Tekton Double Impacts

@david_ten 

Hey David, I was just wondering where you were at in your speaker search.  

So, what are your priorities in the sound you are after and what are you willing to give up?  (there's always a compromise, right?)  It seems Eric can work some magic with less than sophisticated drivers.  (Not that measurements tell the whole story, but have you ever seen a flatter FR curve than that of DI monitor is Stereophile??)  I am not of the opinion that top drawer drivers guarantee much.  You can have a great filet mignon in the fridge but it only becomes special in the kitchen.  I mentioned once that a speaker I built using then top of the line drivers (scanspeak revelator/aircirc tweeters) was only good.  I actually derived more enjoyment out of some vifa drivers using a series crossover.  The Vifa build has some magic in that simple crossover and the end result was quite beguiling. 

So I would of course get Erics input on the virtues of the drivers he has worked with.  I would also wonder on putting more money into the crossover and cabinet damping as well.  The crossover could be a more cost effective avenue to look at, especially given the fact it's part count has to be lower than that of the DI's that Bill took on.

Keep us posted on what you find out!

@corelli  Fantastic advice. And so very true! Thank you.

Eric is very open to customizing the Perfect SET. When I spoke with him he was working on a Perfect SET with a 15 inch bass driver for a client. 

The Perfect SET is also setup to accommodate the BE tweeters that he uses in the BE Ulfberth. 

I will be following his lead, but figured it was worth asking since some of you have changed out drivers, etc. on various Tekton models.

I am open to tweaking the crossovers, wiring, etc., should Eric agree to and endorse those changes. 

I was just wondering where you were at in your speaker search. So, what are your priorities in the sound you are after and what are you willing to give up? (there’s always a compromise, right?)

@corelli Great questions.

I’ve been ’wandering’ in the search. Lately, it has felt more like ’flailing’ : )

Top choices are the Cube Audio Nenuphar, Voxativ, and Horning Eufrodite Ellipse (and a few others).

The primary goal is for a synergistic pairing with Scott Sheaffer’s Found Music 2A3 amp. I now have the Grandinote Genesi solid state Preamp ahead of it and I am moving towards a full analog signal cable loom from Scott Sheaffer (his silver 2112 ICs and E+ SC).

At this point, with the T+A PA 3100 HV / SR cabling based system and the system described above, sound quality is superlative.

Therefore "priorities in sound" are mainly focused on increasing naturalness, realism, and my emotional connection.

I expect gains to be slight, but am hopeful for a shift in Gestalt and a ’higher level’ whole, when all the elements come together.

The other top priority is to learn about and experience different speaker design and approaches.

David_ten
thanks for your reply. You have an exciting search in progress and I am sure you will reach your goals. Best, mikirob 

David, I doubt you are flailing, but the choice is tough.  You have a great primary system with very few shortcomings.  That is a real luxury that affords you the opportunity to focus on something very special in your 2A3 based system.  I mentioned the give and take we are all faced with.  So given the strengths of your primary system, it would be very easy for me to give up bass extension for example if I could make gains in immediacy, transparency, and as you said an emotional connection with the music.  Your gravitation towards a single full range driver IMO makes good sense.  I once put together a Fostex fe167e full ranger in a 0.5cf BR enclosure and was shocked how nice it sounded.  Paid special attention to frame damping and it produced a surprisingly smooth sound with no "shout".  Nice, full, balanced sound with a  fantastic sound stage.  Very natural.  Now some will go on about the limitations and compromises of full rangers.  But that's exactly the point.  Making the right compromises that will let your new amp shine.  And when you need to listen to full scale works you know what to do!


So, as much as I would love to hear your take on the Tekton Perfects, and I'm sure they would be a great choice, it is also good to consider other options that will allow your 2A3 to do what it does best.