Efficient speaker: Zu, Tekton, Volti, Klipsch, Fleetwood?


We’re moving and I’m looking for a high-efficiency, high impedance speaker that can fill a very large “great room” with smooth, open, detailed sound, both for serious listening and casual background music. I currently have Devore Super 9s, but those will be going in a separate dedicated listening room. I thought about getting another pair of Devores (maybe the O/93) for the great room because I love this brand, but I’m interested in other possibilities The new speakers will be on either side of a 6-foot TV console, so they’ll need to sound good fairly close to the wall behind them. And they will need to have a reasonably good WAF. They will be played mainly at low-moderate sound levels and our tastes include rock, classical, world music and “spa” type relaxation stuff.

Anyone who is familiar with any of the following candidates, please feel free to sound off. As you can see, price ranges are all over the place:

Zu Soul Supreme

Tekton Lore

Volti Razz

Klipsch Forte IV

Fleetwood Deville

Others?

128x128ladok

Showing 2 responses by millercarbon

I went back through this thread. Three of the negative Tekton comments had to do with their efficiency not being as high as advertised, with Stereophile test confirming. As far as I can tell, only two of the negative posters actually listened to a Tekton, but to what extent and under what conditions is unknown. Two other posters actually own a Tekton and love them.

This is pretty much what you will find, over and over again. Actual owners are incredibly happy, and while the haters can never be stopped hating neither can they find any traction given how few and far between these things come up for sale in the used market. People don’t wait for months except for a good deal. Nobody keeps $5k speakers just because it costs $200 or whatever to ship them back. A quick estimate based on serial numbers shows something like 99% are bought and kept. Hang out on the FB Tekton Owner’s Group page you will find more often than not when they are sold it is to upgrade or buy another Tekton. All solid evidence backing up the accolades from owners and reviewers.

This only serves to make the haters hate all the more.

I don’t know if Atkinson got 91dB, and frankly if he did I would have to seriously doubt the man even more than I already do. Before Moab I had 92dB speakers and Moab are considerably, obviously, exceedingly more volume per watt. Not even close. Which in any case, "they aren’t as sensitive as claimed" talk about thin gruel!

Real world experience: I’m using mine with a 20W Raven tube amp and have measured 102dB at the sweet spot 9 ft away in my 17x24x9 room. More importantly, they sound absolutely terrific, at every volume, with every kind of music.

Most people you would think would be thrilled to learn they can actually be able to afford this level of performance. Not the haters. It is all enough to make you think they not only do not want to be happy, they don’t want anyone else to be either.

Join the FB Owner’s Group. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Zu Soul Supreme 97dB

Tekton Lore 98dB

Volti Razz 97dB

Klipsch Forte 99dB

Fleetwood Deville 94dB

mapman: Tekton is not in same efficiency class as the others. 

Closing in on 20k posts. Maybe time to knuckle down and try and get one right? For a change?