Which speakers did you find bright, fatiguing or just disappointing in some way?

Every Tekton that I have heard after the Double Impact.

The Double Impact, for it’s price when it came out was/is a solid rock and party speaker. Fun, fast, good bass. Sure, the cabinets are borderline, and they have a fair amount of resonance. But at 3k (I think 2500 when introduced maybe?) - it was competitive.

The DISE - $2500 more, didn’t hear much if any difference from the DI. (I do see it’s down to 4k recently). Still not sure I would drop that extra 1k.

Double Impact Monitor - ah, might as well pay the 1k to get the DI.

Anything with the BE tweeters - pushing bright for me when I have heard them.

The Ulf’s and MOAB’s... honestly I just didn’t hear much more out of them then I did the Double Impact. Same sound, maybe a little more of it, same OK cabinet, paint job etc. At those price points, would be nice to have more bracing, a decent grill, and an option of veneer over the rattle can paint. (half kidding, it’s better than rattle can, but it’s not great, nor based on a friends pair - durable).

So from a disappointment standpoint - Tekton, as a line-up was disappointing to me, with one notable exception - the original DI. It’s not perfect, but no 3k speaker is. It’s a definite one to look at in that price range (but you have to get by the cabinets, so-so build quality etc). But, if I were going to do a party room/bar/big gym - heck yes they are on my list. If I were in college... I would scratch and claw to find 2k to buy a used pair.

But I would not consider any other speaker in their line-up. I also understand the caveats of customer service with Tekton. So, that is a part of it.

Others that disappointed - Focal, anytime I’ve heard them, that damn tweeter just has to be the star of the show. I did hear a pair of Sopra 2’s with a rogue tube-amp. That helped a lot, but the bass sucked then.

The Paradigm Persona ear bleed inducing line-up... too bright. (though, if your hearing has faded, or you have legit hearing damage) and you listen at low to moderate levels I could understand someone looking at these. They are at least coherant from top to bottom (something I just didn’t find with Focal). But if you like to listen remotely loud... not sure I would consider the Persona’s (maybe the big boys since the bass is powered and you could run tubes in the pre-amp, and possibly even the amp to smooth those suckers out).

Oh, Zu audio. Had a pair in the house. Love the company attitude, the speaker look, the USA build... but nope couldn’t stand them as speakers. (they were great about refunds etc)

@bgm1911,

"while you may be correct, I cannot spend 19K on speakers that don’t sound right during an audition, and then HOPE I can make them sound better in my home."


Nor I hope should anyone else ever have to either.

At 19k I would certainly expect a loudspeaker to be close to the state of the art in every measure. With a low end of +/- 3db at 34Hz (from their own spec sheet) it's a bit disappointing for such an expensive design to begin rolling off the bass so early. 

You did well to ignore what you'd read and go with what you heard. Sometimes these reviewers 'forget' to mention that a big name speaker might simply have no real low end.

This question reminds me of the "journey" my Klipsch LaScalas have made with me. I bought the pair first, before I could afford hardly anything even remotely equal to their quality. They had to endure crappy SS Cambridge Audio AV receiver, Crap CD players, #16 guage speaker cable, $2.00 interconnects, Ortofon Red (Crap), $100 preamp....At each upgrade, those Klipsch revealed their potential. All the common criticisms toward "horny" speakers were there on steroids. Weak bass, flat soundstage....Getting the Raven Nighthawk made my eyes pop out as did the Tellurium Q Black II speaker wires, Better CD player....What I'm getting at is, these speakers became different speakers, way better speakers as my kit improved. DRAMATICALLY so much so they frankly DO NOT SOUND like the same speakers. If I read how someone doesn't like a speaker think synergy. Each piece of kit has to play nice with the rest of your set up or else AND then there's always that room. Sometimes I wonder if a "cheap" speaker couldn't made to excel in the perfect context. If you hate your speakers, try changing stuff around them. Maybe they do truly stink BUT probably more can be done to create better playmates.  

Dunlavy SCII. Fortunately I worked part time at the shop that sold Dunlavy’s so I was lucky the owner let me return them as he wanted the pair I ordered to set on the floor for demos. Had an Audio Research tube amp and preamp with ARC CD2 and even with all ARC they were thin/harsh sounding with no life. No life and no bass whatsoever... I think the little EPI 100’s I had as a kid were more enjoyable. Might be exaggerating there, but boy was I glad to trade them back in for a pair of ProAcs. The ProAcs were a huge improvement. Heard all the Dunlavy’s in the store, and although the refrigerators were much better you had to have the room for them and good luck with the WAF.

Gday from Australia, hope you're all well. 
I was dissapointed with a set of Tannoy XTF8's.
I found they lacked Bass response. Apart from that, they were ok. I was running them firstly with a Cambridge Audio CXA60, and then a Parasound P6. Same result. 
I sold the Tannoy's for a set of Australian made Transmission Line Speakers, made in Sth. Australia. 
I've kept the Parasound, but have purchased a Primaluna Dialogue Premium preamp. 
Wow, what a difference. 
I should say, I know it's two different types of speakers, also, I upgraded the woofer to a 10inch,versus a 8inch with the Tannoys. 
But in saying that, I was and am absolutely blown by the difference in bass response. 
All the best of health to all of you.. 
Cheers Ricey... 
Greg 7, at first glance, I thought that was a Devo hat...  ..GREAT BAND