I have dedicated audio room 14.5x20.5x9 ft. Currently have Marantz Reference CD/Intergrated paired to Magnepan 1.7's with REL T-7 subs. For the vast majority of music I love this system. The only nit pick is that it is lacking/limited in covering say below 35 hz or so. For the first time actually buzzed the panel with an organ sacd. Bummer. Thought of upgrading subs to rythmicks but then I will need to high pass the 1.7's. Really don't want to deal with that approach.
Enter the Double Impacts. Many interesting things here. Would certainly have a different set of strengths here. Dynamics, claimed bottom octave coverage in one package, suspect a good match to current electronics.
I've read all the threads here so we do not need to rehash that. Just wondering if others out there have FIRST HAND experience with these or other Tekton speakers
Kenny, I appreciate the fact that you want to adhere to a specified budget for your custom made amplifier. I do agree with Bill's recommendation of using film capacitors rather than electrolytic capacitors in the power supply if this doesn't disrupt the budget. This is amplifier can really be a first rate product with specific choices/decisions. Charles
Thank You for your recommendations and the info on your well enjoyed Coincident gear.
Grannyring,
Thank you for your good ideas coming from all your Diy and modding experience. You are correct the pwr supply will have electrolyte caps at this price point and will need to addressed,maybe could use film bypass caps, the amp will be built in a small 12x7 case so probably not much extra room.
When I do get it I will send you some pics and see what you think will be best to do.
A huge shout out of thanks to Charles for stopping by with his Coincident Frankenstein 300B Monoblocks. They are exceptionally well built, cosmetically appealing and most importantly great sounding. Even with having to hook up my DI's to their 8 ohm taps the level of realism, the added weight and dynamics and improved imaging was real music to my ears. I now know what my future amp needs to be.......the Frankensteins!
Charles' ability to analyze my systems sound and articulate every nuance of that sound was a real treat for me. He's also as much a true gentleman in person as he is on this forum. I truly appreciated his insight, knowledge and conversation.
Hi Tom (Mac), Thank you for inviting me into your home to hear the Double Impacts and I really appreciated your very gracious hospitality. Tom and I first listened to the speakers driven by the LTA MZ2-S. Well I finally heard this "1" watt component in action. It does in fact drive these speakers and furthermore the resultant sound quality is good. I just wanted to confirm that point.
We then listened to the same recordings using the MZ2-S as a line stage and the mono block Frankenstein MK II 300b SET. In a very short period of time Tom and I simultaneously heard the quite noticeable difference the amplifiers made. Essentially more of everything, air, more fleshed out tonal body,weight and harmonic color and richness.
Relatively speaking the music came alive with increased drive,energy dynamic contrast and definitely more emotional involvement. Piano and the drum kit in particular were clearly more present, powerful and believable. Miles ' trumpet and Coltrane's tenor saxophone became more tactile and realistic. I was very impressed with the music reproduction in Tom's room, it just opened up and came alive!
As I told Tom there's room for further improved IMO. Using the 8 ohm tap of the amp driving the 4 ohm Double Impacts is not the ideal connection (despite the really good sound we heard). I believe that a Frankenstein with the 4 ohm speaker tap is going to sound superior with the better impedance match.
It was a very enjoyable afternoon and Tom is a friendly and easy to like person. My belief is that if Tom buys the Frankenstein or any "high" quality SET amplifier he is going to have a genuinely top notch home audio system to cherish for many years.
To be very clear, his current sound using the M2Z-S as an amplifier quite good. Unquestionably there is a sizable step upward with the insertion of the 300b mono blocks. Charles
Ok Charles how did the DIs sound? You must know we want your impressions as this is a DI thread and your experience with them will be helpful. Thanks. 🙂
Hi Bill, Off course I was describing the sound of the system as a whole (there's no other way). To try and isolate the speakers is difficult. It is obvious to me that they are truly resolved and honest as the sound changes starkly given a changing variable (in this case, amplifier and the recordings). This is exactly what an excellent speaker should do.
Female vocals, piano and various brass instruments all sound natural and believable. In audiophile jargon, soundstage, imaging and separation/layering are done at a high level of competence. More relevant to what moves me, tone, timbre, musical ebb and flow, engagement, it's there.
This speaker will simply reflect what ever you place before it in the signal pathway for better or worse. Bill this is a very good speaker and makes me wonder how good the "SE" version is with the upgraded Scanspeak drivers. Charles
Yes, it was a very enjoyable time and I look forward to doing it again. Charles is very perceptive ( and a nice guy to boot) and I learned quite a bit about my system and how to make it even better. I'm thinking my PS Audio Perfectwaves and MZ2 with the Frank's and hopefully the DI SE's will give me a system that I'll enjoy for many years.
Since Charles got me to play some Art Pepper and Miles Davis I haven't been able to stop listening to it. It's been in my collection for months but I never got around to listening to it. Love it! The best compliment I can give to the MZ2 is that even though I now know what I'm missing without having the Frank's the music is still very enjoyable to me. Normally once I hear what I've been missing I cant enjoy listening until I have it.
