Considering the New Tekton Design Encores? AND Owners Group - Experiences/Questions

@stereo5 
Made in America Encores against Communist China Tritons? Yer kiddin', right?

@stereo5  Great, thanks for stopping by. Many people who have owned speakers costing many times the price of the Tektons, own Tektons.  I am one of them.  Reviewers have said as much as well, but I understand since you haven't heard them.  I can only compare them to the dozens of brands I have heard while selling high end, visiting trade shows, or spending time at fellow audiophile's homes over the last couple of decades. If you enjoy your Tritons that's great. 

jcarcopo - i suspect the tweeters are the same in all these speakers, except for the waveguides being different.  the encore's and the di/se's seem to have the same waveguide, while the ulfberht's and the moab's have the same waveguide.  and, while i'm not sure, i also suspect the spacing has to do with the adjacent woofers/midwoofers.  the smaller waveguide tweeters are adjacent to the single midwoofers, while the tweeters w/the larger waveguides are adjacent to either 12" woofers, or a pair of midwoofers. (or 10"/12"/15" woofers of the perfect set's).

and yes, if you were to build the encores w/a woofer at the top, you would want a taller cabinet; i believe the custom encore i heard about was installed in a cabinet similar to the taller moab cabinet.  of course, you could always raise the cabinets.  years ago, i owned a pair of coincident victory's, (great speakers, btw), and they sounded better when raised ~14" - which then had them mimicking the super-victory's but w/o the additional side-firing woofers.  raising those speakers considerably enhanced the soundstaging, and i'm certain the same would apply to encores w/standard 62" cabinets, but one woofer at the top of the array...  if my calcs are correct, the center of the present encore's middle tweeter is ~44.6" above the floor, or a mite higher if the speaker has spikes or feet.

@jcarcopo,

Touchy, aren’t we?  All I said was I bet they compare to my speakers, I do not care who gives up expensive Speakers for the Tektons.  I owned a pair of Pendragons 5 years ago, they sounded like crap and Eric gave me a hard time when I wanted to return them after owning them for 10 days. They were also very cheaply made and the shipping cartons were a joke as both new speakers arrived damaged with no apparent marks on the shipping cartons.  My made in China speakers had no problems. 

@stereo5 Touchy? I'm not sure what you read that you took the wrong way, but I think you're reading entirely too much into my reply. I would ask you to please keep politics out of the thread, it's off topic, serves no purpose, and just causes problems. 

@jcarcopo 

How far do you sit from the Encores?

@kingdeezie I'm 10' away. 

@jcarcopo 

Do you think there would be any problem in sitting closer? I have been kicking back and forth trying a pair of Tektons. 

I generally enjoy a more nearfield experience. Specifically, I sit about 6 feet away. Curious to see if the drivers have even a remote chance to blend at that distance. 

@sedond You might very well be right on the tweeters for the Moabs/Ulfs since I’ve no idea, but I always wanted to believe he used better tweeters in the DIs SE vs the standard DIs, but I may be totally wrong because my memory is not very good. I thought it was an eminence tweeter in the regular DIs? It’s been years since I sold my DIs. I always wonder what the premium price was for the SE and figured it was for better tweeters.

Here are definitely the Encore tweeters, https://www.parts-express.com/wavecor-tw030wa13-30mm-textile-dome-neodymium-tweeter-with-heat-sink-a...

@kingdeezie Well, I'm reclined at 10'. I'm at ~8' unreclined which is more intimate and revealing. The soundstage of course shrinks a bit though. 6' is pushing it, but not undoable. These aren't exactly bookshelves 😁, but maybe I'd call and ask Eric for advice.  He might suggest a different speaker. See, it really depends on how you like to listen IMHO,  I have a friend who likes to listen more nearfield to his towers. He likes the effect. 

Are you at 6' by choice or because you have no choice? 😁 

@kingdeezie I just realized you said you do like nearfield.  I think you would be okay, you just need to mess with the toe-in more aggressively. You should be okay technically. 

jcarcopo - definitely better tweets in the di/se's than the standard di's.  per what i said, i suspect these are the same as what's in the encores, and i think the moab's, ulfberht's, and the prefect set's also use this same tweeter, tho w/different waveguide.

while it's hard to be certain, imo, the waveguide on the tweets in the di/se's and the encores looks closer to this, than the one you cited:
https://www.parts-express.com/wavecor-tw030wa14-30mm-textile-dome-neodymium-tweeter-with-heat-sink-a...
- just a bit more taper.  but, it could be an illusion, as both are listed as the same dimensions on wavecor's site, w/only difference being 4 vs 8 ohms

and i see nothing on the p/e website that looks like the bigger waveguides in the moab's and the ulfberhts.  and nothing on wavecor's site w/5 perimeter screws...

it's possible (likely?) that eric can get custom drivers, as he is ordering in quantity.  even for a single pair, ha ha!

doug s.

