Even my crappy car speakers will show how fatiguing modern "brickwalled" pop music is.
I've had my Lores for almost two weeks now and they have produced remarkably well with everything I have thrown at them. I listen to an extremely wide array of music; with the exception of pop but unfortunately modern production tactics have leaked into most genres these days. It's one of the reasons why I decided on the Lores and I am extremely satisfied that I did. |
I'm no pro reviewer, so I'm sorry I can't throw all the lingo at you, but I'll respond as I'm guessing you are refering to my post. You do not need "the best recorded material" -- the M-Lores are rather forgiving actually b/c they don't try to give you ultra-detail. I have pretty eclectic taste in music (free jazz, grarage rock, old metal, tropicalia) & no one is ever going to accuse stuff from ESP-Disk or bands like The Oblivians of being hi-fi, yet it all sound good on the Tektons. There's a naturalness to the speakers that makes me think of "live" music. Highly compressed modern pop doesn't sound natural to me on any system, but it sounds particularly poor to me on the Tektons; I think that, more than anything else, its a by-product of hearing the naturalness of non-compressed music on the Tektons & how the compressed stuff doesn't give me that. Could you listen to Lady Gaga and LMFAO on them? Sure. Would I buy them if that's what I listened to most of the time? Probably not. For me, though, the Tektons are just insanely good speakers for the price. I currently own four sets of speakers and, despite being the cheapest ones, I can honestly say the M-Lores provide the most fun listening. As always, of course, YMMV. |
Comments that this speaker is not for those who listen to compressed pop music and that the speaker is desgined to sound like "live music" concerns me some because I do listen to pop music from time-to-time and I don't want to force myself to buy music that only works with a certain type of speaker as I am looking for a speaker that does well with the kinds of music I like.
All the reviews speak highly of these speakers, though. So, just to be clear: Does the speaker call attention to itself or can we expect a good balance between detail, air, soundstage, sparkle and decay?
I know the best thing is to listen to them myself but thanks to anyone who addresses whether these speakers will be altogether too unforgiving except for only the best recorded material. |
Its ok Eric responded to my email and said the 3.9uF is perfectly. |
Has anyone heard the Lore/m-lore with the silver upgrades? thoughts? |
I was looking into getting the mundorf silver oil caps from the supplier here in australia. It's a fair bit cheaper than shipping in from the states.
Eric sent me an email telling me I need a 4 & 10 uF caps for the lore but the silver oils only come in a 3.9uF. Will this do or should I put a 1 uF in series with the 3.9?
I know some have upgraded the lore xover here so can you share what you did please.
Many thanks. |
My M-Lores arrived yesterday morning and after 10 hours or so of break-in I'd say that review is pretty accurate. These aren't speakers for those who love either highly compressed pop music (which will sound off)or ultimate clinical detail, but if you are in to a "live" sound that make it sound like the band is in the room with you these are keepers. I'm loving them.
Batch |
Stereo times has a new review on the M-Lore too. He kept them.
Eric has kicked some goals lately with some more good reviews.
Be interesting to hear some feed back on the new pendragons with the seas drivers! |
Check out home theater review for a good read on the pendragon. |
Hi Mapman,
The Zu Essence is widely accepted as the anomaly in the Zu lineup. In the same price range the Superfly or the Omen Defs are much more dynamic, lively, and each supply a large dose of the Zu House sound......... |
Finsup,
Looks like a more refined version of the 10" Pendragon. |
I heard Zu for first time recently at Capital Audiofest.
