Since the tekton website tells us nothing about the electron se, what can you share with us about the drivers, the specs, the size, the price.... etc.??
Tekton Design Electron SE
Dear Audiogoners: I recently purchased one of the first of Eric Alexander’s Tekton Design Electron SE speakers. Here is a letter of appreciation I wrote him. Here’s hoping it will start a conversation regarding this speaker system. Questions or reactions are welcome as always:
Dear Eric:
Two years ago I wrote:
You’ve developed a family of speaker systems which fundamentally differ from the technology of all others that preceded them.
As I sit in my sweet spot enjoying the Tekton-Design Brilliance speakers I’m enjoying a clarity and balance that I’ve never heard before. All of your innovations in the Brilliance work together to present music as close to the live performance as is possible in 2016 and possibly for years to come, from Alexander to Alexander, (Alexander Graham Bell to Eric Jay Alexander) there’s no one like Alexander! I have drawn closer to the holy grail of musical recreation. I’ll leave it to others to describe the technical reasons for this wonderful sound. For myself, I can say that the clarity both in highs and in lows, the detailing, and the sound stage is better than anything I’ve ever heard.
Since then, my audiophilia has struck once more. It’s one disease that blesses the victim. Now I’ve put about 40 hours of break-in on my new Electron SE’s. I’ve noticed the following improvements:
· Wider polar response
· Greater sensitivity to the nuances in every recording
· More natural bass and highs, especially in more complex music
· Less coloration and greater purity in high as well as low volume music
· Greater dynamic range through my 10-15 watt amplifier
FYI I play through a First Watt F-3, a VPI Classic 2, a Sound-Smith Voice Cartridge mated to a Sound-Smith preamp and an Oppo Universal Player. All of these feed to a passive line stage coupled to an active pre-amp by Placette. I listen to classical music constantly. My speakers are placed about twelve feet apart and I listen at the apex of an equilateral triangle with slight toe in.
From a single flute to grand opera, it all sounds like perfection. Thank you, Eric from the bottom of my heart.
.
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The stereo times review is the Standard Electrons not the SE. http://v2.stereotimes.com/post/tekton-design-electron-loudspeakers/ |
To all on this thread: I am new to this site. I am the person that purchased the first pair of the Teckton Electron SE speakers. A leap of faith for sure. I waited a long time for the delivery since they we the first pair engineered by Eric. I ordered mine in the BMW mineral gray color (beyond my expectations) a beautiful finish for these speakers, but extended the delivery by 4 or 5 weeks. Ok about the speakers and my set up, I am driving them with a McIntosh 8900 Integrated Amp and a Aurender music server N100H (4 TB) running through the DAC in the 8900. My speaker cables were provided by Eric, so I opted for theses Mogami cables. (Tekton makes them for a very reasonable price if you are interested.) I was in an odd situation of having a brand new amp and ordering these speakers. I had no speakers and relied on headphones until these came through. (using Mr Speakers, AEON) Initially I was somewhat, naturally, skeptical, I wanted to have the same faith and experience as the DI reviews I had read about. I received the speakers about 3 months after I ordered them, in May of 2018. Initially they sounded good, but not what I was expecting. I actually spoke with Eric after I had what I thought was 150 or so hours on the speakers. I initially mentioned the bass, feeling it did not have what I was looking for. Eric broke out his specs defending the speakers. I opted to give it more time (good thing). Fast forward to Dec 2 and these are different speakers. I am not sure if it was the speaker break in or the amp break in, or both, but these Electron SE's are impressive. I am looking for a tube amp to add to my system and visited the Linear Tube Audio, in Tacoma Park Maryland (great products) and they had a pair of Tekton DI's, basic model, not the SE version. So I had the opportunity to hear them, albeit they were new. My first impression is they were large, but the mid range and bass were impressive as was the LTA components I was hearing. Based on that listening session, I will say this, I think the Electron SE's I have, sound better. They have an amazing mid range array like everyone else mentions, you here details you won't hear on other listening sessions (depends on the source quality) the base is impressive (my initial gripe with these speakers) it comes across as percussive, you can feel it in the room not just hear it. The mid to upper range is the magic with this speaker, amazing detail and it captures everything in the recording. So I am clear, the upper and mid range reveals details I have never heard before, but the combination with the low end is phenomenal, this speaker is amazingly tight, very quick, and the details of the recording are amazing and made me a believer. I never got a full definition of my speakers technical specs but I was informed the mid range array are the same as the DI SE, mid range speakers. |
