Tekton Enzo XL Measured by Stereophile

[killdozzer]

killdozzer said ..." On the other hand saying these are good because you trust your ears is actually less useful than measurements. " Not to me . All that matters to me is how they sound .

Let me try one more time. Nothing I wrote was meant to offend you. I've checked the date you joined and saw that you registered only to rush to this thread and make obvious the fact that you're personally offended on behalf of some brand. It just seems like a waste of time. No one told you you should stop liking them, the question is why are you trying to tell others to stop not liking them?

The problem with your ears, they're on your head. I can't use them. What you're doing is actually saying "according to my ears, you should discard measurements". See what I mean. Experience is very context specific. It is too personal to be widely used.

And most importantly, as I already said, since no one here will tell you to buy any speakers without auditioning, there should be no problems.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

AcuDefTechGuy......I agree with most of your post , well thought out . To me , measurements mean very little . I trust my ears and know what sounds good to me . A SET amp comes to mind here , it measures bad but sounds good . If one is looking for an "audiophile" type speaker the Tektons might not be their cup of tea . They get loud with low power , are dynamic as heck and sound more "live" than most......what's interesting is that the folks that have heard them , love them ......the folks that haven't heard them , hate them. Cheers to all .

I believe we are talking about personal preferences.

If it sounds good, then it is good. I believe that.

Other important factors include the room acoustics, speaker placements, and the actual music. Any speaker can sound great in one room, but sound bad in another room.

I have owned and heard many speakers. And most of them sound great as long as the room acoustics is good. I have never heard the Tektons. But if I were to guess, I would say that they can probably sound great.

I have heard speakers that measure great, but did not sound good to me, and I blame the room acoustics for that. So just because some speakers measure great does not guarantee that they will sound great.

If the loudspeakers sound great, then they are great. But it is my personally preference that they also "measure" great.

If a car drives great, then it is great. But I also want the car to also "measure" great. After all, it is my personal preference

 

[mtrycrafts]

You guys are very funny . Here's fact ( since you wanted it ). People that have heard them ....love them . ...

Glad we entertain.
Yes, and people spend fortunes on paintings I consider ugly.

People "love" things for many reasons including some speakers. Good for them.
People also continue to use homeopathic no matter what.

 

[lukesky518]

killdozzer..... In no way am I offended . My only point is this .... judging speakers without listening to them is just nuts . AcuDefTechGuy.......another well thought out post . mtrycrafts.......judging a painting as ugly is OK if you have seen it . BTW.....I wound up here after doing a search for Enzo 2.7 reviews . I just had to post after seeing all the negative comments from non-owners ( and non- listeners ). Cheers all !

 

[killdozzer]

In no way am I offended.

If you say you're not offended, I'll take your word for it. It sure seemed different. I don't want to sidetrack this thread, I don't fully agree with you, but I do it here.

 

[lukesky518]

I agree , newbies should trust their ears very little at first and audition products that measure well . That would reduce a bunch of buying mistakes from newbs . You only have to think of the JBL , BIC , etc speakers from the 80's that had boom - boom bass and tizzy highs . What about the experienced listener ? For example , in the Enzo XL tests there were a few cabinet resonances noted . However , in the listening tests they were not audible and no negative listening notes were made . A newb would have shied away from this speaker based on measurements . Also , Eric is like anyone else in this industry . He deserves a fair shake to design , market and manufacture his products . Bad mouthing his products without first hand experience is poor taste . Look at the latest reviews on the Double Impact Monitor and the Ulfberht , its pretty obvious he in on to something .

 

[slipperybidness]

I agree , newbies should trust their ears very little at first and audition products that measure well . That would reduce a bunch of buying mistakes from newbs . You only have to think of the JBL , BIC , etc speakers from the 80's that had boom - boom bass and tizzy highs . What about the experienced listener ? For example , in the Enzo XL tests there were a few cabinet resonances noted . However , in the listening tests they were not audible and no negative listening notes were made . A newb would have shied away from this speaker based on measurements . Also , Eric is like anyone else in this industry . He deserves a fair shake to design , market and manufacture his products . Bad mouthing his products without first hand experience is poor taste . Look at the latest reviews on the Double Impact Monitor and the Ulfberht , its pretty obvious he in on to something .

Perhaps with a different music selection, the faults of the speakers as found in the measurements would have become incredibly apparent.

That is part of the problem with "trust your ears", you can't possibly listen to every piece of music to see if a problem is masked with certain styles.

Perfect example: I used to own a pair of the ATH-M50 headphones. These pretty much get rave reviews anywhere you look. With MOST music, I tended to agree. But, there were many tracks where the mid-bass is un-natural and offensive to a critical listener! I sold my pair and never looked back.

Now, when you say things like this from earlier in the thread:
I have had Thiel's , Maggies , Vandersteens , KEF , ADS , Linn and many I have forgotten about . Theses Enzo's are in a different league

Clearly this is hyberbole, and you got the ridicule that you deserved for such a statement

 

[killdozzer]

I agree , newbies should trust their ears very little at first and audition products that measure well . That would reduce a bunch of buying mistakes from newbs . You only have to think of the JBL , BIC , etc speakers from the 80's that had boom - boom bass and tizzy highs . What about the experienced listener ? For example , in the Enzo XL tests there were a few cabinet resonances noted . However , in the listening tests they were not audible and no negative listening notes were made . A newb would have shied away from this speaker based on measurements . Also , Eric is like anyone else in this industry . He deserves a fair shake to design , market and manufacture his products . Bad mouthing his products without first hand experience is poor taste . Look at the latest reviews on the Double Impact Monitor and the Ulfberht , its pretty obvious he in on to something .

