Stereophile review of the $30,000 tekton speakers


We have had many discussions/arguments over tekton speakers in the past, mainly involving a couple posters who thought their $4000 tektons sounded better than the highest price Wilson’s and other high budget speakers.

In the latest Stereophile magazine, they did a review of the $30,000 tekton’s. In this Steteophile issue, they rate these $30,000 tekton’s as class B. When you look at the other speakers that are in the class B section, you will notice most of these speakers range in price from $5000-$8000. So it looks like you have to spend $30,000 on a pair of tekton’s to equal a pair of $5000 Klipsch Forte IV’s sound quality. 
If I compare these $30,000 class B tekton’s, to some of the class A speakers, there are some class A speakers for 1/2 the price (Dutch & Dutch 8C, Goldenear triton reference), or other class A speakers that are cheaper (Magico A5, Kef blade 2).

 

 

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The ceramic version is post submission for review to Stereophile. Rogier did state that his main speaker has been the original Moab pre Covid [2020].

The usual review that tells us very little. Typical big magazine review. He likes it slightly better than the $5000 original version (seems like a lot of money for very little gain). Then he does not compare it to the speaker he has there...his Focal speaker. So, what do we know about this speaker versus anything else? Nothing!!!!! The big magazines are about revenue and marketing. They do not want to say something bad about anything....because they want the advertising dollars and the reviewers do not want to break any ties they have with the manufacturers (in case they want to buy something for half price later on or review something else).....you understand, most big magazine reviewers get their equipment for half price.

I bet a better version of the speaker would be to just use the single beryllium tweeter and do an outboard xover that upgrades all the parts to world class (much better than the upgraded parts from Tekton).....Then you would damp the woofer baskets....damp the heck out out of the cabinet, and felt the whole tweeter arrays.....yes, felt around all the tweeters, so the only thing not felted are the domes. I have a friend with the Ulfberht speakers and he did that with noticeable increase in focus and purity. The tweeter/tweeter midranges are all bleeding to all the others and also diffracting off each other and the edges of the cabinet. Of course, the speaker would sound much better if the woofers were time aligned with the tweeter arrays. This is why I like making my own speaker.....I can do EVERYTHING I can (within my budget). Stay tuned for my open baffle super speaker reveal.

The video of the Pendragon's is from a very reputable reviewer.  I don't doubt that the Pendragon's sound is very good and are really inexpensive.  However, the caveat is that despite a benign impedance curve, they require a very stable and high quality amplifier to drive them.  For comparison, my Legacy Signature IIIs have a lowest impedance of 3.2 ohms, nominal 4 ohms, 94.6 db efficiency (tested) and can be powered by a Sherwood 7100 receiver of 17 solid state watts to sound quite impressive (how I bought them).  While I am using a 35 watt Dynaco ST 70 extreme modified (voltage regulated/not ultralinear) with tremendous bass with these speakers which reach down to 16 Hz with 3-10" woofers and a rear firing tweeter, I have also used them with EAR 890 and my 125 watt tube monoblocks.   All of these amps are significantly less expensive than the Luxman.  If I owned the Pendragon, I would buy a stable, quality used amp.  Otherwise, this is Tekton's meat and potatoes, quality speakers at low prices, without the aesthetics of most other brand dynamic speakers sans grills.  Notice the reviewer also indicated that these large speakers sound best in large rooms

For what it’s worth to anyone who made it this far into this winding thread, I own a pair of the 7 tweeter Pendragons. They’re in my second, home office system and powered with a Bob Latino (Tubes4hifi) ST-70 clone. They sound fantastic and offer all the performance I could want out of that system.

I don’t understand why most every Tekton thread goes sideways but suspect most of the animosity is the result of a certain, now banned user of this site. Call it a marketing misstep, or just the wrong tool for the job. Emphasis on tool.

I don’t know many US based speaker manufacturers where I can talk to the owner of the company, get advice on which full-range (20hz-20khz) offering in their lineup suits my needs, select from a nearly infinite color palette, and have them shipped to my door half way across the country for less than $3k. Oh, and they sound great with my measly 35 watt tube amp. Certainly a lot to hate here.

To compare all other loudspeaker company Tektone using proline woofers with cloth surround instead traditional woofers with rubber . it make some benefits. like more sensitivity ,better midbass and punch bass performance but need more bigger size cabinets and still less low bass extension, But for most Tekton fans is not important