Tekton Design's new THE PERFECT SET equals "goosebumps time"

Teajay.... have you tried the perfect set with more powerful amps yet?  

@Teajay

No doubt that loudspeakers will NEVER be a one size fits all product.

And no doubt that Tekton’s ad copy about obsoleting other loudspeakers is like raw meat to the lions.... but as those in the ad business will often say, “as long as they are talking about you, they aren’t talking about the competition”.

As for reviewers.. if I rely on your review... buy the product and dont like it... I’m pretty sure that it is because we like different things...no big deal.

Now, back to the thread... these are not light speakers... how were they packed and did they ship fedex or freight?

invictus005

As we read almost every day, the theft of intellectual property from overseas has reached an alarming level as evidenced by how every year more and more of our own products are no longer made here.  With this in mind, it makes absolute sense to write the widest, most generic, most encompassing and yet potentially defensible patent possible....and to give away the fewest details possible...even if it seems to some to be lame.

And, even though patents often don't provide the intended protection, its a start and anything that allows us to make more stuff here...and less stuff there...seems like a good idea.
As for the thread issue...Maybe I just see it differently...if you go over to one of the other forums and look up Goldenear...the thread is 177 pages long as of today...so,its difficult to find things.
I prefer separate threads for each product...but maybe that's just me.

Based on the patent wording (According to additional implementations of the invention, a very low mass mid-range and high frequency type transducer is specifically dedicated to reproducing efficiently the overtone spectra contained in music) I'd say that what is being Protected/Covered by the patent is (polygon-oriented, triple-ring radiator high frequency array).

Reading through the various Tekton threads...its clear that some people like this new array and are buying Tekton products...others don't....no big deal and no surprise...not everyone loves Wilson or Goldenear or Manepan or KEF or (fill in the blank here....).

What is a little weird (compared to other product threads) is that those who dislike Tekton are so vocal....and at the same time don't spend a lot of time promoting their preferred product.....again, no big deal...but maybe a little frustrating???


We all know that just because Teajay likes it doesn't guarantee that it will sound good in our rooms....but any time someone does comparisons with other products...WE all now have more points to triangulate to help make better decisions.

Why is that a good thing?  Because if like me, you live 2000 miles away from a guy who is going to ship you big speakers you may not like...you may save yourself $400 in return freight after the 30 days are up.

I'm with Mapman thinking we should all be more open to reviews and comparisons that may help us keep costs down....and again...keep products made in America!!!


One more thing....you might have noticed that people who have reviewed multiple Goldenear, KEF, Magnepan, Tekton, etc. and like one of them like most of their other products....probably because of similar voicing and not because of something  nefarious.

@Cap
Serious question...why would Teajay...or anyone else for that matter, give up their $20,000 speakers just to get a $4000 discount (estimated) on speakers that weren't as good?  Presumably, he could afford the $20,000 speaker (maybe they cost him $13,000) but even so, why would he or anyone switch to something that isn't as good.

As you will see if you look up my profile...I own Tekton Lores which I purchased several years ago....love them...sound much more like live music than the Quads I owned before them...but that's just a change in my preference over time.
I see you own Wilsons...great speakers that everyone acknowledges are great speakers....so what is it about Tekton that bugs you so much?

@cap
On the issue of using "average drivers" at the end of the day its about achieving the voicing that Tekton wants...and if they can do it with lower cost drivers....which keeps product cost down...and still have a lot of happy customers...no big deal as I see it.  Probably those that spend $3k on a DI know they aren't getting a $20k Wilson...either because they can't afford it or because they can't justify the difference in sound.
As for the BE tweeter....I've been following Jim Salk's thread on another forum and here is what he has to say:
"When the first Be tweeters finally came on the market, we were very excited to get our hands on them for testing purposes. The first sample we got our hands on measured extremely well and we were anxious to use it in the next model speaker we developed. Unfortunately, that company lost the only employee who knew how to build these tweeters and discontinued them.

The Satori tweeter we eventually used was from a company (SB Acoustics) with some very good engineers and a reputation for producing great drivers at reasonable prices. So we jumped on the Satori Be tweeter as soon as it became available and never looked back.

It turns out that the speaker we happened to be working on at the time was the Song3 BeAT. That is why this model ended up with the Be tweeter rather than the RAAL we would have used in other circumstances.

Imagine the accuracy and sound of the RAAL with the off-axis response of a dome tweeter. That, in essence is what you have. Both are GREAT tweeters and we wouldn't hesitate using either one of them in a new design.

