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Tekton Impact Monitors

Hi All,
I'm relatively new to Audiogon but have trolled the discussions for a few months. I have been listening to Spendor LS3/5As driven by a Quad 34/306 combination since the late 1980's and decided that it was finally time to upgrade my speakers. I love the Spendors but they are very limited in dynamics and scale. I auditioned the SVS Ultra Bookshelf speakers and while they brought some additional scale they simply didn't have the sweet midrange that I can't live without. I listened to some open baffle speakers (Emerald Physics) and loved them, but their size and need for space worried me, and I found them less satisfying at moderate and low volumes, where I do a fair bit of listening. I was fascinated by all the discussion regarding Tekton speakers and was considering getting a pair of Enzo 2.7s, but after a short discussion with Eric I followed his recommendation of the Impact Monitor with upgrade. They have the 7 tweeter array and a pair of 6.5" woofers and are rear-ported. I use a pair of SVS subs (the sealed variety). The Impact Monitors are simply amazing. The midrange is oh-so-sweet (very similar to my Spendors, but with more air) and the detail, even at low and moderate listening levels, is superb. The imaging is even better than my Spendors managed and the scale is huge and is much more music-appropriate. My system is really quite modest but now when I walk into my listening room (doubles as our living room - thankfully my wife appreciates Hi-Fi) I get the audio-show feeling of "being there". I have a Denon DP59L turntable with a DL110 HO moving coil cartridge running through an Emotiva XPS-1 phono preamp and the Tektons are absolutely incredible with classic rock on vinyl. I'm not sure how Eric managed it, but these speakers are superb, even with my 30 year old Quad electronics. I believe they are basically the top 24" of the Double Impacts, but are rear-ported rather than front ported. I can heartily recommend them and Eric and his team are great to work with. I'm not sure how many other Impact Monitors are out there since the pair I have are S/N 0005 and 0006!  
ky1mag

Showing 17 responses by ky1mag

ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
Hi bullitt5094. Thanks for the response and the warning. I was gazing at some QUAD II forty amplifiers this morning! I'll try to be strong...
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
By the way, what are the "Special Edition" versions? I don't see them on the web site. 
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
You are an example to us all! What kind of an example is debatable.

ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
Hi giantsalami,
That is way cool. Thanks for responding and it is great to hear that you feel the same way about them that I do. Great looking setup! 
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
Hi audionut22,
I have not heard the LS50's in my system, but have in an audio shop (in Chicago). They are outstanding speakers, but the sheer scale of sound coming from the Impact Monitors is on a different level. They are much too big for a desktop system, IMHO. I'm listening to a Tuba Concerto right now and the scale of the orchestra sound (and the Tuba) is outstanding. The LS50s sounded big for their size when I heard them, but would still be quite far behind the IMs. The midrange speed of the IMs is also amazing. Keep in mind the IMs are 24 x 10 x 13. They are like a short tower speaker.
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
Hi Stelo,
I haven't listened to any of the B&W 800 series in a long time, so I can't really comment about that comparison. I was listening to some early Susan Tedeschi last night and I was really impressed with how the Tektons kept all the instruments sorted out and separate from Tedeschi's gravelly voice. Keep in mind that the DIs would not be much bigger than the IMs on stands, but still I agree they would be imposing depending on the size of your room. Eric has a return policy, so I encourage you to give them (the IMs) a try. 

ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
Hi sbayne,
I'm listening on the short side, so to speak. The room is 13 x 35 or so and I'm listening across the 12' width. The speakers are 9' apart and right now are sitting directly on top of my SVS subwoofers until I get some stands. The tweeters are just below ear level when I'm in my favorite Ikea Poang listening chair. The front baffle of the speakers are about 30" from the wall and toed in so that they are aimed at a point 4-5' behind me (behind the back wall). This places my ears about 8-9' away from the speakers which is perhaps a little close. The only downside to these speakers that I can discern, and it may be the listening set-up, is that the soundstage is precise but small compared to my LS3/5As. Of course the scale achieved by the IMs is much bigger.
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
Hi danoroo
I haven't made the commitment to stands yet. Right now my IMs are sitting directly on top of my SVS subwoofers (on rubber feet) with the subs spiked to the floor. Seems to be working, but of course I will give some stands a try in the fall when I have more time to investigate. I suspect giving them some space (on stands) will open the sound up even more. I am loving these speakers. 


ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
@why0why The monitors I had (see last post) were upgraded. Interestingly, they did not have the ring radiator tweeters, but instead had the dome tweeters that some other Tekton models have (like the Brilliance I believe). As I explained in my last post, these have big, detailed sound and for my ears did not really work when pointed directly at the listener with a 7-8' equilateral triangle positioning. Hope this helps.
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
Well, I made the tough decision to return my Impact Monitors. I did extensive A to B comparisons with two other bookshelf speakers I have (my Spendor LS3/5As and some extinct Esper Systems speakers; both very warm mid-range specialists) and made the tough choice. Part of the problem is that my listening room is not dedicated and there is very little flexibility in positioning. I borrowed some stands that just did not work and having the IMs sitting on my subs did not get them up high enough. I even tried giving them a little up-tilt. They are great sounding speakers, as I described in my earlier posts, but are quite forward by comparison to my other speakers (which are too laid-back for many folks). When I toed them in so the tweeters were close to directly pointing at the listening position, I found the sound too forward and lacked mid-range warmth (rear-facing ports may have something to do with this). When they were facing directly forward the sound was fuller but the imaging had a hole in the middle (I was too close, probably). 

The IMs have very big sound for their size, and I think my listening position was too close, at least for my ears, and there is no fixing that. I definitely miss the big sound, in particular for classical, but that is only a small part of my listening. I'll try to answer any specific questions but I'm happy that Eric has a generous return policy. 
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
@why0why, @bullitt5094 and @david_ten. I think we were confused by the different names...I am only referring to the Impact Monitors. I have not heard any other Tekton speakers. When I called Eric about the dome tweeters he assured me that the domes gave better performance in this model and Karma (via email, if I remember correctly) implied that the Impact Monitors will have the domes in the future and that they just hadn't had a chance to update the photos and description on the web page. Wonderful speakers, but just did not work in my space, with my rather modest electronics (and with my ears & tastes).  I also wonder about burn-in and if some of the changes over time could actually have been perceived as negative (again, to my ears), due to the detail that these speakers provide. Maybe too much of a good thing?
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
@kdude66 Hi Kenny
I had the IMs for a little more than a month and listened a lot during that time. I would guess I had 125 - 150 hours on them when I finally made the decision. We left them running with FM radio or CD on repeat for several days while we were out. My impression was that they became even more detailed over time and while they were never harsh the midrange seemed to lose some warmth and roundness. Over the last few days I did A to B comparisons and that's what convinced me. Not that the IMs are any "better" or "worse", just that they weren't going to work in that room with my ears. Now I'm repeating myself...I apologize. 
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
@pawsman Thanks for the input on your Impact Monitors and I totally agree about the scale and "impact" they can produce (appropriate name, really). I do have a question, though, if you don't mind. Do your Impact Monitors have the ring radiator tweeters or the domes? I've never knowingly heard a speaker with ring radiators since dome tweeters are much more common. 

I appreciate this discussion...learning a lot.
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
kdude66, giantsalami, pawsman  - The IMs that I had were equipped with SB Acoustics dome tweeters. You could see them through the reflex port. Very interesting. 
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
pawsman I looked at the photos and I believe the tweeters are the same as those in the IMs that I had. You can look inside through the port with a flashlight and see the maker and number of the tweeters and I'll bet they are as kdude66 suggests, the SB tweeters. It is also interesting that you are really happy with your IMs and it just goes to show how the electronics and room, probably more the room, can influence the sound, to say nothing of the actual ears and brain doing the listening. Audio is fun. Music is great. My desert island disk is Jascha Heifetz playing Bruch and Vieuxtemps, recorded back in the early 60's. I've listened to hundreds of hours of live violin, so that is the sound I go after with my system.
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
I just got off the phone with Eric. We had a great conversation about the Impact Monitors that I returned. He tested them both on- and off-axis and declared them "perfect". He is very happy with the performance of the dome tweeter with this speaker and has other very happy owners. He was extremely nice about it, but it is a bit humbling since clearly this is an issue with my ears rather than the speakers. Thanks everyone for contributing to this discussion. 
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
Hi All. I have been following along with this sometimes colorful discussion. I can say, sedond (Doug) that I did not try toeing in so that the direct path of the tweeters crossed in front of the listening position. With time to think about all this, and taking into account the experiences by other IM owners I think the issue in my case was the listening room with the speakers on the long wall. No sidewalls to provide reflections and thus the treble coming from the tweeter array was too forward for my taste. I've been enjoying my Emerald Physics KC II Pros very much, but even then I use the "tilt" function on my much loved (and much maligned by some) Quad 34 pre-amp to tame the treble especially with some CDs and if I'm listening at relatively high volumes (which is rare for me). I suspect that if I had a differently shaped listening room I would still be a happy owner of Tekton IMs. 
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