There's No Question

@benmeadows My pathway to the DI’s was similar to yours. I transitioned from the Magnepan 1.7’s. I enjoyed that speaker very much. A classic. It did many but not all things well.

Unlike you I did not have any issues placing mine. Roughly used the Cardas rule of thirds and then a little fine tuning. I was rewarded with a holographic and precise soundstage. I felt in this regard it was quite superior to the Magnepans.

The DI’s are detailed, very neutral, almost full range (solid down to 30hz) as you have noted. A great value and well rounded speaker. Very revealing of upstream gear. Does many things well.

As for the cabinet, as my grandmother used to say "to each his own." Ironically, as an amateur woodworker, I admire fine cabinetry. But I was never put off by the satin black cabinet that vanishes in my dimly lit dedicated audio room. A fine cabinet would require a final cost twice that of the DI’s. All the money went into the sound, not the looks. The value of this speaker is rather incredible. If you look at the total cost of the drivers to cost of the finished product (shipped!) I know of no other product in the industry that competes in this regard.

Foghat- Fool For The City

Also intrested in Focals. I have doubts about their capabilities in relation to cost vs. performance comparded to the DI, but I am open to opine. I did take notice of other members' comments as the DI's were "monitors" and I don't disagree. I have first-hand listening experience in a couple of studios with a couple different studio monitors. I can say that the DIs are very much like studio monitors in that they convey any colors injected into the system. I don't have the expertise to lable the DI absolutely neutral, but in my experience with them, they are really pretty neutral. It's the garbage in, garbage out thing you have probably read or heard so many times. When l have them to what I believe to be absolutely right things like Foghat- Fool Fir The City sounds like never before. For example, the bass drum resonance is so strange, like it is also reflecting one of the toms with each stroke. I am also a drummer. Maybe I should have mentioned that, but I didn't think that really was a qualification for what we have been talking about. I am not 100% sure what you mean by "empty sound" but there is a chance I experienced that sound you are describing as "less than interesting."

I found the DIs rather different than a lot of speakers. The cabinets are crap and at high volumes that empty sound came through. The tweeter mid range array I believe there is something to that. Stringed guitars you could hear every stroke and it was almost physical. Wish I had them to compare with my Focals. Kinda looking for a pair. 

@carlsbad2 For sure. My philosophy about the hobby has more to do with sound than looks. But I also have to admit that my room, though not large, is based on symmetry of sound, i.e. stereo. I am guilty of wanting my room to be fairly distraction-free because I want to listen critically without distraction. It makes me feel good. There is enough in this world/lifetime to make us not feel so good. For me, a left-biased sound is super distracting and never fails to put me back to work, no matter how transparent, full, or whatever. So there is an asthetic involved. I genuinely do not care if a speaker is sexy. I want the sound to be sexy, but I also don't want my room treatments to be pillows and eggshell foam. So I have to admit I care about looks, and I cannot judge someone else because they like pretty equipment. I also very much enjoy pretty equipment to the extent that it doesn't interfere with the sound.

      For the record, these speakers disappear better than you would expect while listening. But just looking at them such an idea is next to impossible in probably anybody's mind.

@benmeadows If you are going dual purpose, good sound AND fine furniture, then Tekton is not for you.

I’ve heard the DI’s and the MOAB at shows and I think they are quite good for their price.  The sound is full, well balanced, smooth and quite dynamic (alive).

The new Source 10 by Mo-Fi is another lively sounding speaker near the price of DI’s.

All of the Zu speakers I’ve heard are extremely dynamic and lively sounding.  But, to my ears, they sound to brittle and harsh—exciting at first, but they become tiring.  I can see how the liveliness can conquer any shortcomings for some people because most modern speakers these days sound dead and unengaging.

I love my DIs. I make no wild claims about them sounding better than $20,000 speakers (for one thing, I’ve never heard $20k speakers), but I do think they sound better than a couple of $5k speakers I’ve auditioned. They’re definitely a good value. They did take some experimentation with placement to dial them in, and room treatment was (of course) helpful. Overall, though, I didn’t experience the same degree of struggle as the OP. I’m guessing a healthy dose of luck was involved. :)

@jtcf I've also been curious about the Zu Audio speakers. I like that company. I think they also care about what they do, and probably do it very well. Good luck in your journey.