I heard the Essence speakers. I thought these to be promising but appeared to be run off an underpowered amp at the show which limited what they could do. The demo seemed more about how few watts could be used rather than optimizing what the Zu's could do, even in a relatively small hotel room used for the demo. Will have to hear again with a better setup. |
Eric is now offering a Seas-based Pendragon. |
Having read this thread carefully, of course I'm only able to 'imagine' the sound of the Lore-S. I'm attracted by everything I'm reading about them. My present speakers are British LS3/5a monitors on stands. I like classical orchestra and 50's jazz and I value nuance, refinement and good scale. Has anyone heard both speakers and can advise me as to how they compare? My room is 14 X 16, long wall placement |
Hi Audioman,
I have the Mundorf Caps SIO in my Pendragons along with the Mundorf Supreme Resistors and I did find the break in process to be very long and not so pleasant at times as has another friend of mine with the same set up. And yes the improvement over the stock Caps and Resisitors was quite dramatic. However, now they are really singing. I am equally impressed with these speakers with a 2 watt Decware Zen and an 18 Watt AN 211. Hopefully I won't regret my decision to sell these in the hope of "upgrading"..........:) |
Hello Holly,you have not heard anything yet, I have a vast amount of
Experience with all Mundorf caps these caps with take at least 300 hours
Just to settle in ,they will go through. Few changes from dull, to bright then
Start to refine. The Mundorf Silver,Gold oil are better still but wy to expensive.th bass in the silver is not as solid as the lesser supreme but far better Through the rest of the frequency spectrum. I have used all Mundorf products for years. One thing to mention why not use the excellent Mundorf
Supreme resistors ? They are a little clearer sounding then the Mills resistors ,what are they using in the -SE version in the lore?
And second only to the worlds best for cpacitors as well as resistors
The Duelunds from Denmark. |
I can't speak to the crossover update for the Lores, but I purchased the upgraded crossovers from Eric for the Pendragons and it is a substantial upgrade. I only installed the upgrade in one speaker so that I could do a direct comparison between the upgraded and stock versions. The upgrade was easily detected without any burn-in time. The new crossover provides much more upper end detail and presents a greater sense of 'air' around instruments and vocals. It is very cliche, but it really is as if you removed a veil from in front of the speaker.
It is a significant monetary investment, but I think the upgraded crossovers are well worth it on the Pendragons. And as has already been said, Eric is not making any money from the upgraded crossovers -- the Mundorf Caps are very expensive for the sizes required (8.2 and 10.0 uF for the Pendragons). You could probably save some money and use some different caps (Jantzen Superior Z caps or Mundorf Mcap Supremes), but the silver in oil are really special. |
There's a user who did his own replacement with Mundorf SIO caps, I believe with Pendragons, and said it was immediately evident and great improvement. I haven't seen anything about doing so with Lores, but I would expect similar. It's hard to say whether it's worth it - I don't have experience swapping capacitors and thus don't know how much change to expect. I have explored the cost of swapping to Mundorf SIO on my own, and the capacitors involved cost about $600 for the pair of speakers. Eric isn't making money on the crossover upgrades - it's just that the Mundorf SIO's in the values involved cost that much. |
The Mundorf SiO cap upgrade for the Lore's is $625. That's a bigtime price for speaker that sells for $1000. Has anyone had experience with it yet? Is it really worth $625? |
I'm about to sell my Merlin TSM-MMi's in favor of the Tekton Lore/Lore-S. I listen mainly to modern jazz, heavy metal, and prog rock. The Merlins are unbelievable when it comes to purely acoustic music, vocals, coherency, tone, and imaging. However, when it comes to heavier rock and metal, they fall short. They lack the impact for that type of music and aren't the most forgiving speakers in the world.
I currently have a Cary SLI-80 F1, All Triode edition but also will be trying to get my hands on a Red Wine Audio Signature 30.2 LFPV to run the Lores. Any opinions?
Also what's the main differences between the Lore & Lore-S? Anybody in the RI area with these speakers? |
Also, what are the main differences between the Lore v. Lore-S? |
I'm seriously contemplating selling my Merlin TSM-MMi's in favor of the Lore/Lore-S. These speakers really sound like my cuppa. I listen to mostly modern jazz and metal. The Merlins absolutely shine with jazz, anything acoustic, and vocals but fall way short with any type of heavy rock. The Tektons sound like they do well with both. Will initially be running them with a Cary SLI-80 F1 but also plan on going the low-powered SS route as well. Maybe the RWA 30.2 LFP-V or some Class A SS.
Any owners in the Rhode Island area? |
Has anyone listened to the M-Lore's with the cap upgrade? only $200, could be a great deal. |
Cap upgrades from Tekton now available.
http://tektondesign.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/mundorf-silver-oil-capacitor-upgrade/#respond |
Nico,
Yes.
