I have dedicated audio room 14.5x20.5x9 ft. Currently have Marantz Reference CD/Intergrated paired to Magnepan 1.7's with REL T-7 subs. For the vast majority of music I love this system. The only nit pick is that it is lacking/limited in covering say below 35 hz or so. For the first time actually buzzed the panel with an organ sacd. Bummer. Thought of upgrading subs to rythmicks but then I will need to high pass the 1.7's. Really don't want to deal with that approach.
Enter the Double Impacts. Many interesting things here. Would certainly have a different set of strengths here. Dynamics, claimed bottom octave coverage in one package, suspect a good match to current electronics.
I've read all the threads here so we do not need to rehash that. Just wondering if others out there have FIRST HAND experience with these or other Tekton speakers
The Found Music 2A3 amps went into service yesterday, driving the Tekton DI SEs.
This is an amp that was specifically built for a speaker with an 8 Ohm impedance (6 to 9 Ohm range). As you all know, the SEs are rated 4 Ohm impedance. These amps still need more run time before fully settling in and coming into their own.
3.5 Watts are driving the SEs, at normal listening volumes for me, effectively and beautifully.
A testament to the breadth of amp pairings possible with the SEs (and DIs) and the different approaches one can take in building their systems with the Tekton speakers.
I continue to be impressed with the T+A amp...in this case it’s Single Ended pre-outs, feeding the 2A3 amp.
Also want to reiterate that the T+A - SE pairing will continue to serve as my primary system. The 2A3 amps will be mated to speakers which are yet to be decided.
David, I am sure you will be doing a very thorough search into what speakers will show off your new amps best. Will be very curious indeed what speakers make the final cut. Keep us posted.
@corelli It is surprising how many speaker options exist that pair well with a 3.5W amp, so the search is taking a fair amount of time... I have barely scratched the surface.
The SEs and this 2A3 amp are a wonderful pairing and an effective one for a far wider range of music than I expected and at higher volume levels than I anticipated.
I've been listening to the DIs for about a week now. Grills came in just a few days after the speakers. Fit and finish were very nice on all. Heavy, watch those cones. I lifted mine with a neighbor using the ports front and back. Banana plugs were loose so I pried them wider but they are still loose. It has not been a problem as the connection stays fine. I'm still in the break in phase but very impressed with the great sound. It's a little bit upper ended I think. I'm hoping that it is due to lack of room conditioning which I will try to address with temporary on/off wall treatments. I've noticed that the better DSD and 96kHz and up, FLAC recordings do sound very much better in the lower ends as well as spacial separation and sound stage.
On the other hand, I don't listen to deep base recordings so that could be the biggest reason. Sitting in the "Zone" 90" triangle, reaps the most rewarding experience but walking around the house the sound is way more upper ended again. I think that more base would be brought out with more amplification through monoblocks. Running with the PrimaLuna Prologic Premium Integrated tube amp. All digital sourced by Sony Hap-S1. Listening to Santana III DSD 2.8MHz Master Superior 2016 DSD 2.8MHz Piltch & Davis + Friends Take One DSD 2.8MHz Linn Records volume 2 DSD 2.8MHz Norah Jones Come Away with Me FLAC 192 Mhz/ 24bit Morphine Cure for Pain FLAC 96 KHz/24bit Herbie Hancock Headhunters DSD 2.8MHz Corinne Bailey Rae, The Heart Speaks in Whispers FLAC 96 The Corrs, In Blue FLAC 96MHz Obsession New Flamenco Romance FLAC 96 MHz Wilco, The Whole Love FLAC 96MHz etc, etc, etc. But these sound amazing on this setup. I am very happy with my purchase and decision to go with Tekton Double Impacts.
@iclickjohn my DI’s sounded sounded forward at first as well and they took a frustratingly long time to break in. Those low mid transducers take awile before they seem to kick in. I don’t think you will have a problem with the primaluna. I’m powering with an Aric Audio Special Push Pull with kt120’s pushing 60 watts per channel and and I can crank up to ear bleed levels and still have plenty of head room to spare. In fact, according to voltage meter, I can’t hardly get it to leave class a and enter class a/b. It took me a long time but ithe di’s did relaxe eventually. I suspect you have a great pairing of amp and speaker.
