Tekton Owners Thread

[minky]

I'm still waiting for my Lore -S to open up all the way but based on my experience to date, 90% of the Lore S would be a very fine speaker indeed. Realize they may take many hours to open up & they may sound pretty crappy right out of the box. Do report back your impressions & welcome to AK.

So, I take it you've only had your Lore-S for less than a month. It's been awhile since I went through speaker break-in, so I'll have to be patient. I bought my current Maggie MG12's used, so I didn't have to go through that torture! I did experience the break-in phenomenon with my old Maggie SMG-A's years back, and I remember anxiously wondering "is it done?".

More recently, after recapping a buddy's Sansui SP-3500's, the transformation was anything but a subtle change, and that's with old drivers so it should be an interesting process. I will keep you guys posted as break-in progresses.

 

[Bob in WI]

I'm at about 30 - 35 hours & they have a ways to grow yet. Making improvements to the room acoustics also so at some point down the road. I'm expecting them to sound pretty fabulous.

 

[MWalt]

I have about 100 hours on my M-Lore's now. I would say it took 50 or so hours to break in. They did go through a noticeable change from start to the present.

 

[cubdog]

Do you Tekton guys have pictures posted in the Member Systems Forum? If not I'd like to suggest you do so. :yes: I'd love to see some Tekton bling in their natural environment.

cubdog

 

[Poultrygeist]

The inside of a Lore.

Below is the standard Eminence Legend guitar speaker compared to the Lore's above. If the Lore's are proprietary it's hard to spot any difference.

 

[minky]

Well, the Lore Reference came a day early and I just got them cranking. I put on Procol Harum's A Salty Dog on MFSL CD and I gotta say if these things are going to get better from here, they are definitely punching way above their weight. I am VERY impressed. No transistor radio sound here. Gotta get back to the tunes. Lovin' some Tekton now!

 

[minky]

Below is the standard Eminence Legend guitar speaker compared to the Lore's above. If the Lore's are proprietary it's hard to spot any difference.

Hi Poultrygeist,
I hadn't heard that the Lore was supposed to have a proprietary driver. They do claim that the Lore Reference does. Now ya got me curious. I may have to pop one of them out and take a look.

 

[MWalt]

Minky, what upstream gear are you using with your Tekton's? Just curious...

 

[minky]

Minky, what upstream gear are you using with your Tekton's? Just curious...

I'm using a Luxman CX-100 preamp and a Musical Design D-140 amp. My Cambridge Audio Azur 640C CD player quit on me so I'm using my old CAL DX-1; I had forgotten how good it sounded. The turntable I'm using now is sort of a Frankenstein. It's a Kenwood KP-5021, which is kind of rare. It has a belt-idler drive like the old Thorens TD-124. I mounted a Rega RB-250 on it with a Denon DL-110. I'm really liking the combination. I've been using Straightwire interconnects and Audioquest Type 4 speaker cables.

I just realized that all the equipment except the cables and the Tektons I bought used. Like the Kinks, I'm on a Low Budget!

 

[jimdabomb]

Good to see that everyone is enjoying their Tektons so far. I still have no desire to get rid of my Lores, although the new Enzo XL looks pretty tempting... good thing I can't afford them. Just as the Devore O/96's look tempting.. all I know is that $1100 got me an awful lot of speaker. Eric is like a bang for the buck grandmaster wizard.

 

[MWalt]

I'm using a Luxman CX-100 preamp and a Musical Design D-140 amp. My Cambridge Audio Azur 640C CD player quit on me so I'm using my old CAL DX-1; I had forgotten how good it sounded. The turntable I'm using now is sort of a Frankenstein. It's a Kenwood KP-5021, which is kind of rare. It has a belt-idler drive like the old Thorens TD-124. I mounted a Rega RB-250 on it with a Denon DL-110. I'm really liking the combination. I've been using Straightwire interconnects and Audioquest Type 4 speaker cables.

I just realized that all the equipment except the cables and the Tektons I bought used. Like the Kinks, I'm on a Low Budget!

Regardless, your gear looks good. I ask because the M-Lores I have are very revealing of what is upstream and particularly revealing of the quality of recording.

