Tekton speaker comparison thread

The Moabs in my room replaced Talon Khorus that were I think about $16k when new back about 20 years ago. The Talons replaced $2500 Linaeum Model 10 speakers from a small company in Portland, OR. Had JBL L7 before that. A hideously awful speaker in hindsight. Not one good thing to say about it, except that it will play real loud.

Also some time in there a guy trying to sell his Vandersteens brought them over thinking I might bite. This was when I had the Linaeums, and it was not that close. The Model 10s had terrific tone and threw a simply wonderful deep wide 3D sound stage. Vandersteens (sorry, forget the model) weren’t even close. My best audio bud at the time and also a dealer agreed. He had no skin in the game.

Until years later he got me a demo deal on the Talon. Which I bought not because of the deal but because they were the best sounding speaker I had heard that I could afford back then. Was still pretty happy with them right up until I got the Moabs.

Moabs are in a whole other league. The only comparison with anything else is imaging, where they are "only" a little better than the Linaeums. That’s not a knock, those had just spooky good imaging! In every other category the Moabs are totally better in every way. Tonally more open and natural, cohesive, and way, way, way more dynamic.

In fact, this is not in my system but there’s way more expensive Wilson’s here in Seattle that don’t do for me what my Moabs do. Maybe its the electronics, don’t know. Only two other speakers I have ever heard that I would consider, Eggleston Works Andra and Avalon. Don’t recall which Avalon it was. Eggleston was wonderful but wouldn’t touch a sub-90 dB speaker with a ten foot pole! Avalons were expensive but oh did they sound good! Don’t recall what was in that system but do remember it being fairly similar to mine at the time.

Those are all that have been in my room since I don’t rotate components much. So the speakers I have heard, mostly were there for years. They were heard with different components. Consequently I have a really good idea what was the speaker and what was related. Moabs are so much better than any of these others, probably even much better than the Avalons, it is hard to describe adequately.

Would be nice to have something else in the room to compare them to. More than anything though what I would like to compare them with are Moabs with all Be tweeters, Encore, or Ulfberht. Everything else I have a feeling will come up short.

Interesting. Would have been cool to compare to the wilsons in your room with your gear. But sounds like you have a great system.

Yes well it would be cool to compare. But when I think of how much work it is lugging 150+lb speakers, precisely positioning, then I think of the one guy whose opinion I trusted most saying don't bother (neither of us ever could figure out what is supposed to be so great about Wilson) then I pretty much lose interest. Andersteens were supposed to be so wonderful, and the ones I heard weren't even up to my less expensive Linaeums. Yet people rave and worship. Oh well. That's why they all manage to stay in business I guess. Horses for courses.

hey miller your listening room looks like the velvet room from twin peaks

I have a pair of the Ulfberhts that I am delighted with. They replaced a pair of Martin Logan Summits that in turn replaced a pair of Martin Logan Quest Z’s.
  The first time I heard a pair Martin Logan speakers was at a house party, I fell in love with their sound and I was determined to get a pair. I have had ML speakers for at least 15 years and my surround sound system is all ML including a pair of their 212 Balanced Force subs.
 In his Home Theater review of the Ulfberhts Terry London  said “ they have the clarity,  coherence and resolution of a large electrostatic design.” After owning electrostats for years ,I agree completely with this statement.
My only regret with the purchase of these speakers was with the color I chose which is black. I should have spent a little more for a custom color. The reason I didn’t was due to the fact that you could not return custom color speakers if you didn’t like how they sounded . Hopefully ,they no longer have this policy.
The Ulfberhts are the most revealing speakers I have ever owned and since I have purchased them ,I have made many changes to my electronics and cables and they immediately tell you if a change works or not.
If there is anyone living in Central Maine who would like to hear them, I would be glad to demo them for you. One of my buddies has a pair of the SET’s which he really likes but is considering getting a pair of the Moabs. Another buddy is very interested in Tekton speakers after hearing mine. 

Not surprised. You are not the first lwin to say Tekton has the speed, clarity and coherence of ESL. There are quite a few comments out there just the same, including this one which the whole interview totally belongs on this thread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RxRTFx6Cd0   

Billy has Double Impacts and starts talking about them here https://youtu.be/7RxRTFx6Cd0?t=350 although really the whole interview is worth it if you are looking for perspective. This guy has a lot of perspective!

