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
I can't believe this thread is still going. It has to be a testament to the achievement and popularity of Tekton speakers. Just to amplify what Allen said about the Ulfbehrts, and I've heard Teajay's system and Ezra's system, the Ulfbehrts with the Beryllium drivers are a definite improvement over the regular Ulfbehrts. I'm not wanting to get into or start an argument because Teajay is a friend, but in my opinion, it's not a subtle improvement. Teajay's Ulfbehrts sound wonderful but the beryllium drivers take the Ulfbehrts up another level. Seriously, if I owned Ulfbehrts and heard Ulfbehrts with the BE drivers, the only thing I could say, or think, would be DAMN!
The real reason for my joining in here, however, is to give Eric Alexander, and his guys, kudos for what they have accomplished. I first got into the beryllium driver craze back in the mid-2000's with the Usher BE-10 and BE20 speakers. The beryllium drivers in those speakers were very revealing and could go from sounding musical, with an open, detailed soundstage, to being bright and aggressive from one track to the next. I felt this was consistent when listening to speakers with beryllium drivers. Suffice it to say; I would not want a speaker with beryllium drivers in it. I was pretty much concerned Ezra was going to be well in over his head and making a big mistake getting Ulfbehrts with beryllium drivers and kept urging him to reconsider or to please go to Teajay's home and listen to his Ulfbehrts before deciding. Then again, maybe Ezra knows more than what he gets credit for.
The only thing that gave me pause was Eric. I thought if he could pull off these designs using his arrays, maybe he can figure out how to deal with the aggressive sound of beryllium drivers. Actually hearing the Ulfbehrt BEs was a total game-changer for me. At no time was there any brightness, or aggressive sounding sonic artifacts. No matter how loud Allen played music. That was just a subtle dig at Allen because I actually played more music than he did and some of it was a little bit loud and some not loud at all. The sense of the music sounding life-like with in-the-room authenticity, with macro and micro dynamics that were off the hook and bass that was outstanding. To make it more interesting, all of this was done using a T+A integrated that I'm not really a fan of. It's a nice enough piece of gear, just not my cup of tea, me being a tube fan. I'll end with this; beryllium drivers in the Ulfbehrts made a significant improvement and takes the performance of that speaker to another level. I have no idea how Eric did it, but he has accomplished something very special.
Hi, this is Ezra, owner of the ulfbhert Be's to which my dear friend Tejay was referring. I have also heard the regular ulfbhert speakers as compared to my beryllium ulfbherts . I find it amazing as to how men perceive and interpret sound differently. first, allow me to give a brief description of my room with which I have lived for twenty years and am most familiar with. my room is 15 ft wide by 26 ft deep by 8 ft high. it is cement on dirt with bank carpet. it is 6ft under ground. not small, but not nearly as massive as Tejay's room, which I have visited many times. I have been quite fortunate as to have such industrial luminaries as, Magico's Alon Wolf, Albert Von Schwiekert, of Von Schweikert speaker company, Barry Ober formerly of JL audio Clement Perry of stereo times and many others , all stating that my room is one of the finest they had ever heard. I have heard the regular ulfbherts on different occasions, and I do find quite a difference. First consider the differences in the materials, cloth vs metal. by the very nature there is an undeniable difference. Just consider the molecular structure of metal and cloth. In my opinion,to deliberately attempt to get them to sound alike, let alone identical, would be a monumental scientific task. To my hearing, the beryllium is quite a bit faster and much more extended and cleaner, however both designs are quite musical. Herein comes preference , or possibly budget. I think Eric Alexander to be quite a genius in his abilities and accomplishments. I think him to be to quite astute. As to double the cost, go through excruciating design changes just to get the same results? I personally would not insult his intelligence. Both speakers, in my opinion are ground breakin, sonically competing way above their price point. As a matter of fact, I sold a $70,000.00 pair of Sonus Faber Lilium's and replaced them with the double impact se's. Why? because in my opinion the double impacts were sonically superior. the ulfbherts? another league. However I think wherever you go within the Tekton line you win. just my opinion, I have no desire to bicker or fight. we are all entitled to our own opinion, this is simply mine. With due respect. Cheer's, Ezra
@charles1dad Thanks, I'll get around to swapping amps soon to see how they fair with the Nords I have on hand, but for a few days I just want to bask in the glory of the sound I'm already getting.
