Tekton DIs or Legacy Focus SEs?

Ron thanks for your response, I remember when I auditioned Diapason Adamantes And MartinLogan Request about Maybe 20 yrs ago, the salesman both played them with Krelll, sales man likes the Diapason better because of musicality, I like the Logan bec of rock n look, and the grille.I end up buying both...sorry they did not work for you,....

hifial:

I agree with your assessment. If either of the two speakers tends a little (and I mean a very little) towards warm, it would be the Focus. I thought the Tekton to be more neutral also.

Vitop please explain how an AMT is softer sounding than a Soft dome tweeter? 

Never heard a soft dome with more resolution then an AMT or a Ribbon in doing this professionally for 30 years.  Even the much vaulted Scanspeak ring radiator tweeter which goes to 40K supposedly doesn not sound like it. 

If that is what you perceive and the Tekton's work more towards your taste that is great. 

Vitop I would say just the oppostie the Tekton's are the warmer of the two with the Legacy's having a bit more detail.

What does neutral mean to you then? A neutral speaker would not be bright or recessed and in that way the Tekton is very well balanced.

If you think I am not blown away by the Tekton's you are incorrect, fantastic product, each of these systems has a sound, perhaps you were listening to the Legacy's with the treble switch in the cut position? 

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

Troy And vtop my humble experience in audio is different system different result, why I would claim the speakers are warm sounding in my system because my system is on the warm side..The most obvious is if I change digital cable the sound change too...why at times there is disagreement on our gear characteristics ...my 0.2 cents

@vitop Really glad that you posted your very detailed comparison of the two speakers. I was hoping you would, since you gave both very serious consideration prior to making a choice. I encourage the OP to reach out to Vitop directly because of this.

I’m with @audiotroy on his take of the AMT vs the upper frequencies of the DI.

Like Vitop, I am a fan of the AMT ribbons and based on my memory (I have not done a head to head comparison with the DIs) I find the AMTs to be ’brighter,’ sweeter, airier, and more extended than the DIs implementation of the tweeter.

To me, the DI’s upper frequencies (being less so than what I mention directly above) are therefore closer to neutral, BUT given the differential, I would also describe them as ’warmer’ THAN vs the AMT ribbon (at least the implementations I’ve heard). Therefore, I can understand why Dave describes the DIs as being ’warmer.’ To me this is actually a compliment.

I think Eric’s design makes for a much tougher separation between the mids and the high frequencies because of his tweeter array...which is a really, really, really, really good thing. : )

audiotroy -

I am not sure how to explain how anything is softer than another. I just listen to it and make a determination of how it sounds to me. Probably the same as anyone else I imagine.

What it is supposed to sound like, I don’t know. All I know is how it DOES sound like. And if you take away any preconceptions and do a double blind test, I think many would be surprised.

I like both of these speakers (and I REALLY like the Legacy Aeris). I know I put some hard to resolve dialogue on both speakers and heard them close... heard them far and if I had to pick one over the other for resolution it was the Tekton. That’s all I can tell you. I don’t have charts, graphs, electrical diagrams or anything to "prove" it to you. I just have how it sounded to my ears. If that is something you don;t agree with, that’s fine, but it still sounded the way it did to me.

Neutral to me is that I don’t hear any semblance of harsh or muddy or bassy. It means what I perceive to be clear uncolored sound that does not emphasize highs, mids or lows. Just a very balanced and clean sound without anything that I could hear that was "added" by the speaker.

And I am not going to respond to having to defend my perception of one over the other to you any more. We can talk about what I heard and how it sounded, but I am not really interested in saying I am right or that one is better than the other. The OP asked a question in regards to a comparison of the two speakers and it happens that those two speakers were among my finalists and I really made it a point to compare them so I thought I could help.

That is as far as I want to take it.

David --

The reason I have always purchased ribbon and planer speakers is for the very open, detailed and airy highs and mids. I was predisposed to the Legacy speakers because of that. I ended up being surprised. 

I honestly could not hear that "normal" ribbon differentiation on the Focus.

I did hear it in spades on the Aeris. It has a hybrid open baffle design and the sound was quite remarkable. a 3D audio presentation.

I am not sure how neutral it was. I am still conflicted about it, but I can tell you that I loved it.

jayctoy -

I agree. I was fortunate enough to hear both the DI and the Focus at the same place with the same equipment. Pulled out the Focus and put in the DI and used the same source material, cabling, amps, etc. For me, it was a fair comparison. That is what I was after.