@MC thanks for the links. It is very interesting  to find out that a professional musician is hearing basically the same thing from his Tektons as I do from mine. As you probably know Eric Alexander is also a drummer. 
Like a lot of buyers, I did not have the opportunity to listen to any Tekton speakers so professional reviews and audiophile  forums were my only way to get an idea as to whether or not I would like the speakers. 
Since I have had the Ulfberhts I have changed my speaker cables twice and had 4 amps from different manufacturers in house before settling on a pair of tube and solid state mono’s. Even with all the changes I have made, I believe I could get more out of the Ulfberhts if only my wallet would allow it.

Worthwhile improvements don't have to cost a lot. You could put Nobsound springs under them, 2 sets $60, very nice improvement. Townshend Podiums will of course be even better, a lot better, but Nobsound will surprise you. They sure surprised me.

The bargain shocker for me right now is these cheap Schumann generator circuit boards. The cheap $15 ones are identical to what's inside some $300+ units. Just one is a fairly nice improvement and more is even better, I'm up to 7 while Mahgister is running 9, just a wonderful deep liquid stage, a lot more natural sound for not much money.

I know people love to knock these tweaks. Their loss.  They work.

I have been tempted to buy the Moabs. I have a buddy who heard them at a reviewers home during one of the Axpona shows and did not like them.  Gave me pause but may not ultimately stop me from acquiring them.  I am now at 4 two channel systems at two residences.  My best speakers right now are Revel F208s modded by Asi Teknology, Doug Jesse, and they are simply stunning.  

I have had the Tekton Moabs with BE tweeter and upgraded crossover for about 7 months.  I think they are fabulous speakers, especially for the money.  I also have a pair of Magnepan 3.7's set up in a second room.  The ribbon tweeters in the 3.7's do create a better top end with more air but I prefer the Moabs in every other way and do almost all of my listening on them.  I have directly compared the Moabs to the Pure Audio Project Trio 15 horns, Spatial Audio M1's, Emerald Physic CS2's, Vandersteen 2Ce's, Magnepan 1.7's, Zu Audio Omen's, and KEF LS50s among others.  None of them comes anywhere close.   I have not had the opportunity to listen to truly high end speakers, much less buy and compare them to the Moabs in my own home.  

For whatever reason, the Tekton Speakers attract haters and devotees in about equal measure.  Almost without exception, the people that own Tektons are happy, and the people that own Moabs are ecstatic.  I think it is notable that  Jay's Audio Lab auditioned the Tekton Ulfberht's on his YouTube channel with generally positive comments.  His current speakers are $170,000 Magico M6's!  BUT, I do think that people who claim the Moabs are equal to speakers costing 10x as much probably have no basis for saying that.  Since I am able to compare the Moabs with the Magnepan 3.7s whenever I want I can tell you there is plenty of room for improvement in the Moabs.  My perfect speaker would combine the incredible detail and treble response the 3.7's offer with the stunning soundstage, great dynamics, terrific bass, and rich involving sound the Moabs have.  What I can't tell you is what that perfect speaker is or how much it would cost!

The Moabs also work well with every kind of amp ranging from the flea watt Dennis Had SET amps on up to the 700 watt PS Audio M700's.  I have built 4 First Watt DIY amps and the Moabs are very revealing of the differences between them which is a huge positive.

Bottom line is I would recommend the Moabs without reservation. 

I am using a pair of Enzo 2.7 speakers.  They replaced Usher Dancer Mini One.  I can't say that the Enzos are an upgrade over the Ushers because each have strengths the other can't match.  The Enzos can't compare to the treble of the DMD tweeter in my Ushers, nor do they resolve and delineate each instrument the way the Ushers can.  But, what the Enzo 2.7s do have is dynamics!  They are fast and they do drums and vocals well, and since I'm a rock n roll fan that works for me.  But, if I could find a speaker that had the properties of the Ushers AND the Tektons (for under 5k), I'd sell both pair of these speakers in a heartbeat.

I will be the dissenter in the group and say I purchased the Tekton Double Impact Be to replace my Focal Sopra No.3 and was disappointed with the outcome.  I think the Be upgrade tweeters Eric used in this design were not a good choice and I see he no longer offers that specific Be tweeter.  I do think it's important that people who are shopping for Magicos or Focal or Wilsons know Tekton just isn't there (yet).  That doesn't mean however Tekton speakers are without merit!  If you are interested in reading the full write up I posted it here: 

 

 

I’m not here to poop on the Teton parade,k? I’ve been buying every speaker I can find on AG that list between $15-$35,000 and one thing I’ve found is there isn’t a perfect speaker. 

