Zu Omen or Tekton Lore


Best floorstanders under $999 for low power SET amp?

Thanks
mstark
Nice Socrates.....I have pair number two coming shortly....what are the strengths and weaknesses? Your favorite music on them?
Nice Socrates.....I have pair number two coming shortly....what are the strengths and weaknesses? Your favorite music on them?
Great blog Socrates. I was there the other day and really enjoyed looking around.
I noticed your pic on the Asylum looked like a Tri Corp. amp, maybe EL 34s? I have Lores and was pleasantly surprised when I went from a 4-watt SET to a 20/40 watt EL84 PP amp. My guess is you experienced similar when you upped the amp with the Pendragons.
Thanks for posting and for the blog.

How do the lores sound with something like old Metallica? I listen in a small bedroom, so really deep bass and super loud volumes are not required. I'm more concerned about ooverloading the room with too much treble, or with an upper midrange that is too forward ( Audio Note AX-Two for example). I also dont want a super veiled forgiving sound that makes every recording sound soft and uninvolving. These will be used at a relatively short distance of about 5-6 feet.

My other musical interest include a lot of 90's alternative and some Rap/Hip Hop.
The Lores will be fine for that type of music, but even better with your live rock recordings. I don't listen to MEtallica per say anymore, but I do listen to mostly rock and some harder stuff. The Lores a definitely not too soft and certainly not going to be bright either. They are very neutral but designed to sound like live music, opposed to a hi Fi sound... If that makes sense. Agood tube amp 10+ watts and you should be a happy guy.
Or for a bedroom system you could consider going for the Lore-M. It might not be quite as placement-sensitive without the whizzer cone, and also might do better at a closer range. Probably subtle differences, and I wouldn't know for sure, only having heard the Lore.
Thanks for the kind words!

I think the Pendragons are most definitely "rock speakers". They play REALLY LOUD and the sound quality is as clear as a bell, even with only moderately powered amps. I believe they were actually designed to do this very thing -- to recreate the scale and scope of live music with the scale and scope of live music. That is, big sound stage, high SPLs, and an easy/dynamic sound. To that end, they're just tremendous.

I got this CD for Christmas, a gift from my wife. It's called "Lorraine" from Lori McKenna. The first track is "The Luxury of Knowing". It's a country tune, and not really my cuppa, but there's this bass note that gets dropped into the tune that sounds like nothing I've ever heard before. On the Pendragons, the note is huge, round, deep -- you hear the over tones, the under tones, the fullness of the thing in a way that a near-full range speaker simply will never capture. It's like the Pendragon has "headroom" to spare on even a note that deep, so the entirety of the thing is captured and presented. And all that to say that the bass on these things is just stunning. And if you've never heard true full range speakers, that is, something that can do subwoofer depth, you've been missing stuff. A lot of stuff. To me, right now, it feels like an unacceptable amount of stuff. My eyes are still wide with the shock at how much I've been missing. Holy freakin' cow.

Whew.

Okay, now, that said, the Pendragons sound a lot like Zu speakers, so if you like that sort of thing and/or that makes sense, great. This also means that these are not speakers for the detail-freak. Borrowing a turn of phrase from Srajan, there's absolutely no pixelation and at not time will detail cause you to lose track of the music. Widebanders tend to do audiophile-level detail rather poorly anyway, and speakers voiced warmly like the Pendragons are, are perhaps even more guilty of this. Not to say that detail is lost, per se, all I'm saying is that the Pendragons don't emphasize this in the way that many audiophile speakers might.

To get an idea of what I'm talking about, well, I also own a pair of Magnepan 3.7s, which cut the line between detail and smoothness rather even handedly, being neither pixelated nor smooth, they're simply revealing. If the recording is detailed, the sound is detailed. If the recording is smooth, the sound is smooth. If the recording blows, well. With the Pendragons, the sound is more forgiving than the Maggies, and by a good measure. The Pendragons fail my "Cricket Test" -- on "Roadhouses and Automobiles", a great Chris Jones tune (also country flavored, but that shouldn't be held against me), the engineer added in a bunch of crickets to the opening sequence that are clear as daylight on my AKG-701 headphones, a bit less so on my Maggies, and outright hard to hear on my Merlin VSM-MXR speakers. The Tekton Pendragons fall closer to the Merlins than to the Maggies, that is, until I turn up the volume significantly. The detail is there, yes, it's just that it's not standing out in contrast to the other transducers I have/had on hand. Whether or not this is good thing or a bad thing depends entirely on your listening habits, your needs, your playback chain, blah blah blah.

