Zu Omen or Tekton Lore

Detail is a bit of a two-edged sword, if you ask me. Too much and suddenly that's all you're hearing. I think this is what Srajan means when he uses the term "pixelated".

That said, I'm sure the new SEAS drivers he's using for the Lore S, and the next as-yet-unnamed speaker that will be offered at some point as an alternative to a Wilson Sophia (!!!), will have more of this "hi-fi" (as Eric calls it) character to the sound. Hopefully, Eric will be sending a pair of the Lore S on at some point, so I'll be able to do an apples-to-apples comparison between it and the Pendragon.

But if you want more of that sound, now, then sure, cooler cables (check out the new Black Cats), or a more detailed amp like the FirstWatts, might add more back into the mix. But the limiting factor will be the drivers and my understanding is that this isn't really the forte of these Eminence drivers, which are more about impact, immediacy and realism.

Check out 6moons. Srajan has reviewed more Eminence-driver-based speakers (ie, Zu) than anyone else I can think of and he's got a whole stable full of amplifiers to play with. He tends to favor the Red Wine for visceral impact, but it's the Yamamoto A-08s (a very linear 45-based amp) and various First Watt amps he reaches for when he wants "air" and detail -- at least when he's reviewing Zu speakers. Given that the Tekton implementation is similar (same drivers, but different crossovers), I expect that the results Srajan gets should be very portable.

Hi all ! I am getting as much detail from my Lore's than I do with my Thiel 1.6's , using the same system . Power Plant Premier , Cary 303 / 300 , Cary Slp -03 , Belles a150 ( for the next couple days until my Paramounts are done). Mostly Tara wire with some LAT and Vansevers in there. Love these Lore's as they are not the usual "hi fi " sound , wish my room was big enough for the Pendragons .

Impressive review, Socrates! Thank you for your time and dedication to writing that up. I think what you have described is essentially the capstone of audio loudspeaker design, particularly in the type of transducer technology, voicing and ultimately to what the designer wants to accomplish. It took me 15 speakers to learn what I preferred. The Maggie’s are surely on “that” end of the spectrum - break taking detail capabilities and extremely revealing, but to my ear they lack the emotional qualities – such as musicality and harmonic texture.

But I would argue that the Pens are also very detailed, in the sense that they convey all of the music and are not rolled off. As you pointed out on the Pendragon, the triple SB Acoustic tweeter array is doing allot of the work, so it’s certainly not all on the drivers. The tweeters are some of the best i have heard, and I have owned Esotar2 tweeters. I think allot of this has to do with comparing the two technologies, as you most certainly did a great job of – ribbons are almost always unforgiving, but highly detailed to the point that one can hear into the recording like never before. The danger of this type of detail level is that while can one will hear everything, one will hear EVERYTHING. On the other hand, a speaker like the Lore/Pendragon, trades off detail for the ability to be more forgiving, more convincing as a “live music” transducer, and high on the emotional content because it can be run with lower powered tube amps which most of us would agree, is the main reason why we get the great tone and harmonic textures that make the presentation so satisfying to listen to.

And, therein lies the fork in the road, where one is either an audiophile, or a music lover... or as in your case, one can appreciate both.

Gooddomino - fo to JW audio (zman;'s website). And try out some of his cables. You want to detail; you will have it. :)

The best cables I have heard in my system, period!

Just an FYI to those with Lores:
I modified mine by lining ther upper cabinet with Dynamat Extreme, and in my system I am very pleased with the improvement. They sound more solid.
I used the stuff they sell at Best Buy @ $90, enough to do 2 car doors is about the perfect amount for a pair of Lores. There are other sources that cost less, but I'm either lazy or rich (I'll let you guess which) so I just went to BB. It took about 30 min per speaker. Soldering iron (need to unhook the 10" driver), scissors, phillips screwdriver, and a wallpaper roller is all you need.
If you want pics or have questions, send me a PM.