@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.