Tekton Double Impacts
Congrats all around on those developing a brand new love affair with their SEs. I received mine a couple of weeks ago, but have not had much time with them yet. I've been holding off on commenting until I get more hours (a lot more) on them--I found that my Double Impacts changed a lot after 200-300 hours of breaking in. I will say this much--anyone who has been considering jumping up to the SEs and has the wherewithal to do it should be saving their pennies. More to follow... |
@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!!! |
This is not meant to be a combative post so please do not take it that way. I love my DIs with the $300 upgrade. Even more now that I have the Lyngdorf 2170. I believe it to be a screaming deal and that they absolutely compete with lots of substantially more expensive speakers. Now I have never heard the SE. I can see the value in relation to the rest of high end audio but in relation to the standard DI at less than half the price of the SE not sure I’m getting it. Outside looking in it seems like probably better crossover components, slightly modified mid woofers, better paint job, and different voicing. This doesn’t seem to justify over double the cost to me. Very possible I am missing something and again never heard them. Eric is not real open about what you are getting for all that extra dough except it sounds better. |
Hi mofojo, As you know everything is influenced by "the law of diminishing returns", including our hobby. However, the SE's version of the DI's takes this great speaker to a higher degree of finesse and qualitatively does everything better then the standard model. I have spent hours with DI's, SE's, ULF's, and Impact monitors in my reviewing systems. They are all wonderful music makers. There are major internal changes, along with different more expensive transducers in the SE's. If you get to spend enough time with the SE's the DI's will sound slightly "rough around the edges" across the sonic spectrum. Not a revolution, but an evolution of what the remarkable DI's offer at their amazing price. |
Hey rubytuesday, Congrats on your SE's! You are in for a real sonic treat this afternoon. I'm glad that you mentioned Mike Kay of Audio Archon, he really is one of the great guys/vendors of high-end audio gear. He's extremely knowledgeable, honest, and only cares that his customers get what they want out of their systems to enjoy the music. |
Congrats rubytuesday. Great looking room and gear. There are so many great choices to drive the SE’s and your LTA gear will sound great with them. I drove my SE’s with the MZ2 for a while and it sounded great.....within the limitations of one watt output. Even with only one watt it was surprisingly dynamic and loud. The ZOTL 10 should sound amazing as will your vinyl as the SE’s will flawlessly reflect whatever you place upstream of them. Please keep us posted on your impressions as the SE’s break in. Lance, great to hear how well the SE’s are working for you. I think once your speakers and amp fully break in you’ll be in for something quite special. I’ll be very interested in hearing how they perform with your vinyl rig. I also think Mike Kay of Audio Archon is a real gem in the audio world. Knowledgeable, helpful, honest, trustworthy and a joy to deal with. I've purchased a number of items from him, including my SE's, and I look forward to purchasing more from him. I agree with teajay, it's difficult to quantify increased cost with increased performance. I can definitely say the SE's are better sounding than the SE's but not twice as good. Spending twice as much rarely gets you twice the performance. It's not actually twice as much though if you're comparing upgraded DI's to the SE's. My DI's ran $3,750 and luckily the SE's were only $6000 when I bought them. For me the additional $2,250 was well worth it and would have no problem spending much more than that for them as they're that good! Having said that, the DI's are amazing and can understand those that are happy sticking with them. |
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. |
@rubytuesday Great story. Good to know that you and others have been treated so well by Mike. A real brick and mortar option. Wow. This is becoming a rare commodity in this day and age. There really is something special going on with the design of the DI/SE's. Unlike you, I did not have the benefit of an audition--just the encouragement of others like mac that took the leap of faith. Best gamble I ever took. |
Agreed corelli, the DI/SE design certainly is something special. When ordering my DI's I had no idea what they would look like or sound but trusted in Eric's talents and it was a gamble that definitely paid off. One of the many things I enjoy with these speakers is how well they reflect any upstream changes made in the system. I installed the EML XLS 300B tubes today and was immediately rewarded for doing so. The Sophia Royal Princess are great tubes but right out of the box I'm enjoying the EML's more. More bass, even better tone and more detailed. Seems like the soundstage is wider and deeper also. Thanks to Charles for the recommendation. |