@iclickjohn Things will only get better in time! Glad you are enjoying your new DI's and am confident they will continue to bring you much listening pleasure. What power tubes are you running in the PL?
Yes iclickjohn, things will only get better with time. You'll need a good 200 hours on them before they really come together but as you noticed they sound quite good even now.
While here I'll share my time with Aric Audio's 300B push pull amp with my SE's. It's a very impressive amp that will suit many perfectly. The amp itself is very stout and well built and the seperate power supply is more massive yet. I nearly put out my back lifting that sucker!
In comparison to the Aric Audio 300B SET the two amps are more similar than dissimilar. The PP amp emphasized more power, control and dynamics with a very textured, smooth and effortless midrange. The bass was substantial without being sloppy or boomy. The highs were very articulate, airy and without any harshness.
While the PP possessed much of the texture, timbre, airy and holographic traits of the SET I found I wasn't willing to sacrifice any of those qualities that the SET provides. It was tempting as the PP excels with more genres of music but since the bulk of my listening is acoustical, where the SET really shines, I chose to stay with my SET in the end. Many will probably choose otherwise, especially those that prefer larger scale music, higher listening volumes or have less efficient speakers.
In in conclusion they are both great soundings amps and you can't go wrong with either. Your listening preferences will be the deciding factor. For me the SET "magic" has enchanted me to the point I can't live without it. I sent the PP off to a reviewer so hopefully soon you'll have a professional review to read on it. It will be interesting to hear a professionals impressions and he will certainly write a much more poetic review than I!
@corelli the tubes are EL34. I did think about trying to roll a KT88 or 120. I'm unfamiliar with that so I didn't want to "push" the limits if there are any. According to reviews, I shouldn't have a problem rolling higher. I also thank those responses confirming that break in is mostly what I need. That is awesome to hear. Thanks. My wife just had knee surgery and is home bound for a while. Since she does NOT share my musical passion, those 200 hours will have to wait a while. (because I can't help the need to compress the space with the right sound volume) Does anyone have good resources for acoustic treatment to the room? I'm looking for panels that I can carry in from storage when I want absolute best experience. Acoustics mounted on gator board to place on both side reflective points. Just wondering if anyone has experience with the size. I know to take a mirror and look from the seating position for the reflection of the opposite speaker and place the acoustic panel at that location. Just wondering how big it needs to be and should it be at the level of the mid and tweeter section of the speaker?
This brand seems very intriguing, wish a way to hear without shipping such a large object. Currently have Acoustic Zen Adagio. Might be off topic but as opposed to DI, how bout Electron SE for 1k more. Kinda like the smaller mid-tower. Thoughts on how might compare to DI or the AZ's? both DI and Electron say down to 20khz. Thx
@mac48026 I did put out my back lifting the special pp. those transformers Aric uses are no joke. I’m glad you found enchantment with the set. While I do listen to acoustic most of my listening is rock or large dynamic orchestrations. It’s pushing all the right buttons for me. Please share the review when it comes out. I know I’m sold on what I’m hearing and will not be making a change but it is interesting to read what others have to say.
Well, "Shoot me in the foot with a rubber band!!!" I had the dang speaker cables into the 8ohm output instead of the 4ohm. Um, yeah. I feel stupid now. The sound is amazing (unless it's the placebo effect, but I don't think it is) I'm pretty picky and I think I would be truthful with myself. The sound is way more full range with appropriate base, mid and high. And to think, ha, I ordered the KT120s from Absolute Sound this morning. So yeah, probably going to have base up the wazou now. I'm so stupid.
"Rarely does an audio component cause me to completely reevaluate my ideas and experience about our musical hobby. The Tekton Design Impact Monitor is such a product. With its unconventional ring of one-inch dome drivers operating down to 1 kHz, the Impact Monitor projects an open, detailed, and dynamic sound commensurate with speakers of $10,000 or more. The Impact Monitors are near full range stand mount speakers that produce deep, articulate, and balanced bass in my 20' by 13' living room. With its 95 dB sensitivity rating, I found the Double Impact's exemplary macro and micro dynamic responsiveness highly engaging. My stalwart 60 watts Bel Canto C7R integrated ($3000) paired very well and reinvigorated the listening experience in my home. Furthermore, having recently been connected to an $8000 20-watts tube integrated for several weeks, the Double Impacts revealed unparalleled harmonic nuance, depth of resolution, and emotional expressiveness. Approached with an open mind, the Tekton Double Impact Monitors will reward the listener with hours upon hours of musical enjoyment as they have for me during the last six months. Therefore, I positively confer my 2018 Writer's Choice to the Tekton Design Impact Monitor speakers with distinction."
