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Quality issues with Tekton speakers....

I was reading all the buzz about these Tekton speakers and after sorting through all the reviews, decided to order a pair of the Pendragon (the big ones... $2,500 a pair).

When they arrived, I found them to be boxed well and in perfect shape, although one thing was very noticeable once I looked at the speakers. The woofers had a slightly different tone (color). The upper woofer in each tower was basically dark gray or black (like most paper woofers you might come across) and the lower woofers were slightly blue in color. After looking on the web some, I could not find a Pendragon speaker photo ANYWHERE that had this color difference. Since they did not come with speaker grilles, I knew the color difference would bother me as long as I owned the speakers.

I contacted Tekton (Eric Alexander) via e-mail and explained the issue. After almost a week of not hearing back, I sent another e-mail and his response was...

(copy and pasted right from my e-mail)... " I'm sorry. Please refresh my memory. What seems to be the problem? Thanks, Eric"

I described the issue again and he offered to exchange the speakers. I said there was no need to ship back a huge pair of 85 pound speakers and have him send me another pair and suggested maybe he just send me grilles at no charge to cover the speakers and I could live with the slight color difference in the woofers. I really feel that grilles should be included in a $2,500 price tag however.

All of these e-mails took several days to answer by the way.

He agreed and said he would get the grilles out right away... they were sent a few days later and upon arrival, I realized there was a pretty big problem. I had a normal type speaker grill with 4 pegs on the back and a speaker with no peg holes. After all the time, e-mails, no answers, etc., I was not interested in wasting any more time with the matter and asked for a partial refund through PayPal and asked a simple question... why send me grilles for a speaker that he just shipped to me with no holes to put them in? His reply was to offer to make new grilles and send "velcro dots" to affix them to the speakers with.... WOW.

The WORST part about all this: Within 30 minutes of making a PayPal claim about the issue and asking for a partial refund from him, Eric tried to call me right away... now that there was money at stake.

The really sad part of all this is that the speakers actually sound pretty damn good now that they are broken in... I just hope the quality and communication come up to the same level for the sake of Tekton as a company.
128x128audiofreak32
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
2,651 posts
 
You don't explain if speaker grills were originally an option. If they were, then it is understandable that he would send you the grill, probably thinking that you had the holes to stick them in. After all, apparently you didn't tell him otherwise. Were you assuming that they were magnetic?
In any case, I don't think that it was outrageous for him to suggest Velcro dots; they are a workable solution.
I am also curious about the amount of the "partial refund" that you requested.
It seems strange to me that when you requested the grill, you didn't take note that there were no holes.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
6,996 posts
 
Roxy54,
I'm inclined towards you view as well, I imagine most of these speakers are ordered without grills, so no holes for them. Velcro stick on grills are relatively common and acceptable. It seems although the builder's response time was a bit slow it wasn't egregious(IMO). When he did respond he seems to have been cooperative and flexible. Well anyway I see this as a minor episode. In the big picture you bought a "pretty damm good" sounding speaker for 2, 500.00 USD, that's a very good outcome.
I hope you continue enjoy them for years.
Charles,
shakeydeal
979 posts
 
I agree with Roxy. Very few manufacturers go to the trouble of installing magnets behind the baffle, then make the grilles optional.

As is the case with the Pendragons, the grilles are an option you request when ordering the speakers. As for the cost, there are far more expensive speakers that don't even offer the option of a grille.

As you said, the speakers sound very good. I had a pair for a while and thought they were exceptional for the money.

Shakey
audiofreak32's avatar
audiofreak32 OP
253 posts
 
Grilles should absolutely be included for $2,500 as almost EVERY manufacturer includes a grill with their speakers. You are also missing the issue of the driver color not matching - this is an easy quality issue that should have been caught before they shipped.
marqmike
676 posts
 
Audiofreak.
You said he would exchange the speakers. Can't get much better service than that. Anything after that is a compromise to you it sounds like. You should change out the speakers. If Eric suggested that, then it is probably the best solution. Eric is a good man, and seems to run a very conscientious business. I have no affiliation with them and they do not know me.
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