Hi Tom, I am nappy to know that the EML XLS worked out for you. It’s a superb tube IMO. Your audio system is very high resolution and you have an excellent 300b SET amplifier. Given this I was confident you’d easily hear the attributes of this tube and you did😊. This tube is exceptionally robust and will last for thousands of hours. BTW the Duelund CAST capacitors you plan to install will only further enhance your (already) fine sound quality and listening enjoyment. Charles |
Hello All - Many thanks for the positive feedback (I feel like it's Valentines Day)! Audio Archon has been in business for about 14 years and 2 years ago we decided to take the plunge and do audio full time (instead of evenings and weekends). It has always been a dream of mine and you have helped make my dream a reality! Could not have done it without you! THANKS! Mike Kay Audio Archon |
Hello All, And thanks, Corelli, for starting this thread. I've read a bunch of it, but not all 4715 replies - WOW, why don't you add politics and religion to the mix so people get involved! :) I am glad to see so many people enjoying this apparently phenomenal sounding speaker. I am not an audio snob (I'm a bit of a music snob, though, unless you're already listening to some quality rock-n-roll, and I'd be happy to tell you what that should be), so to me it should always be about the music. I used to read those hilarious articles in Absolute Sound, what was her name? Enid Lumley? Yeah, Lumley's Corner, that was it. She was probably clinically insane, telling people bat-sh-t crazy stuff, like maybe fart on the ends of your interconnects before you plugged them in because the methane adds depth and air to the upper frequencies, while extending harmonic decay by a factor of ten - which you can measure! Anyway, anyone that far gone has totally missed the point, IMO. Forget adding "lifts" to your cables to get them off the carpet, it's utter nonsense. Put on a record and leave it alone. See, I'm already off on a rant. But I did want to contribute, even though I've never heard the Tekton DIs, though I'd like to. What I can say, though, is I was involved in hi-fi (as a salesman) back in the day when $3,000 was pretty close to the upper limit of what virtually anyone would spend on a pair of speakers. My very similarly sized pair of Snell CVs retailed for around $2,600. A pair of B&W Matrix 802s were also $3,000. The top of the line 801s were a staggering $6,000. K-Horns were also in the $2,000 - $5,000 range, depending on finish. Aside from what were then a few fringe brands, those were the upper limits on speaker prices. Obviously there's some inflation between 1990 and 2018, but not 20 or even 10 grand worth of inflation. There has been a definite and pronounced spiraling out of control in the high end audio market for decades now. It is disheartening, to say the least. Imagine, thinking of the Matrix 802, having a FULLY braced and acoustically dead speaker cabinet, let alone the high quality crossovers they were using at that time, three independent enclosures - one for each driver, that bulletproof Kevlar woven midrange, two high quality ten inch woofers, some nice bi-amp binding posts and a high quality real wood veneer in walnut, oak or black oak - all for just $3,000! That's a serious amount of work and craftsmanship for your money, even in 1990 dollars. Regardless of your opinion of B&W, at least in those days you couldn't claim that were taking advantage of you. There is no doubt in today's dollars that Eric Alexander of Tekton Designs is providing an exceptional value in sound, and probably making a few manufacturers nervous in the process. I know some theories have been bandied about regarding their design, and I believe that those observations are mostly correct. Mr. Alexander has quite deliberately reinvented the accepted physics of loudspeaker design. It reminds me of the subwoofers by Sunfire, REL and their ilk. There has always been a physical law, it even has a name but I'll be damned if I can remember it. But basically it says that with a driver of X surface area and Y "Q" value, and Z P-to-P excursion value, then your cabinet needs to have "this much" volume and "this much" mass in order to reach a particular frequency. There are some pretty intense equations you can check out at this site if you want: https://www.ajdesigner.com/phpsubwooferclosed/resonance_frequency_equation_qtc.php But Sunfire and REL produce incredibly deep bass in surprisingly compact cabinets. You can't just ignore laws of physics when it's inconvenient, or when you really feel like getting a leg up on the competition. So how do they do it? In the case of these subwoofers, they didn't alter the formula one bit. In fact, that law informed their thinking. What they ended up doing was tweaking one single variable of the equation, causing all of the other numbers to change as a result. What did they do? They created a driver with a massive peak to peak excursion measurement. It's been quite a while since I looked, but IIRC, these drivers move, like, four inches or more in their peak to peak excursion. That's way beyond the capabilities of a typical woofer - even a subwoofer driver. When you look at one of these drivers they always have a massive, thick, fat surround. The redesign allows them to travel two, three or four times the distance of a traditional driver. With that number so significantly increased, with the driver moving LOTS more air, all of the other numbers can be lowered. Pretty cool solution, and it totally disrupted the market. I believe Mr. Alexander has tapped into the same type of innovation with