Adjustable ohms, multiple choices for tweeter material...sounds like pizza at KFC.
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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Deep-333 All these guys doing technical data driven reviews have very technical backgrounds. What I have gathered from watching Erin’s channel is he is a “Rocket scientist” focused on systems testing under contract (indirect probably) as he is not allowed to talk about his work. I have friends in a similar fields that are also not allowed to discuss their work for obvious reasons. Gene from audioholics and Amir from ASR have telecommunications backgrounds or some kind I think. They have stated before where and what they worked on but I can’t remember. Anyway it is irrelevant but these are all very smart people as this hobby attracts a certain type of personality IMO. |
@missioncoonery Wrote:
I agree! Mike
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I suggest the moderators pull this tread off before it gets really out of hand not that it hasnt already..We have seen the owner of Tekton in the past threaten users on this site ( an open forum mind you) with legal actions so no surprise .Hes interjecting on this tread now so whats to come?.Really bad business practices but when an audio company states they out perform speakers 10 times their value and thats what Tekton did they should expect blow back from audiophiles,just my opinion. |
I don’t care about measurements, nor do I care about reviewers opinions, I use my ears. I do look at specs from the vendor and it’s me that determines if theirs synergy amongst the pieces. I have seen prior rebuttals from vendors that disagreed with some of these reviewers but they came back with valid reasons why it measured the way it did. Then the customer can decide who they will side with. I never heard of a manufacturer threatening a reviewer. All reviewers must have an umbrella insurance package to make sure they won’t go under from these frivolous threats. |
I read about this earlier in the week on ASR in the following thread https://audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/legal-fund-for-reviewers-erin.53577/ which is discussing creating a legal fund for the reviewer; very sad... |
In audio bad publicity is not as in Politics better than no publicity... Politician under lobbies pressures sell wind or farts most of the time , designer sell product someone must review... Threatening legal pursuit is the worst publicity a designer can think about ... I think Tekton designer is not very smart ... Sorry... And he must win the case... Good luck to him if the reviewer do not use any slander nor backbiting as it seems the case...
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When you go to an audio show, you better bring your “A” game, no excuses. You are saying that if something sounds bad, it’s not the fault of the product? I also want to bring up the multiple reviews done by other audio reviewers that actually tested the specs of different Tekton speakers and were found they measured bad. So in 2 of these cases that were done this year, Eric from Tekton threatened legal action against them stating the measurement was done wrong. If it was done wrong, Tekton never told the reasons why they were done wrong. The issue with the feet, I don’t buy that either because 2 favorable reviews of the same model didn’t have the feet installed and Tekton posts these accolades on their website, or they did. In this YouTube, they indicated this has happened before. Look at this YouTube, a must watch:
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gdnbob, Stop. Respectfully, your narrative is not grounded in truth and reality. Do your homework. Generally speaking, these types of modifications require slight adjustments and usually take an hour or two to correctly implement. I'd do a video but don't want to give away trade secrets. Understand there are simulation tools available today that can do a days work in 5 seconds. Furthermore, arguing with a guy that has more than a few patented crossover circuits isn't going result in a score for you on this topic. . Eric Alexander |
@audition__audio wrote: "You can call it product development, but the fact remains that in order to get the most from each type of driver you must do a great deal of modification to the crossover." Ime, how much modification to the crossover circuitry a driver change necessitates really depends on the specifics. It might be that only a very few (if any) component values need be adjusted, and it might be that the entire crossover topology needs to be changed. The designer has access to those specifics, and we don’t. Duke |
P05129 , I read good reviews at RMAF show regarding Tekton monitor impacts by Herb Reichert and his friend Victor , it’s a parasound and Tekton combo. I learned that year pre pandemic , they will be at Axpona.That time I already own the monitor impact ? Pair with Plinius sa100amp, Art audio preamp and Nordost Cabling and audio quest pc. They sound very good. When I listened to the impact monitor at axpona they sound terrible, because the amp they are using is proto type not out on the market yet.I also noticed the demo guy is not playing good music. People don’t even stay in the room to finish one song.If I heard that set up no way I will buy my impact monitors…now they are blaming the speakers . Not fair. |
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 |
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. |
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 Stereophile magazine write-up should have noted that various other options are offered along with the price range. Seems like they do that for lots of the other products they test. The writer compares the originals to the Be but never notes that there are potential "in betweens" at even more competitive prices. And, it could be that someone/the writer would prefer the ceramic mids with the Be tweeters. |
yyzsantabarbara, Google beryllium hand tools or Ping putter. People handle the tools daily. Don’t eat it, don’t breath it, don’t rub it on your skin, don’t sharpen it and use it for self mutilation (unless you want funny warts). |
@p05129 My neighbor purchased his YG Sonja 3s and I purchased a Von Schweikert VR9 SE MK2 98% for their sonic properties and 2% because they looked appropriate (great finishes, black-we like that, in our dedicated listening rooms and for the living room, NOT black, wood or white only). The big Tekton’s are okay but with a really plain appearance with a grill but yuk without them but that’s only my wife and my opinion. Lastly, I often listen in the dark, especially early evening to relax. With a system which maintains relative dynamics and all the color and dispersion at normal listening levels, it’s a pleasure to listen more quietly in the dark. 1. 2. & 3. okay! |
Zylon is the new material that Yamaha uses, and it sounds incredible. Same physical characteristics as Be but I think not poisonous like Be. The 12-inch woofer on the NS5000 is made of Zylon as is the tweeter and the midrange. Yes, I have this speaker. As the previous poster mentioned, it was Yamaha that first used Be in drivers for the NS 1000 in the 1970s. That was for the tweeter and midrange. Paradigm Persona duplicated the Be tweeter and midrange about 8 years ago.
