Tekton Double Impact SE

[DSkip]

This weekend I drove down to New Orleans to visit a client and got my first opportunity to hear these speakers. I've been wanting to hear them and was excited when this opportunity presented itself. First off, these are BIG. They are physically imposing and definitely need some space to work with. The finish is nice given its a big box, but the real pudding is in the sound. I was impressed, and I wasn't expecting to be given the tweeter arrangement.

The truth is, they do a lot right and not too much wrong. They have great frequency response and act as a true chameleon - their presentation changes greatly depending on any changes upstream. I've never heard a speaker at $6,500 have this quality. With the gear we had to play with, they were really doing well in a minimally treated room.

The bad I experienced was that on a few songs the speakers got a little 'phasey'. The soundstage would begin to wrap around instead of extend and it was surreal. It was limited to only a handful of songs but it was apparent. The second complaint is that the speakers are lacking 'something' that apparently the regular DI have - the LIVE aspect of the music. There is no doubt that its a recording with everything we played. It didn't sound bad, just not as organic as what I've come to expect out of my current system.

Realistically, I'd have a hard time not recommending these speakers for those in that price range with a larger space. The one caveat is that it MIGHT require you to spend MUCH more than anticipated on the gear upstream, so in the end it might not be the best solution for many.







During my time there, I also got to hear the Denafrips Pontus DAC, a Chinese built R2R DAC and compare it to the top of the line North Star Design Venti. The client was most impressed by the Venti and the fact that NSD was able to implement the ES9038 chipset in such a way that it was competing directly with the sound from his Denafrips. While the Denafrips had better detail extraction, the Venti had more organic sound. The differences were subtle but there. I also got to experience the Schiit Yggdrasil and it didn't fare well against these two DAC's.

I also got to experience the T+A PA 3100 HV integrated amplifier. This might be the best solid state sound I've heard to date. The tone, detail, and overall presentation was superb. I really only had one complaint about the unit but the complaint falls in line with my own tube preference - the T+A lacked some of that LIVE aspect that the Tekton's lacked. It sounded like it was the complete package but there was just something about it that kept me from getting completely engaged. For those who find solid state to be their huckleberry, this is an amp that is definitely end game.

We compared the T+A directly with the MastersounD Evolution 845. Our best results were when we ran the Pass Labs XP-20 preamp into the amp via the direct XLR inputs. In this mode, we bypassed the internal preamp section of the Evolution 845. The result was spectacular. While it lacked some of the full detail extraction of the T+A, there was a LIVE aspect brought to the picture and in my opinion a more realistic scale to the music. I know many prefer a tubed preamp with solid state power, but I've found recently that I prefer the opposite. I think this has much to do with the single-ended design of the MastersounD amplifiers as SE amps just have a certain naturalness to them that I still haven't experienced in other designs.

[joeinid]

Hi Skip,

Thank you so much for posting your thoughts on these products. I really appreciate it. I’ve wondered about all of them at some point and feel more understanding of what they sound like. Looks like a fun trip.

[RDSChicago]

Hi Skip,

Nice write up. Are you saying tha the non-SE DI’s are better than the special edition? I have an XP-20 preamp but haven’t tried it with a tube power amp. You’ve piqued my curiosity.

[joeinid]

With the right tube amp, the XP20 could be glorious.

[DSkip]

Hi Skip,

Nice write up. Are you saying tha the non-SE DI’s are better than the special edition? I have an XP-20 preamp but haven’t tried it with a tube power amp. You’ve piqued my curiosity.

According to the client, the DI had more of the live performance quality than the DI SE did, but the SE was better in every other category. I can't speak to this as I haven't heard the DI to compare directly.

With the right tube amp, the XP20 could be glorious.

Right. In this case, it was glorious.

