Tekton Double Impacts vs the competition....

tommy:

The DIs are remarkable for making all styles sound good. This is one of the first things you notice about them. Then there is the realistic dynamic range that enlivens the music and makes all sound "right there." They blossom naturally with the source and will only start distorting when you get way past normal levels.

Pop music is much less difficult to reproduce than is dense orchestral music. My system is now completely tuned and I can sit back and point out each orchestral section/soloist and assess their instrument's timbre. The soundstage is that good.

You do NOT need a sub with these if you tune them well (I use REW and JRiver). Your room will also impact bass response dramatically and some owners claim they need more bass. My larger room is very friendly to long waves and I have the DIs tuned down to 16hz with a little bumb upwards from 25 to 70cps.

Take it from me -- you will not be disappointed with these speakers.

tommy:

Forgot to mention -- Yes, did get the upgrades and recommend you do too.

Tommy:

No, there is only the one upgrade -- to better wire and capacitors/binding posts. Those other options are for adding additional speakers for 3 and 5 channel setups.

REW is a free Internet app that many studio and professional musicians use to measure their frequency and impulse response then create a convolution file (*.wave file) that is imported into JRiver and used to EQ all music files so they sound perfect in your room. REW creates the impulse correction automatically and I have learned over the years to do my own frequency correction -- it is more effective when you spend the extra time. But REW can also create an auto frequency correction as well.

Have spent 4 years tuning my summer stereo system to be as accurate as possible and it is now +/- 3db from 16 to 30k  hz -- this is total room and system response which is challenging to do.

This is what I have learned.

It's always best to do as much correction in the physical realm as possible -- corner traps, wall deadeners behind the speakers, etc. Once you are maxed out here, then use Impulse and EQ correction, This will be best if it is done in the virtual realm -- e.g. JRiver.

REW is free and JRiver is cheap. They will make more improvement in your overall system than many multi-thousand components. It does require that you keep your music sources as digital rips in JRiver -- but this has som many advantages that once you get used to it, you will not go back.

tommy:

Two small but significant tweaks that many of us have made are to 1) baffle the back two ports with some kind of acoustic material and 2) insert Herbies Glider Feet that cushion the boxes movement.

For the first, I have constructed a 16" X 32" custom baffle that is affixed to the wooden stand on which my DIs sit. This will lightly soften bass volume while, significantly, increasing its accuracy and presence. ONCE the baffles are in place, the speaker can be placed as close to the wall as you like. Mine are about 18" from a treated wall.

For the second, go to http://herbiesaudiolab.net/spkrfeet.htm and check out the Threaded Stud glider. It will not only help bass accuracy, but will, surprisingly, improve soundstage quite a bit. Eight of them run about $130 and are well worth the price.

There are plenty of variants and don't think you need to do this right away -- you might find adjustments in your room that are even better.

Yes if you place the panels low enough they will do the same thing but I had problems with wall outlets.

Use speaker cloth to cover and stretch it so it looks clean; can get this at any Michaels-type fabric store. Only use "green" insulation-type material in your panels -- fiberglass has health issues.

kristofa:

They are overlong (16" W X 30" L) bases with a 1/8" plywood support (16" W X 32" H) screwed at right angles to the back end of the base. On the front of this right angle (speaker facing), one sheet of 1" chair foam batting and two sheets of 2" EcoTouch home insulation are tack glued. Then the back piece/foam is covered in speaker cloth, tack glued and stapled. Once you have the materials and basic idea, takes an hour or two to build.

AND, regardless of the simple design, THEY WORK. The DI cabinet pressure is not affected but the 180 degree out-of-phase port noise is killed. Will very lightly reduce the total bass volume but will substantially improve accuracy and presence. I use REW EQ to bring the bass volume back exactly where I like it -- about 5db high from 16-80 hz.

BTW, have also gone over to the half grill alteration discussed towards the end of the epic DI/Corelli thread. Have used this for two weeks, retuned my room response, and will not be going back to a full grill. Check it out.