Zu Omen or Tekton Lore

Just a quick note to mention: after 250+ hours of run in with ALL equipment, I have noticed a great amount of focus and precision in the soundstage. It is as deep and 3 dimensional as any system I have had, and beyond. It is really quite remarkable for a $1K pair of speakers. People I am telling you - the sound from the Lores is so amazingly realistic, I pity the individual that decides to spend 5x this to get the same result. Live music recordings are BREATHTAKING!! Granted, I have made good choices in system matching and the synergy is all there, but if you are on the fence or stuck looking at competing offerings, do yourself a favor and choose the Lores - they are nothing short of amazing!

Again, I have owned:

Dynaudio Focus 220 II
Dynaudio Confidence C1
Dynaudio Audience 70 and 42
Paradigm Studio 60v4
PSB Synchrony One
PSB Stratus Gold I
Von Schweikert VR-4 Jr
Rega RS7
Quad ESL 989
Carver Amazing Speakers
Martin Logan Ascent
Dali Ikon 2
Silverline SR12
Kirksaeter Prisma 50 (home theater)

All of these had their strengths and weaknesses, and most of them cost much more than the Lore. The Lore is a completely different animal – it plays extremely loud but at the same time is as delicate and focused as the best of them. No frequency sounds detached - that is perhaps the most profound truth to these. Its highs are crystal clear and beautiful, while the mid-range is second to only the Quads I owned - that is really saying something! The lows are tight and very articulate, but again do not expect a $1K single driver speaker to shake the earth – the laws of physics will not allow it. But as other have said here the lows are of good qaulity.

The bigger speakers above (e.g. Carvers) had more bottom end then the Lore, but I enjoy the total package of the Lore much more than ALL of these … and I am sure that some of that has to do with all of the money I was able to save.

Again, to Christ be the glory and I am grateful that there are honest guys like Eric delivering the goods affordably.

Based largely on this thread and also having heard the Zu Soul Superfly at RMAF in October, I decided to give Eric and the Lore a chance. Put in my order in early March, and they finally were shipped late last week after some delays (it's clear that Eric is kind of at the limit of his capacity right now), finally made it home from picking them up from Fedex last evening. I also got the walnut veneer finish.

Quickly swapped them out for my Hornshoppe Horns in my system, and immediately turned them on a medium-high volume to begin break-in - then left the house for bowling league. The finish is very high quality. I'm a little less than totally satisfied with the look of the gray drivers compared with the beautiful wood finish - they could use some black grills to cover the drivers in this case, although the gold tweeter could easily stay visible and make me happy.

Immediate impressions before leaving the house were that there was more tone and fullness than the Fostex-based Hornshoppe speakers, certainly more bass as expected. There were also enhanced spatial cues.

Returned three hours later after bowling along with some of my buddies. We put in the Ween Live in Chicago DVD, cranked the volume, and had an awesome time. If things continue to improve from here, I'll be a very happy person.

A note of comparison to Zu. I didn't listen extensively to the Soul Superfly, but I did listen to a couple songs. Keep in mind it was at a show, and not in my home with my setup. I also don't have the same supporting electronics, so YMMV. However, I can say, even given all those caveats, my initial comparative impression of the Lores vs. Soul Superfly are that the SS had more meaty tone but that the Lores have more spatial development and cues while retaining a lot of that tone. The dynamics are certainly there in spades. My buddies said that these speakers really sound like you're there at the event. We were listening at near concert levels - yes our ears were ringing a bit by the end of the DVD, just like at a concert. It sounded like voices in the crowd and claps and cheering were right there in the room with us. And the music was really damned sweet.

Anyway, I'll keep this thread updated as I continue with burn-in and as I have a chance to listen to more of my music, especially the well recorded stuff.

System Equipment:
Mac-Mini - SSD, headless
dB Audio Tranquility SE DAC - with signature USB cable
Hornshoppe's The Truth pre-buffer
Dayens Ampino
Lores/Hornshoppe Horns
AV123 MFW-15 subwoofer fed by stock Behringer DEQ2496, using RTA and pink noise to set up parametric EQ for proper integration of subwoofer with main speakers - flat bass response to 20hz in my room/listening position, and also good integration with mains

~Ben

Genjamon - Thanks for the review!! Don't forget to write a review for audioreview.com when they get some miles on them.

So is it safe to say that these deliver just as much, if not more than the Soul SuperFly's at less than half of their price!?? That is quite a statement! Also, and as you know... you are no where near potential. They will take much more time to fully loosen up, and believe me when I tell you that a Kaizen will occur! Also, changes in front end would surely add/subtract tone from the presentation, but I can see what you are saying... and I TOTALLY agree, the Lore is by far the most convincingly "live" sounding speaker I have owned. So much that live recordings have been the point of focus for me these days!

In Christ, JL

Just received notification from Eric that my Lore's shipped yesterday so I should have them mid next week!!
I will let you all know my impressions although I am an audiophile newbie, for what it's worth.

I'm currently running B&W 602S3's over Signalcables Ultra speaker cables with my Outlaw Audio 1070 receiver. I use a PS3 as my CD player while most audio listening comes from my macbook pro which connects to an airport express (airtunes) with an optical output to my Outlaw.

I've heard the Druids and Superfly's recently and liked the Druids slightly more (easier on my ears) so I'm really looking to see the difference between these and the Lores.

Stay tuned..

GPowered and Genjamon Thanks so much for your reviews and thoughts.

311mph

I'd really like to read your findings about the Lores as well. My gear is very similar to yours. I always wonder if speakers like the Lores require expensive high-end SS and Tube gear to get the best sound out of them.