"This is the third Tekton Design speaker that I've given a Writer's Choice award in the last six years. Simply put, Tekton's designer Eric Alexander just keeps designing speakers that hit every major point that I hold important in a set of speakers, and at prices that a self-avowed bargain hunter like me can appreciate. Though I didn't review the Tekton Impact Monitors, I did get to live with the review set that Victor Chavira wrote about in Issue 98 (HERE) or a few months.
Though viewed as small speakers in comparison to Tekton's larger floor standing models, the Impact Monitor is no mini-monitor, but very much in that traditional near-two-cubic-foot size. They may look much like the top two feet of the Double Impact, but use different drivers and port arrangement. They of course use Tekton's patented tweeter array, where the six outer drivers are driven as a super lightweight midrange driver (above about 1000Hz) with only the center tweeter used for the highest frequencies.
Highly efficient like all Tekton speakers, I used amplifiers from 15 to 100 wpc (both solid state and tube) with great results. Like the larger Double Impact that I gave my award to last year, the Impact Monitor excels in the categories of detail retrieval, natural tonality, dynamic expression and sound-staging. Maybe not so surprising, these speakers were solid into the mid 30 Hz range in my room, and needed no subwoofer for any music I chose to play. In many ways, they may actually perform better in my room than the Double Impact.
It really is quite impressive to see the diversity of Eric's speaker line and the high level at which each performs.
On an off topic note, unlike last year, I think my biking mileage topped the DI post total to date for this year.Corelli--3,014 milesDI Thread--less than that The fall weather in Michigan has been lousy. But there was a window of opportunity yesterday am. But that meant I had to leave in darkness at 6:30 am to complete a 60 mile ride. Full moon, a brighter Venus than I've ever seen. Gorgeous. (Yes, I've got serious lighting on my bike.) Temp 28 degrees with wind chill in the low teens. Lots of layers for this ride! Anyway, it's good to have the 3k monkey off my back. Back to your regularly scheduled program.
I am over 6000 miles and like you have been layering up for 35 degree rides with wind. However, today the temp is 63 degrees here in the Franklin, TN area! Heading out for a short and fast 20 miler!
I ride a Trek Domane S6 Disc. I needed a tall head tube and good geometry for my bad lower back and 6ft 4in height. The Trek 62 fits me very well. I am retired so I have time to ride, build cables and mod gear!
Hope everyone is recovering from a wonderful Thanksgiving, though I'm sure we are not burning off calories as quickly as Bill is!
A couple of points regarding the Tekton SEs.
I have a new preamp in system and the results are remarkable...one of the differences (for me) between the Ulfberths and SEs was the greater body, weight and fullness of the Ulfs. With this preamp in system, that gap has narrowed (significantly). Note: I used [was]. Also Note: Room Size remains a factor.
With this Pre ahead of it, the 2A3 amp is driving the SEs to volumes beyond what I will ever need, including large scale orchestral music.
My conclusion, the SEs can be successfully driven by low power amps and will greatly respond to and deliver on (a wide genre of music), based on specific choices of amplification used [both pre and amp].
@grannyring Bill, sure. I was going to add an additional post more preamp specific, but I got pulled away for family stuff. I'll try to get that out later today or tomorrow.
David, We discussed the Found Music 2A3 Music 2A3 SET (FM) at great length prior to your purchase. As you know I’m not the least bit surprised with your dare I say amazement with its sucess pairing with your Tekton SEs. To be fair this is far beyond even what one would consider a ’good quality 2A3 SET. Your FM 2A3 is a world Class and genuine SOTA amplifier. Even though on paper not an ideal match for the 4 ohm Tektons (this particular FM amp was built to drive 6 to 8 ohm impedance speakers) you have experienced nothing less than superb sound quality. This is the result of a very gifted desiner/builder, superior part quality, superb power supply and extraordinary implementation.