Its definitely a curious thing about these tweeters. 

Really really want to pull the trigger on a set of Ufs these days, but ultimately I think I may have to "settle" for the Encores based on size.  I literally have carboard boxes sitting on top of my Double Impacts to mimic the size of the Ufs and Encores. Left is is Encore and Right is Ufs. And to think I thought the DIs were overkill when they showed up. 

Either way, there is a 0% chance I will be disappointed in either. But I may always wonder if you could have managed the big boys.



Out of curiosity, could someone measure the height of the tweeter from the base of the Encore cabinet? I calculated the distance based on photos and ratios of the overall cabinet dimensions. Based on my calculations, the Encores tweeter actually sits higher by a few inches over the Ufs. Can anyone confirm this?
 
I'm wondering what that will do for my overall listening positioning in relation to tweeters. I sit relatively low in my modern style couch. 

Slapping the Encores on some Gaia feet, or other vibration isolation, and/or speaker platforms and suddenly the tweeter goes up another 4-5"

@sedond The link I provided was provided from a friend who also owns the Encores who had taken his tweeter array apart because he's crazy. (He even sent me a ghastly picture with all them tweeters hanging out, I felt sorry for the array...lol).  He sent me 2 links (one was the wrong tweeter) and I probably copied the wrong url.

@whacky, I would measure for you, but I can't locate my tape measure at this moment. I'm also dealing with cleaning up the aftermath of a nearby lightning strike which took out my modem, switch, router, Roon Server, and UPS that I know of. I have the Isoacoustic Gaia Titan Theia (they were a demo pair and cost about what the Gaia I cost and totally overkill, but maybe I'll buy the 1812 one day, lol!) I'm always in a reclined position when listening and therefore seated lower and everything sounds great to me so I wouldn't worry too much about the treble tweeter height being a tad higher. If I find the tape measure I will let you know, I misplaced it when I installed room treatments a couple of months ago and I just need to clear my mind and retrace my steps. :-)

@jcarcopo,

I checked out your system and it is a very well thought out and put together system.  The Art Audio tube amp is really something special. I heard their amps at an audio show and if I was to buy a tube Integrated, Art Audio would be on my very short list.  

@stereo5 Thanks for kind words. My apologies for any misunderstanding on my part prior, I wasn't trying to be dismissive and I didn't know you had heard the Pendragons or had a negative experience. I only can speak to the Double Impacts and the Encores and they fit the bill for what I looking for in a speaker sonically (not so much asthetically, but with the Spanish Tile high gloss finish, I'm pretty please with how they turned out).  They are very coherent and the midrange of that array is quite spectacular imho. 
Unfortunately, my system setup is a bit out of date on Audiogon. I now have some Allnic A6000 monoblocks that use 4x 300bxls tubes in a parallel SET configuration and produce 60wpc.  I also have a Pass Labs Xa25 I'm really enjoying that I recently purchased. You can't go wrong with Art Audio though for sound quality, I've owned two of them over the years. I just wanted more power so I moved up to the Allnics. 

I have heard Allnic equipment and again, you have excellent taste. Enjoy your system. 

Anyone have any experience with the Schiit Freya+ and Aegir for the Encores?  I read in another thread that 2 Aegirs in monoblock mode was a good match for the Tekton Double Impacts, but I also hear that running the Aegirs in monoblock mode is not a good match for 4 ohm speakers and can trip up the protection circuit on the Aegirs.
Jcarcopo, do you like the XA25 with the Encores?  I am thinking about the X25 too after your previous reply to my original question about power amps, but $4,900 is a big jump from the $1,600 for the Schiits (or $2,400 for 2 Schiit Aegirs and a Freya+), and with the XA25 I can't go all balanced with the XA25 using the balanced out from my Chord Dave.