Now, this is not to say they're veiled in any way. They are most definitely not. Overall, the immediacy is arresting and the tweeter array on the Pendragon is clear and sweet. I'm not getting any hotness, glare or grain out of the treble on these things so Metallica, Ozzy, and Judas Priest sound just as loud and obnoxious and as poorly recorded as they ever do. In a word, those meat heads sound awesome on these speakers.

A note about the upper mids. These drivers tend to go into breakup in this region (see the Stereophile measurements on the Zu speaker -- these are relevant because this is the same driver, minus the whizzer cones and phase plug). Tekton crosses over to the tweeter array before the breakup region, which limits the Eminence drivers to their comfort zone. I've noticed no notching or suckouts, so I'm assuming this means they've solved some of the Zu measurement issues.

Anyway, I think these speakers are hilariously awesome. Full range for $2500? Are you out of your mind?

I find myself grinning like a maniac every time someone drops a heavy beat line into the mix. Like hip hop? These speakers are gonna make you turn off your subs, pack them up and sell 'em on AudiogoN. Like techno? Ambient? Anything with an artificially deep bass track? The 'dragons will have you in stitches and can easily be used to stun or kill small animals.
Wonderful last post Socrates. I'm just a Lore owner and have been very happy with the sound I'm getting. Wondering if a more detailed DAC might force more detail into these full range drivers? Or are they just not capable of presenting detail?
Detail is a bit of a two-edged sword, if you ask me. Too much and suddenly that's all you're hearing. I think this is what Srajan means when he uses the term "pixelated".

That said, I'm sure the new SEAS drivers he's using for the Lore S, and the next as-yet-unnamed speaker that will be offered at some point as an alternative to a Wilson Sophia (!!!), will have more of this "hi-fi" (as Eric calls it) character to the sound. Hopefully, Eric will be sending a pair of the Lore S on at some point, so I'll be able to do an apples-to-apples comparison between it and the Pendragon.

But if you want more of that sound, now, then sure, cooler cables (check out the new Black Cats), or a more detailed amp like the FirstWatts, might add more back into the mix. But the limiting factor will be the drivers and my understanding is that this isn't really the forte of these Eminence drivers, which are more about impact, immediacy and realism.

Check out 6moons. Srajan has reviewed more Eminence-driver-based speakers (ie, Zu) than anyone else I can think of and he's got a whole stable full of amplifiers to play with. He tends to favor the Red Wine for visceral impact, but it's the Yamamoto A-08s (a very linear 45-based amp) and various First Watt amps he reaches for when he wants "air" and detail -- at least when he's reviewing Zu speakers. Given that the Tekton implementation is similar (same drivers, but different crossovers), I expect that the results Srajan gets should be very portable.
Hi all ! I am getting as much detail from my Lore's than I do with my Thiel 1.6's , using the same system . Power Plant Premier , Cary 303 / 300 , Cary Slp -03 , Belles a150 ( for the next couple days until my Paramounts are done). Mostly Tara wire with some LAT and Vansevers in there. Love these Lore's as they are not the usual "hi fi " sound , wish my room was big enough for the Pendragons .
Impressive review, Socrates! Thank you for your time and dedication to writing that up. I think what you have described is essentially the capstone of audio loudspeaker design, particularly in the type of transducer technology, voicing and ultimately to what the designer wants to accomplish. It took me 15 speakers to learn what I preferred. The Maggie’s are surely on “that” end of the spectrum - break taking detail capabilities and extremely revealing, but to my ear they lack the emotional qualities – such as musicality and harmonic texture.

But I would argue that the Pens are also very detailed, in the sense that they convey all of the music and are not rolled off. As you pointed out on the Pendragon, the triple SB Acoustic tweeter array is doing allot of the work, so it’s certainly not all on the drivers. The tweeters are some of the best i have heard, and I have owned Esotar2 tweeters. I think allot of this has to do with comparing the two technologies, as you most certainly did a great job of – ribbons are almost always unforgiving, but highly detailed to the point that one can hear into the recording like never before. The danger of this type of detail level is that while can one will hear everything, one will hear EVERYTHING. On the other hand, a speaker like the Lore/Pendragon, trades off detail for the ability to be more forgiving, more convincing as a “live music” transducer, and high on the emotional content because it can be run with lower powered tube amps which most of us would agree, is the main reason why we get the great tone and harmonic textures that make the presentation so satisfying to listen to.

