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Former Tekton owners: What have you moved on to?

I owned the Tekton Lore Reference for about a year and a half and they were great for the price. I ran them with a 50w tube integrated and it was a nice combo. For $750 I had no complaints except perhaps that the paint was cracking on one of the rounded corners. I ended up buying a pair of Gallo CL-2 for an office system on closeout direct from Gallo for $390/pair. After they were broken in I found myself listening to them more than the Tektons after awhile. I was getting addicted to the CDT tweeter.

Based on that experience I ordered the CL-3 refurbished for $650/pair shipped (crazy steal) and they were on a different level than both of the above. Sonically, one defining moment for me was listening to Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now. (I think the Track was You’re My Thrill. )
During the intro there is a brief flute soli. With the Tektons it sounded like a really nice flute section that was very homogenous sounding and blended. With the Gallos I could hear each individual flute player and their unique tones and vibrato. The bass was also deeper and tighter on the gallos and the imaging was just amazingly holographic and wide and deep.

I know the timing of this is interesting as the Tekton hype train seems to be at full tilt right now with some of his higher models and I am curious to hear them. The 2 things that would give me serious pause and keep me from moving up the Tekton line are 1) the size and aesthetics 2) The very much "in your face" house sound that can get tiring to me.  Just wondering what others have moved on to from Tekton and what they heard that moved them in that direction.
128x128clarinetmonster2
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,778 posts
 
Hello Nitrobob, we are a Legacy dealer and love the Legacy's. We are contemplating coming on board with Tekton for the DI SE version to give people in the New York area a place to audition them.

I was very impressed by the Tekton's layering in the midrange, bass tightness and overall imaging. The only area where I had an issue with them was the high frequencies didn't sound as airy or clean as what you get with the Legacy's. 

Was that an issue you had with them? I do find them a bit on the boxy looking side. 

What part of the country are you in? 

We routinely compare the Paradigms to the Legacy's the 3F is a great speaker but doesn't have the bigger bass or the sheer image size of the Legacys, but boy are they transparent and holographic.

Congratulations the Focus Se are magnificent speakers that sound better than a lot of the $20k speakers out there.

What are you using for the rest of your setup? 

Dave and Troy 
Audio Doctor NJ 
james_w514's avatar
james_w514
286 posts
 
Great choice Nitrobob, the Focus SE’s really stand out at their price point. Happy Listening!
nitrobob
246 posts
 

Audiotroy

We bought them off of Morrow Audio in Ky. We live on SE Ohio. Powered by a ATI 6005 Signature Amp ( 450 @4ohm X5) and a Marantz 8801. As soon as the 8805 comes out, my intentions are to modernize. The issue I had with Tekton was clarity in the upper ranges. The only thing that really impressed me was their (Tektons) imaging. We just think a GOOD ribbon tweeter is hard to beat. Utter clarity. I like the airiness.. And the Legacys are not thin in the upper ranges, kind of meaty but light. The thick layering in the middle that you speak of is what I believe we did not like about the Tektons .. Sue said it sounded like a "whole lot of nothing and all cramped up" I guess there was not enough space between the layers for us, so to speak .

david_ten
5,480 posts
 
@nitrobob   Congratulations on finding the speakers that push all the right buttons for you and your wife. 

I think it was @mac48025 that loved his Legacy Focus SEs and was the first owner with the Double Impacts and likely the first to compare the two head on. It would be interesting to hear his take on both. It's also interesting that Legacy comes up a lot in comparison to, and in choosing one over the other, by folks.

I'm with you in loving what a ribbon tweeter can do, when well implemented with the other drivers.

One thing I do want to point out, especially for those who haven't owned the Double Impacts is that they are revealing of what's in the chain ahead of them. For me and my system, the layering and separation of the mids is exceptional for a speaker at it's price point and is, in my opinion, one of it's strengths which also happens to punch above it's weight class.
3402
26 posts
 
I have the current Lore 2.0 and can second a few comments Ive read here on them with reservations;  they do seem to have a slight midrange reticence or drop; the freq response graph for the 2.0 posted on the Tekton Blog looks pretty flat to me, so I'm not sure whats up. Its possible that its due to my Naim gear but again Naim is pretty flat as well. I suspect that flat response is not necessarily desirable, and some tube gear is sold for that reason.  
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