I'll be looking forward to your assessment of your Aric 2A3 amp. It could be an amp to tide me over until I can get the Frank's.
Kenny, In Tom's room the Double Impacts can provide a good sound stage rendition and avoid the sound emanating from the face of the speaker effect. This ability varied with the recording as one would expect.
Tom, your system did a commendable job of distinguishing the tone of Art Pepper's and Cannonball Adderley's (Miles CD) alto saxophones. These two musicians play the same instrument with clearly different sound/voices. Charles
Very good information and assessment of some fine gear.
Art pepper and Lee Morgan are my 2 favorites for a very long time.
mac, Sounds like you now know without any doubts the sonics that you want to get and I wish you the best of luck to obtain this nice gear as your budget allows.
I can definitely say for me that is so nice to find my way back too that wonderfull Dht set sound,these kind of amps convey such purity,natural tone and timbre and are just so darn engaging.
I could say when I turn my Set on my left brain turns off.😃
I have purchased a Rogue Audio St-100 amp to drive my Double Impacts I had the Emotiva XPA-1 Gen2 mono block amps prior . The Emotivas are lightning fast with Dynamics and Bass Slam that is out of this world and ,of course WAY more power than ever needed. The Xpa-1 s have complete control of the Woofers , and have the start and stop control to the Nth degree. The only problem with the XPA-1 is that they can be very cold and sterile sounding at times ,depending on the recording Enter the St-100. It has 75-80 % of the Bass slam of the XPA-1s , but also has a sweetness , or non-analytical, presentation that really shines. I would bet money , that many people would not know that it is a tube based amp, if they hear it without seeing or knowing before hand. The St100 has all of the best attributes of SS amps but gives you the smooth , sweet top end and Midrange that only tubes an deliver. In other words, it pretty much has the bass slam of solid state with the smooth sweet presentation that is only attainable from Tube amps. Its early on, but do far the Rogue is a winner .
Kenny, Your comments about the 2A3 amplifier are particularly interesting because I know how pleased you were/are with the LTA ZOTL 40 amplifier driving the Double Impacts. Charles
I strongly advise you to hear a SET 2A3 based amplifier in your system before you purchase a pair of SET 300b's. I have in-house two pairs of wonderful SET 300B mono-blocks and still found the SET 2A3 amplifier much more musical and natural sounding then the 300b amps. If you want you can borrow the Opera 2A3 amp from me to run the experiment in your system. Just let me know.
Teajay, thank you for such a generous offer. I'll email you. Thanks so much again.
Charles, i always thought the tone and soundstage of was my system was pretty good.....until hearing it with your Frank's. They took everything to a whole new level. I can only imagine how well your system emotes music and I look forward to experiencing it.
Kenny, according to my wife when it comes to audio my entire brain shuts off :) You're so right about though SET amps can have a magical sound that's addicting.......not that I couldn't quit anytime I wanted.
Evolvist, my DI's are 6'6" apart with my listening position 8' away.
Hello This is my first post, but for several months I read the reviews on DI. I guess I'm determined to buy, but I live in Europe and I know that it is buying a one-way;) I wonder whether it will be well with the amp and pre- emotiva Xpr1 ,McIntosh C2500
Mack71, I can't recall one post where someone said there DI's sounded lousy with there given electronics. But make no mistake that they will accurately reflect whatever you feed them. Hence, all the interesting discussion on amp choices!
Corelli, I am afraid of this :( I am currently using Jamo 909, and I think these speakers are very natural and spacious, but it pulls me to try something new ;)
Mack71, I agree with Corelli, the Double Impacts are going to pretty much reproduce the character of the front end source, amplifier and cables used in the audio signal chain. Based on my listening experience with them there's relatively little editorializing taking place.
If for example you choose to utilize a 500 watt class D or a 5 watt tube amplifier you're going to hear the intrinsic sonic character of that specific amplifier. If you likee the sound of your Emotiva solid state amplifier the Double Impact won't alter their signature much at all . This is why you'll find on this thread Double Impact owners happy with transistors and others happy with tubes. Charles
Mac71, Tom has heard his Double Impacts driven by 5 different amplifiers. Odyssey (solid state), Decware Torii, Raven Audio, LTA M2Z-S and Coincident Frankenstein , the latter 4 are tube amplifiers . He could "easily" hear the differences of sonic character amongst all of them. Charles
Charles
, I agree. Because of the previous speakers I had to use amplifiers with great control basów- xpr1 are outstanding. However, I added a pre McInosh C2500 to add tube character. It seems to me (including my friends who listened to my system), the effect is great. I think I will venture, I'm starting over again chasing the bunny :)
You must be joking? Right? Perhaps I am too dim to see your subtle humor. Threads are living and breathing, if you will, and the ebb and flow of old and new postings/posters is natural and common. I love what I am learning from this last ebb. Great stuff!
I agree with grannyring, I've learned so much from this thread and the people on it in the last few weeks. I thoroughly enjoy all of the shared information and experiences from so many perspectives.