@jsoku I come from SET Tube Amplifiers for over 21 years. I love them for their glorious midrange. The XA25 was purchased from Moon-audio.com on a 30 day trial with a 10% restocking fee if I returned it, but my good buddy whose an audiophile said I would really like the sound of it. I read a few reviews by Terry London et al and his equating the XA25 to a SET amp really floored me.

When I got it setup and heard the first 30 seconds even cold out of the box I was speechless and instantly smitten. There's a tonal purity and inner detail in the midrange that leaps out at you with an immediacy that gets your attention right away.
The bass is very tight, the highs are sparkly. It begins to open up as it warms up and relax it's presentation becoming more and effortless as bloom on the instruments increases. The midrange is now starling realistic and as good to my ears as the best SET amplifiers.  THIS is the cheapest PASS Labs amp XA amp and it has the best damping 500, slew rate 100v, noise 50v, and it's 50w class A power envelope is at only .1% distortion which is incredible into any impedance .  It can even do 200w into 2ohm momentarily too.

Only 4 massive matched transistors per side, a completely singled ended class A topology through and through. It's a definite keeper for me. 

You can find them used for $3000 and you might find one on Hifishark on there right now if it's still there. 

I highly recommend the XA25 AMPLIFIER. IT'S PURE MAGIC! 

@jsoku I have been using a Freya + with monoblock Aegirs for a year now without any problem with my DIs. I’ve seen people posting that they have the same setup with Moabs without issue too. I just ordered Encores, so we’ll see if the Aegir monoblocks work with them. Sadly, I honestly am expecting that they won’t. The Schiit people said the Aegirs don’t like much below 3 ohms. And Eric told me that the Encores are the most demanding speaker in his lineup. So we’ll see. Either they will work, and that’s great. Or they won’t (at least a single stereo one should) and I will look at other amp options. I wish Jason @ Schiit would design a powerful monoblock Aegir that is stable below 4 ohms, because the Aegirs are really fantastic sounding amps.

Thank you both.  I'm going to wait to purchase the power amp until the Encores arrive which--given Eric's busy backlog--who knows when that will be--I placed my order at the end of June and he told me the lead time was 6-8 weeks but I remember from my previous Tekton order that that can skip.
@sid-hoff-frenchman, when you get your Encores, please post whether or not the monoblock Aegirs work out with them.  If you just ordered your Encores, I may get mine before you get yours, but in any case, I'd still be interested.
@jcarcopo, using the XA25 with the Encores, do you feel there would not be not be significant benefit to adding a tube pre-amp to the mix, like the Schiit Freya+?  I was thinking about adding the Freya+ to try out some tubey sound, but if the XA25 sounds good enough by itself, I can just use my Chord Dave as a digital preamp and skip getting a preamp (which would help dull the pain of the $4,900 XA25).

@jsoku I have been running source direct from a DAC happily for 20 years! I did try a Ayon Audio Stealth DAC which has a Tube Preamp in it and I felt like it robbed me of too much detail. That's entirely up to you, some people like to fatten and sweeten and warm up the sound more. I personally want my source pure and only have 2 digital sources and never needed a preamp anyway.  That's just me.  If you save money and gain resolution, even better IMHO!

JCARCOPO sensitivity is not efficiency your amps out put is about 3/4 watts to get 96Db not 1 watt the spec are miss leading it is all so 4 ohms not 8 so your at a real 90 Db sensitivity 2.83v@1 meter efficiency is in % not Dbs low power amps need high efficiency not sensitivity my speakers are 3% efficiency @ 8 ohms so 4 watts is 104 Db @ 2 meters not 96 Db  i am just saying you are happy with your new speakers that great i am not trying to bring you down happy listening

Ever hear of periods?

ditusa - whatever is it you are trying to say?

" sensitivity is not efficiency"
- ok, so it isn’t. but if a speaker’s sensitivity is 96dB 2.83V@1m sensitivity, that’s pretty efficient, no?

" your amps out put is about 3/4 watts to get 96Db not 1 watt"
- so, this means it’s even *more* efficient than if it needed 1 watt, right? or, are you saying the amp’s output needs to be 3 to 4 watts to get 96db, not three-quarters of a watt? and you know this because...? even w/4 ohm rated speakers, it will take 2w to get 96db, not 3 or 4w.