I feel like I also have to admit that these speakers are actually kind of ugly. I did a lot of my growing up in the 80s, and latched onto the big speaker is cool thing early on. So yeah, there's that. I'm not sure you can get a beautiful looking Tekton. They aren't going to occupy my living room, of that I can assure you. That's why I have a dedicated listening room in my basement.

I had a pair of Impact Monitors for a couple of years. They were positioned toed in so they crossed about a foot or so in front of the listening position. I have ZU Omen Defs now and I'm not still sure they're positioned correctly.They're very fussy and very heavy:-( One of these days I'll discover their perfect spot.I've become an addict too.

For those who are curious, the DIs have zero problem pressurizing a room. They can do bass like no other tower speaker I have heard. Room and source dependent, but they can really slam. I love tubes. I'm running a Manley Chinook through an Ayon Scorpio II, with only about 55 watts per channel and the room will pressurize like an American Airlines jet. If I do end up divorcing these speakers, I can tell you I am definitely addicted to high-efficiency speakers. Maybe Klipsch? Who knows?

I like further apart and slightly toed in.  Picture has my new stereo stand sitting in front that will push them a bit further apart.  

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kxHkCxPwuEgjbdYf8

The Tektons are entirely room and ear dependent as far how to position them. I have noticed a lot of people like them closer together. I really don't like the way they sound when they are closer, somewhere around 3-4 feet. The soundstage does some weird things. I get a nice clean center image with the speakers much farther apart, but that may not work for everyone. I use a lot of sound diffusers along with some well placed absorption to mitigate the rules I break.

@hilde45 There's a lot of truth to that. It is a relationship that has taken a lot of work. Ups and downs, but when it's good it's really good.

     Thanks for that. 

@stringreen Maggies are very quick speakers and difficult to match to a sub. The subs I thought might work were pretty expensive.

If you needed more bass impact, why did you just not get a sub?  Maggies are really good speakers

@carlsbad2 I just heard some Tektons which were really exciting but a bit powerful. It might have been the room. I'm seeking out high sensitivity speakers to work with my tube amps and these are candidates. I've read various things about the drivers, including your comment, so I'm gathering information. Thank you for relaying what you know -- it's most helpful.

@hilde45 That is what I posted.  It is my opinion.  Obviously I think it is right.  Not sure how many agree with me.  but I know a lot of tekton owners who do. Anyone who wants to post other opinions won't hurt my feelings.   Jerry

If I'm getting it right, Tekton uses some cost saving techniques and materials for the cabinets and puts money into the drivers -- is that right? Tekton's drivers are very high quality? Is that their secret (plus design)?

Tekton uses inexpensive engineered wood and automotive paint to make a case. Eric puts his money into components and creates a very cost effective high quality speaker. He is also a great speaker designer and a workaholic. He is not the best marketer and managed to p*ss off those with more expensive speakers in the way that he drew comparisons. But if you don’t need $10,000 worth of hand rubbed fine hardwood along with your drivers, then Tekton is hard to beat. If you do like beautiful speakers, nobody begrudges that or maybe even a bit of sour grapes from those who can’t swing the beautiful wood.

Step up the line from DI and you see a lot of improvement with more stages (Encore is a 4 stage speaker with an extremely flat response curve) and better quality drivers. The MOABs seem to be a sweet spot in pricing that sound great at about $4k/pr. Many serious owners of MOABs upgrade the crossover components.

Tektons are generally 4ohm nominal but easy to drive and very popular with SETs.

Yes, there was a huge crowd of haters here. Seems to have subsided. May have been somewhat personal toward one member who has since departed.

Both this member and Eric undecimated how easy it is to create animosity with claims that seem too good to be true.

Be humble and be truthful.

Jerry

Very nice post -- interesting to read and to hear about your journey. The theme of this post, as I take it, is: Why we're staying married. It's a love note to a speaker that you could have abandoned, but you're sticking with it. If you do wind up moving on, I'd be interested in hearing about the next chapter of the process. Divorces are alway more interesting than wedding vow renewals.

OP,

Thank you. I have  always wondered about them. The hype was too much and never a downside. Also completely makes sense why MC was such a fan… the ultimate tweekmaster if there ever was one.

So just out of interest… when not properly set up, what do they sound like? 

Tekton may be the best bang for the buck, by far. Their pricing is very aggressive. Comparable speakers cost at least twice as much. 

The looks are a big issue to put it lightly. I would say: the #1 speakers in a dark room. :)

I found they like to be closer together than a lot of other speakers. Miss mine.