And, therein lies the fork in the road, where one is either an audiophile, or a music lover... or as in your case, one can appreciate both.
Gooddomino - fo to JW audio (zman;'s website). And try out some of his cables. You want to detail; you will have it. :)

The best cables I have heard in my system, period!
Just an FYI to those with Lores:
I modified mine by lining ther upper cabinet with Dynamat Extreme, and in my system I am very pleased with the improvement. They sound more solid.
I used the stuff they sell at Best Buy @ $90, enough to do 2 car doors is about the perfect amount for a pair of Lores. There are other sources that cost less, but I'm either lazy or rich (I'll let you guess which) so I just went to BB. It took about 30 min per speaker. Soldering iron (need to unhook the 10" driver), scissors, phillips screwdriver, and a wallpaper roller is all you need.
If you want pics or have questions, send me a PM.
I have a question. I'm currently running Dali Helicon 400 speakers with a hand made JWN tube amplifier rated somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 watts per channel--8 el34 output tubes. I'm curious how the Lore's would sound with this particular amp, or would I need one of JIM's lower-powered creations to really get the most out of the Lore's. I guess I should say that Jim's amps have a well-deserved rep for creating a well-defined, almost 3D soundstage presentation.
Sabocat - I have a 2A3 SET and also recently a Manley Stingray. The Stingray uses 8 EL84 tubes for outputs. The Lores sound great on the SET but even better with the Stingray. I'm in a 12'x13' room, so the SET can play loud enough. The PPP adds a lot more weight and thump.
I doubt you'll feel you have a mismatch with your EL34 amp.
In general, all things equal, more power = more control. But it is also true that the lower power SETS and class A tube amps may give you a sweeter, more "romantic" type of sound but at the expense of headroomm, spl, etc. You should be fine.
8wpc should be more than enough for dynamic headroom issues with a 98dB sensitive speaker. With big, wideband drivers like this, though, damping might be more of a factor than sheer watts. Just a thought.

Oh, and I like that Manley Stingray quite a lot. Nice matchup there.
trying to decide between the m-lore and lore for a guest room approx 14x16... will be using a 40w idecco, about 75% movies 25% music... wondering how the bass is on the m-lore and any input would be appreciated thanks
Great review

http://www.stereomojo.com/TEKTON%20MLORE%20SPEAKER%20REVIEW/TektonM-loreSpeakerReview.htm
re: Genjamon

It's funny you mention the M-lore as I was also considering these for my needs since they are smaller and cheaper than the Lore. They also use a soft dome tweeter which I ususally like more than metal domes.

The only problem is no one has heard the M-lore, except for the review poseted by Michael02467 which basically says the M-lore is a nicer speaker than the 2x priced ZU Omen which if true is pretty amazing.

Anyone here have experiance with the Mini Lore?
MrKoven - I am not sure if anybody here has a m-lore yet? Anybody...? The m-lore has certainly been overlooked, but with 2 spectacular reviews now, obviously it has slipped under the radar (though that is about to change). I owned Lores prior to upgrading to Pendragons,and I easily could have lived with them for a long time. I think, in your room, you can't go wrong w either, but ,why not save a few and go with the m-lore. I certainly would for a small room system. Your amp should be great. Keep us informed.
Posted about M-Lore last night, don't know why it didn't show up, but the M-Lore got the Major Mojo Award.
well i placed an order for satin white m-lore's yesterday, eric told me 5-6 days before it ships, so i'll post some thoughts when it arrives, thanks for the stereomojo link too, nice read
still not sure on the m-lore's lower frequency reproduction; might sacrifice my custom veneer if they haven't sold out of the Oriel 10 yet. Seems that the Oriel 10 and M-lore drivers are reasonably similar.
Can anyone offer some insight as to how the Oriels differ from the Lores, design and sound-wise?
Yeah, I've been wondering if the m-lore and maybe oriel as well have a little different character than the lore itself. The lack of whizzer has to do something, and I wonder if it might not shift the overall frequency balance just slightly lower.