the Double Impacts, and he may have realized some unexpected benefits in the process. Several people have already mentioned in this thread the concept of his tweeter array working together as a single driver, and I think this is absolutely correct. Without direct knowledge of his secret sauce, it appears that the six tweeters surrounding the seventh, center tweeter are all working together, and likely crossed over to operate in the upper mid-band frequencies. The result is the mathematical equivalent of one large midrange driver, at least in terms of surface area, but with an effective mass that is no larger than that of any single small, light, rigid and fast tweeter. This would give the speaker heretofore unparalleled performance in terms of micro detail and micro dynamics, as the drivers are light, rigid and can move incredibly fast compared to a traditional midrange driver. Being that all of these midrange drivers working at full capacity would likely result in a very forward, bright presentation, it seems logical that they are voiced at a very subdued level within the crossover, meaning that none of them are probably working very hard, giving way to a very relaxed, effortless musicality. Of course we can't forget the four more traditional midrange drivers. With the six tweeter array handling upper midrange, these two higher mass drivers can be relegated to just the lower midrange, picking up where the bass woofers cross over. Being of a larger mass, this is well within their comfort range, but not needing to operate in the upper midrange, they are relieved of the need to operate at that region's demanding speeds, so they don't have to work that hard. And again, because there are two of them, it seems quite likely that they are voiced well below their full output, adding once again to the speaker's overall effortless presentation, with lots of headroom should you want to crank it up. Combined with the tweeter array, the critical midrange bandwidth is usually the first sonic aspect to start to fall apart when a speaker's volume approaches its upper limit, yet with each half of the frequency range's workload being handled by drivers that are significantly UNDER-driven, this speaker is never under strain. Others have noted that the six tweeter array, being arranged in a circle, with the ACTUAL tweeter positioned in the center, similar to the design of a co-axel driver, probably lends to the imaging capabilities, which makes sense, with information emanating from a single, concentric location. Yet, here's where Mr. Alexander likely reaped some unexpected benefits from his unique design. One of the biggest challenges to soundstage presentation is the speaker's baffle. It's why so often that small monitors, like my little NHT SperZero computer speakers have amazing, holographic imaging characteristics (even though a crappy 35 year old receiver), and why so often it seems that larger, much more expensive speakers don't image as well as these little guys. Kevin Voecks, speaker designer at Revel Audio, is obsessed with his speakers' baffles, and puts great expense into machining away large portions of the speaker baffle surrounding the midrange and tweeters of his Revel speakers. Reducing the size of the bezel also helps tremendously with off-axis dispersion, something that is critical for quality imaging, and, as Revel has found through their use of focus groups, also adds to a speaker's perceived sense of realism and life-like sound. Back when he was designing at Snell, in lieu of expensive machining, he used felt around those drivers on many Snell models in order to trick the drivers into behaving as though they were mounted on a much smaller bezel. Other manufacturers have employed this technique since those early designs. With the Tekton Double Impact, the six tweeter array, essentially working as a single driver, uses the majority of the speaker baffle, thereby gaining the same benefits of a small driver on a small baffle, and while the ratio of driver size to baffle size may be similar, the PHYSICAL size of the array vs the baffle is comparatively enormous, enabling a large, life-like soundstage. Likewise, the focused, transparent imaging characteristics on the DIs are remarkable for a speaker of such prodigious dimensions. Someone also noted Mr. Alexander's fondness for using drivers typically reserved for use in pro audio equipment. Notably, pro drivers are both very efficient (decibels vs power ratio) and unusually mechanically robust, able to handle gobs of power without distortion or overheating the voice coil, a big factor with regards to impedance. Using these types of drivers in a home environment is a bit like using a BMW to lead a foot race. You are vastly under-utilizing the unit's potential. As anyone who's ever plugged a pair of JBL DJ speakers into their home stereo for a laugh knows, this pro audio plays LOUD, has incredible dynamics, and in spite of their high efficiency, they can handle as much power as you'd care to throw at them. Using pro drivers in a comparatively small home environment again adds to the perception that the speaker seems very relaxed, because it is. These components are kind of just loafing along, operating well below their engineered potential. Dynamics, as well as the ability to crank up the volume without strain performs well above expectations. The ported, dual ten inch woofers and