Tekton Double Impacts

I cannot go through all of the posts on this thread. I believe this has been asked but I don't remember it being answered. What is the difference between the DI and the SE version? The website says nothing. What makes up the $3000 difference in price? If it is different drivers, what are they using? Last question, does anyone know if there will be an SE version of the Electron model?

I was hoping to finally hear the Double Impacts at Axpona this year. Despite all of the buzz here, and having a dealer in the Chicago suburbs, Tekton will not be showing for a second year in a row at Axpona. It is only one of the largest shows in the country. What gives? I guess it is another head scratcher from Tekton. I am quickly losing interest. Oh well.

I have been to both RMAF and Axpona. Travel 1300 miles to RMAF or 300 to Axpona when the vast majority of the exhibitors are the same at both shows? Travel another 1000 miles to hear one speaker? I think not. They have a dealer in the immediate area and still don't have a presence. I have auditioned one Tekton speaker that many on the internet praised, the Pendragon. I am glad I heard them first. While they were not bad, I would not purchase them. The trial period would only interest me if I heard the DI first and I found them to be significantly better than the Pendragon. Then it would be a matter of whether they work in my room or not and I would be willing to try. Shipping speakers, especially large ones, is a PITA and I choose to avoid it when I can. If the aspiration is to prove that you have the best speaker in the world and you want to be one of the big boys, then be where the big boys are and show your stuff. It just doesn't seem that difficult, particularly when a dealer is right there. All of this is just IMHO.

I just don't understand why people are so upset. I am considering these as a possible replacement for a pair of Mosaic Acoustics Illuminations. If you have never heard of them, look them up. They are a $25,000 a pair set of speakers made by Dale Pitcher, one of the best designers in the business. I was able to get a great deal on a used pair. I first heard them at Axpona 3 years ago and thought they were the best at the show. Saying that you can't get great sound at a show is hogwash, particularly if the speakers are great. If the DIs are what people say they are, the positives will be able to be heard at a show. I understand enough to know that my room would be the final say so, I have been doing this a while.

The Illuminations are the most demanding speakers to set up that I have ever experienced. Moving them by 1/4 of an inch makes a difference. The tweeters are movable for time alignment and 1/16 of an inch makes a difference. It has taken months to get it right. They are outstanding speakers capable of transcendent sound. They are also massively heavy. 150 plus pounds for just the bass cabinets. So it is not just a matter of slapping the DIs in my room. I have to move the other speakers out which are multiple pieces and a complicated break down. Believe me, it is no small task. Particularly when you are doing it by yourself. Then if the DIs don't beat out some great competition, I get to move them back in plus ship a large set of speakers. Even though current position can be measured, there will be tweaking to get them back to what I am getting from them now. 

My drawback with the Illuminations is that a subwoofer is a must. I hate using subwoofers for stereo, period. As exacting as the rest of the set up is, so it is blending a subwoofer with them. However, the imaging, sound staging, purity of tone, and coherence within their usable range is amazing. I am looking for a bit more simplicity and bass extension/power without giving up much of what the Illuminations do so incredibly well. The fact that I am even considering the DI at all says that I believe there is a lot of potential. The DIs have been shown at a couple of other shows. When I question why they are not being shown at one of the largest shows in North America when they have a local dealer, I get attacked by owners that act like I am insulting them personally. Bizarre stuff. I want to hear them first and am willing to travel within reason to do so. 

@charles1dad    
Calling it an attack was probably going to far. But there has been innuendo that I am sniping the company, too lazy to put the effort into audition the speaker in my own home, and that I am just being difficult. That is not the case. I just want an opportunity to hear them first. Zu Audio is a perfect example. Many people swear by them on this very site. They have a return policy also. Fortunately for me, I have heard them probably a half dozen times or so at shows. I have never once heard them sound good to me despite what others say about them. I am thankful for the opportunity to have heard them and to be able to rule them out because I was very interested in them. The audition of the Pendragons that I mentioned above was extended and at an owners home, not at a show. It was a couple of years ago. Good in some ways, but I heard some issues. That is why I want to hear the DI before I do anything. 

@klh007 
Thanks, I did not see them on the exhibitor listing. I will check them out.

@jcarcopo  
No problems. It was not my intention to stir anything up. I am about seeing the small guys succeed. It sounds as if Tekton will be there with Parasound according to KLH007. There are 4 hotels in the immediate vicinity of the show that are already sold out that weekend. I cannot think of a better way to get a large group of people that can afford the DI to hear them. Hit it out of the park at the show and business could take off even more than it already has (i.e. to the point of expanding production facilities and team). I appreciate the gesture, but the cost of return is not the biggest deterrent for me at this point. If I were to hear them and really like them, I would likely save up and go straight for the SE version. If you're gonna go, go big.

@iclickjohn   
I had a set of Electrons not the DIs, but feel the information would still be valid. The ones I got were B stock on the specials page and were advertised as with grills.

Question 1: No grills came with the speakers even though they were advertised with them. The speakers had holes for the grill pegs. I called and asked about the grills and was told they still need to be made. 

Question 2: As mentioned above, they were B stock and there were a couple of defects in the paint. Even given that, I found the finish just ok, but not a deal breaker.

Question 3: See answer to question 1. The grills never did arrive in the month that I had the speakers. 

I ended up returning the speakers, but it was not because of the above. While I found them good, the decision to return them was based on performance. Tekton did make good on their return policy, which is a good thing. I appreciated the ability to test them in my home.