As for me, I have some tentative plans in place to be auditioning the Lore-S in my home in the coming weeks. Won't be all that soon,and I won't have benefit of side by side comparison with my Lores, as we're swapping for a period of time. I'll be sure to post my impressions though.
I have owned my Lores for about 4 months now.
I will start by saying they are a great speaker for the money.
The thing they do best is well balanced bass and male vocals.
I no longer need my Epos sub woofer($800.00) built for 2 channel down to 20hz.because the Lore's will reach down into the 20hz. range at 10 watts using a tone sweep cd.just enough to fill in the lower octaves in music.Don't expect menny speakers to do this I'm not claiming a pure 20 hz. signal will shake your house but it is there enough to give Bass 31hz. and up a nice rich added layer of bass not found in most speakers there size and there is no big 60hz. spike like cheap ported subs not great for music.
I have made some major changes to my Lores as I felt there was a huge spike in the upper mid range and I am still working on this with Eric being very supportive all the way.
I have owned alot of speakers and after my son was born I had to get rid of my Sound Labs as having 800 volt electrostatics around a rug rat just won't do, so I was using a pair of recaped older Missions in the mean time.
A freind who owns Zu Omens recommended trying a pair of Lores so in late October I got them.
After 40 to 50 hours of break in a small issue occurred over a weekend,nothing big enough to go into, but I decided to recap the crossover with upgrade caps of the same value UF.
And while I was at it I used upgraded internal cable.
After that the top end did open up and it even sounded more analog,smoother but the bump in the upper mid range was still there only smoother.
The biggest issue I have had is in upper octaves of guitars,harmonicas,violins and female vocals being to sibilant my guess is something is peaked from 4khz. to 8khz.
causing to much bloat there.
Eric has been very helpful with this.
At the advice of a friend well educated in these things He recommended a small mod to tame this node,and it has gotten better reducing the peak from 5.5khz. to 10hz. by 2 db. and solving the problem for menny recordings but Gray Slick is still sibilant in White Rabbit and Sharl Crow's Soak up the Sun also Jennifer Warrens Famous Blue Rain Coat.
I am still working with Eric on this and we will get it resolved but I think the problem is not really in the crossover but the tweeters response I pulled up the tweeter specs from Madisound to find the tweeter rises like a flight of stairs, great above 15hz. where most of us have reduced hearing but a real bad thing where femail vocals are as it makes them sound overly ssssispy.
It's hard to say if my changing caps made it worse or just removed the vial making it more noticeable.
More later.

Thanks for the great info. Wow, you have really been through a journey. Curious: what are you running on the front end (source, pre, amp, etc.). Wondering how much of this is related to that or the room, etc. I say this because I never experienced with my my former Lores - the Audax was a great tweeter. I remember my top end being free of all sibilance with Quicksilver Mini Mites and cary Cdp-1 for source. The Pendragon as well, even with a lesser amp, but my room is also treated a bit so maybe I am a little spoiled with that, yet not the whole story because I've heard sibilance in this room with a different speaker. Sibilance is one issue I have never experienced with these, but when I did in the past it was usually a front end issue. I remember experiencing this with Paradigm speakers, but then again my electronics weren't up to snuff then either. Are you running tubes? Keep us informed...
The replacement caps where the Obbligato gold and Clarity Cap ESA and the shunting cap a Clarity Cap SA.
The internal wire I used is Audison 14 awg. Silver and Sonus for the long run from the binding posts to the X over.
I chose this wire because it is self dampening and non micro-phonic important inside a speaker cabinet.
I also will be upgrading to all mills 12 watt resisters shortly.
http://www.madisound.com/store/manuals/TW025A28.pdf
Looking at the tweeter response graph this tweeter goes from 99.2db. at 3,155khz. to 104.7khz. 14,090 then drops some as it gets to 20,000. Leaving a very large peek at from 5,000 to 8,000 where sibilance occurs in femail vocals and glare slaps you in the face from alot of instruments.
At first it seems like there is some extra detail but it doesn't take log before it starts to bother you.
I believe the tweeter is 90 degrees out of phase so from where the 10 uf cap and resister meet,I soldered a 50 ohm resister to the positive marked wire on the tweeter and this will shunt to ground stopping any oscillation as well.
End result a 2 db. drop from 5.5khz. to 10 khz.
I am going to try a Mills 12 watt 56 ohm and see the results,when my parts come in.
Aside from the runaway tweeter that will soon be tamed down where it needs it, these are the best speakers I have heard in menny ways. They far exceed there price of $999.00+ shipping.
BTW I also went with the gold Dayton Audio adjustable speaker spikes DSS4-G They alow you to slightly tilt your speakers back and they look great with the white cabinets and gold tweeter!
Eric said the mod is unorthodox but it works and IMO the Audax tweeter is unique and a little unorthodox as it's response is anything but flat!
The speakers are still my favorites but my opinion is they need hand tuning to bring out the most they can be.
What's your placement like, Goramon? I find tilting them up a bit above the listener's ear greatly smoothed things out for me and added lots of ambience and soundstage depth too. I've been meaning to try opening them up and dampening the cabinet with Dynamat, as I suspect that would help with the last bit of imaging and soundstage. They're excellent stock, but there are still occasional times when an instrument, usually electric guitar, sounds like it's coming straight from the speakers and not from the rest of the soundstage.
That forward guitar sound is just what I'm talking about,try playing White Rabbit or Soak up the Sun and you will see what I mean.
Not all female vocals will have this problem but recordings like Famous Blue Rain coat will point it out.
A good read here. http://www.audiolofftreport.com/speakersound.html