There are some applications that would benefit slightly from the Be tweeter and some that would benefit slightly from the RAAL tweeter. But I look at them as being more similar than different in terms of performance."
So...I think as a designer...Eric has a right to change his mind...especially if he hears something that he think will improve his products....and no doubt, he probably had some customers that wanted a Be tweeter...and so he found a way to give it to them.

As for the stated db...if you believe Stereophile...almost all loudspeakers have an overstated sensitivity....again...not that big of a deal.

From an overall perspective, it just seems that the value perspective for those that don't prefer any of the Tekton products would be to flip the narrative and spend a lot more energy on the positive aspects of the products they do prefer...just sayin...
Bottom line...I'm headed to the Florida Audio Expo this weekend....and I'm sure I'm going to hear a lot of really great products....no guarantee that they will sound good in my home....no guarantee with my equipment that they will sound better than what I already have....but in spite of what a reviewer says or what I read on various forums...I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I have to be able to try it in my home (and return it if I don't like it) before I'll buy it...with one exception, Audiogon preowned...the risk then is all mine.

In the interest of overall fairness to Teajay with respect to Tekton... it’s worth noting that in his HTR review last month of the Model 50s as speakers that can be paired with Set Amps... he concludes by saying that he liked the 50s so much that he bought them. 


I for one one appreciate that he he looks for smaller companies that are doing great things... and tries to shine a light on them. 

@Cap

Boiling it all down, it seems like what you are saying is that you heard the Tektons and didn't particularly like them...and it bugs you think their patent is too generic, that their ad copy is too boastful and that the return freight is too high of a price for home audition.

So, just a few thoughts:

1.  Not really a big deal that you didn't like them...we've all heard lots of well promoted, top of the line speakers that we didn't prefer.

2.  Their patent attorney decided how the patent would be worded, what would be included and what would be left out...so, I guess if there is a quarrel it is with the attorney.

3.  Maybe the ad copy is too boastful...but you have to admit that it resulted in a lot of attention for Tekton...and a lot of satisfied customers.

4. Lots of audio equipment is sold with the "you pay the return freight"...here is an example from Audio Advisors...  https://www.audioadvisor.com/faq.asp#return 


5.  As for the cost of the return freight....you can fly round trip from Florida to Salt Lake same day for $226....so its possible to avoid all the hassle of packing, unpacking, repacking and returning...and while you are at Tekton, listen to some of their other speakers.

I guess my point is that it would be much more effective when people don't like a product...Tekton or otherwise....to make a point/post...simply saying something like..."hey, I know a lot of people on this thread like product A...but I'm telling you that I heard product A with this associated equipment in this kind of a room...and this is what I heard XXXXX....so my advice to anyone considering buying product A is to consider alternatives such as B,C,D,E...and be aware of the return policies.

At any rate...I hope this thread can now return to Teajay being able to post what he has heard over the past few days since receiving the Perfect Sets...and since few if anyone else has heard them, there really isn't much they can say as to their own specific impression.

Following on @barany's comment....if you buy a piece of gear and like and and happen to find a reviewer who liked....or if you buy a piece of gear because a reviewer liked it and find out you like it, then you may have increased confidence that you and that reviewer have similar taste and expectations...its not a guarantee but a start...and maybe you trust his judgement going forward.


How many reviewers have a forum presence and make themselves known and have an open dialogue?  How many reviewers answer the numerous questions and comments they get at the bottom of the article?

In my opinion, we should be thankful to Teajay for putting himself out there and for being accessible.  And while we all have the right to disagree...we should do so respectfully and with our own hearing/findings.

In a better world, there would be more "fests" and free return shipping...and no doubt, the product prices would have to go up to cover those costs...and as we all know, there really are no "write offs" as they are really just added cost that have to be deducted from revenues thereby possibly reducing profits...if there are any.
Overall, I feel pretty fortunate with our ability to audition things at home...in the 80's when I started buying more serious gear, there were three high end stores in town (only one remains)...pretty much with these marketing strategies:

1.  No you can't take it home2.  Take it or leave it3.  We don't accept returns

So, if you bought it and didn't like in your home, you could advertise in the paper for several months...knowing that at best you would get 25% of what you paid.

@mr_m
One question many of us probably have is "what is the value of continued hate talk"?  Presumably it is to either chase customers away from Tekton (which obviously isn't happening) or keep this thread going and off the main topic of impressions of the Perfect Set which most of want to hear.