@david_ten Thanks, yeah rarely am I so enjoying my listening session that I'm unable to sleep because I'm enjoying myself to much.
@jcarcopo Fantastic news and results! Congratulations on being the first owner of the Encore. Looking forward to hearing more about these speakers, how they respond to your differing amplification, and differences from the DIs.
The fact that you were up past 3am speaks volumes!
Hi jcarcopo, Congratulations on acquiring your new speakers. It is indeed a welcome discovery to realize that they sound fabulous straight out of the shipping boxes. I get the sense that these speakers have already exceeded what I presume were high expectations. It’s nice to read they sound so well with your 6 watt Diavolo SET amplifier. I suspect that you’ll also be very pleased with your higher powered class D amplifier driving them as well. I’m glad the purchase of these speakers has worked out so well. You emphasize the "natural " sound quality you are hearing. This suggests that the speakers are very transparent and with little/low coloration thus allowing the true beauty of your amplifier to be displayed, very nice 😊. Charles
@stelo I just got the first pair of Encores yesterday afternoon. They required no break-in to sound glorious right of the box which I found odd at first, but I wasn't complaining either. They came perfectly packaged and in pristine condition. The spanish tile polished finish was flawless and came out gorgeous. My initial listening impressions are that it’s more coherant and natural sounding than the DIs in the midrange and with much better bass articulation and weight. The midrange array really shines here guys. Voices and instruments are flat out better, more detailed, effortless, and more palpable with a remarkable liquidity. There’s no sense of congestion and a very noticeable effortlessness to the array that is absolutley non-fatiguing even after going on 10 hours of nonstop listening. This tweeter array goes down to 300hz, a full octave lower. I can’t stress how much I love the natural and effortless presentation of the array. The new 11.1" bass drivers are very detailed and handled koto drums with more slam, definition and detail than the DIs could muster. The image height and width are better than the DIs and the speakers dissapeared without any lengthy attention to placement. They are a lot of speaker, but diminutive enough to work in my modest room size 16’x14.5’x9’. I have zero regrets about this upgrade and I’m glad I didn’t go with the Ulfberhts because they would have been too much for my room size-wise. I’m driving them with 5-6 wpc using my Art Audio Diavolo SET Tube amplifier to very loud and satisfying levels despite they lacking a couple of db efficiency compared to my DIs. There’s something very special about this speaker. Rarely am I so enthralled that I listen to 3am and counting. These speakers are next level for sure and combine really outstanding drivers and crossover parts quality with a price I could live with that made me feel I was getting the improved sound quality to justify their $8500 price tag. I think Eric will sell more of these than the Ulfberhts at their more reasonable price point and their ability to work with a wider range of room sizes. My only gripe, they weigh 175lbs each! I had 4 friends over and they were absolutley blown away by the sound of these speakers. If you get a pair, you will not regret your decision.
My take on the ULF/ULF BE’S. I Have heard both Teajay’s and Ezar’s systems, to my ears the Ulf Be’s are better in every important category. Guys I hate to say this but if you can’t afford to move up this high just keep your Se’s. The Ulf’s are very good but they are a minor step up this is Major and can truly compete with the very best out there. I can’t speak for Mike Wright but he totally agrees with me.
Very interesting results that were a bit surprising to me.
Just got a pair of the last Emotiva XPA-1s with the 60 watts of class A transforming to up to 1000 watts of class A/B. The sound/match with my DIs is riveting.
Have you heard this (older) Emotiva amp? It was their standard for years and they are just now abandoning its older, very heavy technology. No more are available.
Since it has huge amounts of 4 ohm power wonder how it would fare with the Ulfberhts. Eric told me he was using these a year or so ago.
@teajay Terry, thank you for sharing your thoughts on today's listening session. Your comparative points between the two versions of the Ulfberths are helpful! I've got to make that trip to Chicago and hopefully have the chance to listen to both of your systems.
Any word on whether you will be getting one of the newer versions / variants in for a review within your space and system?
