My Take on the Tekton Array, Experiences to Date

Suspended

About time. 

 Voices are split in prismatic fashion and I could hear the grouping of driver

Are you saying that the vocals sound like the head is moving around facing different directions while they're singing like a prism scatters light or it's breaking up the sound into different shades like a rainbow?

it was quite obvious that the array adds convolution to the imaging, especially with more complex music

Lost me again.  Why would it be obvious that the array adds convolution to the imaging, and what does that mean?  Are you saying it's harder to pick out the location of the second chair trumpet in the orchestra?  The oboe sounds like a clarinet? If it's an amplified source the sound would come for the speaker placement not the instrument. How could anything add convolution unless there's a phase shift?  Is that what' you're hearing? 

I understand how difficult it is to put words to the sounds your hearing due to the limitations of language and that I could be coming across as a "Huge Richard" here but I've heard the MOABS and can't for the life of me relate what I heard to the descriptions you're describing.  I'm not saying you didn't hear it but I can't personally fathom what the heck you're talking about..  

Remember Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story? 

This is the rest of the story. 

My goal here is neither endorsement, nor opposition to the Tekton technology and models I have heard. How about a bit of backstory for your edification? 

After hearing the bookshelf at AXPONA and being less than impressed, I was going to write off the company. However, reviewing has taught me to not dismissively judge products. Knowing the novelty of the array, I contacted Tekton about 15 months ago and had a lovely conversation with Eric Alexander, the owner. I contacted in order to arrange for a review of the Encore, a less reviewed model. I had no interest in the bookshelf and small models. Why should I spend my time on such when I can do top line products? That is why I had not much motivation to hear the smaller models. I would not buy any speaker in the past several years of reviewing apart from a home audition. 

That was 15 months ago. In the initial weeks that followed the speaker was being prepared. The idea was to review a new design, one with the soft dome tweeter replaced by a ribbon. a new spin, a different flavor. It seemed the delivery would happen in a shorter, not longer time period. 

I liked that, because I want to be first, not the sixth reviewer. There would be a delay due to the heavy build schedule. No problem, I have waited several months previously for a manufacturer to catch up. I have been reviewing long enough to know the patterns of relation to manufacturers.

I presume due to the insane build schedule, Tekton's communication dropped off. I presume that business was bustling and little time to pursue the review. I have had this happen previously, and I take no offense at it. Companies can get so busy that they would not wish for another review; they are running at top speed and do not want to push customers further out from their timeline. As a fledgeling reviewer I had to swallow my pride to understand that, but as a veteran I hardly concern myself with such timelines anymore. In my experience most companies will not come out openly and simply tell the reviewer that they do not need another review. The reviewer has to figure it out. 

But, theoretically a review should eventually happen. When a company is not getting me the speaker more than a year later, in nearly all cases it is a sign that the review is not much desired due to the above conditions. My perspective is that I awish to be first into the unexplored forrest, not the fifth or eighth. I like bringing a product to the community's attention, not watching five other guys do so. I tend to lose interest when I am at the back of the line. Can I do my own research and arrive at my own conclusions? Of course; I don't even read other reviewers. I get through Absolute Sound and Stereophile in about half an hour. In 95% of the cases for the past few years I don't read the articles, I just glance at potential new products. I could care less what other reviewers think. I may have gone back once in 5 years to read a review. If I want to know a product, I will arrange for it and conduct my own interview with the maker. 

I am neutral about the company and product. It's great that so many are finding joy in using it and at a reasonable price. It's actually been quite nice to avoid the rancor about the company and speakers. It tends to be polarizing, like Magnepan and Vandersteen. Woe be to anyone who does not worship at the feet of the designer and nit picks at the sound! I don't have much patience for that. To have quietly recused myself was rather nice! Now that I have no personal motivation and have shared some thoughts, I plan to contentedly bow out of the arena. 

I have been largely silent since that time in regard to Tekton. That is because of the pending review and imo the obligation to not muddy the waters with my opinion, nor be in conflict of interest. But, I have cancelled the review. Consider my impressions here (I won't call it a review, as it's pitifully short compared to my normal work and not very in-depth, nor done with a direct comparison in my room) as my contribution to the cause. Take it with however large a grain of salt you wish; just watch that you don't choke on it!  ;)

Let no one think that have a grievance or issue with Eric or the company. I am not upset or in distress over any of these developments. My conversation with Eric over a year ago was positive, and I have no reason to think things have changed in regard to his/the company's attitude toward me. I have had only brief contact verbally with the receptionist in the past six months. I was going to cancel the review a few months ago, but she told me they were buried in builds, so I held off. But, it has been another few months and no contact. I do not wish to put thoughts/words into the company's mouth, nor to arouse suspicion. How a company treats a reviewer (i.e. in regard to timely communication and delivery of product) may be somewhat different than how it treats the customers, and I have seen many different variations of that throughout the 14 years. I see it as simply a swing and a miss between a company and reviewer, which has happened to me several times  with a variety of companies from small to big concerns. I do not have disdain towards Tekton for being slow in fulfilling the verbal agreement. I do not see it as evidence of a problem at the company. I do not give detractors permission to use my experience as fodder to lambaste the company!

In an effort to be helpful to the company, I  in my email rescinding the review I suggested that another Dagogo.com reviewer could take the review. My intent is not to leave them without an article if that is so desired. Perhaps I am excising the most dramatic product I would ever lay hands on. Hmmm... doubtful. I continuously look at, and look past dozens of products. Winners? Losers? Diamonds in the rough? Duds? They're all out there. Which is the Encore? I never got to hear it, so I defer that question to a colleague. 

As the Tekton review faded, another novel speaker has come to take its place. Sometimes reviews are a game of musical chairs (pun), with no way of knowing which will be left standing and which will end up in my listening room. 

I have not shared in this thread a couple of analytical thoughts in regard to the Tekton array technology. I probably would have discussed them had it been a proper review. I may share them someday, but that is my prerogative.  

danager, I know you are not arguing with me. I appreciate your call for clarification. I have not looked at measurements to correlate what I am hearing with the specs and measurements. If I were to do so, then I might be able to discuss it from a measured performance perspective. I have shared listening impressions, which is fundamentally different than a review with measurements. I do not typically include measurements in reviews, and all are free to accept or reject my work based on that.  :) 

The simplest way to understand what I have described is to hear in short order a good traditional dynamic speaker in a comparable system, or ideally the same system in the same room, in comparison to the Moab, or other Tekton speaker. This is the ideal way to intuitively grasp such descriptions and accept or reject them. I do not expect anyone who has not had that experience to have the means to make such a determination. Any given speaker in isolation can sound either perfectly coherent or muddy to any given listener. Lack of comparison between differing technologies is not instructive as to where the speakers reside on the performance spectrum of any given parameter of sound quality.  :) 

In other words, you would have to hear it to understand, which is why I will answer, but will not argue/debate you about it. BTW, the "convolution" characteristic is part of all arrays, not just Tekton. There is a degree of that with the Legacy Audio Whisper speaker, too, as it has four mid-bass drivers. The effect of the four point wave launch is immediately discerned as one moves from it to another genre of speaker. There are pros and cons to all these idiosyncrasies of speakers, for all genres.   :) 

@tablejockey —

“Tekton, oh dear....

This will be the most active thread of the weekend. “

Or as they said back in the 50’s: duck and cover.

@douglas_schroeder —

Thanks for a great write-up on your impressions of the Tekton’s.