“Invest” in Tekton?


I’ve been a member of Audiogon for a while but haven’t really had the need to utilize the forums until now... I’ve perused the forums pretty extensively the past couple of days but haven’t really found my specific question.... First some background: I’ve had my current system for quite some time (PSB image: 5t, 9c, 2b, subsonic 6; Denon AVR3311 as preamp; and a NAD T955 amp) and have been pretty happy with it... yes, I tend to hold on to my stuff for a while.... I recently decided to explore the option of upgrading/updating my speakers and was pretty interested in some midlevel stuff (SVS Prime, Emotiva, PSB X2T, Paradigm 8, 9, or 10 something…) but ultimately decided the $2000-$3000 price tag wasn’t worth the investment as they were all roughly in the same league as my PSBs... Somehow, I stumbled upon the review of the Tekton double impacts... don’t even know how I found it but there I was... I kinda chuckled to myself when the reviewer started comparing them to $20,000 speakers and then started calling them better at some things... I was a little pessimistic about the review because in my aforementioned research every speaker was the greatest thing since sliced bread.. (To be honest, in my eyes, the professional reviewers lost some credibility because every speaker was just great, couldn’t find a bad review no matter how hard I tried...) Anyhow, the comparison to speakers 7-10x in price piqued my curiosity so I started snooping around for any Tekton reviews I could find and lo and behold, everyone loves them and the comparisons to speakers multiple times their price were plentiful. Ok, so the Tektons are good and now I’m more interested than I should be…

So here’s the rub… I’ve never even considered spending $5000-$6000 on a speaker system (5.0-5.1). Never in my wildest dreams… I’ve always had a theoretical limit of $3k and never gave anything above that a thought. Along comes Tekton with speakers that are in the 5-6k price range (5.0-5.1) but are being compared to speakers $20,000+ and the fact people are putting them in the same league as speakers in that price range, and saying they are better in some instances, is intriguing…

So here’s where I am asking for some assistance. It seems the Tekton lineup is a unique opportunity to acquire reportedly superior sonic performance with apparently unparalleled value. However, $5-6k is a TON of money in my world.. It won’t break the bank but admittedly, it bends it pretty significantly and spending this kind of money on speakers definitely wasn’t a consideration even a week ago… Personally, I am seeing this as a once in a lifetime purchase (am 43 and would expect these to be the last major speaker purchase of my life) but I do need to justify to my betrothed. My original sales pitch to her included the analogy “it seems they are selling Lamborghinis for the price of a Mustang…” and “I really don’t think there will be another opportunity like this” (when did I start selling timeshares???!!!) There are other barriers with her as well (e.g., “They’re how big?!”) but she does have somewhat of an understanding of how much I like music and stereo stuff.. somewhat…

So my actual questions:

  1. To those that have actually heard the speakers, (transducers?)… do you really feel they are leaps and bounds better than typical speakers in the 3-6k range (generally speaking…)? For comparison, I liked the SVS Ultras but due to price and size (yeah, I know how big the Tektons are..) I put them in the “maybe someday” category. To be clear, I’m not asking is “x better than y?” but rather “Do these $3000 speakers really belong in the same class as $20,000 speakers????

  2. In your humble opinions, is this really a rare/unique opportunity with unparalleled value that is a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” or are situations like this (incredible value for the money) more common?

  3. I can’t even claim to have a basic understanding of electronics, I’ve read up on ohms and what not and my eyes glaze over.. I spoke with Eric and he, without hesitation, stated my NAD T955 would be plenty sufficient to run whatever options I went with. Thoughts? I intend on using the NAD until it dies (hopefully no time soon) and will deal with next steps when the time is right…

  4. I am super nervous about ordering something so expensive unheard, If anyone is interested, I would like to have a discussion relating to my type of music and listening environment/levels.. (not including in this post to keep size down..)

  5. Any other relavant information I haven't considered, particularly in the area of justifying a purchase such as this?

There are probably 100 other little tidbits I could include in this but I am trying to be as brief as possible and I still wrote a novel… Anyhow, any productive assistance would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

la10slgr
To everyone that has talked to or emailed Eric and had discussions about the DIs, do you have a backline or special hidden email, etc?  :) ... I have been wanting to order these throughout the week and have gotten no response, which based on another post in this forum, is a bit concerning.  


Granny,

I can respect that,I know a little about your current system and previous gear.If you are interested in my thoughts if I think the DI's would be a good fit for you,I would need to know more.

1.Music presentation preferences.
2. Music choices.
3. Room size.

I haven't heard the cresendo speaker but I think I have a pretty good grasp on how they might sound.

I think we may desire some of the same things.

Even though I got a upgraded pair of di's I think they will be even better with wire and cap changes similar to what both of us have experienced with other speakers.

I don't know if you or others are aware but Eric is coming out with the SE version of the DI's that will be dealer only.

Wish you all the best,
Kenny.
Thanks Kenny. My room is large at 34x24 with 10 foot ceilings. I like my sound full bodied, warmish, and big sounding. I don’t want the speaker to yell out "notice me" but rather I like to be drawn into the music with a speaker that is always at ease and not firing out at me. Any sort of glare, ringing, brightness, tipped up highs and the like will have me turning off my system. I suffer from tinnitus.

I enjoy resolution and dynamics, but cannot tolerate any thinness or extra brilliance in the upper mids and highs. I really enjoy a meat on the bones speaker like my past Harbeth 40.1s and my current AZ Crescendo. I also enjoy Soundlab M1s. As the volume is turned up the performance should swell and swell enveloping me in layer apon layer of glorious tones, dynamic contrasts, and beauty. Not asking for much😁

I listen to to all kinds of music except country and rap. Love acoustic guitar, female vocals, jazz female vocals, old school jazz, Van Morrison, Rickie Lee Jones, solo piano, classical chamber....

I listen at 75-83db usually and sometimes take it up to 85-90db for shorter period of time. Speaker needs to sound full bodied at 70-80 db.

Hope this helps you. The poster will also learn a lot with your response.
Granny,
I see that we prefer mostly the same,including music.

I truly believe that you would find the DI's to your liking and meeting all of your preferences.

Even out of the box,the DI's were at ease,nothing forced in your face,and they just disappear.I only have 25 hrs on mine and hav'nt played every type of music I generally listen to.I still need to experiment a little with placement in my room but I think I'm pretty close.I envy you with your big room,it's the size of our old house.We moved 3 yrs ago to smaller and room is 20x25 which opens to the kitchen.

I think you may be familiar with Eva Cassidy's music,The di's really bring out a sense of delicacy and more emotion in her strong voice,then any other speaker that I have owned.

The di's have great low level resolution meaning early risers,and hold up at higher levels.I hav'nt pushed mine extremely hard or had a chance to listen to a full orchestra recording at high level.
I have a very good feeling that they will hold up just fine.

You mentioned that you thought they might be bombastic in the bass and be possibly overpowering.I found the bass to be just right for me in all aspects and haven't had the need to fire up my subs at all, but some may want more.

We would probably differ in component matching but that is a whole diff. story.If you lived closed to me I would have you over to listen but I know we don't.

Basically I think I will be happy with the DI's for quite awhile,I would'nt consider any speaker a forever speaker for me.

Just my 2 cents,I hope it helps your decision,
Kenny.