@kristofa regarding our conversation about the paint flaking, I was wrong. It is not the spray adhesive at all. It is as you say as a result of moving the speakers with the grills on and worn by the staples. My fix will be a sharpie on those little spots! Greg
Here's my take on take on the comparison between the standard Ulfberth speakers and the Ulfberth Be speakers. I went over to Ezra's house with five recordings I use to get my take on a piece of gear that I'm reviewing for my own pleasure or professionally. Both the T+A and the ULF Be's had been playing for close to 100 hours, which should be good enough time to burn-in to get a realistic take on the performance of speakers. I'm still amazed how well they image in spite of Ezra's relatively small acoustic space. However, the speakers still are five and a half feet off the front wall, two and a half feet off the side walls, with a slight toe-in and his listening chair is about eight to nine feet from the front of the speaker. I do get a deeper, higher, and wider sound-stage with my ULf's, but my acoustic space is vastly, in all dimensions, larger then Ezra's space.
1) On my musical selections played at dB levels that I consider to be the "sweet spot" regarding dynamics and the size of the instruments stays at a realistic proportions I could not hear a difference between the two speakers.
2) Both Ulf's, along with the DI SE's, are complete pure conduits that put out exactly what you put into them. I did hear a difference in the sound of the system driving the ULF Be's. However, I don't believe the Ulf Be's were more revealing/transparent then the standard Ulf's.
3) Eric did share with me that the Be tweeter being a hard dome device compared to the Scanspeak silk soft dome tweeter will measure more perfectly flat at dB levels of 120 or more then the soft dome. However, I never listen to any music that loud, so theoretically the Ulf Be's would play more clearly at those hugh dB volume levels with less break-up/distortion.
4) I did not notice any differences in micro-details/transparency or a lowering of the noise floor.
5) I could not pick-up any significant differences in over all speed or dynamics between the Ulf/ULF Be's.
So, both are world reference level speakers. If there is any overall difference in performance, I could not tell between using the standard Ulf's in my system vs. the Ulf Be's in Ezra's system. The differences I heard would be attributed to the acoustic space and driving them with very different electronics upstream gear.
@kristofa I have Tekton Double Impacts upgraded and my lacquer finish is also flaking behind the speaker grills and I can tell you why. Eric has used a spray adhesive to attach the speaker cloth and then staples. Nothing wrong with that except that the solvents in the adhesive are stronger than the solvents in the lacquer. Mine are flaking as well. Eric doesn't know that there would be a chemical reaction. He will now. Greg
Thank you all for your input. I think I will certainly contact Eric and Karma about the paint issue. The flakes/chips line up perfectly with the grill staples holding the grill cloth. That is the culprit.
The Cardas upgraded binding posts are copper with a + and - sign to indicate polarity. They tighten nicely with a wrench and hold the speaker cables securely. Being copper, they will always change color over time.
Have not had any paint flaking from the grills but suggest you contact Eric or Karma about this. The sound quality of Tektons is without reproach; the same cannot be said about his approach towards grills. I find this a minor issue and Eric was kind enough to send me two sets of grills because he knew my spaniels have a tendency to decorate large black boxes...
@kristofa Others that have the DIs should chime in as I am going off memory. Mine were not color coded. There was a + / - 'label' on the plastic housing around the binding posts. I would not describe the posts as dull copper, but they were not shiny either. Certainly NO oxidation. Hope that helps.
For those who have the upgraded DI’s, what do your binding posts look like? Are they color coded? Polished brass? Dull/oxidized copper?
also, for those who use grilles, has the cabinet paint started to flake near where the grilles interact with the cabinet? Mine have started to flake on both cabinets.
For those of you who are streaming Tidal / Roon, and may have interest, I've ordered a Small Green Computer 'sonicTransporter i7 for Roon DSP.' This will replace my full-on SGC streamer/ ripper/ server.
It will allow me to eliminate the Network Switch as it bridges Ethernet and allows for a direct LAN connection to a player (or DAC). In my system that is the Sonore Signature Rendu SE. The other option I considered was the Antipodes CX.
The Small Green Computer sonicTransporter i7 for Roon DSP (only) run direct from the Router and then direct to my Player....