large cabinet speak for themselves. I have a similar design in my Snell CVs and bass is never a problem, though if you want to reproduce frequencies at 25Hz and below, a quality subwoofer still has a place here. That's simply a matter of personal preference. Eric Alexander holds his cards close to his vest, as he should. It's a dog-eat-dog world, and while some claim that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, in the business realm it's called theft. He should patent whatever aspects of his designs the law will allow, regardless of the technical explanations behind them. He also should be very proud of the results he's achieved. In today's hi-fi universe, his Double Impacts represent an unparalleled value, and are rightly viewed as a "disruptive" product. In my view, it is well past the time when there should be a conscious effort by manufacturers big and small to push back against the ludicrous, never-ending spiral of more and more expensive audio equipment that began its ascent shortly after I left the retail business in the early 90s. Ridiculously expensive esoteric brands come and go like a summer breeze. It is refreshing to see someone who is grounded, serious, and focused on a novel idea: excellent sound quality at a price people can afford. But that's just my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions, they're like... well, never mind what they're like, the point is that everybody's got one. Sorry for this crazy long post - keep up the great and informative posts! Regards to all, Dan MasterHiFi |
Dan, I enjoyed reading your post which summarizes nicely some of the features of this unique speaker along with your historical perspective. Like you, I have always been impressed with the huge value these speakers offer in today's (as you point out) high end market that knows no bounds. Disruptive is a word that is well applied in this case. None of us have claimed this is the best speaker ever. But the fact is many way more expensive speakers have been displaced by the DI/SE speakers. If you look at other threads (some now deleted) there is clear evidence of that "disruption" and how unsettling it is for some. That's rather sad really. Here Mr. Alexander offers a gift to the audio community only to have some rip on him for doing so! Oh well. Guess that's the disruptive force at work. Thanks again for posting your thoughts. Now you just need to hear them!! |
@corelli - I agree, it's a great product that numerous people have fallen in love with, and paid much much less than most of the "boutique" gear out there. My take is that the naysayers are focusing on one aspect or another and obsessing over it to no end instead of simply enjoying the music. This is clear in any field, motorcycles, cars, audio, etc. Someone asks "Why did they do it that way, I read that it's best another way"- and so it begins. However, like most things we only hope the better traits of people shine through and overshadow the static. Best, Aric |
Dan, Thanks for the extremely thoughtful and well stated post. I believe you've hit the nail on the head. I have to chuckle at the no talent a$$ clowns ( sorry, one of my favorite lines from Office Space) that think they have all the answers as to why this speaker can not sound any good without ever hearing them or understanding how they work. I totally respect anyone that has listened to them and found them not to be their cup of tea. No one speaker will please everyone, but the SE's are the closest I've found in doing so. Very disruptive products indeed and a real boon to those of us that can't or won't spend tens of thousands on speakers. Arics producs fall into the same disruptive product category in my opinion. Together with the Tektons one can own an amazing system for much less than one would think for the sound quality obtained. 4700 plus replies to this thread? Who'd have thunk it? Religion and politics next? Ummmmmmm.......let's stick to audio 😀🔉🔉🍺🍔🎼 |
Here's a point that holds true for me, and (I believe) it does for most who have also moved to the SEs...(and the Ulfberths)... For those who are deciding between the Double Impacts or the SEs, I encourage you to consider or, at the very least, factor this in. Since the SEs went in system, my entire system is different than it was with the Double Impacts. What's New: the SEs, Amplification (Pre/Amp), DAC, Renderer, Power Supply, Cabling, etc. It is a completely different system than what I had with the Double Impacts. The exceptions: the very front end of my computer audio chain [server / network] (early in the process of also changing) and the isolation components in my system (which I may re-evaluate). As I read posts made by other members who have the SEs, I see a similar pattern (mostly). Our hobby is naturally one of improvement and upgrades, but I see a number of us (myself included) moving rapidly in this area. The SEs are Most Deserving of it. |