Auuuu, maaan! Have you read this (from the home page):

... Our revolutionary U.S. patent #9247339 (issued January 26th, 2016) allows us to literally align the moving mass of speaker cones to the harmonic spectra of the musical instruments being played. This means that, in theory, we’ve now made every other high fidelity loudspeaker on earth obsolete in one fell swoop! ...
This guy is making it ultra easy for everyone to steer clear of his products. You shouldn't have asked me to read around. Perhaps it would be better if you linked a review that you find to be satisfactory and I'll have a look. Bear in mind I'm just another noob, but the guy HAS to realize that there's more instruments in a band than drivers in a speaker. How the hell can he align mass of one single driver for several different instruments??

 

[slipperybidness]

@lukesky518
Do you have just the normal stock crossovers in your Tektons?

 

[lukesky518]

slipperybidness ....... Yes the crossover is stock . I tinker with stuff so I tried the " choke mod " I read about some where , I didn't like it so I put it back to stock . My comments regarding the other speakers I have owned is not hyperbole , Its personal experience that came via ownership of the products . killdozzer ....In the Enzo 2.7 he is using those 6 tweeters in a circle as a midrange driver for very low mass . The tweeter in the center is the tweeter . On the Enzo XL he is crossing over the 3 tweeters at different frequencies . He may make it ultra easy for the uninformed ( haven't heard them ) to avoid his products . But he is also making it look really easy to get rave reviews by reviewers and owners alike . I wasn't joking when I said I have had most of the big names in speakers , I don't miss any of them . I know that part of the great sound I get is the amplification I use . My F6 is truly world class and really makes them sing . 15 - 20 watts will drive them nicely . I am presently modding my CJ Classic 60 slightly . We shall see if it will best the F6 , I highly doubt it will . Cheers to all .

 

[shadyJ]

The design of the Enzo looks eccentric and perhaps problematic, but it is relatively sober next to these monstrosities from Tekton.

 

[lukesky518]

As little as 5 years ago I would have dismissed these speakers as too weird and not "audiophile" looking. Those " monstrosities" as well as the Di monitors just got rave reviews , they actually listened to them before they gave their opinion , a novel idea .

 

[Beave]

What speakers don't get rave reviews in magazines?

 

[Swerd]

What speakers don't get rave reviews in magazines?

The only speakers that don't get rave reviews are speakers that don't get reviewed.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Stereophile once did an editorial on the topic of bad reviews, and felt they had little value, so they wouldn't publish them. While bad reviews are fun to read for some people, I tend to agree with the editorial. If there's a review it implies some positive value.

 

[lukesky518]

Irvrobinson .........Absolutely nailed it . When a speaker is reviewed ( and published ) it is conformation the product is viable . When the review says it's good for the money , it probably is . When the review says it is "disruptive" and better than speakers multiple of its price , it's time to pay attention .

 

[panteragstk]

It is possible for people that review speakers to be totally full of it.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Well, to be fair, the measurements of the Enzo isn't close to being the worst Stereophile has measured. With the exception of that -5dB dip at 2kHz, the Enzo is pretty flat from 200Hz-10kHz.

JA wrote:

"Overall, the Tekton Enzo XL measured much better than I was expecting, given its idiosyncratic design: three tweeters in a vertical array, two large-diameter (10") paper-cone woofers, and that lively enclosure."

https://www.stereophile.com/content/tekton-design-enzo-xl-loudspeaker-measurements

Look at this Zu speaker with a -17dB dip at 4kHz:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/zu-essence-loudspeaker-measurements

JA wrote:

"In many ways, the Zu Essence is an underachiever, measurement-wise. But the surprise for me, when I auditioned it in AD's room, was how much of its measured misbehavior was not too audible, other than the rolled-off highs and the lack of impact in the lower midrange. I suspect that Zu's designer has carefully balanced the individual aspects of the Essence's design so that the musical result is greater than the sum of its often disappointingly-measuring parts."


Or this Zu speaker with a -15dB dip at 6kHz:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/zu-audio-soul-supreme-loudspeaker-measurements

JA wrote:

"In fact, I enjoyed the afternoon I spent listening to the speakers in Herb's system. As with Zu Audio's Essence speaker, reviewed by Art Dudley in October 2009, Sean Casey appears to have carefully balanced the Soul Supreme's performance to sound more neutral than its measured behavior would suggest, allowing the listener to appreciate its high sensitivity and evenly balanced midrange."


Look at this Wilson Audio speaker with a -7dB dip around 3.5kHz:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-specialties-alexx-loudspeaker-measurements

Or this Wilson speaker with a -6dB dip from 2-4kHz:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-specialties-alexandria-xlf-loudspeaker-measurements

Or these other Wilsons:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-sasha-wp-loudspeaker-measurements

https://www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-sophia-series-3-loudspeaker-measurements

 

[<eargiant]

I have never listened to any of the Tekton speaker models but I have heard good things about them. Enough that I would be interested to audition them. How anyone can knock or praise a speaker they have never heard is beyond me.

I know of a guy that has owned a variety of very, very nice electronics and speakers. He has owned the Lores and now has the Pendragons. He says they are "freaking amazing" and "dynamic". In his opinion the Tektons are one of the best values out there. Another one of his favorites under $2k (albeit with a different sound signature) are the Salk Songtowers that he has also owned .

Along with the Tekton Pendragons he also currently owns the Philharmonic 3's. Go figure...

 

[lukesky518]

AcuDefTechGuy ......another well thought out response . Measurements can tell you a speakers' character , only an educated ear can tell if its great or not ....... <eargiant .....Sounds like you and your friend have this figured out also . There are all different flavors of audio out there , enjoying all the flavors ( and finding the right one for you ) is the fun part . Cheers to all .