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“Invest” in Tekton?

I’ve been a member of Audiogon for a while but haven’t really had the need to utilize the forums until now... I’ve perused the forums pretty extensively the past couple of days but haven’t really found my specific question.... First some background: I’ve had my current system for quite some time (PSB image: 5t, 9c, 2b, subsonic 6; Denon AVR3311 as preamp; and a NAD T955 amp) and have been pretty happy with it... yes, I tend to hold on to my stuff for a while.... I recently decided to explore the option of upgrading/updating my speakers and was pretty interested in some midlevel stuff (SVS Prime, Emotiva, PSB X2T, Paradigm 8, 9, or 10 something…) but ultimately decided the $2000-$3000 price tag wasn’t worth the investment as they were all roughly in the same league as my PSBs... Somehow, I stumbled upon the review of the Tekton double impacts... don’t even know how I found it but there I was... I kinda chuckled to myself when the reviewer started comparing them to $20,000 speakers and then started calling them better at some things... I was a little pessimistic about the review because in my aforementioned research every speaker was the greatest thing since sliced bread.. (To be honest, in my eyes, the professional reviewers lost some credibility because every speaker was just great, couldn’t find a bad review no matter how hard I tried...) Anyhow, the comparison to speakers 7-10x in price piqued my curiosity so I started snooping around for any Tekton reviews I could find and lo and behold, everyone loves them and the comparisons to speakers multiple times their price were plentiful. Ok, so the Tektons are good and now I’m more interested than I should be…

So here’s the rub… I’ve never even considered spending $5000-$6000 on a speaker system (5.0-5.1). Never in my wildest dreams… I’ve always had a theoretical limit of $3k and never gave anything above that a thought. Along comes Tekton with speakers that are in the 5-6k price range (5.0-5.1) but are being compared to speakers $20,000+ and the fact people are putting them in the same league as speakers in that price range, and saying they are better in some instances, is intriguing…

So here’s where I am asking for some assistance. It seems the Tekton lineup is a unique opportunity to acquire reportedly superior sonic performance with apparently unparalleled value. However, $5-6k is a TON of money in my world.. It won’t break the bank but admittedly, it bends it pretty significantly and spending this kind of money on speakers definitely wasn’t a consideration even a week ago… Personally, I am seeing this as a once in a lifetime purchase (am 43 and would expect these to be the last major speaker purchase of my life) but I do need to justify to my betrothed. My original sales pitch to her included the analogy “it seems they are selling Lamborghinis for the price of a Mustang…” and “I really don’t think there will be another opportunity like this” (when did I start selling timeshares???!!!) There are other barriers with her as well (e.g., “They’re how big?!”) but she does have somewhat of an understanding of how much I like music and stereo stuff.. somewhat…

So my actual questions:

  1. To those that have actually heard the speakers, (transducers?)… do you really feel they are leaps and bounds better than typical speakers in the 3-6k range (generally speaking…)? For comparison, I liked the SVS Ultras but due to price and size (yeah, I know how big the Tektons are..) I put them in the “maybe someday” category. To be clear, I’m not asking is “x better than y?” but rather “Do these $3000 speakers really belong in the same class as $20,000 speakers????

  2. In your humble opinions, is this really a rare/unique opportunity with unparalleled value that is a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” or are situations like this (incredible value for the money) more common?

  3. I can’t even claim to have a basic understanding of electronics, I’ve read up on ohms and what not and my eyes glaze over.. I spoke with Eric and he, without hesitation, stated my NAD T955 would be plenty sufficient to run whatever options I went with. Thoughts? I intend on using the NAD until it dies (hopefully no time soon) and will deal with next steps when the time is right…

  4. I am super nervous about ordering something so expensive unheard, If anyone is interested, I would like to have a discussion relating to my type of music and listening environment/levels.. (not including in this post to keep size down..)

  5. Any other relavant information I haven't considered, particularly in the area of justifying a purchase such as this?

There are probably 100 other little tidbits I could include in this but I am trying to be as brief as possible and I still wrote a novel… Anyhow, any productive assistance would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

la10slgr

Showing 3 responses by corelli

corelli
941 posts
 
The magic is the tweeter array.  So I would disregard comments about models that do not incorporate this feature.  After all, the OP was curious about the DI's, not lesser models
corelli
941 posts
 
la10,
I think you are on track. You really ought to carefully read the other DI thread. 
To those who feel it's nuts to order a $3000 dollar speaker without hearing them, I could not disagree more.  Can you really judge a speaker in a noisy, rushed, audio show.  Or set up poorly at a dealer.  On equipment you've never heard.  I think not.
Yes, I struggled a bit with the idea but sites like this make it easier as long as you are talking with people who have extensive FIRST HAND experience with the equipment.  Not people who are guessing.
Worst case scenario if you sent them back (you won't) is you are out $300 shipping. Not the end of the world, you had fun for a month with some new gear. 
Are they $20k speakers?  I don't know and I don't care.  What I do know is that I am is so impressed with these speakers they can see me to my grave.  I'll never feel like I was missing out.  All of a sudden the $3k seems like a much smaller sum--seriously!
Been in the hobby over 40 yrs.  My single overall best purchase.  I love buying gear that has such a high performance/price ratio.  With that in mind, I'm sure that I would be way disappointed if I traded these for a $50k speaker!
corelli
941 posts
 
Granny,
Based on what you stated you would probably like the DI's.  Would I tell you they beat 50K speakers--see my previous comment.

I also have some tinnitus and do not tolerate any edge or fatigue factor in my gear.  With the DI's there is none.  But there is detail.  The only question is will they be 'fat" enough for you.  I find them very neutral with very high quality bass.  But I would not call them overly warm.  I would not call them in the least bit "thin" either.  I find them just right.  You may want something on the warmer side of neutral.

In the end your gear and room may decide it.  That was the point of my previous comment--you  won't know until they are in YOUR room.  And really, every time we turn over  some gear, there is usually much more loss than a return shipping charge.

Audio has changed.  Many of us have no practical way to audition gear.  Brick and mortar has nearly vanished.  But much can be learned on the net. I've been a bit shocked by how well this has worked for me.  Have not returned a piece of gear in many many years.
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