To add to my previous post: The Electron SE is a slightly different cabinet size than the standard Electron which measures: 48"(121cm) H x 10.0"(25.4cm) W x 13.625" The SE version measures: Height 48" x Width 10.125" x Depth 13.75" The vents on the front end of the speakers are different as well. The vents on the top edge, left and right remain, but the ones adjacent to the lower 5 inch mid range driver are not there on the SE, like the base model, it is a different cabinet. The four inch vents on the back of the cabinet remain. iIf you have a higher quality recording, even on the lower quality stuff the speaker cranks, it is very impressive. I am listening to a MQA 32 bit 96 kHz of Van Morrison, as I write this, absolutely spot on, great sound. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stadium Arcadium is another incredible recording.... with this set up :-) TerpStation were neighbors if you want to hear these speakers? |
I know this thread is a bit old but I have an issue with my Electrons. At about 380Hz to 440Hz the front baffle has a lot of cabinet vibration around the center tweeter. There is so much if makes the plastic housing on the tweeters vibrate and buzz badly. It sounds like a blown driver but it's not. I have tried better gasket material around the center tweeter but it has not helped. At first I thought a driver was damaged. I connected my phone to my system and ran a simple signal generator app. It was easy to hear the buzzing when I was at about 380Hz-440Hz I have contacted Tekton. Has any one experienced this problem. Thanks in advance. Ben |
Hi all: I’m hoping this thread is still active (or can be resurrected), much as I’d love to own the new Moab’s or DIs, I’m downsizing and trying to decide between the Electrons, Electrons SEs and the Impacf Monitors. The room is about 12” wide, 16” long and the ceilings are probably no more than 8”. It is on the second floor. I would expect all three of these to sound similar in the upper registers with the Electrons having better bass. If I were to go the the Electron SE’s, they’d actually be more money than standard DIs, so that is also a consideration. I’d welcome any input... |
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vidiot33
12" x 16" X 8" thats a very small room lol I owned the Electrons and liked them. I would imagine adding subs with the Impact monitors would take up more floor room. |
Hey guys. I have a new pair of Electrons being built and have two questions: 1. Is the SE upgrade significant? If so, can anyone who has heard electrons with and without the SE upgrade comment? No need for anyone else to give me their speculation as I can do that all on my own. 2. For all Electron owners, what has been your favorite and least favorite Amp? Are many of you using the Lyngdorf 2170? Any tube owners out there? |
@morganc I have a pair of the Electron SEs. I assume you have them by now, or will shortly. I have not heard the straight Electrons, but I have read in a couple of posts online from those that heard the original, that it is well worth the upgrade. I wouldn't hesitate, especially now that the SE is priced at $3000. I am currently running them with a pair of Schitt Aegirs and a Freya + preamp. I have a small listening space (12x14) and don't listen at very loud volumes, and it's a wonderful combo (even though the Aegirs are not formally rated at 4 ohms in mono, just in stereo). Let me know what you ended up going with, and what you amp you choose. Happy listening! |
My SE's are on order and should be delivered within a week or so. Any others wanna share what amps/pre/Dacs that you're using with your Electrons or DI SE's as I'm sure they are similar as far as system synergy goes. At the moment I have a Cherry STM Amp with a MHDT Orchid Dac. I am likely gonna upgrade to a LTA pre, with a Cherry Amp and the Orchid though I may play around with several amps and Dacs including a Lampizator. |
@morganc You and me seem to be in the exact same boat. I have Electron SE's on order and they should be arriving in around a week. I had the same dilemma, with my main concern being the SEs were too laid back compared to the standard DI/electrons, but I've been mostly reassured that this isn't the case. You may receive yours before mine, please be sure to post your impressions in this thread. |
Hey guys, I just talked with Eric about the difference between the Electron and the Electron SE. His response was interesting...he didn't try to upsell me at all, he said I would probably be happy with either model but the SE was a little smoother maybe more "audiophile" sounding. The sound signature of that "live" quality was there on both models and is the focus of all of his speakers. He's a drummer(as I am) and he wanted to produce something that sounds like a live band playing In your livingroom. |
You know I've looked and looked at these speakers, they defy the norm. I like um', not to sure on some of the specs. could just be a misprint.. not fond of open ports, much less facing forward. Is there any port noise? I need to find a few and give um' a listen. Sure have a following, must be doing something right.. Price is sure reasonable... I like different...Is it Point source? What would you call it? Cluster Tweeter? High Cluster? Compound eye concept. I like it. Looks like it would be really good to a LARGER area of listening, not a laser point source.. Regards.. |