The result of eliminating the Network Switch and one LAN cable:
Remarkable comes to mind and it's synonyms: Astonishing, Marvelous, Wonderful, Incredible, Amazing. : )
I'll be testing with an LAN filter and LAN cable variations. More to come.
Mr. Chavira's review is spot on regarding the performance of the Impact Monitor. The only caveat I would add on, based on my experience with reviewing them and purchasing them for my smaller system, is that you really have to use a reference level stand to get the I M's to shine to the level that they can provide, otherwise you decrease the over-all dynamics, transparency, and magical imaging of these "baby" DI's.
Remember, both versions of the ULf’s and the DI’s are conduits that purely let the upstream gear to present it’s sonic voice.
@teajay To your above point, I find it absolutely remarkable that the SEs were able to differentiate between two USB Type C DC power cable setups to my Router. Impressive, indeed.
@teajay Thanks for the update on Azra’s Ulfberth BEs and importantly on the clarification that they are fresh out of the box, including his T+A amp, and the room and your personal system differences. It’s really important to know that.
Looking forward to your report on the BEs and Azra’s system in a couple of weeks.
It's too soon to tell, Azra's Ulf Be's have to break-in and his upstream gear is brand new, so therefore let's let him get some hours on the total rig.
My system with the Ulf's sits in a much larger acoustic space and is tuned to be beautiful tube based sound. Azra's system is now powered with the current reference level T&A integrated amplifier which is a terrific SS piece, but sounds different then my system. Remember, both versions of the ULf's and the DI's are conduits that purely let the upstream gear to present it's sonic voice. So, I'll give you more of an objective take on the Ulf Be's in the next couple of weeks and see what are the differences between them and the standard Ulf's that I can get a take on.
Hi Teajay, Thanks for the news, we’re all very excited about these new Tektons. Is it possible to tell us about any differences/advantages of these over reguIar Ulfs? Many
Just wanted to share that Allan and I just setup for Audio Arza his new pair of Ulf Be's this morning. In the past I have found that speaker designs that use Beryllium drivers often had an edge/ bite that I found annoying after listening to them over time. However, remember the Ulf Be's were right out of the crates, this speaker was smooth and had a liquidity in their tonal quality, but were producing great micro-details and clarity without sounding hyper-detailed or analytical.
So, congrats to Azra they sound great in his room and will only get better as they break-in and to Eric who has creatively designed another world class reference speaker that's as good as anything on the market regardless of price.
For those of you who are streaming Tidal / Roon, and may have interest, I've ordered a Small Green Computer 'sonicTransporter i7 for Roon DSP.' This will replace my full-on SGC streamer/ ripper/ server.
It will allow me to eliminate the Network Switch as it bridges Ethernet and allows for a direct LAN connection to a player (or DAC). In my system that is the Sonore Signature Rendu SE. The other option I considered was the Antipodes CX.
Hi everyone - I've been offline for a week (yep a real vacation) so a little late to responding to some questions that are right-up my alley.
@totalwex and @canibefrank - I use the Impact Monitors with dual subs. Check out my system page. I've talked about my experience with them quite a bit. There is also an Impact Monitor thread going here on Audiogon.
@craigl59 - I've always used Paypal. Yes, you have to pay a fee but its worth it. Audiogon has gotten a lot better recently so I would insist the transaction stay totally within the Audiogon system including all payment and tracking information.
Am using Double Impacts, upgraded, and with REW creating a convolution file (impulse and filters) and importing this into JRiver have a resulting flat room response (meaning, all electronics and room) from +/- 5db from 16 to 30k. This is without any subs. The room is very large and, admittedly, favors bass response.
+/- 5db might not sound impressive to spec lovers, but as a final, complete result for the system AND room, it is very good and approaching studio standards (typically around +/- 3db).
SOOO, I strongly believe you do not need a sub with the floor standing DIs if you apply a reasonable amount of room correction -- both physical correction (I use wall deadeners behind and between the speakers) and electronic EQ (such as described above).
Corelli's advice above concerning HSU subs is worthwhile. I use these in studio and HT setups and they work splendidly. HSU builds a very fine product at a reasonable cost and they reach down to 16hz with authority. This 16 figure is of interest because 32 foot organ stops go down this far and produce a powerful roar for the lowest "C" on the organ pedalboard.
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