Tekton Impact Monitors


Hi All,
I'm relatively new to Audiogon but have trolled the discussions for a few months. I have been listening to Spendor LS3/5As driven by a Quad 34/306 combination since the late 1980's and decided that it was finally time to upgrade my speakers. I love the Spendors but they are very limited in dynamics and scale. I auditioned the SVS Ultra Bookshelf speakers and while they brought some additional scale they simply didn't have the sweet midrange that I can't live without. I listened to some open baffle speakers (Emerald Physics) and loved them, but their size and need for space worried me, and I found them less satisfying at moderate and low volumes, where I do a fair bit of listening. I was fascinated by all the discussion regarding Tekton speakers and was considering getting a pair of Enzo 2.7s, but after a short discussion with Eric I followed his recommendation of the Impact Monitor with upgrade. They have the 7 tweeter array and a pair of 6.5" woofers and are rear-ported. I use a pair of SVS subs (the sealed variety). The Impact Monitors are simply amazing. The midrange is oh-so-sweet (very similar to my Spendors, but with more air) and the detail, even at low and moderate listening levels, is superb. The imaging is even better than my Spendors managed and the scale is huge and is much more music-appropriate. My system is really quite modest but now when I walk into my listening room (doubles as our living room - thankfully my wife appreciates Hi-Fi) I get the audio-show feeling of "being there". I have a Denon DP59L turntable with a DL110 HO moving coil cartridge running through an Emotiva XPS-1 phono preamp and the Tektons are absolutely incredible with classic rock on vinyl. I'm not sure how Eric managed it, but these speakers are superb, even with my 30 year old Quad electronics. I believe they are basically the top 24" of the Double Impacts, but are rear-ported rather than front ported. I can heartily recommend them and Eric and his team are great to work with. I'm not sure how many other Impact Monitors are out there since the pair I have are S/N 0005 and 0006!  
ky1mag
Pawsman,

I'm glad you are enjoying your Di monitors and that was a very good description of the sound you are hearing.

I listen to quite a lot of piano music and I must have speakers and system that gets it right.
I also use full orchestra music as a system test and that can be a deal breaker also.

Enjoy the music,
Kenny.
ky1mag,

I commend you for at least trying the monitors in your own system,and I'm curious to know how much time did you put on them and also could you clarify how they first sounded vs how they differed in sound when you made your decision.

Kenny.
Pushing 3 months on my monitors. I still am just enjoying the hell out of them.I will be swapping the Odysseys back in soon to compare. These are not bright to me at all, just really great sounding speakers. I would be interested in hearing the difference with the dome tweeters compared to the rings. I listen mostly to rock, prog, 80"s metal, blues and these just do everything right.
@pawsman Thanks for the input on your Impact Monitors and I totally agree about the scale and "impact" they can produce (appropriate name, really). I do have a question, though, if you don't mind. Do your Impact Monitors have the ring radiator tweeters or the domes? I've never knowingly heard a speaker with ring radiators since dome tweeters are much more common. 

I appreciate this discussion...learning a lot.
@kdude66 Hi Kenny
I had the IMs for a little more than a month and listened a lot during that time. I would guess I had 125 - 150 hours on them when I finally made the decision. We left them running with FM radio or CD on repeat for several days while we were out. My impression was that they became even more detailed over time and while they were never harsh the midrange seemed to lose some warmth and roundness. Over the last few days I did A to B comparisons and that's what convinced me. Not that the IMs are any "better" or "worse", just that they weren't going to work in that room with my ears. Now I'm repeating myself...I apologize.