Hello Tekton owners/aficionados, I’m getting ready to take the leap into the Ulfberht club and am looking for anyone within a few hours drive from Northern Virginia who would allow me to hear their speakers. I heard the Moabs briefly a few years ago at a show and liked them, but really need to hear the Ulfs or the Moab’s again. I’ve got a pretty decent wine cellar and would love to bring something nice with me to either share or leave for my host. I’d also be happy to have folks come listen to the Dynaudio Consequence Ultimates I have now as a comparison.
My Experience With Tekton
I know this is a polarizing discussion point and was thus hesitant to share unless I could keep it objective, helpful, and concise
I have no intention to be inflammatory, sway anyone’s current opinion or beliefs
I merely want to share information in two specific areas, my results of product performance and my experience with the manufacturer
Background and reference point
I replaced a pair of Revel F36. The F36 is the upper end of Revel’s lowest tier floorstanding speakers and retails for $2,000 MSRP per pair
Took approx. 45 mins to unbox, level and connect
Like for like drop-in replacement, same location on the floor as the F36s, the listening position did not change, identical electronics and cables
We’ve all got our preferences, biases, different levels of experience, etc; but share the common limitation that we just don’t know what we don’t know
I’ve not heard a pair of 30K speakers but expect to someday and envy those that own them
In my VERY limited understanding, it’s near impossible to pinpoint how any specific system change will behave and perform across the board, contingent on the variances in electronics, set up and room. These three items alone (electronics, setup and room) make me think that while similar in nature, but at a critical listening level, each combination is unique and a different snowflake or fingerprint
Listening results
Product delivers as advertised
Meets or exceeds every performance expectation I had hoped for
After approx. 5 hours of listening over 3 days I tried to characterize the sound. The first thought was neutral, but that was understating what I was hearing. I eventually landed on natural or real. The voices and the instruments sound VERY real to me. This is as close as I have come with my electronics, setup and room to sensing that someone is singing to me or that someone or an entire band is playing for me
To date, each song that I’ve played, is the best version of that song that I have heard in a playback, and I’ve listened to all of them 100s and 100s of times
Some of the improvement was by a small margin, but most songs, 65% conservatively speaking, by a vast margin – night and day, game changing stuff
Chet Baker didn’t sound like a presentation from 1958, it sounded as fresh and real as a new recording with the benefits of 60 years of technology advancements. Exile on Main Street didn’t sound like a home recording from 1972 it sounded like 2022 with many layers of percussion, keyboards, horns and background vocals
Is the sound of this $5,000 pair of speakers comparable to the sound of a $30,000 pair of speakers? I don’t know, as mentioned I’ve not heard a pair of $30,000 speakers.
What I do know is the $5,000 pair of speakers, simply put is the best my system has sounded by a wide margin
Again in summary, it sounds real, like someone is singing to me
Experience with the manufacturer
I had hemmed and hawed for 2 or 3 months before placing my order. One day the website mentioned a future price increase but until mmdd you could still order at the current price
I called and spoke with Tammy and told her I wanted to lock in on the current price point but wasn’t sure what product or configuration I wanted
She built an open-ended order with current pricing and told me to contact her when I knew what I wanted
With work travel and other commitments it took me 4 months to finalize which speaker, Moab, which upgrades, beryllium tweeters and Cardas connectors, and what color, white
I was never pressured to make up my mind or that my window for the lower costs was going to expire
Since I was the one dragging my feet, I offered multiple times to pay for the product
Not once did they hint or take me up on my offer to pay in advance
They did not bill me until the product shipped
Once I had made all the config decisions, the build and delivery were again, as advertised
Tammy mentioned a 4–6-week supply chain delay with beryllium, that arrived within her estimated timeframe
Once the beryllium arrived, she said she was waiting on cabinets, eta 5-7 days, followed by build and paint, and shipping approx. 10 days after she received the cabinets
Within 2 weeks Tammy emailed my owner’s manual, unpacking instructions and told me to expect a call from the freight company within the next week