" my speakers are 3% efficiency @ 8 ohms so 4 watts is 104 Db @ 2 meters not 96 Db"
- so, if your speakers are 8 ohms, that means the sensitivity rating for 2.83V@1m would be 98db, right? 101db doubles the power to 2 watts, doubling the distance from 1m to 2m doubles the power again to 104db. (assuming 2.83v is equivalent to 1w)

" it is also (all so?!?) 4 ohms not 8 so your at a real 90 Db sensitivity "
now, i am aware that the 2.83v = 1w is for 8 ohm-rated speakers; for a speaker that sees a 4 ohm load, it takes 2w to get the same output. so, it’s possible (likely?) that at 1m, the encores are rated at 93db for 1w at 1m, not the 96db as stated, but not 90db either. still on the efficient side...

you really should post what others who are reading it, can understand what it is you’re trying to say. and get your facts correct.

doug s.

@jsoku I will certainly post about how the Aegirs work with the Encores. I ordered about two weeks after you, but as you say the timing could go any number of ways. I'm curious how you decided to go with Encores. You mention you have previously had other Tekton speakers.

In my case I have DIs and have been saving up to climb the Tekton ladder to one of their flagships. Ulfberhts just won't fit in my house. Moabs are pushing it size-wise. Encores I can do. Plus the descriptions I've seen about the sound profile of the Encores sounds closer to what I want than the Moabs. Anyway, I would be interested in how you arrived at Encores. With the popularity of the Moabs, Encores don't seem to get much attention lately. 

@jcarcopo If my Aegirs don't end up working with the Encores I'm trying to develop a working list of other amps to consider. I have heard many good things about the XA25. I know the Tektons can be driven without much power, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the whole MORE POWER IS BETTER philosophy. Again and again people say things like "you can never have too much headroom," etc.

The XA25 sounding great with the Encores seems to run counter to that idea, especially as it only provides 50W at 4 ohms on a speaker that can handle 800W. For instance many people seem to love the Parasound A21+. It's nearly $2k cheaper than the XA25, but provides much more wattage. Have you tried using more powerful amps as well for comparison? Interested in your thoughts on this.

@SEDOND- the speakers are 4ohm.right..so if they drop to 2 ohm? that is 4 watts that is how they get 96 Db @ 2.83 volts sensitivity @ 1meter.that is ,why i said 3/4 watts.so this means the sensitivity is*less* right not *more*.and your right. when you said my speaker would be 98Db sensitivity. but they are not .they are 96 Db sensitivity @ 1watt @ 1meter .they are 8 ohms. they do not drop *below* 6 ohms true 8 ohms. the -op- speakers are a true 4 ohms. they do not drop below 2 ohms? that is why i said 90Db.not 93 Db i said my speakers are 3% efficiency they are.so the -op- speakers are about .5% efficiency? that is why i said miss leading.all so they do not tell you what frequency they sweep for sensitivity.-500Hz or 1000Hz or 2000Hz? jbl sweeps 100Hz to 500Hz sensitivity # is lower but efficiency is higher. the -op- said he call schiit audio.ask about the aegir amp. they told him.it don’t like 2ohm loads. i bought the same amp. they said what speakers do you have i said jbl 4435 monitor. they said your fine.that is what i mean by sensitivity is not efficiency.i am not saying to buy 4435. when you look at the 4435 manual they do not miss lead. i do not what to hijack the -op- i wish the best.the -op-has a great 8-watt amp it needs high efficiency speakers jbl is the only speaker company i know. that gives efficiency rating on there monitor.if the-op- asked tekton the efficiency on the encores thats the? i do not know all.i hope sum facts are corrected.

