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Tekton Double Impact & Comb Filtering

Like many of you, I have been pondering purchasing these speakers but am very curious about the unusual tweeter array. I asked the smartest speaker person that I know (he is a student of Sean Olive) about the design and below is what he had to say.   

"In theory it could work, but the driver spacing means that the crossover point would need to be very low.
He is using the SB acoustics tweeter which is 72mm in diameter, center to center on the outside opposing drivers is around 5.7 inches, which is about 2400Hz. This means that combing would stop between 1/4 to 1/2 of the wavelength (between 1200-600Hz) is where the outside tweeters should start playing nice with each other.
Since he is not using low enough crossover points he has created a comb filtering monster. Now while it's not the great point source that was promised, it's no worse than most line arrays and the combing will average itself out given enough listening distance.

The MTM spacing on the other hand is ridiculous. Hopefully he is cutting the top end off on one of those midrange drivers to avoid combing."

seanheis1
stfoth
435 posts
 
@213runnin. Can't believe I'm jumping in here, because I am as skeptical as probably anyone on the implications that everything else is obsolete, that they "slay" well-reviewed and established $30k-ish "competitors," and that the patent would ever win the day.  Quite frankly, some of it is a bit off-putting, but no doubt that the designer is proud of his designs, and, judging by the feedback he's getting, seems he has reason to be. 

I've never heard any of the Tektons.  Have you heard them?  Are you trying to bait the fanboys?

Most interesting, to me, in all of this banter on A-gon and a few other sites, is the absence of folks, who have given or can give credible first-hand accounts, who have said much less than "the Tektons are pretty good, but didn't work for me" or "I don't think they actually compete with many speakers many times the price, but they're good for what they are."  I haven't seen anyone say anything like, "I bought them based on the hype, and as much as I wanted to like them and as hard as I tried to make them work with otherwise good matching gear, they are just overpriced cheap crap and sound like garbled poo."

If they are out there, could someone share or point in that direction?

Seems, of course, they won't be to everyone's preference, but most of the reports suggest that one would get at least a speaker punching in its weight class and possibly/probably above, if not at $30k+, to the extent price may generally corresponds to performance/quality.

Anyway, sure, if they missed the mark by 6db, some 'splainin' should be in order.

I'm not defending anything or anyone, but, at least for the DIs, looks like those tweeters retail for about 55 bucks each. There are 14 of them.  770 bucks just in tweeters in a $3k speaker is already quite a budget ratio compared to most speakers using OEM drivers.  Of course, Tekton isn't paying retail, but neither are the other companies using "better" OEM tweeters.

This split between instant fanboys and haters who have not heard just seems really odd.


craigl59
306 posts
 

stfoth:

There are several reviews falling into your lukewarm category including one person who returned the speakers not because he disliked them, but because they were not that much better than his current ones. Read through the extended threads and you will see.

As regards your comments that all posts are "fanboys or haters" this is the nature of modern day threads. When a product becomes popular, other competitors jump onto the thread and start posting degrading comment to try and boost their own products. On the AVSForum site there is a speaker builder who constantly derides the speaker then, as fast as possible, gets his website URL on the thread.

Others just want to post and show off their knowledge even though they know nothing about the product itself.

Why I bought the speakers, and what you need to know, is that those who do, UNIFORMLY say good things about the product. This is the bottom line.

AND, I refer you to my post above concerning "cheap speakers." There are no cheap speakers in the DI and those chosen are pro audio drivers of substantial ability. I would rather have these in my ongoing set than specialty items that cannot be purchased in case of need on the retail market. For 50 years I have been buying pro audio equipment and it is ALWAYS as good or better than home designs.

stfoth
435 posts
 
@craigl59. Pretty sure you and I are on a similar page.


I'm actually looking to try a pair--figuring out which ones might best suit the room/gear and then giving Tekton a call.  Not based on the patent or thinking my current speakers are obsolete, but primarily based on so many folks, who I have no reason to doubt, pretty uniformly giving neutral to raving accounts.  If they were truly crap designs with crap parts, I would expect that, by now, someone would have tried them and so stated--and then forced to defend that statement by the fanboys.  :)  Haven't seen it.

Worst case is I buy a pair, don't like them, send them back, eat some shipping, add a comment to the tribal history, and then get jumped on for ruining them with crap cables or something.  Fair enough.
craigl59
306 posts
 

stfoth:

Exactly.

Call Eric and see if he isn't the kind of professional who can help you make the right choice. Best to get him at the right time as he can be overworked.

FYI, have recently purchased and returned an expensive Class D amplifier. This was bought on the basis of a well-known thread touting its abilities. My experiences were nothing like those described on that thread. Even went so far as to obtain a recommendation for the product on another site. Still, the amp was of modest capabilities and became defective in 5 days.

SO, you can't always trust threads -- even established ones. But I believe you can trust honest owner reviews if you can identify them. It's the innate problem with the Internet Audio industry.

david_ten
2,509 posts
 
@stfoth   I can't see anyone among the current owners who are actively posting 'jumping on you.'  The Impact Monitor thread OP recently returned his. I wished him the best (and so have others)...I hope he finds what works best for him. There is no one speaker for all of us. That's healthy for our hobby.

All the best in figuring out what will work out for you needs. Hope Eric is able to steer you in the right direction and you are happy with whatever choice you make.
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