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There’s just way too much hype continual hype around beryllium tweeters. It’s fairly easy to give yourself a headache listening to it, when implemented by many manufacturers. Yamaha (the grandfather of it all..) wrote the book on beryllium tooling/fab/process dev back in the early 70s. They themselves have moved on from it and use Xylon these days (NS5000 family). I wonder how much longer all the clingers will cling on to the rinse/repeat/rehash beryllium, as if it were the greatest thing since sliced bread...😒 |
You go out of the country for a while without internet and people ask where is the OP. What else is there to say? You have a magazine that would probably still give the Bose 901’s an A rating because they never say anything negative about a component. I only use the trade magazines to see what’s new. I’ve been attending audio shows for over 25 years (CES/THE SHOW, RMAF, Tampa Expo, and others. I heard the tekton speakers at rmaf before covid hit. It happened to be in a room where we left after a couple minutes because we didn’t like the sound. I can’t remember what source equipment was used but the speakers had a dozen tweeters and a couple of woofers. Even without hearing these $30k speakers, I would disagree that they sound exceptionally good for the price, and the magazine rating confirms this too. That was the saying for most tekton speakers, tekton sounded good for their price. I have listed in the past many speakers I thought sounded better than the tekton’s I heard at rmaf, and most of the speakers I like better are cheaper. As for using beryllium, that’s not new technology. Ushers had beryllium tweeters over 15 years ago and I didn’t buy them back then because of the tweeter. As soon as usher started using the DMD diamond tweeter, I bought a couple pairs. Usher now uses a diamond midrange which is a game changer in their newer models. 1) if you can afford a pair of $30k speakers, you probably have a dedicated audio room. I buy audio components for their sound quality 1st, looks come in around 4th or 5th reason. You have system synergy, speaker to amp compatibility, speaker to room size, etc.. before looks comes into the picture 2) most of my listening is done in the dark. On the other hand, there are speakers that are very very good sonically and gorgeous to look at: Usher speakers for example. |
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The more things change the more they stay the same,lol,If I recall the last big debate on this brand( for those not here) we had member MillerCarbon and a select other few shilling the heck out of Tekton for unknown resaons.Day after day never ending.The owner of the company dove right in the discussion at one point and threatened some individuals if I recall correctly,was big fun watching the hoopla.Anyway I see Tekton is displaying at Axpona 2024 in room 328,for those going see ya there.Cant wait to hear the new offerings this company has........ |
I would love to demo a pair of Tekton speakers. I don’t know anything about the science of speakers, xover slopes, time alignment or any of that stuff manufacturers load their marketing pitch with, but I do know markup on speakers can be insanely high for some very popular brands. Lets suggest the manufacturer needs to double his manufacture cost to turn a buck. lets say the Salon 2, very popular, costs Revel $5k to make{speculation) they sell to retailer for $10k then have to put an msrp of $20k to entice a retailer to invest in inventory and floor space, not to mention top dollar items don’t really fly out the doors, It’s reasonable to think it’s standard practice. Tekton eliminates the middleman and tbh looks to pass some of the savings on to the consumer. Remember when PS audio went mail order? I kept waiting for the savings to get passed on to the rest of us, but they never did! not a slam on PS audio, just an observation, I remember raising a family doing carpentry in right to work states and Tekton would have been the only brand [vmps too, back then) I could even dare dream about owning. Polarizing brand for sure. |
Just added two REL T9x to my already great Tekton Double Impact SE speakers. I have had many nights of listening enjoyment with these speakers. I also have Vandersteen speakers in another setup. I really like both systems. Not sure what is the fuss about Tekton speakers. If you like them great, if you don’t …who is forced to buy them? BTW I have had (as mentioned before) great customer service from the company and Eric as well. I personally believe too many speaker companies are asking too much money for the product and service (or lack of) they provide. Life is too short to get worked about about speakers. |
A case can be made that any speaker with great swings in impedance is not a well designed speaker as a whole. Yes there are solid state amps that will drive a 2 ohm load, but why limit the user to solid state and why design in this fashion? Makes little sense to make a 95 db efficient speaker that goes down to 2 ohms. Attract the tube crowd with high efficiency and then alienate them with poor impedance performance. Check out the impedance swings in much of the Wilson line. Funny thing about Wilson is that the best I have heard them sound was when being driven by a low powered tube amp.
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