Tekton Owners Thread

[ictwoody]

I have a pair of Pendragons. Sound is usually pretty good and it goes really low. The problem with mine is that you can't play them at reference levels for very long or else the tweeters melt. I've melted 5 so far and had to buy replacements from Madisound.

Eric at Tekton actually refunded my purchase price and told me to keep the speakers. I'll wait for the next tweeter to burn up then I'll get something different.

What are you powering them with? I have Pendragons and I play them in a 2000+ sq/ft room using everything from 18wpc tubes to 200+ WPC SS monoblocks at deafening levels and have never had an issue.

- Woody

 

[HiFiJeff]

I have a pair of Pendragons. Sound is usually pretty good and it goes really low. The problem with mine is that you can't play them at reference levels for very long or else the tweeters melt. I've melted 5 so far and had to buy replacements from Madisound.

Eric at Tekton actually refunded my purchase price and told me to keep the speakers. I'll wait for the next tweeter to burn up then I'll get something different.

I have no issues either and was playing them pretty loud on Sunday powered by a 120 watt per channel Outlaw Audio Amp.

 

[cubdog]

I have a pair of Pendragons. Sound is usually pretty good and it goes really low. The problem with mine is that you can't play them at reference levels for very long or else the tweeters melt. I've melted 5 so far and had to buy replacements from Madisound.

Eric at Tekton actually refunded my purchase price and told me to keep the speakers. I'll wait for the next tweeter to burn up then I'll get something different.

Very odd to say the least. Did Eric have any ideas as to why this keeps happening? You can't complain about the customer service. A full refund and you keep the speakers. Pretty amazing. If you're close to Illinois sell them to me. I'll be happy to figure out what's going on with them.

 

[mac48025]

I believe those are he same tweeters used on the DI's and this is this first time I've heard of tweeters melting. Since the DI's use 7 tweeters per speaker if there was a tweeter issue it would have become known by now. I've played mine up to ear splitting levels with a 150w SS amp without issue. I would suggest there's an issue with your amp.

 

[dwwjr56]

Well they came in finally! They are a bigger speaker in person that's for sure! I got the Enzo XL's with all the upgrades, and I have them cooking right now. So far pretty impressed, but I really need to let them mature....they are a little less clear (only way I know how to put it) than my B&W 804 s series. Also need to work with placement for sure! These are much bigger than the b&w's and I am not sure if I should put closer to the side walls or not. I only have about 1.5 left in my small 10.5 wide room. I have them plenty far away from back wall. I will play with them and work on toe in etc......once I get off work.
I just have to say GREAT packing job on these though. And my wife loves them! Once I figure out how to post a picture I will add one on. Oh and still waiting for the Grills as that is normal and I expected that.

 

[mac48025]

Congrats dwwjr.......I think you'll be fine with them in your room. I might suggest toeing them in a little more if they're close to side walls or add some diffusion at the first reflection point. They will definitely "clear up" more with time. The woofers and tweeters will blend together more and the bass will fill in also. Enjoy!

 

[dwwjr56]

Congrats dwwjr.......I think you'll be fine with them in your room. I might suggest toeing them in a little more if they're close to side walls or add some diffusion at the first reflection point. They will definitely "clear up" more with time. The woofers and tweeters will blend together more and the bass will fill in also. Enjoy!

Thank you Mac! I will try all of the above. Now I am off work.

 

[cubdog]

Thank you Mac! I will try all of the above. Now I am off work.

I would have called in sick.

 

[prighello]

I have a pair of Pendragons. Sound is usually pretty good and it goes really low. The problem with mine is that you can't play them at reference levels for very long or else the tweeters melt. I've melted 5 so far and had to buy replacements from Madisound.

Eric at Tekton actually refunded my purchase price and told me to keep the speakers. I'll wait for the next tweeter to burn up then I'll get something different.

Blowing tweeters sounds like clipping to me. What are you driving them with, what is your average and peak spl, and at what distance are you measuring SPL? Don't keep buying tweeters; there's got to be a rational explanation for their repeated failure.

 

[mgb1985]

Blowing tweeters sounds like clipping to me. What are you driving them with, what is your average and peak spl, and at what distance are you measuring SPL? Don't keep buying tweeters; there's got to be a rational explanation for their repeated failure.

I had read about this issue in the Tekton thread on avsforum. I was concerned at the time, but after reading all the way through that thread and the audiokarma thread, I felt it had to be an anomaly. However, just to be on the safe side, I was very happy to see the extra drivers in the DIs. I have always preferred multiple drivers for listening at reference levels, as I feel it helps reduce the power demands on each driver, for a given SPL level.

