Zu Omen or Tekton Lore


Best floorstanders under $999 for low power SET amp?

Thanks
mstark
02-07-12: Sionlim
I was looking into the Pendragons as a speaker for my home office/ den."
"After reading all these glorious post of a $700 speaker, i am really intrigued at this particular brand."

Sion - Not sure I follow. The Pendragons are $2,500, the Lores $1,000. What $700 speaker are you referring to?
I now have the Lore-S in house as of last night. They only had about 10 hours on them before showing up at my place, and I put about 5 on them last night. I'll be playing them while I'm at work all week and also in the evenings, so I should have about 100 total hours on them by the end of weekend.

I have a bit of a head-cold, and my left ear was kind of plugged up last night, so take my impressions with a grain of salt.

So far, I would say the Lore-S has a lot more clarity, detail, resolution than the stock Lores I have had. It also seems smoother and more laid back, definitely more refined. About the same amount of soundstage depth, but not as expansive a soundstage yet - we'll see what happens with break-in.

What I miss is the level of energy, presence, and liveliness of the Lores. Eric described it as "punch" over the phone. It's that kind of energy that really makes them great for live music recordings. I think the Lore-S are not as efficient/sensitive as the Lores, down around 95-94dB or so. They also have an 8" main driver, rather than the 10". It's going to be a hard choice most likely between the extra refinement of the Lore-S and the dynamics/energy/presence of the Lores. Again, we'll see what break-in does.
Genjamon - I have the Lores and also a pair of the Katz Meow (Version 1) with the 8" Fostex main driver. I understand exactly what you are saying when you compare the Lore vs. Lore-S.
With my 2A3 SET amp I sometimes like the Lore, sometimes like the Katz. But with a PushPull EL84 amp I like the Lores better than the Katz. I believe it's because the SET allows the Katz to present that holographic image, which the Katz do better than the Lores. But the PP amp has more balls, which the Lores do better so it's a better match.
I would enjoy any of the combos though. Both great speakers (and great amps, IMO).
Sionlim: Where do you live and what kind of music do you listen to? If you list that sometimes you can easily get an audition. I found the Pendragons from someone coming to my house to buy an amp!

The Pendragons perform exactly as Goramon suggested: Layers of extended bass that are very tight and defined. Absolutely no whooliness! They can be ported in the front if that is better for your room btw.

If you don't need a lot of bass, and your room is small, and you want to save $$$, the Lores are a no brainer. Having said that the Pendragons will easily work in your sized room no problem.
If you don't need alot of bass?
The Lores do bass pretty well in my condo.
Just ask the neighbors!!!