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Tekton Ulfberht PMD Monitors

I recently acquired a pair of Tekton Ulfberht speakers. They are SN 7 & 8. That means only 3 pair outside of the factory pair are loose on the audioscape. So probably not a lot of interest in these yet. But another Agon memeber suggested I start a thread anyway. 

My front-end includes a Lyngdorf 2170 integrated amp. A PC Music Server USB connected to the Lyngdorf. An OPPO 103 via digital. A Thorens TD-165 with a Hanna SL cartridge.

The Ulfberhts replaced a pair of Tekton Double Impacts. The DIs are what made me a true believer in what Eric Anderson is doing with speakers. The DIs replaced a pair of B&W 804s. I had the 804s for years and was surprised and pleased that the DIs were able to displace them for considerably less money than I paid for them even years ago. But the Ulfs are in a class of their own. At least that's my opinion. Terry London of Home Theater Review did an extensive article on the Ulfs recently and ended up purchasing the product. https://hometheaterreview.com/tekton-design-ulfberht-floorstanding-speaker-reviewed/ . I agree the the majority of the comments except the assertions that the Ulfs need to be in a large room and away from walls. They are physically large speakers, so you do need room for them, but mine are actually placed near the side and rear walls of my room with no apparent negative effects. This was discussed at length with Eric Anderson even before the HTR review. Eric knows his speakers capabilities very well. So don't let that be a determining factor in considering the product.

I don't claim to have owned every speaker/amp/interconnect/power cord on the market. So I don't hold myself up as an expert. But I feel I'm competent enough to agree with HTR that these are exceptionally good sounding speakers and worth much more than than the $12K entry price.
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bullitt5094 OP
266 posts
 
Thanks for chiming-in Jeff. If my calcs are correct there are only 4 sets out there. Yours, mine, Terry's and the set Eric keeps. Pretty small user group! On the hours, Eric says both the Ulfs and DI SEs have a pretty long break-in period due to the higher quality drivers. That said, I'm trying to envision them improving from where they are now. But I'm looking forward to it. I know my DIs improved a ton.
And I went through the upgrade cycle with the DIs before the Ulfs arrived. Since settling on the Lyngdorf there isn't a lot to upgrade. Maybe my Phono Pre? The 2170 is basically just one big DAC with a 170 watts PWM at the tail end. I didn't think anything would pull me away from the SS Analog side, but this piece did when first Ken, then Bill said I should audition it. As far as the front end... the Ulfs will bring out whatever sound you prefer. And everyone likes something different. Certainly, to each their own.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
@bullitt5094  I'm very curious about these speakers. It will be really interesting to hear your take on them vs the Double Impacts once you have a few weeks of break-in behind you.

I'm really encouraged by your findings about placement. That was one of the reasons why I hesitated upgrading to the Ulfberths.

@333jeffery  You have been carrying the Ulfberth flag for awhile now (I believe you were the very first customer) and have posted about them in the main Double Impact thread. It would be terrific for you to re-post in this thread or summarize your impressions because I think that will be really helpful to those who may consider these speaker as an option.

Since you have driven them with a number of amps, I'd like to hear about those findings also. Thanks.
teajay
1,691 posts
 
Well, two points to note:

1) Eric's last name is Alexander, not Anderson.

2) We have had disagreement regarding the importance of the size of the acoustic space and distance from front/side walls already regarding the Ulf's on the DI thread.

I have run the experiment. Sorry, I passionately disagree with the statement that this magnificent speaker will give you all it's magic in a small room close to the front and side walls.  It would be like taking a Steinway grand piano and playing it in a small closet!  Yes, you could use room treatments or sounding shaping devices for better results, but as I stated in my review that's what the Double Impacts and Eric's other speakers are for, smaller acoustic spaces. The Ulf's are rear ported and if you place them close ( 2 feet or less) you won't get the bottom end extension without "mud" or losing accuracy.  If you get the Ulf's close to the front/side walls you will never get the total magical sound-staging/imaging that this speaker can produce.

Sanely, one's room size, this is a seven foot tall 200 pound speaker, and how far you can place them from the front/side walls desirably would be taken in consideration in purchasing these terrific music makers.  So many audiophiles try to cram a large speaker into their small listening space which never lets that speaker really perform to its full ability.  


stfoth
470 posts
 
@teajay I'm not disagreeing with you, generally, on the idea that some speakers need space to shine their best, but, for many of us who don't have large, ideal spaces, would you agree that a primary consideration is whether the large speakers with less than ideal placement still sound/work better than the smaller speaker in the line, even if the placement prevents the larger speakers from living up to their full potential?  Or does the Steinway in a closet still sound better than Schroeder's piano in the same closet?
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