New speaker day - Tekton Enzo 2.7 review
These are my initial impressions of the Enzo 2.7’s. I considered their Lore model and even the Enzo XL, but decided on the 2.7’s in part because as I get older, the big heavy XL’s seem like backbreakers, and the Lores don’t have the mid/tweeter array. I was able to snag a pair Tekton had in stock, so i was lucky to avoid the long wait time others are experiencing right now. They were well packed and arrived safely. I set them up in the garage and gave them about 50 hours of break-in. Once inside, I hooked them up to my Primaluna Prologue/Denefrips Ares DAC. Blue jeans cables, nothing exotic. I only use CDs at this time - no streaming yet. My space is a small family room opening into a kitchen. The whole space is about 15 X 30 with a cathedral ceiling in part of it. I have about 30 sq ft of acoustical absorbing panels installed and a hardwood floor. The Enzo’s are sensitive and I’m happy my front end is quiet enough.
At first listen, the sound was disorienting, but in a strange, good way. The first thing that stood out was the midrange: it was huge, but not in your face, blown out of proportion kind of way, it just had more presence and scope. It (midrange) doesn’t sound warm or syrupy, or compressed, but rather very fast, neutral and detailed. These speakers keep different elements of the record well sorted and they sound effortless doing it. It’s hard to describe, so I’ll give examples of what I hear with different music.
Electric rock music is dynamic and punchy and also sounds good a low listening levels. Jazz ensembles sound organic. Trumpets and saxophones are detailed and clear. You can hear the breathiness of the players easily. I like the way reverb sounds through these.
Vocals: 3 or 4 part harmonies actually sound like 3 or 4 people singing, each voice retains its own character and space. When complex percussion is behind the vocals, and sharing similar frequencies, you hear distinct percussion and vocals, they coexist, one does not overwhelm the other. Listening from another room, they still sound great - very present and effortless.
Orchestral music: I put on Beethovens 7th symphony, and the different sections of the orchestra are fully apparent. Instead of one big homogeneous sound, the horns are separate from the violins which are separate from the cellos and so on, more so than other speakers I’ve owned. The violin section also sounds more natural, and when playing in the upper registers much less like a musical chainsaw - the best I’ve owned in that regard. I put on some Handel chamber music and during a pipe organ section, I thought the cd was skipping, but it was some clicking sounds made by the organ itself. Soft, delicate passages are still dynamic and detailed, just quieter overall. Large orchestral crescendos, both sudden and gradual don’t seem to cause any distress. Sudden, dramatic endings decay very nicely. Solo piano and guitar are very pleasing.
Drums/percussion: Very quick and dynamic. I played some world music with complex percussion and these speakers always sounded in control and on top of it. Jazz drummers sound great - cymbals sound clear and detailed, sometimes floating in space.
Bass: Electric bass guitar sounds very good - almost like there’s a bass amp in the room. Acoustic bass also sounds very good. Bass heavy music like reggae or Marcus Miller sounds very convincing. These woofers are similar to what bass guitar amps use (I used to play bass guitar among other things). Using a tone generator, I found that these speakers start rolling off around 40 Hz , I can hear 25 Hz from them but barley. They really pick up steam around 65 - 70 Hz. Not scientific and I’m sure my room acoustics influence all this. Although in Mahler’s 1st symphony, the 3rd & 4th movements, the huge bass drum comes into play and sounds convincing and I'm guessing that goes pretty low. The bass is punchy and strong for the most part. The lower midrange which is handled by the woofers is slightly less clear, it’s a little peaky in a few spots. I think these woofers need more break-in time. I used almost identical ones in a DIY project a few years back and they took over 100 hours till they started to relax even a little. These pro audio drivers are capable of handling 100’s of watts and are stiff in the beginning. They don’t reach as low as a sub, but the bass they produce is entertaining.
The cabinet is very sturdy and has 2 internal braces which support each woofer via black speaker putty. The front baffle is 1" thick, don’t know about the sides. The paint is attractive (charcoal grey), but chips easily - beware.The tweeters in this model are made by SB acoustics and sell for $33 each on the Madisound website. I think they sound great. The woofers are custom made by Eminence. All in all really liking them so far. I wish I hadn’t waited 2 years to pull the trigger on Tekton Designs!
