Not a simple question. Has anyone used Resistor Pots on the back of the speakers? There are four Resistor Pots...
Considering the New Tekton Design Encores? AND Owners Group - Experiences/Questions
I am the very happy owner of the first pair of New Tekton Design Encores and I thought I would create this thread to answer any questions anyone might have regarding the Encore speakers, room considerations, and associated equipment. If you’ve order your pair already, please chime in. I really want to hear what other people’s experience are with these unbelievable speakers.
I drive my Encores with both an Art Audio Diavolo SET 300b Tube Amplifier with 8wpc and I switch in my 700w Nord One-Up SE Monoblocks for non-critical listening and some big pieces of music that benefit from the extra power.
I drive my Encores with both an Art Audio Diavolo SET 300b Tube Amplifier with 8wpc and I switch in my 700w Nord One-Up SE Monoblocks for non-critical listening and some big pieces of music that benefit from the extra power.
- Made under U.S. Patent 9247339 with multiple new patents pending
- Proprietary loudspeaker design
- Ultra-linear frequency response with ±.5dB deviation from 70Hz-20kHz
- One single crossover element placed within the tweeter path
- Ultra-linear, entirely time-invariant minimum-phase mid-range section
- Proprietary patent pending 15 dome radiating hybrid MTM high frequency array
- Two 6.5" mid-bass patented ’overtone & harmonic’ transducers
- Dual 11" low-frequency transducers
- 96dB 2.83V@1m sensitivity
- 4 Ohm design for optimum performance
- 20Hz-30kHz frequency response
- Dimensions Width 13.25" x Depth 15.25" x Height 62"
- 800 Watt power handling
- Weight 175 lbs
- ...
- 381 posts total
I previously had Martin Logan Montis Electrostats in my system and I wanted more dynamics. I was worried I might have to sacrifice a little speed and resolution but I now realize that was completely unfounded. I feel the Encores are just as fast and even more resolving, particularly in the midrange and treble. They throw a wider and significantly deeper soundstage in my room. Not surprised. Knew before ordering my Moabs that they are as fast as a stat. Knew it because you are not the first ML owner to say it. I think the very high resolution of these speakers exposes the upstream components and recording quality of the music being played to a great extent. This is one of the best things about them. There's a common question along the lines of what do you like to play to show them off? Well, when everything sounds so good how are you to decide? I mean, resolving upstream changes, I put rubber bands under power cords and heard it. How much more resolving can you get? ???! I feel in the midrange and treble region, they can play with the uber speakers. I feel that in the midrange and treble region some of the uber speakers can play with the Tektons. Some of them. If instead of just the one you order all Be tweeters, then probably you are untouchable. |
@vsedakov, Never used the resistor pots. Don’t know how to use them anyway. No information from manufacturer on how to use them received. I do not have any need to change the mid to high frequency. Low frequency, however, is different. I have a small room and am having some low frequency difficulty. Not as tight as my Thiel 2.3’s, but then again not much is as tight. I have plugged one of the ports with fair results. I am thinking I should have gotten the Be tweeters, but then again, one of the reasons I got away from Thiel as too aggressive treble, likely from aluminum drivers. Encores are not even close to being aggressive. Silk tweeters likely why. Anyone remove the mid bass driver foam plugs and assess for changes in sound? |
After waiting about 10 months, My Encores arrived earlier this month and I've been listening to them for the past two weeks. I had followed jcarpopo's excellent recommendation using a Pass Labs XA25 as a power amp (I was afraid of quickly getting the upgrade bug if I started with a cheaper power amp), and am using a Chord Dave as a DAC for PC audio (music), and a Yamaha AVR 3070 as a preamp in Pure Direct mode (mode that shuts off video circuitry for less noise) for input switching, volume control, and as a DAC for my home theater sources that use HDMI (unfortunately, no HDMI input for the Chord Dave). For music, even with my high frequency hearing loss, the Encores sound spectacular--lush and with a full and integrated sound. Midrange is wonderful (particularly with female vocals--KD Lang, Sade, Shelby Lynne--all sound lush and live). Base is tremendous--almost too much base for music--before receiving the Encores I was considering adding one of the Tekton subwoofers to this setup, but after hearing the Encores, I don't think a subwoofer is needed at all, at least for music. Highs don't particularly stand out as good or bad, though that is almost certain due to my high frequency hearing loss. The Encores are massive--my wife is convinced and accepts this purchase as a mid-life crisis, but my teenage son who usually is content to listen to music on his small bluetooth streaming speaker or worse, his speakerphone, now enjoys regular listening sessions with me with all kinds of music (his tastes in music differ from mine, but almost everything sounds great in this set-up)--discovering new music in our listening sessions--even if it is sometimes music following my son's eclectic music tastes :( -- is a wonderful new father son activity that brings us closer together. No complaints with home theater usage of the Encores either. Soundtracks for movies and TV shows sound much more live and impactful than the SEAS Pendragons I had been using previously for my music setup and are now in my home theater. As the Chord Dave has a digital volume control and can serve as a digital preamp (but not for HDMI sources), I tried bypassing the Yamaha and hooked up the Chord Dave directly to the XA25 power amp for music listening. The resulting sound is somewhat leaner and cleaner, so the Yamaha AVR, even in pure direct mode, appears to be adding some noise to the sound which my brain is interpreting as fullness. I don't mind this added noise/fullness for most types of music (and for acoustic music the additional fullness is actually more pleasing to my ears), but for louder and more congested music (e.g., hard rock, metal, electronica) the added noise/fullness is a bit of a detriment. Regularly switching the wiring between source direct and using the Yamaha as a preamp is too much of a pain to do, so after the Encores' sound has settled, I will probably investigate getting an actual preamplifier instead of the AVR which can accept the SEL or balanced outputs from my Chord Dave and the output from my Yamaha AVR for HDMI sources. I had been thinking of the Schiit Freya+ as a reasonably priced preamp which can alternate between tube mode and solid state model, but additional suggestions for a preamp (particularly any suggestions known to play well with the Chord Dave and/or XA25) would be welcome. |
the Yamaha AVR, even in pure direct mode, appears to be adding some noise to the sound What I been sayin’. The only way of doing HT at Encore level is to run stereo, plugging HDMI video directly into your monitor. Those are some fine speakers. I know, because my Moab are awesome and Encore have to be at least that good. So even more awesome. My suggestion would be to ditch separates, and all the extra multi-channel stuff, in favor of a Raven Osprey. Then not only your son but your wife too will be joining you and you can all sit there slack-jawed in awe of how good those Encores sound with some quality tube watts running through them. https://www.ravenaudio.com/product/osprey-mk3/ |
- 381 posts total