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Former Tekton owners: What have you moved on to?

I owned the Tekton Lore Reference for about a year and a half and they were great for the price. I ran them with a 50w tube integrated and it was a nice combo. For $750 I had no complaints except perhaps that the paint was cracking on one of the rounded corners. I ended up buying a pair of Gallo CL-2 for an office system on closeout direct from Gallo for $390/pair. After they were broken in I found myself listening to them more than the Tektons after awhile. I was getting addicted to the CDT tweeter.

Based on that experience I ordered the CL-3 refurbished for $650/pair shipped (crazy steal) and they were on a different level than both of the above. Sonically, one defining moment for me was listening to Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now. (I think the Track was You’re My Thrill. )
During the intro there is a brief flute soli. With the Tektons it sounded like a really nice flute section that was very homogenous sounding and blended. With the Gallos I could hear each individual flute player and their unique tones and vibrato. The bass was also deeper and tighter on the gallos and the imaging was just amazingly holographic and wide and deep.

I know the timing of this is interesting as the Tekton hype train seems to be at full tilt right now with some of his higher models and I am curious to hear them. The 2 things that would give me serious pause and keep me from moving up the Tekton line are 1) the size and aesthetics 2) The very much "in your face" house sound that can get tiring to me.  Just wondering what others have moved on to from Tekton and what they heard that moved them in that direction.
128x128clarinetmonster2
hfaddict's avatar
hfaddict
97 posts
 
I guess while I’m here, I can also be productive and give my experience with them.

I really enjoyed my time with the Tekton Double Impacts but ultimately, paired with my upstream gear, decided they didn’t quite have the bass response I was looking for on compressed music or classic rock. I could’ve swapped out gear to possibly better match the speakers in this regard but decided to try a different speaker.

The size was also an issue in my room and did play a secondary part in my decision.

But with the right recording, the DI’s checked all the boxes for me. Outstanding low frequency authority, a beautiful lifelike mid range with some real weight around it and a treble that was fresh but non fatiguing. Keep in mind my listening area was also not treated in any way.

My main genre preferences in order of priority is: Modern folk "ish", blues, reggae, classic rock, electronic/hip hop, country. I do a lot of listening at lower volume levels and felt the DI’s weren’t quite as dynamic/impactful at these levels as their sensitivity suggested.

Upstream gear is:
Tidal Hi Fi
Macbook Pro running Audirvana
Chord 2Qute DAC
Linear Tube Audio MZ2 pre (Upgraded tubes)
Line Mag 508 amp (Stock tubes)

I demo’ed a set of Audio Note AN-E HE LX speakers with my own gear and really liked what I heard. I felt like for my situation, these speakers will be a better all arounder. So I ended up purchasing these speakers/stands in kit form through ANK AudioNote. They have yet to arrive. And so the quest continues...






grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,530 posts
 
Great speakers and congrats! I have always loved ANE speakers.  Just beautiful sounding. 
hfaddict's avatar
hfaddict
97 posts
 
Thank you sir.  I've heard the Audio Note kits aren't quite up to par of the factory made cabinets and driver/crossover matching but it's all in good fun.
213runnin
914 posts
 
hfaddict, it's always interesting to find someone who believes that one should never comment or speculate on a component unless one has paid the entrance fee and bought one.  Unfortunately for you, this is the internet, not your living room.  I notice you have no problem with those who praise Tekton without buying them, so what does that make you?

People are going to post things that you don't agree with every day.  I have made several observations about Tekton speakers, and I will stand by my comments about ugly boxes, non flat frequency responses, cheap components and fan boys who can't handle such observations.  By the way, I never said they were a poor sounding speaker, surely you're not going to add to what I said in an attempt to score cheap points?  

James showed his true colors when he criticized my system on this forum, only small minded people make such attacks.  And all because I don't care for Tekton, how strange.  And I'm not trying to rally anyone.  I call a spade a spade, and James has been a snob to me.  Now you are being condescending and snobby.   

I may have been wrong about granny's posts, but at least it's an honest mistake.  In the last 3 years I've owned over 20 pairs of speakers, taking many of them apart and tinkering.  My observations are what let me to believe that speakers costing over $20,000 are probably not going to contain MDF.   I haven't seen the inside of every speaker in existance.   Have you?  Has granny?

It's just an opinion.  Try to take them with a grain of salt.
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