@sid-hoff-frenchman My previous Tektons were the SEAS Pendragons.  Back in 2013, I called Eric to inquire about trying out his Pendragon speakers which were getting a fair amount of rave press at the time for their "live" sound.  I explained to Eric that I wasn't really an audiophile and I have some mild high frequency hearing loss, and I wanted to try out his Pendragon speakers thinking that the "live" dynamic sound signature might appeal to me and my hearing problems.  Eric suggested I try out the SEAS Pendragons instead which was very new at the time, explaining that he thought its more linear sound signature might be better than the Pendragons for my hearing issues.  I took his suggestion and I've enjoyed the SEAS Pendragons since then, but every year thereafter have been watching with dismay and envy as Tekton launched a bewildering array of critically acclaimed speaker designs, so I decided to make an upgrade purchase this year.
I settled on the Encores for much the same reason as you.  I wanted to get one of the Tekton flagships but the Ulfs are simply too big for my listening room which is about 12X20 with low ceilings.  Moabs I could barely fit, but they would be really be pushing it too.  I didn't want to get any of the others for fear that I'd be itching to upgrade again in a few years.  I called Eric and asked him what he thought for me between the Encores and Moabs.  Eric said that if I liked the SEAS Pendragons, the Encores might be a better fit for me than the MOABs.  He described the Encores having a fuller more refined sound like the SEAS Pendragons' sound signature type, whereas the MOABs emphasized the "live" sound signature type that Tekton is known for.  
Eric is also building me a SEAS Pendragon center channel so I can move my SEAS Pendragons out to my home theater to replace some Monitor Audio fronts and center which have decent high frequency sound but the midrange is not as good as the SEAS Pendragons so moving them in there is an upgrade to the home theater as well.

@ditusa I drove my Encores to 94db peaks and 90db continuous spl from 10ft away with only 13 pc not 8wpc when using my Art Audio Diavolo.  Tom Willis installed the larger power transformer modification to support a 300bxls tube. Rather than argue with you, I will only say I did it and it sounded fine, even the bass.  I now own Allnic A6000 Quad Parallel SET Monoblocks which I run with only one 300bxls at 15wpc currently in the summer months and with up to 4 300bxls to produce 60wpc in the winter months.  The thing I notice is that at my normal listening level of 85db I don't need more than 15wpc anyway. I only moved up to Allnics because I had upgraditus and always wanted to own a more powerful pair of SET monoblocks and I love the EML 300BXLS tube.

@sid-hoff-frenchman I did own a pair of Nord 700wpc/4ohm One Up SE Ncore Class D Monoblocks ($4k) for awhile. They sounded alright, but absolutely nothing sounds like a good tube SET amp to me (I'm very biased about this so take that into consideration), except maybe the XA25 coming in as a close 2nd.  I thought having the Nords would be good for when I watch TV/MOVIE or just to save my tubes from wear when I am not critical listening.

I use a Luxman AS-55 Amp/Speaker Switcher to switch between tube and solid-state amps in my system.  Now, did having all that overhead make a difference?  Yeah you can blow your eardrums out, but most realistic listening levels are achieved at much more pedestrian wattage levels. The XA25 produces 50 watts into 4ohm at .01% distortion in pure class A and has reserves to go much further.  Most amplifiers are at 1% distortion at their rated power.

It's a 10 to 1 ratio with wattage anyway.  It takes 1000w to effectively double the output of 100w amplifier in spl.  So even with 50w you need 500w just to double the perceived spl.  At least that's how it's been explained to me. Please correct me if I am wrong.  All that being said, the Parasound pairs nicely with Tekton.  Eric loves pairing them together at shows and events.  You really can't go wrong with them.

@charles1dad Charles I feel like a heretic buying the XA25! It’s the first solid-state amp I’ve owned that I actually was intrigued with sonically within a few seconds of hearing the vocals and midrange play even while it was cold right out of the box. The gestalt was very jarring. My preconceived notions of solid-state are forever altered. Pass has devoted so much of his time to his First Watt amps and he sneaks this XA25 amp into his line up, which is nothing like the rest of the XA .8 series which use many transistors and have actually worse specifications. The utter simplicity of the XA25 along with it’s truly single ended circuit seems to be winning me over. I had 2 people suggest it to me whose opinions I value and so I decided to take the plunge and try it just to prove them wrong, but I am very pleased with it. Terry London’s Review mirrors my own sentiments regarding this amp being built entirely around the midrange and that it’s as close to SET like I’ve ever heard.

@ JCARCOPO i am happy that you like the encores as i stated i did not what to hijack the post i do not what to argue.what i was saying is most speaker company are miss leading in there numbers.your right 15watts is all you need.i can’t used more then 5-watts.@my seat 13’ the spl is 106 Db.but @1watt its great.your art audio diavolo SET-300b tube amps are great.that 1-watt in that amp is what i live for in audio.but it is more then just spl? you know that. the jbl i use are two/way.the $2500 i paid for them.i have not found better for what they sound like and cost i found better the jbl everest but at $60,000? if you found audio happiness with *encores*thats the audio (grail).don’t stop until you you drink from the silver cup.why are you reading this? GO listen to the (ENCORES) over and out.

