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Tekton Double Impact & Comb Filtering

Like many of you, I have been pondering purchasing these speakers but am very curious about the unusual tweeter array. I asked the smartest speaker person that I know (he is a student of Sean Olive) about the design and below is what he had to say.   

"In theory it could work, but the driver spacing means that the crossover point would need to be very low.
He is using the SB acoustics tweeter which is 72mm in diameter, center to center on the outside opposing drivers is around 5.7 inches, which is about 2400Hz. This means that combing would stop between 1/4 to 1/2 of the wavelength (between 1200-600Hz) is where the outside tweeters should start playing nice with each other.
Since he is not using low enough crossover points he has created a comb filtering monster. Now while it's not the great point source that was promised, it's no worse than most line arrays and the combing will average itself out given enough listening distance.

The MTM spacing on the other hand is ridiculous. Hopefully he is cutting the top end off on one of those midrange drivers to avoid combing."

seanheis1

Showing 2 responses by shadorne

shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,491 posts
 
@seanheis1

Secret Sauce LOL

Nothing new about anything I mentioned - all this has been understood for 50 years and more. Most conventional loudspeaker designers go a long way to avoid comb filtering - careful driver placement and steep crossovers as well as time alignment of drivers - this is in pursuit of the most accurate portrayal of the source sound. However, companies like Zu and Tekton are defying convention and making designs that offer advantages for those who like a certain style of presentation. The same can be said for tube coloration - much of this coloration is already on the recordings but if you like more of it then get a tube amp and drive it a little into distortion and you get nice harmonics. If you really like the sound of phasing and flanging then a design that adds a little comb filtering will enhance your enjoyment of everything.

As a trick - if you have conventional speakers but suspect you like comb filtering then you can try placing the speakers right up against the side walls so the tweeter is within 3 to 9 inches of the wall.

I would expect the comb filtering on the Tekton DI to be quite subtle and modest - remember that this mostly effects the reflected sound (25 to 40% of the audible sound) as the drivers are all aligned when you listen from directly in front.
shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,491 posts
 
@213runnin

It does sound like the DI are amazing value. Cutting out the retailer must be a big part of it. A $6000 speaker sold direct from factory could be easily $3000 as no dealer cut.

I recall Energy Pro 22 punched well above their weight but that is three decades ago. It is nice to see this challenger but I wonder if factory direct is the way of the future? I keep seeing audiophile stores closing down...is the old bricks and mortar model broken?

If James_514 says they are better value than ATC SCM 40 then I believe it. I actually would not expect ATC with an everything in-house built approach can compete with cost effective boxes filled with off the shelf low cost drivers sold factory direct - at least not on price or value and may be the quality difference is just not enough for many to justify the extra expense. I bought my large cinema screen factory direct and it was indeed tremendous value over a Stewart screen so I am not at all averse to the direct model. Bring it on!
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