Stereophile review of the $30,000 tekton speakers


We have had many discussions/arguments over tekton speakers in the past, mainly involving a couple posters who thought their $4000 tektons sounded better than the highest price Wilson’s and other high budget speakers.

In the latest Stereophile magazine, they did a review of the $30,000 tekton’s. In this Steteophile issue, they rate these $30,000 tekton’s as class B. When you look at the other speakers that are in the class B section, you will notice most of these speakers range in price from $5000-$8000. So it looks like you have to spend $30,000 on a pair of tekton’s to equal a pair of $5000 Klipsch Forte IV’s sound quality. 
If I compare these $30,000 class B tekton’s, to some of the class A speakers, there are some class A speakers for 1/2 the price (Dutch & Dutch 8C, Goldenear triton reference), or other class A speakers that are cheaper (Magico A5, Kef blade 2).

 

 

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I've heard them and thought they had decent sound for the money, but they still look rather cheap for that money. Those drivers look especially cheap. No way would I pay $30K for their best, however.

Joke of the week.

they spent over $30 k in advertising . I have helped upgrade  several Tekton  Xovers 

cabinets ring like a bell ,drivers are not even close to world class ,I emailed them and they refused to state Xover brand parts, answer proprietary ,that would hold up on the exact type or method ,it has -0 to do with capacitor,resistor,or inductor quality, wire quality, or quality of binding posts. When spending over $10k you have the right to know what’s inside ,you are sending good $$ there are many well known brands you can get for $30k and look good doing it .Nothing more to add.

 

My opinion is Tekton started out (like Zu) offering some unique products for very competitive prices to the "high end market" , but once established in the "high end" market, vendors then also attempt to milk it by offering more expensive high profit margin options and also using that as a tool to raise prices on the most cost effective products that got them there. All vendors seem to do it and I can’t blame them. High price, high profit items are hard for vendors to resist selling. It works well for speakers in particular in that other than tweaks, speakers have always had the highest profit margins associated with them, while profit margins on electronics tend to come in last. So tweaks and speakers are where it’s at as a vendor to boost profit margins. That’s just how our system works. Not blaming or singling out Tekton in particular.

 

Ohm speakers have been somewhat of an exception. The high end has never been a prime focus for Ohm, more high performance products that people can actually afford and use. Yes prices have gone up in recent years but the most expensive models still come in at not much more than $10K (largest models with built in powered subs), though just a few years back, that number was more like $6K. Gotta factor in that most everything is more expensive these days as a result of various factors including supply chains choked by the pandemic, tariffs and just plain out corporate greed.