Hello everyone. This is my first post ever in any social media so please forgive the inexperience. My name is Felix and I turned 60 years old last October and I looked at my system and said you may not have much more time, you need to do better. Not That I had a bad system, Sonus Faber Grand Pianos, Marantz AV, Denon Blue Ray / Super Audio Cd... So I told my wife I am putting together my “Bucket System” at the extreme of My D.O. D. Paycheck. Updated Marantz Tt s15, Manley Chinook Phono Amp, Marantz SR 7010 (labeled as future proof, yea right), Monolith X7 power amplifier (good amp for the price) and the Opportunity 203. For Speakers I went with the Tekton Electrons SE. I have to say that all this did not happened at once and my wife was rolling her eyes every time a new box and a change was done at the stereo rack. She will sit with me for a little while and listen and I would explained what I did and the change it adds to the system. Her response will always be “That’s nice, as long as you are happy” and walk away. Then the Tekton’s came in, this time she was not happy at all. She really liked the classic elegant look of the Sonus Faber and know I was bringing this big box with all these drivers, she said that is ugly were are the grills?. They are on order Honey. Me I was exited I can see the great sonic difference that was coming. I ask Eric to sign them for me and he did, very cool. I don’t have that much room for perfect set up, so about a foot away on each side of my equipment rack and that sounded great to me. Not an audiophile just a music lover. I was playing it at low volume in my man cave just for testing and it was glorious. I had my Sonus for close to 12 years and I felt like I was listening to music for the first time. Now it was time for the wife test, so her being Puerto Rican I went trough my vinyl collection and found RAY Barreto “Indestructible”, lots os instruments, drums, congas, trumpets, very upbeat album. I called her over and she was amazed of how she could hear all the instruments just like she was back home in a concert. We kept on putting different albums including my beloved jazz and she enjoyed every one of them. It was 2 hours of listening before we realized it. Yes the Electron SE are even wife approved. As I right this I am deployed again this time in Alameda Ca. Overseeing contractors doing upgrades on the ship. The Corona Virus is going on all around us but we have to forge forward. Not saying this for any sympathy but is on these trips that I can save money for my Bucket System. And the last thing I bought that it really needs is a quality Subwoofer. I bought the REL S/510 and already has been delivered to the house and I was able to hear my wife’s eyes rolling again (I live in Charleston S.C) all the way over here in California when that big box came in. I can’t wait to get home to set it up. And yes Eric’s numbers say it goes down to 20hz but I really don’t see it. They do have noticeable bass, but it can use some help. Sorry it took me this long to say they are fantastic speakers but add a subwoofer to complete them. Happy Listening Felix |
Just got my Electron SE's in and have been listening to all sorts of music and concerts. I previously had a pair of dyi speakers I had put together with a reference Dayton 8" paper woofer and a Foutek ribbon tweeter in a 40" tower with custom (designed and built by me) crossovers using Auricap XO caps and foil inductors. My electronics are modest, Marantz 5013, Oracle Alexandria turntable w/summico blue point 2, Sony x700 sacd player and Parts Express Reference series 15" sub w/500 watt plate amp that I built myself. My room is 17x12 and the Electrons seem like a good fit for this size room especially since it doubles as a living area. I do home theater as well as 2 channel using Tidal lossless and bluray discs. The Electrons are still breaking in but I can tell they are very revealing and are sensitive to placement. I have heard in other posts people saying they are sensitive and some are saying that they are not. I have found both is true to some extent; that is they sound great in most spots but if you take the time to move them around, you can get the best imaging. When you get the right spot, the image is spooky good. I found focusing the speakers to a point about 5ft behind me gave the best image. I am hearing new stuff in recordings I have never heard before...the release of a piano pedal, the decay of a Tom Tom, the size of the room the musicians are playing in etc. These are all initial impressions as I've only had these a few days but I will say they continue to impress me as a very revealing musical speaker. One more thing; the bass is much more solid. My previous speakers didnt have much bass and I relied mostly on the sub for bass. I have been very happy with the bass from my sub as it produces very detailed and tuneful low frequencies. Adding the Electrons bass has literally energized the room, adding a visceral feel if the music has alot if bass energy like Hans Zimmer "Live in Prague" has. This is all with a fairly average avr using HEOS streaming app. I look foreward to hearing what a good streamer dac will do as well as improved amps as I upgrade down the road. |
I also have Electron SE on order in red, a upgrade of my Enzo XL on the 60 day audition. Love the XLs but really wanted the full tweeter and midrange design. I may have to contact Eric and see about the bi-wire option. Wish a pro audio reviewer would do the SE edition, but I found most of my questions thru this forum, thanks all. I run Tommy O"Briens DAC MEGAschino amp with his Dac Dac TL |