That upper mid range glare comes right at you.
As for sound treatments the room is carpeted no hard wood floors,acoustic ceiling and 8X16 Sq.ft. sound treatments.
Amp Manley Labs Stingray in Triode input tubes Mullards,output TAD EL84 STR interconnects White zombie audio La Cacanya (silver Teflon) Speaker cables (7 Awg silver Teflon).
Source a very modified 500gig. first gen. Apple T.V. linked by an all glass Tolsink cable to a little dot Dac 1.Apple loss-less files.
I also tested using my Music hall level 1 mod.CD25.2
To find the same thing.
I do like the idea of Dymamating the inside only where the fiberglass currently is but careful not to over dampen as you could deaden to much.
I came from a first class vinyl rig to loss less file as a way of making room for a new son.
So I know what artifacts can come from both analog and digital but this node lives with in the tweeter i'm pretty sure,having said that not every production run of any component is exactly as the one modeled and graphed and that's why guys like Henry Kloss believed in hand tuning by ear as the final finish,but at $999.00 a pair that's asking a bit much. They are not $7,000 dollar speakers.
Eric, dose a remarkable job in coming very close to the best at a give away price and there is a need for his place in the market.
Being a father now I can't go run out and spend thousands on my hobbies but I can get the musical speaker I have ever heard and spend a little time taming a little peak to make them just how I want them to sound.
I have always hated 99th row performance of todays high end audio (live music dose't sound like that.The Lore sounds like your 5 or 6 tables away from a live band in an intimate night club and that is just what rocks my boat.
When I get them sorted out I'll wright more.
By the way Dynamat and fiberglass serves two different purposes.
The fiber glass absorbs and defuses the rear wave coming off the back of the driver cone and keeps the driver from ringing from directly reflected out of phase sound waves.

The dynamat simply deadens any resonance from the cabinet it's self and reduces cabinet ring or harmonics from the cabinets resonate frequency.

To much dampening can have negative effects on a ported cabinet and I think Eric has found a sweet spot as far as dampening and porting.
The Bass seems layered and tight,not very far off from a sealed cabinet IMO so I really don't think I would mess with that because if the speakers go dead Dynamat is near impossible to compleatly remove.
Wow, I was just here yesterday and there has been a lot posted since.
I agree these are excellent speakers, especially for the money.
Tilt - I put a thin nut on the front spikes so that the spikes could not be screwed in all the way. The back spikes are screwed in all the way, which results in the speakers tilted back slightly. I don't think I need to tilt back a lot because I'm about 8' from the speakers.
Goraman - Is there a link to the spikes you could post?

Dynamat - I posted about what I did with Dynamat Extreme in this thread on 1-10-12. It helps.

Manley Stingray - Goraman, I have a Stingray also, just purchased before Christmas. For those of you with SET amps and Lores or Omens I suggest you at least give a PP amp a whirl, you may like it. For me the SET does some things only SET amps can do, but the Stingray takes my system to another level. I built my SET, my sweat and tears are in there so I want to like it best. But...

