Zu Omen or Tekton Lore

Jacobabacon - When we had the 100 watt tube amp with the Lores we didn't play any heavy metal, but we did play complex music loud. And with my 4-watt SET amp I have as well, for example Dire Straits Sultans of Swing. Good bass, a lot of guitar, a driving beat. In both cases I thought the Lores held together very well. They sounded very solid and clean, no breaking up at all. The sound didn't change a whole lot, it just got louder which I suppose is what you'd want.
What's your amp, room, etc.?

Well, I would say I've listened to some pretty heavy rock on the Lores with quite a bit of pleasure. My first night's listening session was with a live Ween concert at concert levels, and I was FULLY rocking out on it. Some of my heaviest bass music is probably my Soul Coughing albums. They have some really intense synthesized bass going on, and especially on Ruby Vroom, it's really high quality as well (upright bass for that stuff). I would never say the Lores were "confused" on any of this material in the bass region.

Your biggest risk with heavy rock, in my experience, is that it's been recorded/mixed using "modern" techniques that quash all the dynamics. If this is the case, the Lores will sound loud but compressed, as that's exactly what the recording is offering. Sometimes that's listenable, other times not. YMMV I could see strong potential for heavy metal to be unlistenable if it was recorded/mixed badly - think modern Metallica. On the other hand, some more underground heavy metal is actually extremely very technically demanding, and I bet some of those recordings paid attention to quality. Not being a heavy metal buff, I can't suggest a good example there.

Bottom line, the Lores will completely rock if the source material and amplification is up to the challenge.

I recently received my Lore speakers connected to the Triode trv-845se integrated amplifier.

First, the Lore's were very well packed. Detailed set of unpacking instructions from Tekton helped ensure no damage upon opening.

I tend to listen to Jazz, both instrumental and vocals.

Initially I connected a sub-woofer to the speakers to strengthen what I would describe as weak and laid back bass. But after about 10 hours I noticed improvement in bass to the point that I disconnected the sub-woofer.

I've listened to different source material with the Lore's and am very happy with the purchase. The speakers present an airy, detailed presentation with good bass.

My other speakers are Daber Audio Monitor 3, Paradigm Monitor 7 v4 and Energy RC30. All the speakers have their own way of presenting the music. I would put the Lore's at the top of the list with the Daber Audio Monitor 3's (a good match with my Primaluna Dialogue Two integrated amp).

Have you also tried the Lore with your Primaluna amp? I would be curious about the pairing.

Hi Genjamon, in fact I did connect the Lore’s to the Primaluna Dialogue Two after posting my last remarks. I wanted to compare the Tekton Lore with the Daber Audio Monitor 3 speakers using the Primaluna Amp.

Overall the Daber Audio Monitor 3 is a better speaker. It presents clearer detail in mid’s and high’s. And the bass is controlled and balanced. Its presentation is more forward and engaging than the Lore’s. It also plays better at lower volume due to stronger bass.

There are times I want a speaker to be laid back. I believe the Lore’s are very good for this. Its mid’s and high’s are presented somewhat equally with the bass in the background.

When I connected the Lore’s to the Primaluna amp the mid’s and high’s are clear, just not as good as the Daber Audio Monitor 3.

The bass with the Lore’s, although good, sounds a little lean. Bass isn’t strong enough at low volume to my liking or for certain types of music, such as rock. One advantage I have with the Primaluna Amp is I have a Pioneer GR-777 Equalizer connected to it. So I chose “heavy” to boost the bass. This improved the overall sound at low volume. The Lore speakers sounded better. With jazz and vocals stronger bass isn’t always preferred by me, so I can fine-tune the sound of the Equalizer or turn it off completely.

Its obvious to me the Lore’s are perfectly capable of playing decent bass. It all comes down to matching the speakers to your equipment. There is just so much tube swapping you can do to a tube amp to get the “right” sound to your taste or to match equipment. That’s why I bought the Equalizer. I wish tube manufacturers would put more emphasis installing defeat-able tone controls.

A big advantage of the Lore is its 98db efficiency. I do not have any experience with horn speakers. But I believe anybody considering the Lore’s for low powered amps would be very happy with these speakers.