 

[prighello]

Regardless, your gear looks good. I ask because the M-Lores I have are very revealing of what is upstream and particularly revealing of the quality of recording.

Interesting, I didn't find them to be all that revealing compared to other speakers I have. But I'm not running mine with anything fancy (Onkyo A-9050 & C-7030) and use them mostly for TV or PS3 games. I do love how they rock Metallica. I'll have try some of my other gear and see. :yes:

Also, curious to pull a driver and see what's on the inside

 

[minky]

Regardless, your gear looks good. I ask because the M-Lores I have are very revealing of what is upstream and particularly revealing of the quality of recording.

Last night I, of course, dragged out a bunch of well-recorded stuff for my initial listening, but I did put on a couple of dogs for comparison, including a horrendous CD copy of Aqualung. I found the Reference to be pretty forgiving, particularly as compared to the Maggies.

 

[MWalt]

My M-Lores are not nearly as revealing as my Hornshoppe Great Heiled Horns, but I can easily differentiate between IC's, speaker leads, and equipment on them. For example, I can hear a big difference when I switch between my Bottlehead Steremour SET amp, Pass F5 or to the budget Emotiva amp I have.

 

[minky]

Doing some critical listening tonight on the Lore Reference, I noticed a slightly ragged, sort of shouty distortion every once in awhile on certain sounds. It doesn't occur on all recordings and it's not extreme, but I do notice it occasionally. I'm thinking that it's coming from the 800-2000HZ range, but it's hard to tell. They sound best on softer stuff like Joni Mitchell and start getting a little vague and scattered when you throw them some rock, but I expect they will smooth out with more playing time.

 

[minky]

FALSE ALARM! Tonight, I noticed that the left speaker seemed to be consistently louder than the right. I was experimenting with placement and toe-in with no real improvement when I thought (DUH!) I should play with the balance control. Well, it was right in the middle where it's been since I bought it. When I turned it, there was all sorts of spitting and sputtering. So to make a long story short, I worked that control back and forth for a good minute and all the little distortions and shouty notes went away.

Tomorrow I'm going to pull the Luxman out of there and give it a bath. I may even stick my Van Alstine T-7 in there while I'm doing it. Been a long time since I listened to it. Who knows; it may stay.

It just goes to show ya, the sound you're hearing isn't always due to the component you think you're reviewing!

 

[Bob in WI]

"the sound you're hearing isn't always due to the component you think you're reviewing" I sold a perfectly nice NAD set up because it was 'soft' at certain frequencies. Turned out to be the speakers but the NADs were gone by then. Dumb move on my part.

 

[minky]

...and another thing...

I'm a lazy SOB and I know most people don't think to do it, but every couple of years ya really ought to unplug everything and clean contacts etc. It's easy to forget all the little switches, pots, and jacks gradually oxidize and eventually you think "damn, this sounds 'orrible". I had a hell of a time just getting the interconnects to budge from the back of the Luxman. Sheesh!

Well, I hooked up the Van Alstine, and everything is sounding good, so it's back to the tunes.

Oh, sorry about your NAD's, Bob! ;-}

 

[minky]

Hey, where did everybody go? Did I jinx the thread?

I haven't put in much listening time lately, but every time I do, the Reference just keep sounding better and better. I have to agree with MWalt that changes in upstream gear are quite apparent. Last night, I was playing an old Fleetwood Mac album that didn't sound very good, so I unhooked the Kenwood with Denon DL-110.
After hooking up my Technics SL-1200 with Jelco 750-D tonearm and Denon DL-160, I replayed the album and could hear a definite improvement. I have some interconnect cables that should be upgraded next.

I'd have to hook up the Maggies again to make a sensible comparison, but I think the Maggie soundstage is set back further and, while sounding maybe a bit more refined, lacks the dynamics of the Tektons. I think the Tekton's high frequencies are also not as harsh. I'd have to say that the Tektons are more fun to listen to, and I don't feel as much need to pick apart the sound. So far, so good!

 

[Morganc]

Hey guys. I have owned Pendragons and Lores in the past and am now looking for a pair for my bedroom and am trying to decide M-Lore vs Lore vs Lore Reference. Has anyone who has heard the Lore reference heard the M-Lore or Lore?