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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 travbrow

travbrow
272 posts
 
I've had Impact monitors for a couple weeks now. I think they offer very good clarity, resolution and are very efficient, but comparing to my Emerald Physics EP 4.7 the bass is a little unnatural sounding to me. Also I think the EP 4.7 portray the dynamics of music better and better ability to sound non fatiguing at high volumes. At this stage I prefer the soundstaging and imaging of the EP 4.7 also, I guess the open baffle design works better for me in my room, plus I have the ability to customize the response to the room with the DSP unit, which I did.

Anyway, I really like the Tektons but not sure if I will keep them at this stage. 
travbrow
272 posts
 
Hi guys, I only tried my Odyssey Extreme SE monoblocks. These are warm to neutral I think campared to other amps I've owned. I have an Emerald Physics EP 100.2 SE that I use for the mids and tweeter of the 4.7, those have more sparkle in the top end that works good for 4.7.

 I did some quick measurements of the Tektons with REW and from close up (about 3 feet) they measure very well from 200 to 20,000hz Within 2.5db.  20 to  200hz there are s some peaks and valleys which is expected. The biggest peak is about 6db at 85hz. Measuring from listening positions things don't measure as well and small changes in mic positions change the response in the upper region quite a bit which is true for all speakers I would think. I can find a mostly flat region at the listening position. Move the mic less than a foot and the highs slop down some. Though it's not a big change in the sound quality.  The 85hz peak is up to 15db out in the room so is probably the bass anomaly I hear. Rooms change bass response quite a bit. 

 I have a pair of DIY 15" Dayton Ultimax subs for HT and to handle the bass below 40hz. I didn't cross over the Tektons yet, just ran them full range with subs filling the bottom octave. I wanted more time on the speakers before I get too wrapped up in messing with sub settings and eq for the bass peak. Plus I would need to use a mini DSP unit, I wanted to hear the speakers first without any kind of digital crossover and correction. 

Also my left ear is sensitive to certain high frequencies (slight tinnitus) so the speakers are probably not the problem and the Emerald Pysics may well be a little rolled of at the frequencies that irritate my tinnitus. 
travbrow
272 posts
 
I'll add that the Tektons have really nice smooth highs and dig out all the details of the music and I can hear the details at modest volume levels, the EP 4.7s sound best at higher volumes and have different presentation being open baffle. The musics seems to "float" around the speakers for lack of a better description. With The Tektons the music sounds more like it's coming from a source, the box enclosure. 






travbrow
272 posts
 
 I did tinker with the positioning some. I have the Tektons 42" from the front wall 24" from side walls measured from the back and outside of the cabinets, and about 8 feet apart measured from the center tweeters. The center tweeter is about in line with my ears. I'll admit there's not a lot of hours on them but how much do they change? 
travbrow
272 posts
 
Also moving them a little at a time doesn't seem to change the sonic character that much to me. I have ceiling and sidewall absorption panels so I don't think reflections are causing much issues. They just sound a bit too forward for me at higher volumes and don't have the dynamic scale I'm used too. 

 I can see how folks like them though they have plenty of resolution and detail and maybe better suited for tube amps which I don't have. 
travbrow
272 posts
 
Maybe 75 hours, I paid $4500.00 for the EP 4.7. I was using subs for the low bass with Tekton monitors. The main reason I wanted to try the Tekton monitors was to hear the tweeter array and after reading some highly positive comments on forums, that peaked my interest. I probably would of liked the DI better, but really don't care for the looks plus less flexibility with adjusting the bass response to the room. 

 I don't believe speakers change that much after 50 hours or so...at least in my limited experience.
travbrow
272 posts
 
I'll update my experience with the Impact Monitors. I'll start off with mentioning other speakers I've owned to give an idea of my experience with different models. 

After mostly budget Speakers like Advent and Bose, I bought NHT 2.9 as my first high quality speaker set. They were good but a little forward. Moved to Odyssey Audio Lorelei, I owned those for at least 8 years. Enjoyed them very much. Owned Vapor Audio Cirrus with the RAAL tweeter for a couple years until I bought the Emerald Physics 4.7 which I still own. Those were very nice also but wanted to try open baffle and compression horn type speakers. Also I built a pair of Epique CBT24k line array which is a kit from Dayton Audio,  I am using those as surrounds, didn't do much listening as mains yet.

 I didn't audition the Tekton Impact monitors for very long mostly because though they are very good, not enough for me to want to retire and try to sell my Emerald Physics. I'm guessing with more time the Tektons would of grown on me more but I think I would of missed that open baffle sound I like.

 I think the Tektons are a very good value and definitely worth an audition, I think they would compete with more expensive offerings. One thing that I found lacking was with some music the bass didn't sound right and wasn't on par with highs/mids which is excellent. Could of been my room or maybe the stands I used. The Tektons offer very good detail, resolution and efficiency. Imaging and soundstage good also. But couldn't compete with my EP 4.7 at higher listening levels as far as realistic dynamics and a smoother presentation.  

I returned the Tektons and received my refund without any problem. Anyway, definitely worth an audition, especially if you are not very satisfied with your current speakers, these could make you very happy. 
travbrow
272 posts
 
Hukkfinn, I have daul 15 in subs that I used with the monitors. Should of helped level the comparison. I mainly wanted to hear the new hyped tweeter array to get an idea of the Tekton sound. I liked the sound, but not enough to want to try the DI or other bigger Tekton models, for various reasons.
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