There's No Question


I get it. There has been a LOT of hype about Tekton speakers. I also understand why some guys have been disappointed with them. Allow me to qualify for both categories by saying I bought into the hype. I found some of the hype to be real, but I know there are better, or at least more convenient solutions to audio bliss.

     I bought my Double Impact speakers after reading and watching every available review. I had been an owner of Magneplanar 1.7i for a couple of years, loved them very much, and there is still a place in my heart for them. I still think they are some of the best sounding speakers you can buy at a very reasonable price. But after well over 2000 hours over two years (and I am not exaggerating), I really needed some bass in my life.  The Maggs only do 40hz, which is almost enough for some applications.  Naturally a speaker claiming to comfortably accommodate down to 20hz was appealing for this guy.  I think it is fair to say that almost no speaker manufacturer claims very far below 30kz.

     I make a decent living but am not wealthy. I had noticed the Double Impact speakers as a "hype" ad in a magazine I read, then started really reading the reviews and getting interested. It has always been my goal to build the best sounding system for the least amount of money possible. I am pretty sure most audio enthusiasts and music lovers can at least identify with that. We all started somewhere.

     I realize this is an expensive hobby, and the sky is no limit for how much you can get carried away with spending.

      The point of me writing now is to inform the naysayers as well as the potential buyers/dreamers about a process. I won't lie. It's an extremely painful process.

      I think it is an important reminder that you can take a million dollars worth of equipment, set it up in a room, and it can sound like absolute garbage. It should also be pointed out that less expensive equipment, set up with great attention, can sound significantly better than that million dollars worth of equipment that was set up poorly.

      That said, I bought some Tekton Double Impacts with some upgrades. I can tell you that in two different listening rooms my experience has varied from wanting to smash them to pieces with the earliest available sledgehammer, to utmost enjoyment to the point of truly wondering if it could get better, to "YES! That's it!" And back again. 

     I thought the Magneplanars were difficult to position, and had similar experiences. But after three years of ownership, I can tell you with absolute certainty that the Double Impact speakers are NOT for the newb.  They are very, very hard to position optimally. When you get it right you know it down to your toes. When it's OK, you shop for other speakers. When it's bad, there is no measurement for your buyer's remorse.

     I really think some people on this forum have been unfair to Tekton. Alexander is good at making speakers. He may not have been born a business man, but he really made some special (not for beginners) speakers. I have found some tweaks and methods that work for me. I have literally built my current listening room around these speakers. Are there better? Sure. More expensive by a long, long, way, but sure.  Bang for the buck is in abundance, but only if you have the patience to study about things like parametric wave patterns in relation to your seated position, sound treatments, invest in some better amplification, position, reposition and repeat 30,000 (exaggeration, but not by much) times. The results really can be extraordinary. But you will definitely work for the dollars you save.

benmeadows

every speaker has to be placed optimally in the room....the room  should be thought of as part of the speaker.

Absolutely true. My father-in-law is all about the math. But the math just doesn't work in every room. I know there are a lot of people who do the Cardas thirds rule and call it a day. But that just doesn't do it for me, unless I am in the mood for super boring. My room is stupid weird at 11 feet, 11 inches wide by probably 40' long. Very challenging to get it right, and it does sound right. But sometimes the mathematically unexplainable realm of the 5th dimension comes into play here. For the record, my father-in-law has a perfectly square listening room, which presents its own challenges. Every room takes work, every speaker takes effort as well. I think if you work at it, you can have an undeniably great sound system regardless of how "cheap" your parts are.

@mijostyn Please, by all means, get started. I've greatly enjoyed the conversation. I've been reading Audiogon for years, read every single review of every piece of equipment whether I could afford it or not. This was my first actual post, and I felt the input was all good enough to make for a good conversation. I don't care if you have an opinion that differs from mine, but I am curious why. What speakers did you invest in? Did you try the Tektons? Or are you dismissing them because the design doesn't make sense and they may or may not use "cheap" parts? Trying to figure out your beef. If you invested in some Legacy speakers, I guess I can understand a little jealousy if you just couldn't make them sound as good, even though they are very pretty and use "expensive" parts. Interested in what you have to say.

@mijostyn The speakers are the "cheapest" thing in my room. My cabling cost at least as much. The room treatments cost as much, and I went the "cheapest" on those. My source components outweigh the cost of the speakers by a long, long, way, including multiple high-end cartridges. I have a stack I call the "boneyard" of high-end amplifiers I don't use because they couldn't accommodate my non-golden-but-ultra-demanding-ears.  Please edify me. I am absolutely interested in the best sound ever.

Just because I have spent over 100k on my persuit of happiness doesn't mean that I hit a home run off the bat.