Freight company contacted me on that Fri and scheduled delivery for the very next Mon, Aug 30
The boxes arrived scuffed and with multiple impact points that dented the packing material
There are no blemishes or damage to either speaker cabinet, the packing and packaging worked as designed
Upon unpacking, I didn’t experience a heavy smell of paint or wood, if I put my nose to the cabinet, I could smell fresh paint
The cabinet finish or construction does not appear inferior to anything else in my inventory, KEF, Revel, Klipsch, Paradigm, Polk, and Elac – permission in advance to laugh
Enjoy the journey and happy listening
Respectfully
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@mozartfan The perfect set 15 look cute, especially the 7 HF/Mid diver array, don’t you think so? |
OK, the perfect set 15 is $2190 a pair that is included shipping in the US. I know, I know, those HF/Mid Audax drivers are only $35 a pop but add up 14 of them is whopping $490 that is at least 20% of the speakers’ asking price. I Google around the web, people seem to endorse the cheap Audax’s sound quality, for $35, what else can you get really, that is proven, has good heritage, and is not made in China (OK that was a joke)? I think Eric does his design and research work very carefully.
The pricing of Tekton is very generous. By contrast, look at those greedy big distributors, name one: Tone Imports, they mark up minimal 200% to US consumers on the stuffs they represent. Line Magnetic for example, they sell for less than half the price in the domestic market, and because of the trade agreement, the factory refuses to sell 110V version outside of their distribution chains, is it smart of the manufacture? I don’t think so as they don’t pocket the markup profits.
Maybe Eric should hire a good carpenter to make the speaker cabinets pretty, and looks like 10K, some of you may think they sound good by the look alone in the first place.
People do all that trash talk without hearing the brand or did not know how to use them (similar to hand tools, how many of you know adjustable wrench and saw are one way tools?) People should keep an open mind and give some respect to others’ work and efforts.
Best
Griffin |
I have no opinion to share or offer on Tekton. They fill a need and many who have them are happy. That's terrific. Your comments about Tone Imports, however, are unfortunate.
They have brought to our shores a great many products which have moved the hifi hobby forward. They don't just "carry" a product, they set up a proper presence, with a factory warranty service center, they spend resources to stand by the product for the long haul and not just for a quick opportunity to move a few boxes and then move on to the next box manufacturer. You mention Line Magnetic and you also mention that "they won't sell to you directly". The Line Magnetic gear that reaches the USA has gone through a double vetting process for quality control. That's the reason Shindo, Leben, Line Magnetic etc have such an exemplary reputation in the US, because Tone Imports backs and nurtures the product and the ownership experience.
IF you had been able to purchase a Line Magnetic device direct from the manufacturer and IF you experienced a problem...you seem like just the kind of guy who would reach out to Tone Imports to seek service or a resolution to your problem. Even though I would let you figure it out on your own if I were Tone Imports, they would still likely try to assist you...even though you didn't pay for the privilege.
I have no affiliations in the industry other than being a happy customer of some of the many products imported by Tone Imports. |
I have Line Magnetic gear purchased through a dealer and backed by Tone Imports. After more than a few years the transformer failed and my dealer and Tone Imports took care of it. That’s a big bonus buying form a reputable authorized dealer. But I also have Tekton speakers bought from Tekton and I like them very much. Not sure what seamaster300m is talking about with regard to Tone Imports. I guess I agree with him about Tekton but agree with ghasley about Tone Imports. I would also like to mention this. I had a bad experience with an unnamed audio company many years back. The owner was really arrogant and I dislike him because he lied about the quality of his components. Many years later he came clean about the bad parts and supposedly is making quality gear now. The point is this, just as consumers get smarter, manufacturers also get smarter and can build better gear. My two cents. I took a bath once and lost some cash. but I think he did as well with the complaints and started making better audio components.
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