@ronboco The cabinets are well made and well designed. they aren't beautiful.
Jerry
There's No Question
I get it. There has been a LOT of hype about Tekton speakers. I also understand why some guys have been disappointed with them. Allow me to qualify for both categories by saying I bought into the hype. I found some of the hype to be real, but I know there are better, or at least more convenient solutions to audio bliss.
I bought my Double Impact speakers after reading and watching every available review. I had been an owner of Magneplanar 1.7i for a couple of years, loved them very much, and there is still a place in my heart for them. I still think they are some of the best sounding speakers you can buy at a very reasonable price. But after well over 2000 hours over two years (and I am not exaggerating), I really needed some bass in my life. The Maggs only do 40hz, which is almost enough for some applications. Naturally a speaker claiming to comfortably accommodate down to 20hz was appealing for this guy. I think it is fair to say that almost no speaker manufacturer claims very far below 30kz.
I make a decent living but am not wealthy. I had noticed the Double Impact speakers as a "hype" ad in a magazine I read, then started really reading the reviews and getting interested. It has always been my goal to build the best sounding system for the least amount of money possible. I am pretty sure most audio enthusiasts and music lovers can at least identify with that. We all started somewhere.
I realize this is an expensive hobby, and the sky is no limit for how much you can get carried away with spending.
The point of me writing now is to inform the naysayers as well as the potential buyers/dreamers about a process. I won't lie. It's an extremely painful process.
I think it is an important reminder that you can take a million dollars worth of equipment, set it up in a room, and it can sound like absolute garbage. It should also be pointed out that less expensive equipment, set up with great attention, can sound significantly better than that million dollars worth of equipment that was set up poorly.
That said, I bought some Tekton Double Impacts with some upgrades. I can tell you that in two different listening rooms my experience has varied from wanting to smash them to pieces with the earliest available sledgehammer, to utmost enjoyment to the point of truly wondering if it could get better, to "YES! That's it!" And back again.
I thought the Magneplanars were difficult to position, and had similar experiences. But after three years of ownership, I can tell you with absolute certainty that the Double Impact speakers are NOT for the newb. They are very, very hard to position optimally. When you get it right you know it down to your toes. When it's OK, you shop for other speakers. When it's bad, there is no measurement for your buyer's remorse.
I really think some people on this forum have been unfair to Tekton. Alexander is good at making speakers. He may not have been born a business man, but he really made some special (not for beginners) speakers. I have found some tweaks and methods that work for me. I have literally built my current listening room around these speakers. Are there better? Sure. More expensive by a long, long, way, but sure. Bang for the buck is in abundance, but only if you have the patience to study about things like parametric wave patterns in relation to your seated position, sound treatments, invest in some better amplification, position, reposition and repeat 30,000 (exaggeration, but not by much) times. The results really can be extraordinary. But you will definitely work for the dollars you save.
@ronboco The cabinets are well made and well designed. they aren't beautiful. Jerry |
Post removed |
Great thread… I started on the Tekton bandwagon with a pair of the Impact Monitors (well, actually had a pair of Lores back in the day, but todays multi-driver arrays are vastly superior, imo). The monitors are tremendous values for sound and imaging they put out. After I had them for quite a while, properly positioned, and singing very nicely (say about 6mos. or more), I went to Axpona. They had the monitors there powered by Parasound gear. Honestly, that room sounded horrible, and if I’did not already have them, I would have crossed them off the list. I now have a pair of Tekton’s Perfect SETs, and will be upgrading to the Moabs shortly. Nothing touches them for the $$ invested, jmho. As for looks, I like them… to each his own! |
I like them, too. There are so many things about this hobby that you must get right, I definitely do not prioritize the beauty contest, although as stated before I prefer the smooth surface audio listening experience with few to no listening distractions. These speakers are easy (and by easy I mean a millimeter of displacement can sent you down an almost unrecoverable rabbit hole tail spin). It also should be noted that if anyone is looking for that silky consistency across the room, they should look elsewhere. These are really good from any seated position, but perfect side to side, not exactly. |