@benarritt  I have never heard the Double Impacts but I do have the Moabs with BE tweeters and I had the opportunity to audition the Focal Sopra No 3’s for about an hour at a local dealer. The Focal’s were a very interesting speaker and they had the best bass I have ever heard playing the Hell Hounds of Krim by King Crimson. They also had what I would describe as an exaggeratedly warm and resonant mid-range. It was easy to like, but I’m pretty sure I would tire of it over time. The soundstage was markedly worse than the Moabs. The highs seemed quite recessed to me and listening closely to cymbals or triangles there was a harshness to the highs that I think explained why Focal choose to dial the upper end back. I don’t think it is a surprise that if you like the Focals recessed highs you might feel the DI’s were too much.

Overall, I can understand the preference for the Sopra No 3’s, but I never felt tempted to replace my Moabs with them. On the other hand, I do lust after the Wilson Sasha DAWs, but don’t expect to afford them anytime soon.

And I would note that you are comparing a $4250 speaker with at $24,000 speaker. It isn’t 3x as expensive as you said in your review, it is 5.6x as expensive. People that have heard both claim the Moabs are dramatically better than the Double Impacts. I have no idea if that is true, but it seems plausible to me and Moabs are only 25% the price of the Sopra No 3s.

Anyhow, I have no interest in getting into another one of these endless love/hate debates over Tekton speakers. But I really don’t think the vast majority of people that own DIs or Moabs would think the highs are shrill or hard. A more valid criticism would be that other speakers offer more micro detail and coherence. I have had speakers like that in my system and appreciate those attributes but I always come back to the Moabs for their musicality, soundstage, and density and they are plenty detailed for me.

 

Hi Benarritt,

You purchased the first pair of all Be DI’s and I recall us going back and forth about the speaker producing a bit too much upper midrange and being a bit too forward. I proposed we adjust the speaker and you chose to ship them back over allowing me to make the minor adjustments to the speaker. Think of it as a sound engineer adjusting a volume pot on a mixing console. I took your critique seriously, made a few new measurements, and ultra-fine-tuned the new design. While sound is entirely subjective I can assure everyone viewing this thread the Double Impact all Be is absolutely magical. We’ve even placed the identical all Be array in the smaller Electron model and it’s magical too. IMO, you cannot do better than going all Be in the midrange like we do with the new Matrix array model.

Eric Alexander - audio designer

@tektondesign  Eric so good to hear you are a proponent of measure and listen. Some here, including your fanboy Albert lack that essential understanding. My best to you. 
jim

Hello Tekton owners/aficionados, I’m getting ready to take the leap into the Ulfberht club and am looking for anyone within a few hours drive from Northern Virginia who would allow me to hear their speakers.  I heard the Moabs briefly a few years ago at a show and liked them, but really need to hear the Ulfs or the Moab’s again.  I’ve got a pretty decent wine cellar and would love to bring something nice with me to either share or leave for my host.  I’d also be happy to have folks come listen to the Dynaudio Consequence Ultimates I have now as a comparison.

@pinwa which speaker did you have in your system that had more microdetail?

@audioezra care to comment on the difference between Double impact SE and SF lilium ? Thanks!

 Btw this guy: https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649930284-tekton-double-impact-se/

Moved from DI SE to Proac d48R. Just a data point.

@smodtactical All of the Magnepan speakers I have owned have had more micro detail than my Moabs.  

https://fromwhatihear.substack.com/p/tekton-double-impact-be-vs-focal

Speaking of Speakers! 

