Tekton Lore floorstanders

Discussion in 'Speakers' started by Vtory, Feb 26, 2019.

  1. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophileâ„¢

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    [Product page: https://www.tektondesign.com/lore.html

    I've owned Lore for six years. Regardless of their unusual acoustic designs (e.g., placement of tweeters, double ports, ...), these speakers just did their jobs well. I also own prol better performing modern and classic JBL monitors (LSR308 and 4408A respectively), but lore has been my main speakers. Well, this might be partly because I gave up being speaker-first audiophile as having extremely spl-sensitive neighbors.

    Aesthetic design is pretty simple.One decently big 10-inch woofer (eminence b102), one golden 1-inch titanium tweeter (audex tw025a28) , two ports, and cute&tall enclosure -- that's it. Personally I love how they look.

    They are quite efficient. While on paper Eric argues 98db/W/m, I don't think that's accurate. Probably a few decibel lower. Anyway my 10Wpc Chinese JLH (and 2Vrms at 0dbfs dacs) doesn't have any volume trouble to drive lore. Relatively sensitive to placement. I got the best result when they were placed at corners (weird.. because to my understanding the worst place to place speakers) and no toe-in. They sound a bit harsh and too edged on-axis.

    Do they sound detailed? Probably not.
    Are they neutral? I bet it's not hard to find more neutral sub-1k speakers these days.
    Do they render great staging with pin-point images? Yes, I am pretty happy in that regard. They outperform lsr 308 and 4408a. Lore is also strong in delivering tones and nuances (particularly in midrange). Also unlike I assumed until recently, they resolve micro dynamics and transience quite well with better sources like convert-2.

    Took measurements last weekend.
    In estimating anechoic on-axis FR, followed so-called "quasi-anechoic" measurement approach. In short, separate measurements of near-field responses of port/woofer and far-field response are summed with some calculations. Read this for more: http://audiojudgement.com/loudspeaker-measurements-part-2/
    (This article used arta but I used rew and excel)

    Measurements done with minidsp umik1. And each measurement for quasi-anechoic fr was done with placing right speaker in the middle of living room (to minimize reflections).

    upload_2019-2-27_0-53-31.png

    And here is L+R in-room response.

    upload_2019-2-27_1-1-21.png

    I am not motivated to use eq/dsp to neutralize response at the moment. No interest in fancy acoustic room treatments as well. Lore as is just sounds nice to me AND I'm now a headphones-first guy..

    PS. Speaker units (eminence woofers and audex tweeters) used in lore perform very well. But they (particularly woofers) are not supposed for hi-fi applications. What?
     

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    Last edited: Jun 9, 2019
  2. ohshitgorillas

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    Thread necro time... I just got my hands on a pair of these yesterday, barely used for $600 (plus a nine hour round trip to Syracuse). I am still playing with the placement, but so far they best my previous Dynaudio bookshelves by quite a large margin. I was hoping that I would be able to get rid of my subs (2x Dayton Audio 10"), but since my listening space is pretty large (15x15x30 ft with two openings into another space) they could definitely use a hand below ~50 Hz.

    It's hard for me to be super critical of them yet, what with new toy syndrome, and also my left ear was filled with fluid all night (probably from having the window cracked for most of said 9 hr drive) so I couldn't exactly hear properly. But, I did give them a test run with the SACD remaster of the first Rage Against the Machine album and Jolie Holland's "Wine Dark Sea" in 24/96 anyway. From what I could hear, these sound a lot like a live performance. Detail and dynamics are both very good, presentation is realistic and somewhat forward (I have heard these described as 'having a front row seat' and I'd agree). They are not as smooth and full as my Dynaudio bookshelves, but they are smooth enough to render bad recordings enjoyable... so far.
     
  3. PTS

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    Had the Lores a few years ago, and kind of miss them now. A very dynamic, fun sound. The reason for my selling was partially due to cabinet resonance that I think a lot of Tekton speakers suffer from. There's a weird reverberance within that I think stems from poor acoustic treatment of the enclosure. I guess some corners have to be cut when you're offering such good speakers at such reasonable prices?
     
  4. ohshitgorillas

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    From my experience so far, they are very sensitive to positioning. They sounded a little wonky in the mids/lows until I got them about 1m out from the back wall. I'm lucky I have 30 ft of length in this room to work with. Now they sound full and glorious and are super resolving without losing any smoothness. They seem pretty sensitive to source gear but are still pretty forgiving. For me, upgrading from the Dynaudio DM2/6 bookshelves to these is like going from the HD650 to ZMF Atticus. I can't hear any cabinet resonances but they're fairly new so maybe in time I'll hear what you were hearing, but it may also have been the room/positioning?
     
  5. PTS

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    I think the space probably helps, my audio room is smaller than yours. I managed to also get the speakers 1m away from the back wall, but it's close to the side walls. I'm tempted to pickup the Pendragons for the Lores on steroids sound, plus I like the thought of the tweeters being at ear height. The basic designs are such fun speakers, then Eric went nuts and started adding way too many models to the line. I heard his Perfect SET 15 speakers and didn't much like them. Admittedly the room I demoed them in was acoustically terrible, but they sounded tonally wonky. I used to really want to hear the Double Impacts, but they share that weird flower array of small tweeter drivers for the treble/mids that I'm not yet convinced by.
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2019
  6. ohshitgorillas

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    I agree about the 20 tweeters per side thing. I'd much rather have a dipole speaker or something closer to a point source vs a shitton of tweeters, but I really like a holographic soundstage even off axis. These Audax tweeters are pretty amazing but I'm still working on getting the imaging right. Modi Multibit probably isn't helping much there, soundstage is not its strong suit. Thinking of keeping my eye out for a used audioGD R2R DAC that I could run with my Crack/Atticus (I like it stupid warm), freeing my Bifrost Multibit to sit with the speakers and Saga OG, and eventually perhaps an Aegir. But, that's all a way off. I also need to take a look at upgrading my Rega P3 cartridge from a Shure M97XE since the Lores have shown me how fuzzy and dry the turntable sounds. The chase never ends.