[jadedavid]

I tried the DI's in my home, my system and ended up returning them. While they did a lot of good things, as a whole they fell short.
A listening session would start off impressive with good slam and power. Detail was good. But as the clock ticked by I became less and less interested in the music until I just had to shut it down after about a half hour. Hard to put my finger on what it was that alienated me from the music.
I tried many different positions and multiple gear changes both SS and tube but was not able to get them emotionally involving.
There are quite a number that really enjoy them and they have quite a following. This is just my experience.
I have not heard the SE's

[smodtactical]

I tried the DI's in my home, my system and ended up returning them. While they did a lot of good things, as a whole they fell short.
A listening session would start off impressive with good slam and power. Detail was good. But as the clock ticked by I became less and less interested in the music until I just had to shut it down after about a half hour. Hard to put my finger on what it was that alienated me from the music.
I tried many different positions and multiple gear changes both SS and tube but was not able to get them emotionally involving.
There are quite a number that really enjoy them and they have quite a following. This is just my experience.
I have not heard the SE's

What speakers that you've heard do you enjoy more ?

[jadedavid]

While not being able to produce the low frequencies as well as the D.I., the Reference 3A MM DeCapo speaker was in all other ways superior IMO.
My current speakers, Audiokenises "Z"s, produce a lively, emotional, 3D soundstage that I could not get the D.I.s to pull off.
Proper speaker interaction within a particular space is the challenge. As Jim Smith puts it "Room Play".
I tried Legacy Focus speakers in my room and they overpowered the space, producing less bass than some smaller speakers.
I sold them to a friend that had a large room and the bass was thunderous.
You just need to try the (any) speakers in your space to see if they "float your boat".

[bluegrassphile]

This weekend I drove down to New Orleans to visit a client and got my first opportunity to hear these speakers. I've been wanting to hear them and was excited when this opportunity presented itself. First off, these are BIG. They are physically imposing and definitely need some space to work with. The finish is nice given its a big box, but the real pudding is in the sound. I was impressed, and I wasn't expecting to be given the tweeter arrangement.

The truth is, they do a lot right and not too much wrong. They have great frequency response and act as a true chameleon - their presentation changes greatly depending on any changes upstream. I've never heard a speaker at $6,500 have this quality. With the gear we had to play with, they were really doing well in a minimally treated room.

The bad I experienced was that on a few songs the speakers got a little 'phasey'. The soundstage would begin to wrap around instead of extend and it was surreal. It was limited to only a handful of songs but it was apparent. The second complaint is that the speakers are lacking 'something' that apparently the regular DI have - the LIVE aspect of the music. There is no doubt that its a recording with everything we played. It didn't sound bad, just not as organic as what I've come to expect out of my current system.

Realistically, I'd have a hard time not recommending these speakers for those in that price range with a larger space. The one caveat is that it MIGHT require you to spend MUCH more than anticipated on the gear upstream, so in the end it might not be the best solution for many.







During my time there, I also got to hear the Denafrips Pontus DAC, a Chinese built R2R DAC and compare it to the top of the line North Star Design Venti. The client was most impressed by the Venti and the fact that NSD was able to implement the ES9038 chipset in such a way that it was competing directly with the sound from his Denafrips. While the Denafrips had better detail extraction, the Venti had more organic sound. The differences were subtle but there. I also got to experience the Schiit Yggdrasil and it didn't fare well against these two DAC's.

I also got to experience the T+A PA 3100 HV integrated amplifier. This might be the best solid state sound I've heard to date. The tone, detail, and overall presentation was superb. I really only had one complaint about the unit but the complaint falls in line with my own tube preference - the T+A lacked some of that LIVE aspect that the Tekton's lacked. It sounded like it was the complete package but there was just something about it that kept me from getting completely engaged. For those who find solid state to be their huckleberry, this is an amp that is definitely end game.

We compared the T+A directly with the MastersounD Evolution 845. Our best results were when we ran the Pass Labs XP-20 preamp into the amp via the direct XLR inputs. In this mode, we bypassed the internal preamp section of the Evolution 845. The result was spectacular. While it lacked some of the full detail extraction of the T+A, there was a LIVE aspect brought to the picture and in my opinion a more realistic scale to the music. I know many prefer a tubed preamp with solid state power, but I've found recently that I prefer the opposite. I think this has much to do with the single-ended design of the MastersounD amplifiers as SE amps just have a certain naturalness to them that I still haven't experienced in other designs.

Ten tons of tone right there.