@vitop  I clearly remember how you felt about the Aeris at the time and I made a very strong mental note, because I have a feeling that I will concur with your findings. This is why the Aeris is now on my short list, should I make a move on a second speaker in that price range. I have you to thank for that. I may not have mentioned it before, so I am now. 

David -- it really is a great speaker. I was not able to hear it directly against the Wilsons, but I did hear several of the more expensive Wilsons and I preferred the Aeris. Yes, definitely a speaker you should hear even if you have no intentions of buying it. It is worth the listen IMO.

One more thing I should add. I have not heard the Tekton Ulfs so I can't say how they compare to the Aeris -- that is a comparison I would LOVE to hear. As much as I like the Tekton speakers (ESPECIALLY when you consider the added bonus of price), I am not sure that they could sound as open and airy as the Aeris because of the design.

I found it difficult to compare the Aeris to DI because the sound was so different. First, they have a room correction Wavelet box they go through. So I have a preconceived bias against any processing and I wonder, "how much of that 3d sound is the speaker, and how much is the processor?" and then the next thought is "If that is the processor, is it also changing the sound and adding to it?"

Despite all of that, I could not hear anything but clean sound. The problem with the comparison is that the sound was so 3d like that it just sounded so different than the DI or the Focus to my ears, it was difficult to make an analytical comparison. I was just kind of lost in the sound. And when the sound kind of wraps around you, it sounds different than what was coming out of the other speakers. I honestly would have to sit down and compare longer to try and see how I felt about the neutrality of the Aeris compared to the others. If I could stop being amazed at the sound presentation long enough to try to be analytical, lol

@jayctoy I must of went thought 6 or so speakers in the past year. Paradigm Tributes, Legacy Focus SE, Tekton DI’s, Emotiva T2’s, Goldenear triton 5's and 7's and I ended up settling with the Goldenear triton Reference for the time being. They had the most of what I was looking for in sound and don’t need subs. I liked the Trubutes a lot and had them for the longest time of the bunch, but I had a problem with Paradigm as a company, so they lost my loyalty. I do have an interest in checking out the new Elac Adante speakers coming out any day now. They look very promising

Ron With Elac Adante can’t go wrong, I heard the 2k monitor this year at Axpona they are very clear musical sounding speakers, check music direct , I see Adante floor standing and the monitor...on their website.....What matters you get what your ears like...good luck

Ron:

I have not heard the Golden Ear reference yet but I want to. I really like the footprint. My use will be home theater and I just don't like their center speaker offerings. I like the ones in the Paradigm Persona line and the Legacy line.

Can you go over what you liked more about the Reference than you did with the DI and the Focus? That would be interesting for me. Also, did you listen to their center speakers?

Thanks

Sure @vitop . First let me tell you that the Focus SE an the DI's are very different speakers, but I did not care for either one for two very different reasons. First, the Focus SE's are very dynamic and "in you face". That can be a good thing and is probably the reason why so many studios use Legacy Speakers. The midrange detail is incredible! BUT, they were just too big for my smallish 12 x 14 room with 7ft ceilings and didnt sound right
. There are a few reasons I didn't care for the DI's. I didn't think they were "refined" enough, that did improve greatly after about 50 hrs break in, but not enough to my liking. Another reason was the bass was just not there. Yes I said it, but the reason I found out goes back to my room size. My room has a null at around 50-60hz due to it's Dimensions, and that is also also where the resonant frequencey is on the DI woofers, so bass output was not that great and I refuse to use room correction on my 2-channel portion of my system. I like to keep the signal "pure" as good or bad as that may seem.
That gets us to the Goldenear Reference. These speakers are very refined, smooth sound, but with tons of high end sizzle without being harsh. These speakers image like crazy, and sound great for a large speaker in a small room. They throw a large and deep soundstage. A nice word for them is they sound "Majestic". With built in subs, I have all the bass I need, and are easily driven by my 25w tube amp as well as my 600w SS monos. These turned out to fit most of my needs (because all us audiophiles are never 100% satisfied), so, they are keepers for the time being.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

I would have to place one of them next to a wall and I am concerned with the the side firing driver, but I still plan on hearing them.

@vitop I forgot to mention, I did buy the Goldenear Supercenter XL. I'm mainly a 80% 2-channel music guy, so I'm not as crazy over the home theater sound as I am with 2-ch audio, so the goldenear center will be good enough for me.

@vitop I think you will be ok with the reference near a wall. Mine are pretty close to the corners, and you can adjust the bass level.

