Looks like another excellent speaker from Tekton's Eric Alexander.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Review of Tekton Pendragon-Se Loudspeaker
Hello to all I finally have over 150 hours logged on these new Tekton Pendragon-SE about the 120 hr mark with low SPL we decided to open up the volume These -SEs are now starting to open up.
I listened for detecting the crossover points hearing port noise, as we'll aberrations in the voicing-None
Sonicly these loudspeakers are a Revelation - Exceptionally well deigned and voiced. Eric hit this one out of the park my compliments. My brother and 2 friends who are casual listeners were totally draw in .
From Oldies Xmas soungs to Many rock and roll cuts all flac files on my HD. I also need to mention
The speakers are a Fantastic combination of real Earthy natural presentation
Warm in a Very natural perspective .listening to Ottmar Liebert on guitar you can here the reverb from the body if the guitar and feel the fingers sliding off the guitar strings. My brother mentioned listening to ELP
Lucky man album take pebble which was in a cave the drops of water you can clearly hear, with the echo
From the splash as the drop hits the water is better then we have heard Ever.and the drivers still have several days more to runin, the capacitors still have a solid week to fully runin.
A match made in Heaven. How could I not help to promote thesewith this much coherent in music and dynamics , Excellent front to back layering and a Huge cavernous soundstage .what started as a 6 song audition turned into a 4 hour music request.
I will say without reservation my brothers Big Pass Labs amplifier was an incredible match with
The Pendragon -SE ,one More thing the Bass at 120 hours is taught fast and and as tight as a new pair of jeans ! I have had many loudspeakers much more expensive .I can say without reservation the musicality and cohesiveness
Have no competition even at 2 times he money's. take a Maggie 3.7 give it more dynamics, and solid Bass
And it Would be close. The Tekton Pendragon SE is a rare breed and from mine and several observers
An exceptional value even against loudspeakers costing more the double there're price..
Tektons owner and designer Eric Alexander has hit this Pendragon -SE out of the park HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !! P.s if any one is in or coming to the Massachustts area message me for a listen.
I listened for detecting the crossover points hearing port noise, as we'll aberrations in the voicing-None
Sonicly these loudspeakers are a Revelation - Exceptionally well deigned and voiced. Eric hit this one out of the park my compliments. My brother and 2 friends who are casual listeners were totally draw in .
From Oldies Xmas soungs to Many rock and roll cuts all flac files on my HD. I also need to mention
The speakers are a Fantastic combination of real Earthy natural presentation
Warm in a Very natural perspective .listening to Ottmar Liebert on guitar you can here the reverb from the body if the guitar and feel the fingers sliding off the guitar strings. My brother mentioned listening to ELP
Lucky man album take pebble which was in a cave the drops of water you can clearly hear, with the echo
From the splash as the drop hits the water is better then we have heard Ever.and the drivers still have several days more to runin, the capacitors still have a solid week to fully runin.
A match made in Heaven. How could I not help to promote thesewith this much coherent in music and dynamics , Excellent front to back layering and a Huge cavernous soundstage .what started as a 6 song audition turned into a 4 hour music request.
I will say without reservation my brothers Big Pass Labs amplifier was an incredible match with
The Pendragon -SE ,one More thing the Bass at 120 hours is taught fast and and as tight as a new pair of jeans ! I have had many loudspeakers much more expensive .I can say without reservation the musicality and cohesiveness
Have no competition even at 2 times he money's. take a Maggie 3.7 give it more dynamics, and solid Bass
And it Would be close. The Tekton Pendragon SE is a rare breed and from mine and several observers
An exceptional value even against loudspeakers costing more the double there're price..
Tektons owner and designer Eric Alexander has hit this Pendragon -SE out of the park HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !! P.s if any one is in or coming to the Massachustts area message me for a listen.
