@audioman58 is correct and does have good experience with modifying and upgrading crossovers and gear. I now have a fully
broken in pair of DI speakers with the upgrade package he offers playing in my system. I own them having purchased them from a past owner who can no longer stand to see them in his listening room. Why? Nothing to do with sound quality, but because of his horrific customer service experience with Tekton. Let’s just say Tekton needs additional talent and help moving forward if they want to achieve sustainable success.
So how do they sound vs. my highly upgraded set of Acoustic Zen Crescendo speakers? I will get to that in a moment. First, my room has 10 foot ceilings and is 24 x 33. The speakers are 8 feet apart center to center and 4 feet from the wall behind them. I sit 9.5 feet back. I do have some moderate toe in, nothing aggressive.
First, I prefer my AZ Crescendo speakers for their all around performance. They are the better speaker in my room and to my ears. They are as resolving and detailed as the DI, but deliver the details in a more meaty and full bodied manner. The music is indeed more rich, lovely, and beautiful with the AZ speakers. The AZ speakers have better bass. No, not as fast and tight as the DI. The DI speakers seem to have bass issues sounding lean quite often. Some tunes have deep and powerful bass, but most are presented in a lean manner. Deep bass is there on some tunes. Fast and articulate bass. But many recordings are missing the body and meat needed to carry the tune. Missing the tone, body, meat, and warm glow of my AZ speakers. I guess I am saying they sound lean with ultra fast deep bass notes there and gone so fast as to strip the music of its natural resonance and beauty in my rig.
The mids are wonderful as are the highs. They image very well and throw a great big stage. In my room, set up properly, they do not sound forward or bright. I cannot fault the sound from the mids up.
The cabinets are indeed one of the weak points holding this speaker back in bass performance. Very frustrating speaker in this regard. I kept saying to myself “darn, where is the bass”. Then for brief moments it shows up only to leave you wanting again. The wire and parts used from caps to drivers also impare the bass performance. The wire gauge is very, very thin for bass drivers.
Here is what I learned regarding bass performance. @kdude66 upgraded his woofers to the Eminence Beta Model which is 2db more efficient and offers slightly better specs. The key here is the aditional 2db of bass volume. Since I have Roon I was able to use the wonderful DSP tools and added 2db of bass up to 200 hertz. This made all the difference in the world. I have read many posts complaining about the bass on the DI speaker and this additional 2db or so gives the speaker a more pleasing presentation. The speaker is now more consistently full bodied and meaty.
This is not about liking added midbass bloat or veering off of neutral. It is about making this speaker more tonally complete and reflective of the source material in the bass area.
I conclude this is the best $3500 speaker I have ever heard. Easily. To say it betters $20,000 speaker’s handily or regularly is hyperbole in my humble opinion. I think it is easy to be swept off your feet by the speaker’s unique sound in the mids and it’s remarkable brilliance and immediacy. Unique and uncanny leading one to get very excited and rightly so. However, the speaker does have bass flaws and is not as tidy or refined as my AZ speakers in the mids and highs. I would like more richness and ultimate smoothness ideally. This is a very slight thing folks as the DI does mids and highs very well as I have mentioned. Others have said it is a smidgen “rough around the edges” compared to top performing speakers and I agree.
For those thinking of buying this speaker this is what I would say. If you love a rich and lovely full bodied sound and don’t want speakers finicky in this regard, then make sure you hear these speakers first. They are fussy or finicky of all your gear as they are a little lean sounding. Many recordings and gear will only serve to highlight this lean tendency and while impressive sounding, you may be left longing for more warmth and full bodied beauty.
If you value speed, detail, imaging and really don’t need more full bodied tone, then you will be delighted with this speaker as is.
Ok, the great news for DIY guys is you can turn these speakers into everything and anything you could ever want. The bass issues noted above can be remedied with the better Beta driver, bettter quality crossover parts, thicker gauge wire, additional cab dampening, and 2db of bass boost up to 200 hertz. Yes, all these ingredients in varying combinations will get you there.
High quality Duelund hook up wire, SOTA resistors and capacitors will certainly benifit the mids and highs resulting in more refinement. Parts such as Lefson and Path Audio resistors, Jupiter copper foil caps, Mundorf Evo caps and others will refine and deliver more beauty.
One could spend $1500, no labor included, and improve things nicely,
I won’t be posting here much, if any, anymore for personal reasons. Let’s just say it is more healthy for me this way. I wanted to post this as I know many audiophiles are looking and wondering about this speaker. While it is a great speaker it is not perfect. I am thrilled at the level of sound quality now available for $3500. Very refreshing and good for the industry. Some will prefer other speakers for $5000 because they desire a different sonic personality. That is just the way it is. Know what you like in sound and find it. Don’t assume any speaker based on the hype will deliver what you want. Listen to it and determine for yourself. The DI speaker does have a unique sound and personality. It just does. Will you like it? Perhaps, perhaps not. For me to live with it I will need to modify it to my liking as outlined above. If you have Roon try adding 2db or so up to 200 hertz. Play with this as it will take time to dial it perfectly with your room and preferences.