    When I went to audition/pick them up, I had a pretty challenging listening session. The room was maybe 10x10x8, and the Lores absolutely overwhelmed the room. The lows were hellishly peaky, some freqs just missing altogether, they were just sitting on the carpet so when I played metal through them, they became garbled. I had read so many reviews and I knew these were serious and would perform well, or at least I hoped so. I was a little worried at first before I really started to figure out the positioning. Now that they're out in front of the TV stand/record shelves with nothing between them, they are performing masterfully. But I think the takeaway here is probably that they just aren't built for smaller rooms. In that room he had a pair of Klispch bookshelves that absolutely killed the Lores *for that space*, just slightly too much high end but otherwise far more balanced and clean and clear. The Lores are ten times over the better speaker, but we had a very good conversation about matching the size of your speakers to the size of your listening space.
     
  7. ohshitgorillas

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    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    There are some foam bass traps in the corner of the second image and these sound much better without them in place.
     
  8. dirt

    dirt New

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    I have owned the Lore for some years. I added some mass in the form of stick on pads, behind and on the top and sides of the cabinet behind the main drivers (can't remember the name). Also added mass and felt to the back of the big driver and on the all the frame "legs". An audible improvement was found. The proverbial "veil" had a few layers removed. Didn't mess with the tweeter frame as it seemed insignificant in comparison to the "bigun". My previous speakers were MDY 3 from Madisound, with Dynaudio drivers, and Partsexpress Dayton 10" subs. I haven't been tempted to put them back in, even for a listen. The Lore have a dynamic, live, sound that the Dynaudios never had. Granted, the Dynaudio are damn near holographic, given some power. But they are boxed and in the closet. Don't miss the subs, and have moved them to another system.
     
  9. PTS

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    That's really interesting - any photos of the process?

    I always figured they could be improved upon with acoustic treatment. Some guy who modifies speakers for a living offered to do it for me, as he too had heard that Tekton cabinets suffer from resonance. I never took him up on it, but if I ever pickup Pendragons...
     
  10. ohshitgorillas

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    I feel like I've had these for long enough and listened to enough music on them to write a few words, in the hopes that it may help someone down the road.

    Sources & shit:
    Analog: modded Rega P3 w/ Shure M97XE into Hagerman Bugle2 phono pre
    Digital: Oppo BDP-103 > Schiit Bifrost
    Schiit Saga OG > Topping TP60 > Tekton Lore + 2x Dayton Audio 10" sub

    As you can see, my source gear isn't exactly high end. I am coming from a modest pair of Dynaudio bookshelves (DM2/6) which, being honest, were decent at best. I don't have thousands to throw at this hobby, so I can't compare how the Lores perform with various amplifiers, or compare them to a lot of other high end speakers, so I'll keep this short. I find these speakers to be impressively transparent, revealing, clear, clean, fast, but still listenable. They are somewhat forward, like a good front row seat, not aggressive or bright in the least bit. They sound particularly good with live recordings, although they aren't really bad with anything I've given them yet... and I listen to a lot of bad metal recordings. It's hard to describe but it feels like they take the benefits of good recordings and sweep the issues with bad recordings under the rug. Separation is great, dynamics are great, nothing bleeds into anything else, delicate tiny details and the natural decay of certain notes are present and easily distinguishable. I listen to a lot of chaotic music, and these things are able to maintain good coherence and separation with my most difficult tracks.

    I would prefer a more 3D pinpoint soundstage--although the speakers do an excellent job of disappearing into the room, and the Audax gold tweeters throw a very wide image, it's not easy to pinpoint some things and the soundstage is fairly flat and 2D. I'm not sure if this is just a limitation of my gear, or the speakers themselves, or if I just need to play around with the positioning a little bit, but I suspect a little bit of all three. I prefer a soundstage that is hauntingly precise and accurate, and I feel like I am probably an open baffle/dipole kinda guy at heart, although I tried Magnepans once and couldn't swing the amplification needed to really get the most out of them (Emotiva monoblocks sucked balls, I got a Hafler DH500 and tried to mod it but ended up nearly killing it; it's still sitting on my table waiting for repairs) and also wasn't a fan of the Mags tiny sweet spot. I have been eyeing the LX521 as my endgame for a few years now, but until then, I am honestly perfectly content with the Tekton Lores. I would like to snag a Schiit Aegir to amp them someday (open to cheaper options), but otherwise I honestly don't see myself needing more than this when it comes to speakers.

    I am still trying to decide whether it's worth it to keep the Bifrost Multibit with the speakers, or with my headphone rig, the alternative being the Modi Multibit--the setups are too far from each other to share a source :( I would have to run like 30 ft of RCA cables. It's pretty easy for me to hear the difference on both my speaker rig and my headphone rig, but I think the improvement in the sense of space and staging is more apparent with the headphones and the room swallows some of those microdetails that otherwise come out with headphones. I think that eventually I would like to upgrade my headphone rig (heavily modified Crack > ZMF Atticus, HD800) to a NOS or R2R DAC, Metrum or Audio-GD, both seem like they're right up my alley. I like my headphones thick, rich, full, and intimate (and the HD800)
     

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