I have been quietly reading these Tekton speaker threads. I have had a few experiences that shed light on the differences that people hear. One such encounter was when a maggie guy came over to my house with his point to point wired low wattage (7?) amps. We were at it for hours listening and comparing. Great times actually. My system was all BAT. VKD5SE tube out put CD player (no longer functional) VK51SE tube pre-amp and VK55SE tube amp. Zu Mother power chords plugged directly into isolated circuit in wall. Cerious Graphene speaker cable and ICs. Early model Tekton DI. Mr. Maggie thought they were pretty damn good sounding. I have never heard Maggies so I had no reference. We would switch out amps and listen. There was a huge difference between a 7wpc point to point tube amp and a 55wpc auto biasing Viktor amp. The PtP amps were soft and tubey. Detailed but they could drive the effecient DIs. The BAT gear would do the same with gusto and power. The detail was there but the overall power to drive the speakers created larger soundstage, solid bass, and mids were very present. I was choosing the CDs that had the best sounding recordings for the comparisons. One of the cds had a goat in the background that was just scary because it was unexpectedly life like. This demonstration was done a few years ago and since then the VKD5SE failed so I purchased a Marantz Ruby. I like the Ruby quite a lot. One thing i have found about the DI's is the bass is phenomenal. It isn't quite perfect but it is very very good. Lot's of air movement, speed and clarity. Bass slam comes to mind. If I want to I can turn it up and feel it. I never understand when someone says that the DI's lack bass. I have cloth stuffed in the ports to tone the bass a bit. Every recording is different and the DIs are like studio monitors in that way. They reveal every detail in every way. Melody Gardot is stunning on this system. Her recordings have so much detail that one sits awestruck at the sound. The Ruby is an SACD player. I purchased a few SACDs to see what the difference might be and of course it totally depends on the recordings. With some there was not a lot of difference and others there was a huge difference. I have redbook cds that sound like SACDs in quality. Stanley Clark live at the Greek is one of those CDs. I also stream Qobuz and the Ruby has it's own DAC. What I found is it is always in the recording whether it is SACD, redbook, or DAC, or stream. With this system I can easily and immediately hear all differences in recordings. All cabling and components have sounds. There are some things the DI's aren't as good at such as soundstage from different places in the room or the listening position. However what they CAN do is pretty impressive. I really enjoy the ability to hook up anyone's component to my system and valuate it. I think that is pretty high level. I had the opportunity to listen to the Magico's $200,000 speakers on their million dollar set up. Quite impressive to hear but also ear ringing after 30 minutes. I'm lucky to have afforded the used equipment that I have. I find the detail to be sublime and the bass to be thrilling. The music is very engaging at every level. The better the recording the more engaging. It's really too bad that there weren't better recording studios out there producing the kind of music we COULD have, but then again, not everyone has a system that is this revealing. When I pop in that Stanley Clark CD, or David Crosby's SACD, 'If I Could Only Remember My Name' that is when I realize what this is all about! The width and depth of the soundstage, the imaging of the instruments and vocals just kicks it out of the park every time.  The vocal range is nothing short of spectacular. Anyone can kick sand in my face about my cheap system but after listening for years I thin this will be about the best I'm going to get. I have a friend who just purchased a pair of Moab type speakers from Tekton. I am anxious to hear how they sound. I do know that the ONLY way to compare anything is put it in my room and listen with all of the same parameters. Otherwise it is apples and oranges every time.

Robert TN   I have the DI's upgraded (not SE version) no BE tweeter, for 3 years now, all R&R about 85 to90DB, give or take. Pass labs new (still paying for it) x-250.8 Amp, large area 20 x30" area of large shop that is not partitioned off of a larger area 40x60' machinery M/C's etc. Great sound stage, acoustics are GREAT, have no idea why, just lucky I guess. Benchmark LA-4 Pre amp, Meitner MA-s v2 Dac,  SB4000 SVS sub  RS2T transport LTA LPS for RS2T. Stream Qobuz. LOVE my system, but am seriously considering Tekton Encor's. Any help with my dilemma. Just hoping to open a door beyond the current one, that makes you say holy crap!!!! Of course in a good way!!!!  Thanks

Just spent some time on the phone with Eric at Tekton, He suggested as I was into R&R exclusively ' that the MOAB, with BE tweeter would be the better way to go. The encors are very accurate speakers, but, at this time more suited to classical and such as apposed to R&R. He is apparently working  them in the direction of R&R. Does anyone have experience with the Moab and R&R. Thanks

In 2015, I bought the Tekton Pendragon. I love it and even upgraded to Be tweeters. Had Infinity, Wharfedale and others in the past too. And then, I went DIY Open Baffles using Lii Song Fast 15 on a 1" thick baffle. I love it much better than Tekton. A pair of Cinema Sub augments the bass region. And then upgraded it by adding ESS Heil AMT tweeter and the sound is glorious. The Pendragons had to go down to surround sound service in the home theater. And then I built the Folded Horn Speaker using Lii Song PT-10 too. Another wow! I alternate using the OB speakers with the FH speakers depending on the genre Im listening to. I love Tekton, but its not in the league with the OB or the FH speakers. They, I think, will be better than the Moabs or other higher end Tekton.  You can go to Decware and audition these speakers. You will not go back to conventional cabinet speakers after that....I promise you.

@millercarbon @lwin 

Same here. The Moabs have performed terrifically in my room, where they followed the Martin Logan Odysseys I'd had and loved for many years. The Moabs were less than half the price BTW. Roughly as fast as the old electrostats and better tonal coherence from top to bottom. More like live music.

lwin, where in Maine do you live? PM me if that's better. 

@passthedutchie I live in what is referred to as Central Maine even though geographically it really isbsouthern Maine. Our house is on a hillside overlooking Sebago Lake which is 45 minutes northwest of Portland. We love company if you want to visit you are more than welcome.

@ocabruce 

Did you make the head wreckers with the lii song pt 10?