Oh, and to point out any flaws in the GE Reference, they have a very refined sound, but the the bass could be more "tuneful" and tight. Not that it is slow and sloppy by any means, but not so as much as say my Paradigm Tributes. But I guess there has to be a trade off at some point to get bass that deep and powerful

@ron1264 I think you would've been better off trying the Signature SE's for that room size. I am a huge believer in horses for courses, and the Focus SE's are VERY large, but it's great things worked out for you. I would love to listen to the GE Triton Refs sometime. Either way it's a good time to be a audiophile where you have these specific companies offering products that are so much ahead of the curve in bang for your buck.

As a comparison, I love Dynaudios as well, when shopping around for speakers, I loved the sound of the new Contour 20's...but they are 5K, for the monitors. And the small floor standers are 7.5K, so the relative value proposition is not really there, when compared to something like the Legacy where you are getting an AMT tweeter/mid unit and twin 10" woofers. I measured down to 22Hz in my room! The Dyn C30 would probably have been around 35-38 Hz.

@nitewulf Yea, you maybe right, but I came across a local sale used as I don't have the coin to buy the Focus SE's new a 11.5K. They even delivered them to me, so I jumped on that deal and realized after they were just to big for my room. 

I heard great things about Dynaudio and thought about giving them a listen.

@jayctoy  the only thing that scares me about the Elac Adante is I think my tube amp may have a problem driving them as they are 4 ohm and a pretty low sensitivity

Ron I agree , I heard them with ss, audio alchemy amp....

I used to own a pair of the first version of the Focus SE.  They are absolutely the best speakers I have ever owned.  Absolutely incredible!  When I had them I was using a Modwright KWI 200 integrated amp.  It was a wonderful, full, smooth sounding setup.  You have no idea how much I wish I still had that setup.  Anyway...

I'd love to hear the Double Impacts!  I'm going to be attending Axpona next year but from what I know Tekton will not be at the show.  There is a dealer in the Chicago area so I'm going to contact them to arrange a listening session while in town for Axpona.

Concerning the Legacy Signature SE: It is a sealed enclosure whereas the Focus SE is a rear ported design which I most definitely prefer.

Diofan56 the dealer is Audioarchon here in the north side of chicago...from the Axpona venue no traffic 30 min...

Nitrobob, can't answer all your questions but Eric recommends the 4 ohm version. I would call and discuss it with him if you have concerns about that.

Thanks for the info Jayctoy!

I've heard both, along with several other brands a couple of years ago when I was on a quest for new speakers for the family room... After about 5 months of searching I decided on the Legacy Focus SE's. The Focus SE's (IMHO) are the best value in audio. The speaker will compete with speakers that cost 3 or 4 times as much. The Focus look great (Rosewood finish) which takes care of the wife factor and sounds even better than they look.. I drive these speakers with a Marantz 2500 that has had a frame up rebuild with all up graded parts. (Sal, you did an outstanding job). I listen to everything from jazz to rock and what has impressed me more than anything is that the Focus doesn't have to be driven hard to enjoy Yet, when you want to crank up a little rock in roll there is nothing lacking with the Focus. It is a speaker that you can listen to for hours with out the fatigue that some speakers induce....The difference between the Focus vs Signature will be in the sensitivity 92db (Sig) 95.4db (Focus), and freq resp 22-30k (Sig) 18-30k for the Focus SE...www.legacyaudio.com

@cb5300,
Can you share your experience with the Tekton DI’s versus the Legacy Focus SE’s? Since you’ve heard both, I am curious about the differences between the two that drove your decision toward the Focus SE’s.

Thank you.

The DI speaker has not been out a couple of years? 

The DI's have been out a little over a year Grannyring. I recieved the first pair October 2016.......so I have the least updated pair :) 

A better alternative you can change the quality of capacitor,  to change tone With just s screw driver,
Option yo choose from the excellrnt Voxativ mid tweeter driver 
Or Beyma 150 TPL- driver  and are for sure more refined is the 
Pure Audio Project  Loudspeakers
http://www.pureaudioproject.com/trio15-open-baffle-speakers-pureaudioproject/ 

That’s a couple of years however. Did he really hear them? A couple means at least two.

Bill, he may have been comparing two of the Legacy speakers.

That is also what I understood David. I may be wrong.

CB5300 which speakers are you comparing? I assume DI is not the speakers you compare?Can you clarify? Thank you

Hi, you may be interested to join this facebook group for Tekton Design speaker owners in case you have questions or would like to know more about their first hand experience with them, and the electronics they use to match with their speakers:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/135142323767796/

While you probably can't go wrong with either speaker, but one thing to also consider is resale value. Unless, of course, you plan to keep them for 10 or 20 years and give them away. I have Legacy Focus for 20 years this year and still love them and still going strong.