Zu Omen or Tekton Lore

03-01-12: Obrown
"Hard to take a company serious that lists a speaker's price without grilles."

Hmmm, not sure what that means??
I see you are looking for Zu speakers. As someone who has owned both I suggest you take Tekton seriously.

If I remember correctly, grills for Lore's are $70 + $20 for shipping (they are packed separate from the speaker to prevent damage).

Sure it hurts to pay extra for them (I did), but if one doesn't want them it's nice to know they're saving that money. Works both ways.

Well, after a week of album rolling with the new binding posts
I can make a final comment on the Lores ability to preform with upgrades as time and money fits.
By far my advise is to leave the inductors as they are 18 awg. and the DC resistance is part of Erics formula for great bass extension.It is not easy to remove the cross over so if possible replace the caps,resistors and internal wire at the same time.I have been in these speakers a lot rolling caps and upgraded everything but the inductors. I would save the posts for last but they do make a difference so don't count them out.
What is the end result after so much time and soldering.
A far more detailed and smoother Lore with a fuller,richer sound that I can describe as both Dynamic and Lush.
The Lores respond very well to being upgraded, and go well beyond another level of music reproduction.
Some of the most revered brands offer upgrades for example Audio Note UK has levels of upgrades so it doesn't mean you bought bad speakers just because they can be improved on!
Whats nice is that the Design and driver selection by Eric is so good it can be taken to another level at a reasonable cost.Some speakers just don't respond much no matter how much time and money you put into them, the Lores respond to every upgrade.So Happy Soldering guy's! Build your own Hot Rod Lore and Enjoy the results!
Please share your upgrades with us,get it on guys!

Wondering if anyone could speak to how they're trying to affect the Lore sound w/ DACs, cables, etc. What do you find that you're trying to increase/decrease in terms of highs, lows, detail, etc.

I'll be starting with low-fi SS power, which I'll look to replace w/ a budget tube amp in the not too distant future, but first will come a DAC. The two emergent candidates are the Grant Fidelity TubeDac-11 and the Schiit Bifrost. (Both ~$350) I'd love to know if anyone has thoughts on which might have better synergy w/ the Lores? My hunch is the Bifrost may be the more clinical/resolving of the two but I'm not sure of that.

Your DAC choice will have a far bigger impact than any pair of cables.I would look at the Little Dot DAC from China in your price range.Why? because of the huge tiroidal transformer and Wolfson chip not to mention the way Sword Yang carefully implemented it all in his design.I chose the LD1 over the Cambridge Dac Magic because the little dot simply had a far better sense of scale and dynamics the little wall wart could not deliver in the DAC Majic another nice DAC in it's own right.
The Lores are perfectly balanced but can be taken to another level of detail.So there is no problem with highs and lows but the level of information that makes it through them.
If you want to get to that level you will have to do some soldering or have it done,or you could just be happy with what you have.Having said all that get your source and amp right then look to sorting out where you want to go with the Lores.Time is your friend,there is no hurry,just research before you buy.Best of luck!