It's a 10 to 1 ratio with wattage anyway. It takes 1000w to effectively double the output of 100w amplifier in spl. So even with 50w you need 500w just to double the perceived spl. At least that's how it's been explained to me. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Power to volume is logarithmic, but not quite that much. Doubling the power is only 3dB louder. Double three times- 3, 6, 9dB- you're talking 8 times the power to go 9dB louder. The ten to one you're thinking of is probably 10dB takes ten times the power. That one is true. 

Another factor is "double the perceived spl" that one is pretty subjective. 3dB is only a little louder, but a lot of people would probably agree 10dB is twice as loud. So that may also be where your 10 to 1 comes from.
Either way, based on what I am hearing from my Moabs its a slam dunk that Encores are super easy to drive and sound amazing.

@millercarbon Thanks for clarifying. I knew I was on the right path, but I'm glad you clarified this for me. 😉 

@ JCARCOPO I know you like SET-300b tube amps.*LOOK*@ the pass lab's, XA25! amp,It mimics, a SET 300b tube circuit?.And yes it is *ss*..I think, the sound is not so as* tube's* or* transistor's*, but maybe the circuit? I do not have a xa25 amp.I do not know,what the amp sound's, like.My buddy say's, the midrange?. But i will be trying,one in my rig.25-watts will give me, a in room,SPL of 113 Db with 10Db peaks @ my seat @13'.Thats why, i don't,wast my time ,on high power amps.If the first watt is bad.I do not want 99- more..All so the *xa25 amp* will handel the speakers,you have,the,(ENCORES), resistance/impedance better? It runs class A @25watts.Lots of heat.Like 300b tube'sThe heat of my amps,is not a concern my amps,are in the cellar,below the speakers..Biamping the the (ENCORES) is a road to go down.

 (I met nelson in 1975,at Tech Hi Fi when he was in(Providence,RI).We spoke about circuits.not tube's or transistor's.Nelson is a* thinker*His work show's that.In the 1960's jbl try it with the *T-circuit amp*.*SS* to combat the *ss* "BAD SOUND"at that time.Whats new now... .(As nelson will say, whats new under the *SUN*.

@ditusa I own the Pass Labs XA25 and I love it. It’s the only solid-state amp that comes extremely close to a SET tube amplifier and it drives the Encores quite well. ☺ It sounds wonderful, especially in the midrange. It's a very special solid-state amplifier. I am very impressed with it. You will love it! 

Can someone share the owners manual for the Tekton Encore? I snagged a used pair, and I haven't Tekton hasn't shared a manual yet.

Thank you!

@ceaglek2782 There’s no Owner’s manual. Just make sure you use the very bottom binding posts and you should be fine in terms of hooking them up. Do not biamp them, they are only bi-wireable to my knowledge.

If you have further questions please let me know.

@jcarcopo I'm curious - why not use both bottom and top binding posts?

Also, how do the resistor pots work?

I meant do not use the tweeter adjustment binding posts located higher-up on the speaker.  You can biwire the speaker to the same amp. You can not biamp the speaker to 2 separate amps to the 2 bottom pairs of jacks. You can use the 2 bottom pairs of jack for biwire only though. 

The reason is because the top and bottom jacks on the bottom of the speaker are both wired to the entire speaker. You will short your amps out by biamping these 2 pairs of inputs, but bi-wiring with one amp is fine.  There's no example of anyone using the much higher located tweeter adjustment input jacks, that I know of. You are more than welcome to ask Eric directly if you so wish, but he's very busy and previous requests have gone unanswered.  

@squeak_77_king I'll let management know 😁 

@jcarcopoAre you running the XA25 sans preamp?

@coot Yes, I only have 2 digital sources I switch between and I prefer the sound quality running source-direct from my dac. 

jsoku,
All of us have some HF hearing loss due to aging, noise exposure, etc.  Most don't realize it.  Forgive me, I am a little confused about what Eric said about the difference between the Encore and Moab.  "He described the Encores having a fuller more refined sound like the SEAS Pendragons' sound signature type, whereas the MOABs emphasized the "live" sound signature type that Tekton is known for."  Does the "live" sound have more HF, making the Moab a brighter sound with more HF, and the Encore having more bass and fullness with less HF?  If this is correct, than I would think the Moab would help you compensate for HF hearing loss, unless you want a more laid back, mellow sound.