Six years ago, if you bought from Tekton, you had relatively few choices of models, no grills and the color was always black ...kind of like the Model T.

Since then, the market has told Eric that it wants grills...he gave them grills...it wants color options...he gave them color options....it wants smaller speakers...he gave them smaller speakers....it wants bigger/better speakers...he gave them the Double Impact....the market wants even better....he gave them the Ulf (and others)...it wanted Beryllium...gave them Beryllium.  He is clearly a guy that listens to the market...and his customers..all while moving forward with his own designs.

Some of these moves might have been rolled out in a better manner and often times the sheer number of orders seems to overwhelm their system...but just using history as an example of Tekton over the past 6 years, I have no doubt that a number of things are either in the works or being seriously evaluated and will improve their business in the years to come:

1.  How to handle the volume surges and yet not add so much cost that the more normal times has them too overstaffed.  (and we all know this is tough for every company).


2.  Offering high end cabinetry like Jim Salk and others offer...why, because eventually the demand for the plane jane cabinets will be taper...and/or because this is a big untapped and high value market for him.

3.  More innovative models that will challenge conventional thinking and probably move the industry forward...and give us more fun choices to experience.

At this point...those who dislike Tekton are not having much luck persuading the Tekton supporters or vice versa.

I think its time to call a truce. 


At the Florida Audio show yesterday I heard other loudspeakers I think I could own...and I heard some that I couldn't own...no big deal.  But as expected, in every room, every manufacturer put forward his best story as to why his product was the best (at least at a price point) and should be seriously considered...again, no big deal, and exactly what they should be doing.

@Teajay

When I threw out the idea of a truce...It was NOT to say you should not defend yourself....you should & did....as did others who would prefer that these threads remain as positive as possible.


The truce suggestin was to say that all the detractors had pretty much said all they can say...as had all of the defenders...so  it seemed that nothing worthwhile was going to happen...until you/we got back to actually talking about the performance of the Perfect Set.

@oddio....its pretty clear that you don't like the looks...again, no big deal...based on looks, you won't be a Tekton customer for the time being....not everyone is.    I made it a point at the Florida Audio Show yesterday to ask people how important looks were to their purchase decision (why, because there were some really beautiful products being shown)...and would looks stop them from buying a speaker that they liked...pretty much what I heard was about 60% said that looks mattered enough to stop them from buying something they didn't like....but then again, you may like the ultra modern Paradigm Persona and hate the beautiful woodwork of the Legacy...as they say..beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

@jtcf  +1  totally agree....from the Tekton website...." * Returned speakers must be in new condition - no signs of damage or abuse, including scratches, fingerprints, dust, etc."  couldn't be more clear...and I also use the gloves and towel method when I'm auditioning things.

@teajay....to follow up on your sweet spot comment...is it that the Perfect Set is at its best at a low listening level....or that its really good all listening levels and just that its a surprise how good it is at low levels?

Reading through lots of threads on various forums, the one thing that seems common is that when it comes to the smaller companies, those primarily selling through the internet....there is a pretty good chance that if you call the company, you will get to speak of the founder. 


Call Zu...you will likely have a shot at Sean Casey.  Call Chane...Jon Lane may pick up.  Call Tekton...talk to Eric....Call Salk...talk to Jim Salk.  I don't think this is all that strange as the owners want to talk to customers...and usually, their enthusiasm rubs off.

No doubt, each of the above guys has his own take on what speakers should sound like...and each guy has a different take.  So, as an example, if you are a Salk fan, you will probably be pretty enthusiastic about Salk...as you should be.  In fact, I spoke on the phone today  to a guy who is on this 4th pair of Salks....keeps trading up.  He has no real desire to move out of the Salk family because he loves the sound.

As for shills, it might be that there are a few people that aren't who they appear to be....personally...I like to look at whether people are showing their own system and where they might be from....but in the end....if a bunch of forum people say they like Tekton...and a bunch of reviewers say they like Tekton...we all KNOW this is not a guarantee that we will like Tekton.....but it may be a nudge that it is worth the price of return freight to give them a try.

And, on the subject of "trying something"....Teajay said the Perfect Set had a "sitting up front" type of presentation....and you hear that frequently from reviewers and posters regarding the "Tekton sound" (if there is such a thing)....so, if a person knows that they don't like an up front presentation, then its possible that the Tekton's may not be for them....but they will never know until they hear it...and if it isn't for them, it shouldn't be a surprise.