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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 8 responses by teajay

teajay
1,655 posts
 
Hey tyray,

Remember, the DI Monitor is rear ported.  Therefore, if you mean by "bookshelf" that the speaker would have virtually no space between it's ported back and the front wall, it won't function anywhere close to its ultimate level of performance.

So, put it on a great stand like a Sistrum and get it off the front wall at least three feet, and now you are good to go! 
teajay
1,655 posts
 
Hey Guys,

On Friday I received a pair of DI Monitors from Eric for a professional review that will be put up on hometheaterreview.com in the next couple of months.  At this point, after reviewing the DI's, Ulf's, and having extensive experience with the SI's I'm not shocked/surprised from what I'm hearing from these monitors at all.  In my smaller system/acoustic space they are replicating what my Ulf's do in my very large acoustic space.  I'm using a pair of very inexpensive subwoofers that are x-over at 55 and they blend perfectly with Monitors.  Even without them I still get excellent bass extension with accurate tonality.  With the subs I got that last ambient aspect of hall space/imaging if its on the recording.

I have experimented numerous times with super tweeters and have never really got any differences that made a difference to me.  Yes, on Quads or speakers that roll-off much below 20kHz I have heard them make a positive change.  However, other speakers that extend to 30kHz or beyond have had no change for me at all.  So, I don't think you will get much benefit in using this device with the Tekton's because of their already "super tweeter" range. 
teajay
1,655 posts
 
Hey david-ten,

Great question! I don't know, but I hope it goes up quite soon.  It was submitted a good time ago.
teajay
1,655 posts
 
Hey sbayne,

I have the monitors placed on a pair of Star Sound Technology reference Sistrum speaker stands. The bottom of the speakers sits on three brass cups that are sitting on three brass spikes.  These screw into the pillars that are solid metal which connects to a top metal plate and finally a lower metal plate which the brass spikes screw into that go into the floor.  I have never found a better isolation stand then the Sistrum pair, and also use this company's speaker platforms for my reference Ulf's.

I have the monitors slightly toed-in, 6 feet off the front wall, 4 feet off the side walls and about six feet apart.    
teajay
1,655 posts
 
Hey travbrow,

David Ten asked you the question I'm curious about, what amplifier(s) do you use in your system.  In my reviewing process I have driven the Tektons with SS (Usher 1.5) and tubes (AricAudio SET KT-88) and found that with either amplifier the IM's never become fatiguing at high volume levels at all.  You hear the differences between the two amps because the IM's are quite transparent, but never any harshness at all.  I also find that they offer very good bass that is blended in with the rest of the speakers frequencies in a natural way.
teajay
1,655 posts
 
Just got through writing the rough draft on this speaker for hometheaterreview.com and will send it to editor in the next couple of days.  For those of you who already own it, congrats it's a mighty fine speaker, indeed. Nothing is perfect, however, if you set it up right and drive with excellent upstream gear I don't know if there is another stand mount monitor, regardless of price, I would want to own.  It just does not sound like a small speaker, but like a floor stander regarding dynamics and overall imaging.  It's a "BABY DI" for smaller acoustic spaces!  One thing I noticed is that it is VERY important to use high quality speaker stands, otherwise you greatly negatively effect the IM performance.  I used Sistrum speaker stands that teamed up great for ultimate performance.  
teajay
1,655 posts
 
Hello gentlemen,

Thought you might be interested that my review on the Impact Monitors just went up on hometheaterreview.com this morning.  They are terrific performers and I purchased them for my smaller system.  As stated in the review, I believe you have to have the right stands for these to give you all the beauty they can deliver, otherwise you lose out on their ultimate performance.
teajay
1,655 posts
 
Hi dbass,

Thanks for the thumbs up on my review.  The Sistrum stand that I'm using is a three pillar design with a top and bottom plate plus spikes.  If it's not on their website, call Robert to inquire about this stand or if could offer you an alternative model.  I wish I could offer another brand/stand, but nothing came close to the Sistrum on the Impact Monitor.
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