68 responses Add your response
Keep playing your Pendragons they will get even better over the next 200 hours, Eric is not sitting idle the worlds best Duelund resistors, And Jupiters new Flat stack capacitors,as well as the Mundorf Silver oil Are being tested for possible future implementation. Tektons performance Price ratio is on another level.i owned the Zu Druids and they are not even In the same playing field with these new Pendragon -SE, or any Pendragon For that matter. My offer for anyone to come over for a listens stands to anyone within driving distance of Massachusetts.less than 30 minutes to the Ct. Boarder 3 hrs from NY city ,just drop me an email ,PJ. |
Well I would say "apples to oranges", but that wouldn't be quite correct. However, they do differ in their presentation. The C3s are more of a conventional "hi-fi" sounding speaker. Very refined, coherent and just all around good. The Pendragons are more vivid, dynamic and just as coherent. Their midrange has more texture and detail. Microdynamics are slightly better in the C3, but the macrodynamics are greatly improved upon in the Pendragons. Bottom line is the C3s are gone. And as much as I enjoyed them during their stay, I ain't missing them. Shakey |
I have a Parasound A-21 Halo amplifier,which is very respectable sounding My brother brought his Pass labs 350.5 over and it is just so much better The speakers are very balanced even a power cord change was clearly apparent, and with digital the Bryston bdp player to the Nad-M-51 dac presents what was recorded running Hirez down loads or flac files The warmer presentation of the Pass gives it a you are there presentation Not in your face but like in a club and you are sitting near the performance. I am looking to buy either the Pass labs or Plinius 301 amplifier which is a Great amplifier.the speakers are in noway outclassed by these great amplifiers it just allows the loudspeakers to portray better what is on the recordings. The extra refinement that the Pendragon -SE gives just Makes everything more refined downstream especially in inner detail And resolution.the regular Pendragons will play louder.if I am hitting peaks Approaching 100 db with no strain short term get. SPL meter that is LOUD,you truly will do deaf With consistent output levels over 90 db this is something all audiophiles should consider p.s the speakers will continue to refine for Another week or so . |
I am using a VTL ST-150 paired with a Sonic Euphoria PLC. I know the speakers will work with far less power, but there is something about that effortless sound with big power. I agree about the Plinius, I bet that would rock the house. I had an SA-102 a few years ago and it is an outstanding SS amp. Shakey |
Any idea how the Pendragons would fare with a 3.5 watts? I've been intrigued by them for a while but I was thinking of using a 2A3 amp. Nominally, their 98 db efficiency should work. But they might present a "hard" 98 db, with wide impedance swings and a challenging cross-over that would disagree with such low power. I don't see a minimum power recommendation on the Tekton website. I'm guessing, since you guys are using relatively big power, that a 2A3 amp wouldn't be enough to hear them at their best. Thoughts? |
Audioman, thanks for the review. I have mentioned that I just purchased a pair of Zu Essence, which I am enjoying very much. I have been waiting for reviews to start coming in on the Pendragon SE. I do not recall from the other threads if you have heard any Zu Audio speakers, but they do a very nice job of putting the 'artist in the room'. If you have heard the Zu 'sound', how far back from the Zu presentation would you say the Pen SE are? I also love that I could get any automotive color for only $600. I am very intrigued by the Pendragon SE to say the least. |
On other forums, audiocircle, posters have called into question the 3 tweeter array. Scot Hull, PTA, posted after all of this sort of talk and said he thought that Mr. Alexandar was onto something. I read Scot's 'stuff' and I find him to be a very 'knowledgeable' audiophile, who may suffer from audionervosa like the rest of us, but he does separate the wheat from the chaff. |
Audioman58 - thanks for the review. I don't recall, Audioman58, if you heard the Pendragons in stock form? It is interesting in talking with Eric how he downplays the mods he offers basically saying the improvements are at the margin while other users who have actually upgraded the caps and resistors and / or modded the crossovers and added extra damping material report notable improvements. There are a few detractors of this design in other threads, including a few speaker manufacturers, but near as I can tell, none have actually heard the speaker (last I checked was a couple of months ago so things may have changed in the interim). I enjoy reading Part-time Audiophile (Socrates) and his reviews of various Tekton speakers are part of the reason why they are on my short-list. Having said that, PTA is such an enthusiast, he seems to enjoy nearly everything he hears so it is difficult to really judge from his own reviews what is truly worthy of an audition. This is not meant to be critical; just an observation as a long-time reader of his blog. |
I decided to forgo the SE version because I wanted something off the beaten path. The pro drivers give you more of a "live" feel. Not pinpoint imaging, but huge dynamic swings and an effortless sound. I was afraid the SE version might just sound like another "good speaker". What I am hearing is something entirely different. That said, it may not be everyone's cuppa..... Shakey |
Shakey, what size room are you using for the Pendragon's? My room is 12 x 16 x 8 and I am concerned that they may be too big for the room. I was told by Erik that the SE's would work well in that room, but I never asked about the regular Pendragon. I assumed the standards would be too much for my room so I never asked him. Both speakers are very intriguing in their own way and I want to make sure that they will work in my room. If anyone has heard both and could offer insight into the differences, I would appreciate that as well. Thanks, Cris. |