Just imagine what you’ll experience with the intended speakers you ultimately acquired the amp to drive. You decision to pair this amplifier with the unquestionably SOTA Grandinote Genesi was a very wise one.IMO there’s absolutely no surprise for the stunning sound quality provided by the Found Music 2A3 and Genesi pairing. This 3.5 watt amplifier is excelling with genres of music you simply didn’t believe possible. Another example of quality over quantity (power). Charles
Good to hear David! Those FM 2a3's are a sight to behold and the fact they sound as good as they look is better yet. Like you I've found out just how much a good preamp matters and have had very similar results to you with my Hornshoppe The Truth paired with my Aric Audio 300B SET. The DI SE's definitely pair well with low watt amps as much as they do with much more powerful amps. They also are great conduits at revealing everything upstream and they seem to beg for a very transparent preamp. With The Truth I'm hearing the softest and faintest of sounds against the blackest of backgrounds as if the preamp was nonexistent and the SE's effortlessly portray every detail and nuance thrown at them. I'm looking forward to hearing more about your Grandinote.
David, I just finished reading up on your amplifiers. Love the design, parts choice and aesthetics! Makes me want to go out and purchase high efficiency speakers! Nice indeed.
Very interesting matching with a SOTA SS preamp. I will read up more on the Grandinote.
Tom, I also love your tube amplifier from Aric. You guys are causing me to have a bout of tube envy! I have been researching a tube amp build best suited for my Dali Epicon 6 speakers. I don’t need more than some 20- 35 watts as I just don’t play my music loud anymore. My speakers are easier to drive than the specs would suggest. I am itching to build one as a long term keeper.
@charles1dad Thank You! The Found Music 2A3 has me reconsidering everything. Everything.
I had promised a preamp update and I haven’t forgotten, but it needs to wait until I have the right connectors and cabling in system. Run in time for the cables will add another week. I should have a good feel for system performance with the new preamp, the Grandinote Genesi, and the Found Music 2A3 amps by mid December at the latest.
I have already experienced a taste of what’s in store and it is amazing.
@grannyring Bill, Thank You. I realize most would have chosen a tubed preamp. I went with with I was hearing, my preferences, and a desire for a preamp that would allow for (as much as possible) the preservation of the Found Music 2A3's 'sound' / 'impact.' In the end, I decided a solid state preamp would be a better fit (for me and my system). The Robert Koda Takumi K-10 was my top choice.
@mac48025 Tom, It's wonderful hearing your findings on what Hornshoppe's The Truth has brought to your system. As you know, I was strongly considering it, but decided I needed active gain and the build I wanted (when a non-gain pre was a possibility) wasn't available in the near term.
Sorry,,, I can't seem to find an answer here or on the Tekton website. Do the double impacts come with grills, or do you have to order them separately? If they are separate how much extra? Seems like they are delivered a little later than the speakers. It's nice to see the speaker array, but eventually I would rather look at covered speakers.
Aahhh!!! Grilles again! Tim you can find the answer somewhere in the 5000+ posts here, maybe, because Eric might have changed things up.
When I bought my D.I.’s grilles were available as a relatively minor upcharge of I believe $75.00. You probably still have that as an option. Best to give Tekton a call to verify status.
I think it would be most useful to Tim if persons who have ordered speakers with grills lately can let him know if they are being delivered with the speakers, and if not the wait time nowadays to receive them.
I ordered my Impacts with grills.They are shipped separately.When they hadn't arrived a week after the speakers arrived,an inquiry from me got an apology and the grills arrived in two days.
Order the special grill cloth from AcousTex offered by Tekton ($100). They are very superior and transmit 97% of the sound. Many people don't put grills on, but I had to for aesthetic reasons and keeping the cones safe from little kids. I called them direct and got a few samples. I'll be ordering a second set in "Mushroom" just to change up the black ones I got originally. Be careful installing and removing as the little push-in ball points break off easy. I actually like the sound better with the grills on (just my opinion of course)
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