“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 10 responses by grannyring

Love your post! I am thinking the same thing about over the top reviews. I am now deaf to them and question how long this particular speaker will be a darling. I continue to read about them, but have not heard them as yet. Too many have cried "fire" in the past and no fire was there.

I don’t doubt the owner comments or the integrity of the professional reviewer, but the fact is all the passed hyped reviews have impacted many of us in this hobby. Hard, no nearly impossible, to put much stock in these reviews any longer. I seriously doubt the DI speaker sounds better than the AZ Crescendo ( as one review states) in the areas important to me and others. I just doubt it. Goodness I so dislike typing these words, but just being honest about the state of industry reviews and hype.

I do think that for $3000 you really can’t go wrong and most likely would not do any better. Now are they $25,000 speaker killers? Well you see my skepticism.

Love to hear them, but the cost is too high to return if I don't like them. Both the monetary and hassle factor with such a large speaker. 
Yes yes I read the same. The Adagios were upgraded with better caps only....Mundorf Supremes. He liked the AZ better due to its more natural warmth and improved meat on the bones. Both of these things are very, very important to me. 

I own heavily upgraded Crescendo speakers with every cap and resistor upgraded with Jupiter and Duelund level parts. They are so beautiful sounding and exude natural warmth. I concede the Tekton speakers may be more resolving, but at what price musically? Interesting.  
Well what is nuts to one may not be to another as it all depends on your circumstances. $300 is a lot of money to some. Just as the hassle and weight of dealing with large speakers is a real problem to someone older or with back problems etc.., Also the risk of shipping damage, and yes it happens, adds to the potential hassle factor. We are all very busy. It is all relative. For me, based on my relative realities, I would need to hear them . I don’t believe the hype as I have been there and done that one to many times. Yes, I am finally a skeptical Aphile. Experience has forged this wisdom in me😊

I strongly encourage the poster to find a way to hear them first. Great idea to find a local owner....




No problem Kenny. You don’t agree with me and that is fine. We need to be able to disagree and still have a voice and get along. All is good.

I am however most interested in this speaker so I must correct you. I do in fact belong on this thread. I have talked to the builder based on my interest and certainly qualify to post here 😊. They may well be in my home within a month once I hear them. I am certainly a potential buyer. I am like doubting Thomas and need to hear for myself as I have learned from experience that one man's gold is another's dung. I never said I would not buy them.

Any speaker that sells for $3000 and is said to sound better than $50,000 speakers will get my attention because I am a curious person especially in all things audio.
Thanks Kenny. My room is large at 34x24 with 10 foot ceilings. I like my sound full bodied, warmish, and big sounding. I don’t want the speaker to yell out "notice me" but rather I like to be drawn into the music with a speaker that is always at ease and not firing out at me. Any sort of glare, ringing, brightness, tipped up highs and the like will have me turning off my system. I suffer from tinnitus.

I enjoy resolution and dynamics, but cannot tolerate any thinness or extra brilliance in the upper mids and highs. I really enjoy a meat on the bones speaker like my past Harbeth 40.1s and my current AZ Crescendo. I also enjoy Soundlab M1s. As the volume is turned up the performance should swell and swell enveloping me in layer apon layer of glorious tones, dynamic contrasts, and beauty. Not asking for much😁

I listen to to all kinds of music except country and rap. Love acoustic guitar, female vocals, jazz female vocals, old school jazz, Van Morrison, Rickie Lee Jones, solo piano, classical chamber....

I listen at 75-83db usually and sometimes take it up to 85-90db for shorter period of time. Speaker needs to sound full bodied at 70-80 db.

Hope this helps you. The poster will also learn a lot with your response.
+1 also rebbi. I have had the same experiences as you in the past. I have also found what a particular reviewer thinks is great sounding may just be OK with me at best. They have prejudices when it comes to sonic personalities and often have different sonic priorities.  
Sslide, thanks for your comments. Most interesting and good for us to hear. Please remember what may sound good to you and Terry may still not be someone else's sonic bliss. We humans hear differently, have sonic flavors we prefer,  and nothing in the world of audio is absolute except the fact that all preferences are subjective with no right or wrong. I am constantly amazed how some folks praise gear I have not really cared for as well as the reverse. 

I am sure some like the sound of Wilson speakers better than Tekton and that is most understandable. It is just the simple truth about our individual preferences. 
I must say I have emailed and spoke to a couple of longtime Agon members who have owned some of the best gear available and know what is hype vs. the real deal. Kenny, the previous poster is one such Agon gem.  Each one loves the DI and praises it as the best speaker they have owned. I believe them and have no reason to believe otherwise. They have proven trustworthy with no secret agenda. It is both possible and likely it represents the best value ever seen in speakers. Good for us all!