Bc63, no prob, and that Jack sounds like a great idea. |
Would you Tekton owners recommend their speakers for a person who listens to mostly jazz and heavy metal? |
Sorry for the spelling errors Floosh. One too many Jack Daniels. |
Floose
It's only a cap and a resistor in series. I bought these lore's of Rocky500 and if you look back in this thread you will see when he did the zobel. I had a listen before and after. Let's put it this way, I bought them off him the second time. I liked them the first time but loved them the second.
At the end of the day though there are so many variables in everyone's setups that it's just a Tweeker that some may like. |
Oops, I addressed Chad when it should have been Bc63.
At least I think I did - with the time lag of moderation on this site I lose all track of continuity. |
I'm quite happy w/ my stock Lore's, but I'm curious how much that zoble set you back, Chad, just in case I get the bug to try a tweak or two. |
Chad329
I would look into a zobel on the main driver before looking at the tweeter.
I thought the same as you that it was the top end that was hot but it wasn't.
A simple zobel installed on the main drivers terminals has made all the difference. Now they are a lot more even handed across the range without loosing any of the good stuff. |
Doglog - I owned Omens and Lores at the same yime so I know how they compare, looking forward to your impressions Omen vs. M-Lore.
Keep us posted |
Since it seems that no one has any thoughts on the Zu Omen versus the Tekton M-Lore, I've taken the plunge and purchased a set of Omens because of the favorable return policy. I'll initially be comparing them to my extant speakers as they break-in, but I'll likely order a pair of M-Lores in the near future to compare head-to-head with the Omens. I'll post my thoughts, should anyone be interested. |
I own the Tekton Lore's and I also find the tweeter to be too hot. I run them with tubes and my wife and audiophile friend who listened to them in his own listening space agreed. I'm working on adding a resistor to bring the tweeter response down by 2 db. I may also do what Goraman did and replace the capacitor's. I've had good success in the past doing cap upgrades.
All in all good speakers, but could use some tweaking to make them even better. |
I just read through this thread and wanted to thank everyone for an excellent discussion. One question I have, though, which hasn't been directly addressed, is whether anyone has personal experience with both the Zu Omen and the Tekton M-Lore? I realize the more appropriate comparison is between the Omen and Lore, but I prefer the smaller stature of the Omen and M-Lore. The write-up at Home Theater Review suggests that the M-Lore sounds better, but that review doesn't contain enough detail to get a real sense of the differences. I would appreciate any feedback you all have. And if no one has done a comparison of these two speakers, I might just have to test them both myself. |
|
Gpowered,
If it's not asking too much, why are you selling the Pendragons? |
Do yourself a favor and buy the M-Lores for only $649.00. Save some money. See the Stereomojo and Enjoy thecMusic reviews. |
Not sure where you hear of "flat midrange" on the Zus. I have both the Zu Omen Defs and the Tekton Pendragons, and I much prefer the midrange on the Omen Defs. Granted I have not heard the Omens or Lores, but especially with the Zus, the Omens use the same drivers as the Omen Defs. Both are excellent companies, and Zu offers a 60 day home trial. Every one has different tastes, so take advantage of the home audition and try a pair for yourself. There is nothing like having the speakers in your own house, with your own system, hearing with your own ears! |
This is fascinating. Thanks for all this info. I'm a bit perplexed myself, as I've just bought an Eastern Electric minimax integrated and I need some speakers. Small room but I don't want bookshelf speakers. Tekton and Zu keep popping up as the go-to for small wattage amps. They both seem to have flavors. I keep hearing about "too much bass" on the Tekton's, and "flat mid range" on the Zu's. Are there any other options out there, under $999? This is for a second system so I want to keep the investment low. |
Morgan,
I couldn't contact you through Audiocircles. When I click your name over there, it gives me a message that says "Many apologies, but you can't just view any profile." Are you on diyaudio? They allow private messages there.
To change the subject, what got me started in this new direction, that is, SET and a speaker to go with it is when
I heard the Atma-sphere M-60 OTL's at Deete's Audio showroom in Sacramento. They sounded amazing with the Audio Note speakers (and others too). Alas, out of my price range, and the heat and tube issues (16 tubes, plus the driver tubes) made them even less appealing here in Sacramento. Still, I had to go back to tubeville after several years in solid state land. I listened to a friends HES two ways, and they sounded excellent with a SET amp.