My latest find from Mike Kay at Audio Archon is the Vinnie Rossi mini power supply. While I'm not nearly as versed in the technical aspects as many here, this piece intrigues me. Using super capacitors it stores energy that it supplies to the component it feeds. It sort of acts like a battery pack. I'll be interested to see what "impact" it has.
Glad you are liking that Rogue Audio St-100,I haven't ever heard one but I do know the DI's can really shine with all kinds of gear and it comes down to knowing what kind of Sonic tea do your ears like best.
I just read your earlier post and now understand your comment. My bad. Sorry. I get it now as I am indeed dim.
Your Rogue amp is one of the best tube amps available at any price. I have read the reviews and know folks who own it. It is very special and a smart buy. Fact is your amp ranks up there with Tekton in terms of killer value.
I bet it has amazing control of the DI speaker. I have no doubt it plays the DI with a sense of scale, ease, control that few low power tube amps could match.
I have looked at that amp used on several occasions, but never pulled the purchase lever.
Trani - I have not, but I believe there are others on this list that have. I do know that Eric told me that his speakers are all voiced the same, so to some extent they will all have that "Tekton" sound. Also, not sure what your budget is but the mini Ulf is smaller than the DI, yet higher end. However, be aware that they are not completed as of yet and they may take a while to get. Eric addressed in an earlier post what speakers are able to go out the door quickly. He is building and shipping speakers daily but the speaker you buy and finish you get makes a difference. Just go with whatever makes sense for you.
Thanks for the replies . My comment about this thread being among 6 people or so ,was really about lately in the thread. I had made 2 or 3 posts about my DI and the equipment and , it just seemed to me that everyone ignored them and kept on talking about the things that the few seemed to be talking about . No hard feelings . It is just that when i got Zero response is when i felt it was a conversation only among the few . Thanks again
I am curious if you feel your power is overkill? Is the extra power a positive thing with the DI speaker? What are you using for a preamp and source? Thanks.
Hello grey9hound, This is an ongoing active thread and as a result new friendships and connections have evolved. As Bill (Grannyring) astutely pointed out conversations do develop and are openly discussed. I've been an active participant on this thread even though I have no experience with Tekton products.
I found this thread to be both interesting and friendly and appreciate the insight and experiences of the "many" posters. As would be expected with such a large and active thread other topics do arise, for example power amplifier comments. You have to drive the speakers with something 😊
I accepted a friendly offer to hear the Double Impacts in Tom's home and I simply wanted to share that enjoyable experience. It subsequently generated further comments and discussion.
Isn't that what you were seeking? It's hard to predict what people may or may not respond to. This is the nature of open forums, spontaneous interactions and exchanges. In my case there's been much discussion here about SET amplifiers with the Double Impacts. Some here were interested in the match of my 300b amplifier and Tom's speakers. Nothing more than that. Charles
As far as power goes, it's interesting that my 30 WPC Class A SS amp, the Pioneer M-22, seems to drive my DI's just as well as my 200 WPC Class AB SS amp, the Schiit Vidar.
Even though the Vidar has a 3.2dB more gain and 170 WPC more, the volume control is like 30 minutes to the right. In other words, if the volume is set to 12:00 with the Vidar, it is at 12:30 with the M-22 to get the same sound pressure level.
I wouldn't say that 200 WPC is overkill....after all, the speakers are designed for up to 400 watts. But it sure seems like 30 WPC of Class A power is enough!
It doesn't surprise me that you are finding out that 30 Wpc of vintage pure class a pwr not only sounds great but is enough for the volume levels you listen to.
I've used amps with pwr ratings from the 1.4 watts from the MZ2S to 700 watts from the ps audio mono's and every where as practicable in between.
Currently doing quite well overall with 3.5 watts 2a3 Set with the exception of full orchestra recordings that generally have no or very little compression and I'm slightly cheating with some classic rock recordings were I require stout and deep bass with good slam by using my subs,but those 2 genres of music make up a small % of the music I generally listen too.
When I get my new design 2a3 amp built that will have 8-10 watts and easily 3db more headroom it will be a interesting comparison for me.
Just curious, does anyone else have the experience of saying to yourself, "just one more song" and before you know it, an hour has passed by? I always find it hard to put my DIs to sleep. :o)
Great video Jeffrey, sounds great. The Allnic is a very impressive beast! I'm salivating over here! This current video definitely beats your first one sonically! Sounded phenomenal on my system. Thanks for sharing!
Jeffery: Very well done and A LOT of bass. Would have enjoyed a brief play from your Model D as a separate encore/coda. The speakers don't look excessively large at all in the room and work very well with the décor. Your microphone does a great job; am using Schoeps and Earthworks mics for pianos in my studio.
Did you try out a Class D amp and, if so, what were the results? Tried out a Nord UP Stereo amp and it was disappointing, became defective in 5 days, and was returned. Wondering about Class A Pass Labs amps and their suitability for the DIs.
Let's be perfectly clear here -- you really know how to fill up a room!
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