Stereophile review of the $30,000 tekton speakers

Stereophile Class A, etc.? Well...

The PSB Synchrony One (I have a pair; they're in storage) were listed by Stereophile in 2012 as a starred “Class A Loudspeaker Recommended Component,” along with speakers costing up to $80,000 in that category, and as a “Recommended Reference Component” by Soundstage Hi-Fi —again, in competition with vastly more expensive speakers. Summing up his review in Stereophile, founding editor John Atkinson wrote: “the Synchrony One offers surprisingly deep bass for a relatively small speaker; a neutral, uncolored midrange; smooth, grain-free highs; and superbly stable and accurate stereo imaging. It is also superbly finished and looks beautiful. Highly recommended. And when you consider the price [$4,500 a pair, and $5,500 a pair by the time they were listed as a “Class A Recommended Component"], very highly recommended.” SoundStage HiFi awarded the Synchrony One “Reviewer’s Choice” recognition when it was first released in 2008, then “Recommended Reference Component” status in 2012. The original review found the Synchrony One “among the most neutral speakers ever reviewed” that “sets a new standard for tonal accuracy, clarity and detail.” The follow-up review noted that the Synchrony One is “the least expensive speaker to ever be included in our list of Recommended Reference Components,” and that it measured (in the anechoic chamber of Canada’s National Research Council) lower levels of distortion “than any speaker at any price we’d measured up till then.” The review concludes “it’s important to realize that the Synchrony One isn’t being recognized as an RRC for the performance it offers at the price [$5,500 a pair]; rather, it’s a reference-caliber speaker that compares with top-class speakers at any price.”

Well...OK, boomers, boom me. But the Synchrony One doesn't. It's "soulless," as a friend put it. Doesn't do anything wrong, exactly. But it's just not engaging, exciting, "musical." My opinion? Yeah, but also that of several friends who have heard it in A/B/X comparisons with several others.

So why the rave reviews? Hmmm...

I agree 100% when Stereophile rates products I already own as "Class A." My Schiit Freya and Pass XA-25 are in there. Both cost far less than the competition (especially the Freya) so at least in the case of these 2 items I can feel slightly superior with my impeccable taste.

Gotta love these Tekton threads.  They all go the same way.  Starts out civil and then the flies all catch a whiff and gather.  Then disparaging remarks from members who have never heard the speaker but "know" it doesn't sound any good and even if it did they are so "ugly" I would never own them.

So helpful.

But hey, the shipping is free!

This loudspeaker sounds exceptionally good for it's price. Doing the midrange entirely in beryllium is something to be auditioned. A 'Klipsch Forte IV" is not even in the league this speaker resides in. Make a short list of $30K loudspeakers selling today and this speaker holds its own with them; and it WILL BE be the most exciting sound of the group. If the listener is on a budget then purchase a pair of Ulfberhts - a speaker under $10K that sounds as good as the Focal Grand Utopia.