Sibilance - I don't experience it with my Lores.
Sibilance you won't find it with every recording.
Play some of the recordings I recommended,also if you remove the driver and look at the caps in your X over,you'll see that they are oblong not round and this means a higher ESR possibly masking/hiding some of the spike.

A capacitor costing under a buck vs. $25.00+ will certainly be more revealing.

I will link the spikes.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=240-718&FTR=gold%20spikes%20dss4-g

I would like to see what you did with the Dynamat.
got pictures up anywhere?
I like my Lores best with my Cary 280 V12, 50 watts of push-pull triode. No glare or sssssibilance at all. For me everything is just right. My Cary 300SEI is also great and the Primaluna Dialogue1 just a tad and a half behind the former two. Even with my Jolida FX10 EL84s there was no sibilance or glare. My office room is 14x16, main room about 16x26. Once broken in these Lores are one of the best bargains in audio. Mega kudos to Eric Alexander.
One of the things Eric recommended seriously helped the problem.The speakers where tipped back 10mm raised at the front spikes,leveling them removed a load of glare and reduced some of the sibilance !
He also gave me some other ideas, more later.
Eric's customer service is really impeccable,not to mention e is just so dammed likable.
I have been into audio for years and it's been a very long time since I have met someone with his passion for all tings musical.
Wondering if anyone is using Morrow interconnects with their Lore's. I find particularly good synergy between the two in my system compared to the two other interconnects that are my usual references. The Morrow's are fast and compliment the Lore's potential speed. They restore some "audiophile detail" to the Lore's. A pleasant surprise being that I almost put them up for sale 2 months ago because they were 3rd best with my Vandy speakers.
I've had good luck with Silnote Reference IIs, Alpha Core Silver Saphine and home-brew Cardas as recommended by Jeff Day. For speaker, been using PS Audio Statement, Kimber 8TC (older blue black variety) or Alpha Core Silver AG-1 Centerstage, and a home brew again via Jeff Day called White Lighting (sounds close to top line Cardas).
Hi all ! I agree with Mikirob , mine sound wonderful with 50 watts of triode from the Cary V12 ....no harshness at all with any recordings . I did get one of my Paramount monoblocks completed and hooked up one channel...lets just say I am very sure it will take my system to a whole new level when I finish the other one . Maybe a darker sounding cable will get you to where you need to be?
Cables make very small changes,This change needs to happen at the capacitors.I ordered Clarity Cap ESA as with their SA caps they are ruler flat and don't favor upper mids and highs.
Goraman, it seems you are the only one that is complaining about sibilance. It seems that there may be something upstream that is causing the problem.
I also disagree with the fact that cables make a small difference. Cables could be your problem. I wonder how you came to the conclusion that caps are the problem.
I never had sibilance with my lores at all, the only time I've ever had a sibilance problem in the past was when I changed out cables or power cords.

John
JW Audio
Read a little up stream,I have used the same configuration with several pairs of speakers and had no sibilance.
I was fortunate a few years ago to be able to compare some of the most expensive cables of the time and even Audio Note Sogon made only a subtle difference at best and the gear used was worth more than my house several times over.
It is funny that using lab grade test equipment has never measured a difference in the frequency response from one interconnect or another as long as they are constructed correctly.And if you can show me different i'm open but interconnects and power cords are not magic wires.
Although I have all silver in teflon speaker cables,inter connects and PS audio 8 and 10 Awg. power cords.
Capacitors do however make a measurable difference up to a couple of DB. in some frequencys. I will not go into an endless cable debate.Sibilance lives in the 8khz. range and if the big new cap I put in peeks in the upper mids where the tweeter peeks to 101.5 db. output around 8khz. I very well could be over 103db! at a very sensitive frequency.
I am pretty sure of the problem and I'm just awaiting parts.
Did you look at the graph of the tweeter response?
If no one else has sharp SSS and TTT it would almost be a act of God looking at the steep climb of the tweeter it's self.The caps used nearly need to have a recessed upper mid range just to control the top end of the female voice.
Eric did a great job of balancing this tight rope but upgrading caps can upset the apple cart.
I would leave the Lores alone unless you are willing to stay in it for the long run.There is more detail to be found in the top end (sizzle) but the proper balance is critical and may not be cheap.I am willing to roll as menny caps as it takes.
I am all ready upgrading resistors,Mills and possibly Mundorf,Audison internal cable ect...