I can tell you without reservation that the SE version is not just another plain Jane speaker.I have heard the Pendragon on several occasions And the dynamics in the -SE version is still there in spades,for the Xover Is very similar therefore the drivers are the main difference .the standard Pendragon cabinet is a little bigger so the bass does go a bit lower. With the -SE version the soundstage is Huge If I am sitting at the opposite side of the room I can still Clearly hear what is going on with the other Speaker the separation of instruments ,imaging,and image depth is better With h -SE model that is what the moe precision drivers bring to the table. The regular Pendragon can play a bit louder ,putting things in perspective 108 db is deafening and permenent hearing loss is a Guarantee if you Listen at this level for more then a minute or two, like a jackhammer In your living room That us how loud the -SE can play . This is the difference.one more thing .my uncle is a technician ,I recently just upgraded the Xover to the Duelund resistors ,the Hot Jupiter flat stack Capacitors which are Very natural sounding and in some ways better then the Mundorf silver oil caps which I have used many times. This brings the -SE to another level still .when I turn it up you are there With all the. Finess dynamics and clarity. You will have to spend several times what these speakers cost to beat them.my brothers B&W 802 Diamonds are better in some areas but not in soundstage width. The only way I would sell my speakers would be if my brother buys the B&w 800 , the 802 is that good But at a huge price difference. Tekton speakers in general are a excellent value. |
I have about 200 hours now on my Black Satin Pendragon-SE with Munforf Silver Oil Capacitors. All the positive things I've read, I'd agree with completely. I'm listing to Charlie Parker right now as I write this and I'm blown away by the sound. In fact I've been blown away by every piece of music I've heard on them but jazz has been an epiphany. I always liked jazz live but never enjoyed jazz recordings until now. They've come to life with this set-up. I've got an Ayre integrated amp, Ayre DAC (balanced inputs), Mac mini quad running Audirvana Plus and using Transparent cables all around. I've not owned a system this good before but have previewed scores of combinations over the past six months and like nothing better than what I'm hearing right now. Huge soundstage, pristine clarity top to bottom at any volume. Bass is tight and clean without being overwhelming. Low volume or high, the emotion and excitement of the music come through. Earlier today I heard emotion from Bonnie Raitt that I'd never heard before. These speakers are astounding. I'll answer any questions you might have and would be glad to preview them for you if in the Central VA area. I didn't spend a huge fortune on this setup and cannot imagine getting the same quality any other way without spending a lot more $$, especially on the speakers. |
Hey Jackson123 Would there be a chance for me to listen to those Pendragon speakers at your place. I would love to know how they sounds like and share my expirience with you. I am searching to buy some high efficiensy speakers, but can not make up my mine if i want Pendragon or Zu omen Def or something else. |
You'd be welcome. Email me at [email protected] and we can set something up. |
You'd be welcome. Email me at [email protected] and we can set something up. |
Terribly sorry for my inattention. Other things (including listening time) have kept me away and today is the first time in a while since I've logged in. I had thought that posts would result in an email but find today that they do not. I'd find it easier to correspond via my regular email. Write me at [email protected] and we'll find a listening date that suits us both. I'm loving these speakers and am proud to share them. Jackson |
Shakeydeal, Terribly sorry for my inattention. Other things (including listening time) have kept me away and today is the first time in a while since I've logged in. I had thought that posts would result in an email but find today that they do not. I'd find it easier to correspond via my regular email. Write me at [email protected] and we'll find a listening date that suits us both. I'm loving these speakers and am proud to share them. Jackson |
Was going to respond to you guys one by one but see that it posts publicly so... To anyone wanting to hear my Tekton Design SEAS-Pendragon in Richmond, VA, write me at [email protected] and we can set something up. |
Hmmm, you guys certainly have a different experience to my dealings with Tekton Designs. I've been waiting since September last year for a pair of Lores(have now given up). Spoke to Eric Alexander directly, was promised they would be finished in 4-6 weeks. Then was promised January, then February. When I sent him an email asking if he was ever going to deliver my speakers I got quite a nasty email back saying he had personal problems and that was much more important then his business! I replied he probably could be a bit more diplomatic with his customers. I got a contrite email apologising and he said my speakers would be done "soon". In March I got an email saying they should be ready anytime now. It's now mid-April.................................... But nice to hear he actually does deliver speakers to some of his customers. |
04-10-13: MihilliJust a guess, but I'd say he has something going on in his life right now that is more important than his business, and unfortunately for you, your speakers. I hope everything turns out OK for him, the several times I spoke to him he really did take the time to explain things, and made me feel like he was just as interested in my stuff as I was. |
I received my pair of Pendragons (non-SE) this week. I received them a month to the date of when I ordred. Eric did seem to be swamped when I was speaking to him. Maybe trying to get caught up. I've only got 20 hours or so on them now. Very pleased so far. I've been using my CJ SS smp so far, but hope to get my friends Premier SET amp on them soon for compriison. |
