Stereophile review of the $30,000 tekton speakers


We have had many discussions/arguments over tekton speakers in the past, mainly involving a couple posters who thought their $4000 tektons sounded better than the highest price Wilson’s and other high budget speakers.

In the latest Stereophile magazine, they did a review of the $30,000 tekton’s. In this Steteophile issue, they rate these $30,000 tekton’s as class B. When you look at the other speakers that are in the class B section, you will notice most of these speakers range in price from $5000-$8000. So it looks like you have to spend $30,000 on a pair of tekton’s to equal a pair of $5000 Klipsch Forte IV’s sound quality. 
If I compare these $30,000 class B tekton’s, to some of the class A speakers, there are some class A speakers for 1/2 the price (Dutch & Dutch 8C, Goldenear triton reference), or other class A speakers that are cheaper (Magico A5, Kef blade 2).

 

 

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I no longer have a dog in this fight, but the hysterical backlash against Tekton speakers on this site has been going on for years and is, for me at least, far more nauseating than Tekton's lofty claims for various speaker models. FWIW, I have personally owned three different pairs of Tektons: Double Impacts, Double Impact SEs, and the Encores.

I consider all of these to be good speakers, and the Encores to be among the best speakers I've owned in twenty-five years.

As for appearance, well, here's a brief anecdote. Prior to buying the Encores, I succumbed to the all too familiar temptation we all face to try a speaker that was getting a lot of attention here and the other usual audiophile sites, as well as in a couple of reviews. I thought they were kind of cool looking and stylish, but just as I was finished putting them together--yes, some assembly required--my wife got home from work, came into the living room where our system lives, and burst into tears because she hated their appearance so much. I drank a beer and told her I'd put them up for sale within the hour.

Later that same evening, I ordered a pair of Encores from Tekton with the Spanish Tile finish. A few weeks later, they arrived. I thought they looked pretty great, especially for a fairly large speaker. The finish was nice and the color was beautiful. My wife loved them, even without the grilles!

They sounded great, too, with different types of amps and different types of music. I enjoyed them immensely for several years before finally finding a speaker I preferred--albeit at more than twice the price--but I could have lived happily with the Encores for the rest of my days.

I don't doubt for a moment that the Ulfs and newer Moabs are even better, but I couldn't say because I have not heard them. But the Encores were very, very nice and looked great in our living room.

This is just one guy's story, but at least it's based on actual user experience rather than jealousy, envy, or whatever dark motivations lurk in the hearts of the chronically discontent.

 

 

+1 for what??  Someone who can't count.  The Tekton critics really are a special group.  

@thecarpathian Way more than 40 Wilson Audio speakers for sale on Hifishark.  I guess all their speakers are crap too?  BTW, perhaps you failed to notice that almost all the Tekton's for sale are their low end models?  There was exactly 1 Moab, 0 Ulf's, and 1 Encore for sale.  Wow, all those unhappy owners that must be dumping their speakers have found a secret site to do that at?