I agree John,
No sibilance at all with the Lores or Pendragons in my system. They are the least fatiguing speakers I have ever owned or heard and I have a very sensitive ear due to Tinnitus.
It has taken me a while to understand the concept of synergy, which in my mind means that as I change one component, I.e. speakers I may have to change the associated cables, amp, Pre amp etc to maximize the end result, which for me is that golden magical moment. It has nothing to do with a measurement for me, but just trusting my own hearing and a lot, I mean a lot of trial and error.
I too have never put much effort into my cables, but am now opening up to that possibility. I have nice quality cables now, but I have not A/B tested any in the past. However with highly sensitive speakers, and in a 100 year old Victorian building, I have found power conditioning to be of the utmost importance. I use an UberBuss and love it. I have also spent a lot of time, energy and money to match amp, Pre-amp, and DAC with my room and my speakers. There are so many variables in any system that the tweaks are limitless! From speaker positioning, to cables, etc. etc....
I am curious about the effects of Capacitor changes on the Tektons, and I even discussed options with Eric as he was building a pair for me, but I decided to wait due to the cost, and in the end I did not feel the need to change anything.
One of the problems was due to my positioning,I tipped them back,Eric said that would spike the tweeter by as much as 3 db. After leveling them it helped alot.
The other issue is with a bright pair of caps soon to be swapped. I am not blaming anyone for the sibilance and I'm surprised no one else has made a capacitor upgrade and chased these issues already. My advise would be to use very neutral caps Clarity cap,Ansar,Daton,Solon as any peak in the upper mids creates a problem.
Wow! since leveling them and letting them run in some more from sun up to sun down over the weekend and for 2 hours I ran the volume at 12:00! somewhere around 10 watts!
Suddenly the high end went flat so I removed the resistor I added to the tweeter to drop the spike by 2 db. and still no glare,seems the new caps smoothed out and the sibilance just vanished as fast as it came.They got another 38 hours just since last week end of break in time.So now I have more caps coming,they can just sit,no more cap rolling!
All I am going to do now is go in and remove the Xovers and clean everything up,replace the resistors with Mills non inductance and there done!
In the end it will all be worth the trouble but one piece of advice is be very careful to select neutral capacitors and give them some time to smooth out. Mine took close to 90 hours.
Funny thing is when I first put them in no sibilance but they went through a 50 hour or so stage where you couldn't stand them,I seriously hope this is it and they are done with no more surprises! This is the most radical burn in I have ever encountered,although I did have a similar issue with clarity cap SA a few years back as they lost the top end for a while and suddenly it emerged after a couple weeks of use. So I guess I shouldn't be to shocked.
Im following your posts quite closely Goraman.
I too find the Lore's a bit like you have explained.
Please keep us updated with your progress.
I have sent off an email to Eric(before I read your posts) asking if he had any tips/mods I could perform to tame the Lores a bit.
I am finding them a little forward/agressive at times. Not sure if that is the terms for it.
I find if I turn them up a bit, I seem to always be looking to adjust the volume all the time.
Love the bass and midrange but something about them has me swapping them out for another set of speakers I have here.
Its long term listening sessions that they don't quite do well with me.
Guys - since we are on the subject of cables, do yourselves justice and hit ZMAN up. His cables are simply THE BEST I have heard with the Tektons. This is not an advertisement for him - it is down right silly to not try as he is one of our brothers here, and because his cables are NOT expensive and I am telling you that are amazing. Cryo and burning treatment makes some really interesting changes for the better. He just came out with a new SIGNATURE interconnect that is as natural as I have heard - no glare or etch whatsoever. You may think you don't have this issue, until you try a set of these and then its wake up time. At least that's what i experienced.
Rocky,
If your Lores are Bone stock and positioned level with your floor,your probably experiencing something different.
The Lores are not a laid back music from the lobby or parking lot presentation,they make me feel as if I am 6 to 8 cocktail tables away from a live Blues band in an intimate night club.
They are a forward sounding speaker.End of story.
But not forward in an uncomfortable way with my amp ect...
If the top end is what bothers you, there is a mod to tame it.And you can tailor it to your ears.
If your speakers have less than 200 hours I'd recommend giving them more time to break in.And Eric is a wealth of knowledge so keep him informed as you go.