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Quality issues with Tekton speakers....

I was reading all the buzz about these Tekton speakers and after sorting through all the reviews, decided to order a pair of the Pendragon (the big ones... $2,500 a pair).

When they arrived, I found them to be boxed well and in perfect shape, although one thing was very noticeable once I looked at the speakers. The woofers had a slightly different tone (color). The upper woofer in each tower was basically dark gray or black (like most paper woofers you might come across) and the lower woofers were slightly blue in color. After looking on the web some, I could not find a Pendragon speaker photo ANYWHERE that had this color difference. Since they did not come with speaker grilles, I knew the color difference would bother me as long as I owned the speakers.

I contacted Tekton (Eric Alexander) via e-mail and explained the issue. After almost a week of not hearing back, I sent another e-mail and his response was...

(copy and pasted right from my e-mail)... " I'm sorry. Please refresh my memory. What seems to be the problem? Thanks, Eric"

I described the issue again and he offered to exchange the speakers. I said there was no need to ship back a huge pair of 85 pound speakers and have him send me another pair and suggested maybe he just send me grilles at no charge to cover the speakers and I could live with the slight color difference in the woofers. I really feel that grilles should be included in a $2,500 price tag however.

All of these e-mails took several days to answer by the way.

He agreed and said he would get the grilles out right away... they were sent a few days later and upon arrival, I realized there was a pretty big problem. I had a normal type speaker grill with 4 pegs on the back and a speaker with no peg holes. After all the time, e-mails, no answers, etc., I was not interested in wasting any more time with the matter and asked for a partial refund through PayPal and asked a simple question... why send me grilles for a speaker that he just shipped to me with no holes to put them in? His reply was to offer to make new grilles and send "velcro dots" to affix them to the speakers with.... WOW.

The WORST part about all this: Within 30 minutes of making a PayPal claim about the issue and asking for a partial refund from him, Eric tried to call me right away... now that there was money at stake.

The really sad part of all this is that the speakers actually sound pretty damn good now that they are broken in... I just hope the quality and communication come up to the same level for the sake of Tekton as a company.
128x128audiofreak32
mikirob
955 posts
 
I'll finally add my two cents since I have also been following this thread. I feel similar to Tls49. There is a lot of grey here. Eric did offer to exchange the speakers. The OP's reason for not doing so initially is a bit weird. The OP could have done as Tls49 suggested (get a call tag), and return the speakers. That was simply the right thing to do.

On the other hand Eric should be much, much, better with his customer service. Eric's speakers are real bargains and sound great; he is very innovative. I own several of his speakers, they all look great and play better. I have never had a problem with his service. Again, he offered to take the speakers back and to send you another pair. Why didn't you take him up on the offer?

I suspect we are not getting the complete story.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,483 posts
 
Hopefully people keep open minds and do not jump to conclusions when reading threads like this that make a vendor look bad. IT really does not matter what people think, only what the buyer thinks. One case either way means nothing, regardless of the facts. If a recurring pattern pops up over time, then maybe. I understand the desire to vent publicly and ask for opinions, but none of that really matters. Only the facts matter and all of those are not likely to come out completely in a public forum like this. Chances are both sides could have done something better. So just live and learn.
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
I agree Mapman. I found the OP's original post lacking in sufficient detail to draw any conclusions. QC is very important to a manufacturer, particularly when factoring in return costs for faulty items, advertising hype aside. The most important matter is followup to problems when they arise and I don't get ANY sense that Eric didn't try to make things right, maybe not to the degree the OP would like yet it seems he tried. I wouldn't think that an e-mail(s) is necessarily going to be the best way to get an immediate response and that it should be assumed the manufacturer is nonresponsive, very busy is more like it. If I didn't hear back within a day or two after an e-mail was ignored, a call would be in order.
mikirob
955 posts
 
Additional consideration of Eric Alexander's product from EnjoyThe Music:
"Newcomers should buy this speaker to get a taste of what the High End is all about, and then consider upgrading everything else in their system. Seasoned audiophiles who don't need the ego-reinforcement of more exotic or more established brands, or who merely want to improve their system while still living within their means, should also give this one serious attention. Listening in the dark, you may think you spent a year's salary. And if your life is populated with adorable rug rats you won't get upset if they plaster the cabinets with stickers of Spiderman or Hello Kitty. Eric Alexander is certainly one of the more passionate speaker designers in the industry, building for sound quality at very reasonable prices rather than
targeting exotic technology and style. For that, as well as the Lore Reference, in particular, he deserves his second Blue Note Award.” For the record I have no affiliation with Mr. Alexander, or his company; but I did stay at a Holiday Inn and own his speakers. As additional back- up, read the 6 moons Review of Coincident Dynamo amp paired with the Tekton Mini-Lore, both of which I own.
chrshanl37
835 posts
 
Wtf does that have to do with this thread
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