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Tekton Impact Monitors

Hi All,
I'm relatively new to Audiogon but have trolled the discussions for a few months. I have been listening to Spendor LS3/5As driven by a Quad 34/306 combination since the late 1980's and decided that it was finally time to upgrade my speakers. I love the Spendors but they are very limited in dynamics and scale. I auditioned the SVS Ultra Bookshelf speakers and while they brought some additional scale they simply didn't have the sweet midrange that I can't live without. I listened to some open baffle speakers (Emerald Physics) and loved them, but their size and need for space worried me, and I found them less satisfying at moderate and low volumes, where I do a fair bit of listening. I was fascinated by all the discussion regarding Tekton speakers and was considering getting a pair of Enzo 2.7s, but after a short discussion with Eric I followed his recommendation of the Impact Monitor with upgrade. They have the 7 tweeter array and a pair of 6.5" woofers and are rear-ported. I use a pair of SVS subs (the sealed variety). The Impact Monitors are simply amazing. The midrange is oh-so-sweet (very similar to my Spendors, but with more air) and the detail, even at low and moderate listening levels, is superb. The imaging is even better than my Spendors managed and the scale is huge and is much more music-appropriate. My system is really quite modest but now when I walk into my listening room (doubles as our living room - thankfully my wife appreciates Hi-Fi) I get the audio-show feeling of "being there". I have a Denon DP59L turntable with a DL110 HO moving coil cartridge running through an Emotiva XPS-1 phono preamp and the Tektons are absolutely incredible with classic rock on vinyl. I'm not sure how Eric managed it, but these speakers are superb, even with my 30 year old Quad electronics. I believe they are basically the top 24" of the Double Impacts, but are rear-ported rather than front ported. I can heartily recommend them and Eric and his team are great to work with. I'm not sure how many other Impact Monitors are out there since the pair I have are S/N 0005 and 0006!  
ky1mag
teajay
1,696 posts
 
Hi dbass,

Thanks for the thumbs up on my review.  The Sistrum stand that I'm using is a three pillar design with a top and bottom plate plus spikes.  If it's not on their website, call Robert to inquire about this stand or if could offer you an alternative model.  I wish I could offer another brand/stand, but nothing came close to the Sistrum on the Impact Monitor.
lula
213 posts
 
Has anyone compared the Impact Monitors with the $2500. Tekton PMD Monitors? 
sedond
1,387 posts
 
hi  ky1mag (and everyone else),

this post is mostly directed to ky1mag, based on your comments regarding your returning the speakers.  (but i suspect it could be useful for other, since i have a suggestion that's not typically tried by most folks.) because ky1mag thought they did one thing nice - full sound - when toed out a bit, at the expense of soundstaging - hole-in-the-middle effect; and when toed in, the soundstaging improved, but at the expense of being too bright, w/the tweets pointed at the listening position.

now, i realize you returned the im's months ago, but for future reference, and for everyone else, something worth trying regarding speaker toe-in, is to toe the speakers so they actually cross *in front of* the listening position a foot or three.  this typically does a few things - it will keep the soundstaging cues w/o a "hole-in-the-middle" effect, while also ameliorating a hot treble w/the tweeter firing directly at you.  and, it will also tend to widen the sweet spot, as those not directly centered will have the speaker furthest from them pointing more directly at them than the speaker closest to them.  i have my present system set up this way, and it's sounding great, even in a big (26x38x8.5) room; the speakers are on the shorter wall; they're ~6' from the wall behind them, ~9.5' apart, and the listening area is ~12' from the plane of the speakers.  in smaller rooms, the benefits can be even greater.  in any event, it's certainly worth trying.  brian cheney (rip) actually recommended this for set-up of his will regarded vmps ribbon speakers...

ymmv,

doug s.
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
Hi All. I have been following along with this sometimes colorful discussion. I can say, sedond (Doug) that I did not try toeing in so that the direct path of the tweeters crossed in front of the listening position. With time to think about all this, and taking into account the experiences by other IM owners I think the issue in my case was the listening room with the speakers on the long wall. No sidewalls to provide reflections and thus the treble coming from the tweeter array was too forward for my taste. I've been enjoying my Emerald Physics KC II Pros very much, but even then I use the "tilt" function on my much loved (and much maligned by some) Quad 34 pre-amp to tame the treble especially with some CDs and if I'm listening at relatively high volumes (which is rare for me). I suspect that if I had a differently shaped listening room I would still be a happy owner of Tekton IMs. 
sedond
1,387 posts
 
hi ky1mag,

in the overwhelming majority of cases, having no sidewalls is a major advantage, not a disadvantage.  looking at your room dimensions, tho, in your case, you have only 13' to squeeze you and the speakers between the front and back wall.  this is nightmarish, to be honest. you said you're about 8-9' from the speakers, which means barely 2' behind you, and the speakers are barely 2' from the wall behind them.  that's an especially difficult task for your present open-baffle speakers, even more so than the tektons.  while i'm glad you're enjoying them, there's no doubt in my mind that they (or any speaker) would sound better if you re-oriented your room 90 degrees so the speakers fired down the length of the room.  even if your living area is in the middle of the room, and you have +/-10' in front of you and behind you, it will sound so much better.  if you can do it; i know how logistics are, sometimes - ha!

and, even if you're enjoying your present sound (and i certainly hope you are) i still strongly suggest trying to toe in your new speakers as i previously suggested.  it besides the treble issues, it very well may alleviate some of the sound dispersion issues presented by your head being so close to the wall behind you,  if you don't have massive sound absorption panels behind you; or even if you do, for that matter.  and if you don't have absorption panels behind you, you should consider it, if it's logistically possible; it would be a good idea, with your room's set-up.  ;~)

doug s.
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