The unique thing I like about Tekton in general is they buck the predominate trend in high end audio in recent years towards smaller, less efficient, and still increasingly expensive speakers.
Size matters with speakers and drivers and so does efficiency if done well. As does cost, needless to say.
So they seem to have found a nice niche with not much competition at their price points currently. Smart! |
I'm wondering how many Tekton folks here are preferring them with tube amps and how many prefer them to other speakers with a beefier SS maybe even Class D amp? |
Anyone know what Tektons will be demonstrated at Capital Audiofest this weekend? |
Lance am hoping to make it on Saturday maybe. Maybe will see you there?
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I spent a good amount of time listening to some flavor of upgraded Double Impacts at Cap AudioFest last weekend. Did not get the price but they were very enjoyable and well fed off the high quality 10 watt tube amp used. Thumbs up especially for those looking for a larger more efficient and tube amp friendly speaker offering good value.
Pros:
- sound was not thin or lacking in any way but had good detail off a mere 10 watt tube amp (a very good one though)
- soundstage and imaging were good however room was very small
- I remained drawn in and engaged with the music on a variety of tracks for a good while and wanted to hear more
- rhythm and drive was very good compared to many much smaller speakers I’ve heard in similar price range
- a lot of speaker for not that much by this show’s standards = good value
Cons:
- big and bulky. WAF?
- imaging and soundstage was good but in that small hotel room I could hear individual drivers. Would probably blend better in a larger room.
- sound was meaty and a tad warmer than many which could be a pro or con depending on personal preferences.
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nitrobob,
Having heard DI just once at Capital Audifest this year, I wonder if the shortcomings you describe might be attributed to the listening position being only 9’ away? In general larger speakers with multiple drivers need some distance to the listening position for everything to gel properly especially in regards to detail.
At Cap Audiofest, the DIs were set up in a average size hotel room, not particularly large and I’d estimate I was at a similar distance listening.
The only negative I noticed as I cited in comments here shortly after were I could locate the drivers location with eyes closed meaning that imaging was not fully gelling. I would expect better results in that regard with more distance from listening position to speakers. A larger room would have suited the fairly large DIs better in general I’d say.
Just a thought. It may be more an artifact of limitations in setup in a particular room as opposed to an inherent problem with the speakers.
I tend to shy away from most any larger "tower" design speakers in closer quarters these days based on past experience trying without total success to get those to gel properly for both imaging and sound stage in closer quarters along the lines you describe in your case. Especially towers with multiple drivers for the mid and higher (more directional) frequencies that are not located in close proximity to each other.
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My recollection is that anything continuous over 83db loud or so causes some damage to hearing. Gotta watch that! |
Could be a combo of all of the above.
Its rare to make a major change in speakers then not have to make other changes as well in order to dial in the desired sound. Could be as minor as tweaking placement or orientation or changing room treatments or much more than that.
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Cranked up with very high power amplifiers? |
The tektons are efficient and fairly easy to drive. I heard them on a 10 watt tube amp and that did quite well. Low power amps would seem to be their best match. Speakers that do well with few watts often easily get overdriven with many. Especially if built to a lower price point. |
Having heard a 10 watt soft clipping tube amp drive those to satisfying listening levels no problem, I’d be willing to bet that high power SS amp cranked is overdriving them resulting in thermal compression and other forms of distortion associated with overdriving a speaker.
Depending on impedance curve amp clipping is always another possibility at very high volumes even if the speaker is more efficient overall. Having heard them, a power draining impedance dip or two in the bass would not surprise me.
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nitrobob,
FWIW I built my main rig to be able to go very loud and clear when needed with the kind of music you are talking about for a modest cost (by high end audio standards at least). I achieved that goal quite well I would say.
My setup is Bel Canto Ref1000m amps (Class D 500w/ch into 8 Ohm) into OHM 5 speakers (12" Walsh style main driver), essentially the equivalent of OHM 5000 models in the current line.
This rig goes as loud and clear as I would ever want to go with rock, pop, big band, classical whatever and produces the most life like sound stage and imaging to be had in their price range.
That is my solution that works so just tossing that out.
The Walsh style drivers operate differently than most conventional dynamic drivers. I’ve owned various OHm Walsh models since ~ 1982 when they first came out and they are champs at taking whatever power you through at them and going loud and clear. I’ve even used them that way at outdoor parties from time to time. Older models in particular can be had for not much used for the amount of sound and overall sound quality you get. The sound with newer models is more refined over older..
Also Class D amps are newer high efficiency technology for amps that when paired up with the right speakers of just modest efficiency can achieve similar SPLs as higher efficiency speakers with lower power amps. A bonus is the energy efficiency saves you on on your power bill and helps keep overall TCO low.
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nitrobob,
One of my audio epiphanies occured back in teh mid 80’s when I provided the music at a party in grad school.
The party was on a farm out in the boonies of Western Kentucky. I set up my hifi on the farmhouse porch and "cranked it up" .
People were in a field nearby I’d estimate 50 yards or greater away directly in front of the porch. UB40, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, U2, Zeppelin, you name it, it sounded like a live band playing nearby on the porch. Better sounding than Woodstock I’d bet! :^) Slightly smaller venue though admittedly...
That was with with original 80s vintage OHm Walsh 2s (8" walsh driver somewhere between 1000 and 2000 models currently). I think they cost me less than $1K at the time new.
They were driven by a Tandberg tr2080 receiver, 80 very good quality (for the day) watts/ch. Source was an Aiwa AD6550 cassette deck (another beauty of the day before Aiwa went mass market).
Fast forward to today, and the OHMs are more refined sounding than ever (very hi end IMHO assuming similar quality gear upstream) and amps have improved as well. Yes things cost more as well but there are lots of bargains out there on the used market.
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Make sure that those providing power advice for the speakers are using just the speakers and not speakers + powered subs which is a totally different story in regards to power needed just for the mains.
20 watts is very marginal power to drive most any speaker unless they are very easy load and truly high efficiency, which Tektons are not. It will work of course but results will be far from optimal and you could spend a lot of time and money tweaking to try and compensate.
The devil is always in the details.
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