Tekton Double Impacts

@david_ten I agree, I had been driving my Encores with 60wpc Allnic A6000 Quad Parallel 300bxls SET Monoblocks, but I found out I am also able run my amps with just one 300bxls tube each which produces just 15wpc per monoblock. This is plenty of power for high sound pressure levels in my new larger listening room even though the Encores are only 96db into 4ohms. Originally, I did this to cut down on the heat generation and the AC running so often during the summer months which is a bit noisier upstairs, but I love the sound so much I'm going to run it like this all year round.  I did purchase some zeroimpedance.com Autoformers to quadruple the Encore's 4ohm load to match the 16ohm output impedance of my Allnics when running with one only output tube and I must say this was a match made in heaven.  I get no compression or softclipping whatsoever on even the deepest bass or biggest of musical pieces at any volume level.  The whole room is now fully treated with ATS absorbers and diffusors now and it sounds so incredible now.  Sorry for rambling. I don't post much anymore on here and usually post more on the Tekton Worldwide Owner's Group on Facebook now.  Great place to hang out with fellow Tektonians! 

Good to hear from old friends on this thread.  I would agree with all that has been said. @2spyop, you won't go wrong with the DI, DI SE.  The Moabs will exceed budget by $500.  Wish I had the ability to tell you I have heard them side by side.  I prefer, in theory, the simplified crossover of the Moab over the DI SE.  I suspect the purity of the Moab is very special.  Only wonder if there is any loss of mid-bass impact vs the SE's?    

As you may know, I owned the Magnepan 1.7's and loved that speaker.  It is a special transducer.  But it took little time for me to find the DI to be an overall superior transducer.  I found the DI to have more accurate imaging and sound staging.  Detail was better.  Obviously the DI had superior low end extension, dynamics, and surprisingly, was just as coherent to my ears.  

I think you will love the flexibility the Tektons offer regarding amplifiers.  And I really do not think you will have any desire to return them--so I really would not factor that much into the equation.  Eric offers tremendous value directly marketing and something has to give to maintain his margin.  So the inability to audition and return to a local dealer is a small price to pay for a huge value.  I'll take that any day.  

Keep us posted.  

Good to hear from old friends on this thread.

Hear! hear!  @corelli  

fyi, my SEs have found a new home. Eric is really impressed and is enjoying them thoroughly.

@charles1dad Well, my best audiophile friend, Mike, already owned the autoformers and some Atmosphere OTL amplifiers and he runs with just 1 pair of tubes due to heat issues.  He suggested I ask the designer, Kang Su, if I could run with 1 or 2 tubes safely since my amps are a parallel design similiar to the Atmospheres sans an output transformer. I contacted Albert Porter and he graciously and expeditiously reached out to Kang Su and he was able to get me my an affirmative answer a couple of short hours later. 

The only downside to running the single tube is the 4ohm output transformer tap of the amp effectively becomes 16ohms and that's a terrible mismatch with a 4 ohm load such as the Encores are by default.  This would likley stress the tube more. 

  Paul at zeroimpedance.com created the autoformers for this purpose.  Apparently, any amplifier below 100wpc can benefit by using them and he even has people with push pull solid-state amps using them too and enjoying them.  Seems making your amplifier loaf and not forcing it to push extra current into lower loads seems to have audibly pleasant effects for those users.

For me personally I'm enjoying using them in their 4x load mode or 4x4ohm=16ohm making it match perfectly with my amps 16ohm output impedance. (Autoformers can be set to 2x,3x,4x so there's versatility) It sounds like peanut butter and jelly or rather a match made in heaven. 

The sound flows effortlessly at any volume. I can play very loud and I have still have complete composure regardless of the scale or amount of bass of the music. It also fully restores the 10db of damping the amps have because you lose 3/4th the damping only running one tube.  There's something very intimate and even more set-like about the presentation running one tube since now the power, interstate, and output transformers are all loafing running just one 300bxls power tube and the autoformers are like the icing on the cake.  The Allnic A6000 is like buying a versatile 15,30,45,60wpc SET amp. 

Personally, if you don't need the extra wattage I think there's something to say for the sonic purity of driving a single triode, but if you need the power do to inefficient speakers you would benefit by adding tubes and power as needed to lower overall distortion that creeps up rather quickly as you drive a single tube up to its15wpc maximum output.

For me I get no audible softclipping or compression at all with just 15wpc at very high volume levels. Just complete composure. It's well nigh perfect. My system has never sounded this good.