I didn't like the TC-90 inverted dome kevlar tweeter he used,though, so now I am checking out HES's. The Audio Notes sounded great tonally, and they had impact and bass set up in the corners for bass reinforcement, but the sound stage was...long and thin, and they seem overpriced. |
I am in San Francisco and now have the Pendragons if you want to come by sometime let me know. You can PM me on Audiocircle if you want...... |
I'm in Sacramento, Ca., and would like to listen to the Lores. I have the single-ended amp bug, and so I am looking for a more sensitive speaker that my stalwart Vienna Acoustic Mozarts, which are 88-90 db, depending on who you believe. I tend to think the stereophile 88 db measurement is correct, and that doesn't work with the 8 watts I have right now. I have two homemade subs, so I'm not worried about the bottom end very much. I spent a chunk of my weekend reading this thread, and everthing else I could find on Tekton's products, but there is no substitute for listening. Very entertaining thread, btw,
thanks! Goraman, Morganic, Sionlim? |
I got the NCore modules installed in a chassis and running this week. They are very smooth, detailed, great soundstage depth, imaging, tone, pretty much everything. They are not the most dynamic, but a good match to the Lore in this regard, as I have tried some punchy amps with them that we're too much.
I'm just starting to get used to the sound of these amps, but they are definitely special. If you haven't heard of them, I would check them out. |
For those of you who listen to talk radio you might get a kick out of this. Glenn Beck an national radio host has a pair of tekton lore s. I guess he liked them so much he did a quick spot on tekton.
It is on tektons web site. |
I made a number of comments comparing the Lore-S to the Lore. Look page a few pages and you'll find those posts.
Short version: I ended up keeping the Lore instead of upgrading to Lore-S. I liked the better dynamics of the Lore, although the Lore-S had better depth of soundstage and microdynamic details, and was also a bit warmer and smoother sound. I could see people preferring it over the Lore, but I really think realistic dynamics are more important than those other areas, so kept the Lore and am working on other areas of my system to close the gap in other areas.
I'm close to finishing some DIY Hypex Ncore monoblocks - probably will have those running by this weekend. I'm also interested in experimenting as others have with upgraded capacitors in the Lore crossovers. |
Avs9. I used different cables with the lore and the pendragon including mogami and my favorite so far are the clear day cable.Give Paul a call he is a wonderful guy and excellent cables maker. Good luck
Dan |
Mogami coaxial with Lore
Sorry for another one at so short interval - did anybody use Mogami cable with Lore? How was it, anything with better return on investment :)? |
Lore versus Lore-S?
Would anybody say they prefer Lore over Lore-S or vice versa?
Would be very much interested to hear an opinion.
I spoke with Eric and I was given to understand that Lore will have deeper feeling in the lower range just due to the driver size. Is this something that the owners of these especially if someone had a chance to compare will share?
Thank you |
Gpowered- Thanks for your comment. Actually I already own a pair of Lores, but am always looking to hear how they might compare to other speakers. Being from a small town my options for auditioning speakers is very limited. So when I bought my Lores it was based solely on reviews. I think you are right in that comparing the Lores to the Emotivas is not comparing apples to apples. Even though I have not had a chance to listen to the Emotivas I did get a chance to listen the Zu Omens, which everybody seems to compare the Lores to. Here are my thoughts about the Omens if you or anyone else is interested. I found Omens to be a good speaker. Considering various listening preferences they maybe just what some are looking for, unfortunately this was not the case for me. I found the midrange frequencies on the Omens to be very much forward as opposed to the Lores, almost to the point of being overwhelming. I found there was a noticeable difference in bass response. The Lores had more of it, which was well defined delivering what I call a punch as opposed to the Omens. I bought the Lores with this in mind and have not been disappointed. Again others may find a less defined bass more appealing, I do not. My only criticism of the Lores is that the high end can be a bit more accentuated than I like. However, this does vary from recording to recording. That being said it probably does not come as much of a surprise but I much prefer the Lores. |