I Have have been following this thread for a long time but primarily as a voyeur because I did not feel I have the knowledge or experience to contribute very much. However, I am inspired to pipe up now. To anyone debating between the DI and the SE I went through the same dilemma. At the end of the day I went with the DI although with upgraded electronics and paint. The reason is because I am also upgrading all of my components from modest gear to something more high end. I am thrilled with the DI even through modest gear. All I can say is ditto to what every one else has already said. Here in a few weeks I should have enough in the audio savings account to get the pre amp and amp I’ve been lusting after (yes I have a separate savings account just for my planned upgrades while maintaining my emegeny fund and not defaulting on my mortgage). Even without hearing the Se I think I made the right call for my situation. Anyone in a similar situation or if you just can’t make audio the focus of your finances right now I can not imagine anyone being disappointed with the DI. If your situation is different it might be worth saving your nickels and dimes a little longer. Maybe in a year or two I’ll get the SE. I would also like to thank everyone on this thread. I’ve learned more here than anywhere else and I hope this thread continues. It’s the best! |
David, Like you I've upgraded my entire system since getting the DI's, including upgrading the DI's to the SE's. The DI's allowed me to truly appreciate the music more than any other speaker I've owned, causing me to reevaluate my entire system in order to get the most out of these amazing speakers. So buyers beware, while the DI's/SE's sound great with any level of gear they tend to inspire you to get the most out of them by buying even better components than you have. What did you say, Aric? I couldn't hear you over the music 😜 Congrats xenophon! I think you made the right decision with the DI's, you can always get the SE's down the road should you choose. I could have lived happily ever after with the DI's but I'm definitely happy I got the SE's. Good luck with any future upgrades you make in your system, the DI's will certainly get the most out of any new gear you get. |
Eric informed me via fb that my mini-ulfberhts were nearing completion. So I'm guessing I'm allowed to mention it here now. They just need a polished finish and final assembly and I'll be enjoying them very soon. I'm excited to hear them and can't wait to see how they turned out in Spanish Tile color with a high gloss finish. |
@charles1dad I will be driving them with the Diavolo or a pair of Nord ncore monoblocks. Unfortunately, the Lyngdorf was supposedly stolen by a substitute UPS driver and I’ve been supposedly* refunded for the transaction due to this mishap as the police supposedly have the lyngdorf as evidence. This person has lied so much to me that I’m not sure what to believe, but I say "supposedly" thrice because honestly I don’t if they are full of caca. They’ve managed to delay me a month on 2 power conditioners I ordered, and this lyngdorf purchase. If you do business with core power technology, God help you is all I can say. Edit: *Supposedly because the refund is delay from PayPal due to lack of funds from the merchant. |
Jcarcopo, Good grief, sorry to hear about your troubles with this particular vendor. I hope it all works out in your favor ultimately. Well in terms of power amplifier selection you are certainly at two polar ends of a broad spectrum (wattage and topology), that is for sure. I do look forward to your listening impressions. Charles |
@charles1dad Oh, the Nords are on the same page as the Diavolo. They are more alike than different. I was happy with both equally. I might say the Diavolo was a smidge smoother, but the Nords are very adept at dynamics and graceful while doing it. They are nearly the perfect embodiment of both solidstate and tubes. Their custom buffer stage is something else. |
@treebeard1 You are probably the reason my speakers are Spanish Tile! Did you post pics of your di’s on FB and I asked you what color they were ans you told me they were Spanish Tile?Then thank you very much sir! @charles1dad I’m totally covered. I was hoping to utilize the lyngdorf as a 2nd zone listening room source/dac/amp, but its fine, I’ll be okay 👌despite having dealt with two separate entities that jerked me around trying to acquire one. |
Congrats jcarcopo, I can't imagine you not being happy with the new speakers. The color sounds cool also. Sorry to hear about your dealings with CPT but it's not surprising as he pleaded guilty to fraud, or something like that, in his previous audio business. I don't remember the particulars but Google his name to learn more. Hopefully you'll get your refund but it may need to obtain an attorney to do so. Please keep us informed of your impressions of the mini Ulfbehrts. It would be interesting to hear how they compare with SE's. |
@mac48025 - Thanks for the information. I'm glad you told me. I will know by Monday if the refund was applied via PayPal after they retry his bank account. If that doesn't go through I will seek a claim directly through PayPal. My case is iron clad since he did initiate the refund at least despite it bouncing his checking account once already. I'm really excited about the mini Ulfberhts. I can't wait to hear them. I hope they are able to be driven by my set amp. The efficiency is a bit lower; around 95db, but hopefully my emission labs 300b xls can still drive them at 13wpc, but if not the Nord monoblocks are 400wpc into 4ohms and they already sound great on my di's. They really are very good class d amps. My friend borrowed them and put them up against class a pass labs monoblocks and they fared quite favorably. |
