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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
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
@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.
ky1mag OP
18 posts
 
@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. 
kdude66
1,200 posts
 
My DI's have the ring radiator sb acoustics tweeters but I'm wandering which dome tweeter that Eric is now using in some of his speakers,I wander if it's the Peerless Typhani by chance,I haven't found this answer by anybody and Eric is such a busy guy I'm not going to bother him just for that.

Kenny.
giantsalami's avatar
giantsalami
208 posts
 
Kenny, My monitors have the peerless ring tweeters. hmmmm...  cheers, Jeff
pawsman
28 posts
 
kdude66, ky1mag, giantsalami:
My Impact Monitors have the Tymphany dome tweeters and SB Acoustics 6 1/2" mid/bass drivers (this info from a phone call with Eric).
The Website still has the picture of the original ring radiator tweeters, they haven’t gotten around to changing it I guess. These are rather large, powerful Monitors, and do need some room to breath; they certainly wouldn’t work as a desktop speaker, IMO, but they do need a sub (or 4) to fill out the extreme bottom end. BTW, Pentatone is another Label with awesome sound quality; just listened to Dvorak "Overtures" with the Prague PO/Hrusa, on a Hybrid SACD; fantastic recording of an orchestra.
whyOwhy: The Impact monitors are not nearly as high sensitivity as the DI, you will definitely need more than 1 Watt to drive them. .
I heard the KEF LS50 at an Atlanta Dealer about 1 year ago; they were impressive, very clean, pinpoint imaging and a true point source, but don't have the scale, dynamics or Impact (sorry) that the Impact Monitors have-

pawsman
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