Tekton Double Impacts

Well gang...I have made the decision to purchase (and placed a deposit on) the Double Impact SE's.  @david_ten and @teajay , I really appreciated your advice, as well as bluntness!  All of your contributions to this board (and me personally) have been valuable to say the least. @audioarchon, thanks for having endless patience and just being an awesome guy (he knows a bit about audio too).  Can't wait until they arrive and i can post my impressions.  Now, to figure out which Amp/Pre-amp I am going to get.  @aricaudio will likely see some of my money as well.  :)

Thanks @david_ten 

I am looking forward to the next phase of the journey!

I am happy to report that my DI SE's arrived safe and sound today! I want to take a moment and thank Mike Kay at Audio Archon. If anyone is looking for someone to assist with their audio needs, be it Tekton or otherwise, Mike is a fantastic guy and couldn't be more knowledgeable, kind and helpful. Thanks Karma and Eric for all the help at Tekton!!

A few pictures of my setup are linked below. Everything but the turntable, Lumin and stand is new, so it will be a bit before everything settles in. My early impression is it all sounds pretty fantastic! A list of the equipment is below for those interested. I will provide more impressions over the next few weeks, but I LOVE what I am hearing so far. For those wondering, I sold off my Accuphase, Focal Kanta No.2, and Synergistic Research loom for this setup and couldn't be happier.  

Speakers: Tekton Double Impact SE (BMW Dark Graphite Metallic)
Preamp: LTA MicroZotl MZ2
Amp: LTA Zotl10 Mark 2
Streamer: Lumin D1
Turntable: Clearaudio Performance DC, Clearaudio Maestro V2 Cart, Clearaudio Clarify Tonearm, HRS M3X Base.
Phono Preamp: Musical Surroundings Nova II
Cables: MG Audio Planus III Speaker Cables, MG Audio Planus AG Interconnects.
Room Treatments: Acoustic Geometry


https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/NPRJyXEhJr4b8K9bvCbi3eeUCJgdubAQdDS30VoTmBU

@david_ten Thank you!  I really appreciated the conversation, it was most helpful in making the decision.  Already, it is exceeding my expectations.  

Hey @lancelock me too!  I haven't tried using the analogue setup yet, just the Lumin.  Unfortunately, I am trying to run down a ground loop that seems to have found its way into my system.  My room is isolated (installing a few dedicated circuits shortly, but the room is on a single circuit with no other rooms sharing it), so it shouldn't take long to identify the culprit.  For now, i am breaking the speakers in with an old AV receiver and the Lumin (dont want to burn tubes overnight breaking in the speakers).  Looking forward to your impressions as well!

@corelli  No worries!   

I did track down the ground loop.  It was a Cat7 shielded ethernet cable going to the Lumin.  Changed to an unshielded Cat6 cable and no hum.  Weird.  Going in for a nice listen now.  :)   Wife and kids are out getting ready for Prom tonight so i will have the day to play!!!!  Wooohooo!!!

Hey @teajay 

Thanks again to you as well, I really appreciated our conversation, it was very helpful in moving past some things that were blocking my decision.  Your guidance and honesty was helpful.  I agree about Mike, it's very obvious he wants a long-term relationship with this clients and does this by being honest and straight forward.  He could have sold me far more expensive equipment (and I probably would have bought it and been just as happy).  But he listened to what I was saying, what kind of music I listen to, asked about my comfort level budget-wise, and put me into a system I could afford and now love. Couldn't recommend him more. 

@mofojo I honestly wasn't even considering the SE.  I had just purchased the Accuphase E370 and Focal Kanta No.2 Speakers.  I was in Chicago on business and was looking to buy a Lumin, since I only had an analogue front end.  I found Mike Kay at Audio Archon and his listening room happened to be about 10 minutes from where my business meetings were later that day.  I stopped by his place to check out the Lumin and he had them hooked up to a pair of Harbeth Hl5Plus'.  However, sitting next to them were these huge tower speakers with 7 "tweeters".  I initially didn't really even consider them (i hadn't heard of them until that day).  Mike suggested I just take a listen to the DI SE, as it was a quick switch from the Harbeth (which also sound amazing by the way).  I was floored by the sound of the SE's.  He played a track and it was haunting how real the voices sounded.  The soundstage was huge and the detail and coherence from this unusual looking array had me changing my whole plan, right there and then.  They were hooked up to the Aric Audio Specials, which also sound amazing!

I went home and couldn't get the SE out of my mind.  I took another trip to Chicago a few weeks later and spent the day at Mike's.  He was cool enough to even let me order us lunch to be brought in and eat while listning.  I wanted to see if what i remembered about the SE was accurate.  It was.  Amazing.  I went back home and immediately sold almost all of my equipment.  I kept the Lumin I bought from Mike and the analogue setup I already had.  Everything else, speakers, electronics, cables, all sold.  I honestly couldn't be happier.   To answer your question @mofojo I dont know if the SE is worth double the price, because i haven't heard the DI's.  What I can tell you is the $6500 SE blew my $10k Focal's out of the water.  It's not even close for me.  Bigger soundstage, deeper base, excellent coherence and startling clarity.  And, they haven't even broken in yet.