. The actual crossovers don't have more than $5 worth of parts in them. This, to my ear, left a gray, washed out, lifeless sound. I heard this before taking them apart, so I wasn't "pre-prejudiced" by what might be inside. I have heard (and used) those same drivers elsewhere, so I know they can sound much better. When I resold the second set, the buyer asked to hear the speakers I was keeping (Tyler H3's with modified crossovers).....I almost thought I was going to lose the sale. There was a huge, audible difference, throughout the range. And that was before I replaced the H3's crossovers completely, with a better design. Anyway, as they say, ymmv. But it still irks me that Revel lists the 208's as "8 ohms nominal", when the impedance rarely rises above 6 ohms 20-20k. The the midrange and tweeter are both 4 ohm units, with 2, 8 ohm woofers in parallel. As stated earlier, just my 2 cents, but there are quite a few superior cost/performance/sound speakers for the price. Not trying to dissuade, just share what I learned. The 208's do look nice, and don't sound bad, they could sound so much better with just a few $ in parts. |
I opted for the cloth dome tweeter as well. If I’m not mistaken, Eric offers the Encore tweeter as an upgrade to the Moab. The dynamics and tonality of the Moab is fantastic, so I probably wouldn’t choose the BE upgrade. I wish I would have known about the additional crossover option at time of purchase. I would have certainly pulled the trigger on that. I have the stock model, and they are sublime as is! Congratulations on your order and hopefully they arrive by Christmas.....you will thoroughly enjoy them. I have friend that swears by his Pass Labs XA.30 with a pair of Tekton double impacts. I have the Bricasti M15. Absolute heaven with the Moab. Similar to Pass Labs. Tube amps can also offer incredible synergy with the Moab. Have fun and enjoy the music. |
I want coherency will the Moab. Not interested in adding a beryllium tweeter to them as that in my opinion would break up their amazing coherence just like an electrostatic design has. Also the Beryllium tweeters I have heard from FOCAL did not impress me. I've owned Vandersteen 4a and Dunlavy scIVa with cloth dome tweeters and I prefer their tonal balance. I am ordering a pair with just the upgrade package which gives you better crossover parts and better binding posts. |
I’ve owned my Moab speakers for over a year. I couldn’t be happier. I continue to be moved by their realism, accuracy.....musically enjoyable. So many qualities from top to bottom. The rest of my system is considerably more costly and the Moab allows the system synergy to blossom to its full potential. Point being, I believe as the system evolves, the Moab continues to improve/ evolve as well. If you decide on the Moab, talk to Eric about the tweeter and/or crossover upgrade options. Best of luck. |
Stick to a direct coupled solid state amp on Tektons. The only Tube amps I have ever heard that I could live with, I can't afford. Audio research REF 150, VTL MB 185, 450's, Manley Snappers, and some huge McIntosh tube monos that cost 22 grand . Go FET's on the solid state if you can. You can put a tube preamp on the solid state amp if you want to sweeten the sound. Word on the street is PASS LABS is the best amp to put on Tektons. |
Everybody has their own opinion on what is good sound. A friend of mine brought 2 different tube amps over to go against my Krell. The Krell slaughtered them both. a BAT VK55se and a VTL ST150 were thoroughly spanked so bad by my Krell on the Tektons that there was starting to be excuses why they didn't sound as good such as wrong cables, bad room etc. Look, tubes offer grain free mids and Hi's at the expense of coloring the sound. Then you have bass. The bass with tube amps is sloppy, uncontrolled and bloated especially when trying to control large diameter pro audio drivers that are in tektons. Erick Alexander himself doesn't use tube amps on his Tektons for the above reasons. Nelson Pass was once told his amps were tube like, he was offended by the remark and said he hoped his amps sounded nothing like them. lol. But to each his own in this hobby. |
Jeff, just saw your post about tube amps with the tektons. I have not heard that comment before, and I have never tried a tube power amp with them myself. I believe millercarbon uses tube amps ( I could be wrong), and he feels his sound fantastic, as do some other members on here who have visited and heard his setup. Not sure why you experienced that, but I don’t believe that’s a good generalization of tube amps and tektons. |
Mission, it’s amazing how the same haters always trip over their own feet to post whenever tektons are mentioned. People try to give their honest opinions on products they have owned when the question was specifically asked. Vegas, are you saying you’re a fanboy? Lol. You did say some good things about them. |
It is funny to see the same Tekton fan boys on here. I bought a pair just to see what they were about. They are decent loudspeakers. Wouldn't claim them to be a Magico or Wilson caliber. They sure have a bright, alive, arena rock sound. Good recordings with natural instruments like drums and piano sound very lifelike with Tektions. They are a small company sold factory direct so it intrigues me to see how they stack up against loudspeakers from huge companies with a lot of R&D money. |