@xenophon +1 on your "piping up" as you put it! Great to have you on board with the DIs and also contributing here. Keep up posted on developments. BTW, what are the amplification components you are "lusting after?" @jcarcopo Congratulations on the Mini-Ulfs. REALLY looking forward to your impressions once they have settled into your system. The Diavolo's 13 Watts should be more than enough, and when they aren't you've got the perfect replacements! All the best with settling the refund. |
@xenophon Glad you are so happy with your DI's and hope you keep contributing to the thread! It's fun to hear from members that have read this thread for many months finally take the plunge. @jcarcopo I will be curious to hear your impressions. Would also like to know what drivers are employed in this design. Look forward to hearing from you. |
@david_ten there are many I’ve been lusting after but I’ve been paying particular attention to the experiences of the members of this thread as I’ve come to trust them. The Lyngdorf gets a lot of love and I’m sure it would be a smart choice however I’ve wanted to go tube for a very long time. Linear Tube Audio also gets a lot of love but last night I pulled the trigger on Aric Audio’s Mother Load preamp. After this I will be saving up for new power amp. Aric’s new Push Pull looks very intriguing and I can’t wait to learn more about it after it is released. |
Ozzy, Did you see the newer brushed aluminum chassis? While more expensive I think they look nice and are more robust also. Not pyramidal though! 😀 Xenophon, I concur with laaudionut, Aric is great to work with and his gear is first rate. I don't have the Motherlode but will either upgrade my 12SN7 pre with the Duelund caps or get the Motherlode. I like the idea of the separate power supply. I too am anxious to hear more about the upcoming 300B PP but will probably stay with his 300B SET and have its caps upgraded to Duelunds also. Aric's gear mates well with both the DI's and SE's so you're in for some happy listening!🎼🔉 |
@laaudionut thanks, I am excited to get it. No doubt he puts a lot of money into quality parts. I only have to be a little patient. I’ve enjoyed my interactions with Aric and certainly Feel good that I can communicate directly with the designer. @mac48025 I like the latest case work as well. I think it’s attractive and durable. It drives me nuts that some designs have the tubes buried Or hidden. That’s the main thing I want to see. |
Hey xenophon, Congrats on your choice of the Mother Load preamplifier. Aric is a very talented designer/builder, besides being a good guy, who builds great performing high quality gear at very reasonable prices. After I reviewed his KT-88 SET amplifier I purchased it to use in my systems. Right now I have is new P/P single chassis amplifier in for review and its "killer" performer in that it offers the color/tonality and image density of a SET design , but offers twice the watts to be able to drive less sensitive speaker loads. You have a lot of fun coming your way when you get to hear your new preamplifier in your system! |
@xenophon Congratulations on your choice to go tubed and also Aric Audio all the way!!! I just pulled up Aric's website and it's wonderful to see how he has expanded his component offerings and the wide array chassis aesthetics over the past nine months. @jcarcopo Do you have more specifics on the Mini-Ulfs? Differences versus the SEs? Thanks. |
Hi gang... This thread has been fantastic! I picked up on it back around page 60, went back and read most of everything, then kept up with it until now. I am seriously thinking of pulling the trigger on a pair of Tektons mostly based on what I’ve read here and from reviews, and from what a friend who heard the DI’s at RMAF told me about them (and he knows my taste). But the size is a bit daunting to me for my space. I even built cardboard facsimiles (nerd) of the DI and the Electron to get a sense of their presence. The Electron seemed large... the DI was borderline frightening. I’ve had Magnepan 1.7’s before, yet somehow the DI’s seem more imposing. But then I imagine it’s all relative to the space and positioning. Honestly, the Maggies were too big for me, too. I could live with the Electrons, or possibly even the Monitors, but from what I’ve read I don’t think the Monitors’ bass would satisfy. I’ve never bought speakers unheard before, and I would really like to give them a listen, whether it’s DI’s, Electrons, or even the monitors, just to get an idea of the flavor. Would there be anyone in the Austin, TX vicinity (within 2 hours or so) who might be willing to let me listen to theirs? Thanks again for all the great, non-volatile, conversations. The electronics discussions have been as interesting as the speakers stuff, to say the least. Patrick |
Hey Patrick, I reviewed the Impact Monitors for hometheaterreview.com, along with the DI's and Ulf's, and can tell you that the stand mounts do not lack for bass extension and power. If you don't have the space for the bigger brothers you will not be missing out at all regarding the power region/bass and get all the other virtues of the floor standers. |
I would like to add to Lancelock's impression that DI's that the pairing with the LTA ultralinear is a good one. The bass response is extraordinary for a 20 watt tube amp.Great transparency and detail. The only thing I haven't reconciled is the price point and Herb Reicherts concluding remarks(albeit for the zotl40) |