 

[dwwjr56]

I would have called in sick.

lol cubdog.
I work from home so it's not too bad. In between taking some calls, I did get to bring them in from the FedEx guy and unpack and set them up. So far I have tried my Yaqin tube amp in triode, ultra linear, and my Emotiva UPA-1 200 watt mono blocks with the Emotiva XSP-1 gen 2 preamp. Best sound To my ears is the Yaqin in triode mode. So far I have about 7.5 hours on the speakers. They have a long ways to go yet to convince me that they are better than the 804 B&W's. They are way too bright with the ss amps in my opinion. That sure could be my room. I don't have any room treatments either, but didn't really need it with the B&W's and the tube amp. I am trying different positions for the speakers and me. I will keep on experimenting. I am only using an Emotiva Erc-1 CD player, and not using mY turntable yet as my Yaqin tube phono amp is new also and no way near broken in so, I will hold off on the vinyl for now.
Well that's it for first few hours and my impression. I do have some Mogami cables coming from take five sound and will see if they do anything for me. I like others here don't usually hear any difference in cables, but I also don't have the higher end equipment either...... at least they are pretty decent cables in my opinion and hopefully better than the cheap speaker wire I am using now.

 

[pdyebrasil]

When I was down at Eric's shop last time I was asking him about amplification and he specifically mentioned that the tweeters in the Pendragons have a very thin voice coil... he told me that if I like to listen at reference levels it is best to listen to one or two songs and then let the voice coils cool for a minute before proceeding to the next song. "These aren't party speakers, they are audiophile speakers" was one phrase he mentioned. He did say that home theater use is fine because you aren't typically at full bore for minutes on end.

Anyway, this was all unsolicited information, and was the first time I had heard of there being a potential issue. So it at least seems that he is aware of it. I've personally had zero issues thus far.

 

[rickmusicman]

Hi Rickmusicman,

When I was looking for a SS preamp to drive a pair of Emotiva XPA-1L Gen2 monoblocks for my DIs, I wanted a very low noise floor preamp, as an alternate to my tube preamps that did not work well with the high efficiency of the DIs (probably due to defective tubes). I was considering either the Emotiva XSP-1 or the Parasound Halo P5. There is a long thread on the avsforums site where a guy compared both, side by side. It took him several weeks to make a decision, but he finally went with the Parasound. He felt both were excellent, but he preferred the slight emphasis on bass and richness of the Parasound over the detail and analysis of the Emotiva. For my system, I chose the Emotiva, primarily for the extra functionality of the processor loop and fully balanced analog path to pair with the Emotiva amps that are also fully balanced. By the way, in my home theater system, I have a pair of Odyssey Stratos Extreme monoblocks for the LR channels fronted by a Nuforce MCP-18 8 channel preamp. Love Odyssey Audio products and I just ordered replacement tubes for my Odyssey Candela preamp! Hopefully, that will fix the noise issue. Good luck with your choices!

Mark

mgb1985, what preamp do you think would sound better with the Odessey amp and the DI's, the Parasound P5 or the Emotivia XSP-1?

 

[mgb1985]

mgb1985, what preamp do you think would sound better with the Odessey amp and the DI's, the Parasound P5 or the Emotivia XSP-1?

Hi Rickmusicman,

It really comes down to personal taste, but I would probably go with the Parasound, since the Odyssey amps do not have true differential (balanced) inputs. I chose the Emotiva because I was pairing it with their monoblock amps that are fully balanced. I generally prefer a more full bodied sound over detail, but since they were so close in sound quality, I went with the better fit for the Emotiva amps. I'm sure you'll be happy with either preamp. If you want to stay with Odyssey, you could choose either their Tempest solid state or Candela tube preamps. They are more expensive, but there should be good synergy with equipment from the same manufacturer.

 

[rickmusicman]

mgb1985, I think I will go with the Parasound. I would really like to go with a tube preamp, but even used are more than i want to spend, and a liittle nervous about buying used, especially with tubes involved. I really dont know how the Candela or tempest would sound, not able to see any reviews.

 

[Calestus]

Rick, the Schiit Freya might be worth a look for you. Common advice is to replace the stock tubes right off the bat.

 

[chuck mac]

hi rick, what parasound amp are you looking to buy .I was thinking about parasound halo integrated amp.if you are looking at tube amps try rogue audio cronus magnum tube amp. how much is you budget to spend.

 

[mgb1985]

mgb1985, I think I will go with the Parasound. I would really like to go with a tube preamp, but even used are more than i want to spend, and a liittle nervous about buying used, especially with tubes involved. I really dont know how the Candela or tempest would sound, not able to see any reviews.

Hi Rickmusicman,

If you really want to try tubes, the Vincent Audio line of preamps get a lot of positive press. The SA 31 hybrid stereo preamplifier, which combines tubes with solid state goes for about $700. Their more expensive SA 31MK model is well regarded by the Absolute Sound, but goes for about $1600. There are a lot of great preamps starting around $2000, but if you want to stay at $1000 or less, the choices are relatively few.

 

[mgb1985]

Rick, the Schiit Freya might be worth a look for you. Common advice is to replace the stock tubes right off the bat.

Hi Calestus,

That Schiitt preamp looks really nice, especially for only $700!

 

[Calestus]

Hi Calestus,

That Schiitt preamp looks really nice, especially for only $700!

Yeah, from all the reading I've done it's really really nice with different tubes. I should have one on it's way soon. I've loved all the headphone amps I've had from them, can't wait to try it out.