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Match Amp w/Tekton Design Lore

I recently purchased a pair of Tekton Design Lore speakers. I made this move because of all the reviews about how well they work with tubes. I'm using these with a variant of the YAQIN MC-100B Integrate. This unit has been upgrade with some "better" internals.My issue is, although the Tektons sound okay, they leave me somewhat underwhelmed. The Integrate puts out 60 watts per in UL & 30 watts per in Triode. It runs the speakers in Triode but I've found that the speakers need the higher wattage of UL. Being a 98 db efficiency speaker, I thought that even the 30 tube watts would drive the speakers with ease. They do drive them but I can turn volume ALL the way up and still could go louder. (I'm using KT 88 Gold Lion power tubes) Yes, I have enough hours on the speakers to break them in. I do not listen at ear drum breaking levels but it's just lacking in overall quality of sound. My B&W bookshelves sound great with this amp and they are much less efficient not to mention only a 6.5 inch main speaker.
So I guess I'm asking if anyone has experienced a need for these Lore speakers to be matched with a higher output amp? Sure, 30 tube watts drive them but, for me, leave something to be desired.
wcc10
wcc10 OP
119 posts
 
Thanks snapsc. Yes I know the furniture is killing me insofar as acoustics go. I really don't have much leeway in that regard unfortunately. But the DAC isn't really something I even considered. My BDP-95 is ancient but, as you know, it's built like a tank and over sound quality is quite good. My Marantz DAC is newer but what it produces is not quite as "dynamic" as the OPPO. So an upgrade there is an interesting idea to say the least. Thanks for mentioning it. I will have to do some comparison research between the 203 & 205. I'm not sure I could justify spending twice what I paid for the Tekton speakers on  the 205. Maybe pre-owned here on Audiogon!.

wcc10 OP
119 posts
 
So I ordered a new OPPO UDP-203 on eBay. They are asking over $2k for the 205 & that's a bit rich for me at this point. But I'm wondering now if the UDP-203 audio quality will be as good or better than my current OPPO BDP-95? I'm aware of the short comings of the UDP-203 compared to the UDP-205 least of which, no streaming and the audio enhancements of the 205. If anyone has any input between the UDP-203 & BDP-95 I'd appreciate it.
zippydoodah
1 posts
 
Most recently I've been using a Decware Zen flea power amp with all of 2 watts per channel power with my Lores and I am quite pleased. I agree on the break in time; that's very important and I would recommend at least eighty hours. I use a preamp rather than the full integrated feature of the Zen and stream via a Macbook Pro (2009) via optical digital stream and use an off board DAC, a simple NAD 1050. Silver core interconnects throughout.
I chose the Tekton's in part because of their stated higher efficiency design. Now this may be sacrilegious, but due to my listening room acoustics I also choose to use the equalizer feature on the Mac depending on the original source CD, that is, how well it was engineered and mastered. Every CD is different, period. In contrast, I have also used a Mesa Baron with the Tekton's and that was also a great match, ridiculous power to spare. I guess all I can add is tweak, tweak, tweak and try different combinations. Happy listening.
wcc10 OP
119 posts
 
Yes, tweak, tweak, tweak! I've found that I prefer the Lores on the floor, no spikes on a piece of carpet. The furniture in my room is killing me but I have no way around it right now.I also prefer Triode over UL. I too bought the Lores for their abundant efficiency. I am looking at different SET 300B integrates/power amps. Eventually that is how I will go.I did not buy the OPPO 203. My OPPO 95 is probably good enough for now.
boxer12
8,656 posts
 
I bought a pair of Tekton Sigma's a couple months ago & am very impressed with them. Been running Valvet single ended SS mono blocks (bricks) with them. They only put out about 10 watts. Tonight I tried a Forte 1a amp. They certainly like the additional power (50 watts all class A) but the jury is still out... I got this amp at a good price & it's a Nelson Pass design, so the quality is there, it's just that the valvets are so seductively smooth where the Forte really opens things up... Point being you may want to try different amps.  
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