Tekton Design's new THE PERFECT SET equals "goosebumps time"
Just got in house for review for hometheaterreview.com Tekton Design’s new, The Perfect SET, which is close to 100dB efficient and never dips below 8 ohms, which Eric built to be used with SET "flea watt" amplifiers. It is a front ported design using a 12 inch woofer and his patented array of small transducers that function as a midrange driver with a single tweeter in the middle. I set them up in a system with a great 2A3 SET amplifier and found them so superlative I did not stop listening for over five hours! Taking about "goosebump time" the music was so beautiful that I lost track of time.
These speakers have all the virtues of the other Tekton speakers, speed, utter transparency/micro-details, great soundstaging, and that special "aliveness" that I experience when I listen to my Ulf’s. What really amazed me was what the Perfect SET was delivering on the bottom end frequencies, subterrainian/taut powerful bass, that was shaking the room, all coming from at most 2.5 to 3 watts.
If you love SET amplifiers this speaker is a match made in heaven, and remember this pair just arrived and is not totally burnt in yet.
As we read almost every day, the theft of intellectual property from overseas has reached an alarming level as evidenced by how every year more and more of our own products are no longer made here. With this in mind, it makes absolute sense to write the widest, most generic, most encompassing and yet potentially defensible patent possible....and to give away the fewest details possible...even if it seems to some to be lame.
And, even though patents often don't provide the intended protection, its a start and anything that allows us to make more stuff here...and less stuff there...seems like a good idea. As for the thread issue...Maybe I just see it differently...if you go over to one of the other forums and look up Goldenear...the thread is 177 pages long as of today...so,its difficult to find things. I prefer separate threads for each product...but maybe that's just me.
Yes, these speakers are not petite. However, if you take your time it's a one man job to remove them from the boxes and set them up. The packing was quite good, they were easy to slide out and they were shipped Fedex.
No doubt that loudspeakers will NEVER be a one size fits all product.
And no doubt that Tekton’s ad copy about obsoleting other loudspeakers is like raw meat to the lions.... but as those in the ad business will often say, “as long as they are talking about you, they aren’t talking about the competition”.
As for reviewers.. if I rely on your review... buy the product and dont like it... I’m pretty sure that it is because we like different things...no big deal.
Now, back to the thread... these are not light speakers... how were they packed and did they ship fedex or freight?
1) The first Tekton speaker that I professionally reviewed was the Sigma open baffle design. I had stated here on Audiogon that I was not a fan of the Pendragon speaker, the poor man's Wilson speaker, because the way it was voiced was not my cup of tea. Hundreds were sold to very satisfied customers. So, stereo5 I get you did not like that specific Tekton speaker. However, the speakers that I have reviewed based on Eric's breakthrough technology sound qualitatively different then what you found lacking possibly years ago. Yes, in my reference system the Tekton Ulf's are my speaker of choice. They replaced a pair of $20,000.00 speakers for half the price.
2) Yep, as a professional reviewer I get the industrial accommodation of a reduced price if I choose to buy the demo piece in for review. However, why would I give an excellent review to a piece of gear that I would not want to personally own? To imply that I have taken a bribe or been bought out by any company I have written a review on their equipment is attack on my personal integrity. I get scores of Emails from Gon members who trust my ears' and honesty thanking me for reviewing inexpensive high performing gear that they intensely enjoy in their systems. I think your personal attack on me says more about your character then mine.
3) Please, jackd if you are going to compare me to any other reviewers that would be a personal role model for me that would be Sam Tellig, the audio cheapskate. Mr. Valin only reviews uber-expensive gear that I'm not a fan of at all. I get great pleasure finding small companies ( AricAudio, LTA, Beckert Labs, Jay Audio, Coda Technology, Sophia Labs, Woo Audio, NSMT Loudspeakers, Tekton Design) to name a few that create/build beautiful gear at very reasonable prices. I don't agree that this has "gotten out of hand" at all. I try to support these creative companies that can't afford advertising with detailed honest reviews and occasional posts like this when I find something truly superlative. Ain't it interesting that when I do share on a thread about other companies great new gear, I get get no personal attacks or mud slinging at all. However, there is a small hard core group of Tekton haters who go after every Tekton thread on AudioGon with the same false accusations time and time again.
4) Thanks to many GON members who trust my intentions are honorable and my taste in stereo equipment that matches what they are looking for at reasonable prices.
Yes, let the fleas bite, but the music caravan moves on.
Yes Terry has become the Jonathan Valin (Magico, Solution, MSB) savior for the "little guys" (Auric, LTA, Tekton. Backert ) but it has now gotten out of hand and appears to be a promotion. with benefits.
Teajay shilling is a joke. The guy has reviewed more reasonable gear that all of us can enjoy than any other reviewer that I know. I can attest that Teajay might like Teckton but he has slain many of Audio’s more expensive sacred cows. The fact that he relishes finding audio bargains like Auric audio and Linear Tube (and Teckton) has helped me and many other audiophiles increase the enjoyment in our systems for relatively little money. By the way, I don’t own Tecktons.
@teajay...........yes, I bought Pendragons from Tekton. Sounded like crap and back they went. Cost me almost 400.00 in shipping costs. If memory serves me correct, there were 2 pro sound woofers and 3 tweeters in an array. Worst speakers I ever heard, so yes I am very skeptical.
I can see why Tekton sends you samples to review. After all, they know already you will rave about them. You neglected to answer my question, do you use Tektons in your own personal system?
Yes, I tried using a high current SS 200 watt amplifier that sounded great on this speaker. However, the pairing with the 2A3 was really special for my tastes.
You haters just don't get it. Eric's breakthrough design offers world class performance at very reasonable prices. Yes, I have reviewed four models over the last three years, and none of them are "stinkeroo's".
Question: Mr. Stereo5, have you ever heard any of the Tekton speakers?
Also, in the last two years numerous reviewers have raved over the different Tekton models and many gave them their speaker of the year award. I guess all of us were hood-winked to come to this conclusion.
Since every Tekton Speaker you review is an audio gift from Heaven, perhaps we all should just buy Tekton. We could all save a lot of money. Looks to me like he takes the same basic drivers and puts them in different sized enclosures. Do you use Tekton speakers in your personal system?
I would not call this Deja Vu, but my sonic horn of plenty. This is a great time to be a lover of SET amplifiers when you can have world class performance for less then 2k. Also, I'm not a fan single driver or horn designs, so these new designs offer a great alternative for me. When I write my review, the section on competition/comparison will surely compare the Perfect SET to the Model 50, they are both great, but different. For the details you will have to wait for the review.
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