Amp and DAC for Tekton Lore

[jalbert300]

Hi,

I recently purchased a pair of Tekton Lores to build a system around. My current components are...

Rasperry Pi w/DigiOne > Schiit Modi3 > Vista Audio Countour (basically a buffer) > Schiit Saga > Vista Spark > Tekton Lore

As is it sounds decent, although my room requires acoustic treatment. Imaging is great, sound stage is good, tone is good, slightly sweet id say. All thats good...

What i feel im lacking is some power. Ive got a Emotiva A300 100w amp and i really like how it feels more in control, but def lacking in tone compared to Spark.

Another thing is id def like to simplify. What i have has just been my beginning exploration of audio equipment without spending to much.

Im picturing an analog only integrated with 60 - 150 watts. A separate high quality DAC. And maybe an upgraded streamer, although maybe the raspberry pi is fine if using good power supply?

Oh, i also use Roon with a Core NUC setup, and strictly stream Tidal. So part of me feels i should get something MQA capable.

Oh (lol), i also have a Audiolab 6000CDT and would like to build the n my cd collection.

This system also acts as 2 channel "home theatre" stystem. In all honesty, the system will be playing the news half the time. lol

So, things im looking for. Power (control and strong bass), clarity with smoothness/warmness. System must at min have remote controls for digital input, volume, and mute. Again, prefer seperate dac, but if im being stubborn on that tell me.

things that have caught my attention so far... and to give u idea of budget, which is not terribly limited. In no particular order...

Denafrips Pontus DAC
Schiit Ragnarok 2
Rotel A14 mkii
Schiit Bifrost
Schiit Aegir or Vidar
Schiit Freya +
Audiolab 8300A
Audiolab 6000A
Cambridge 81X
Cambridge Azur 851A
Dayens Menuetto and Ecstasy iii
Peachtree Nova 300 or 500A

couple pics

Box

app.box.com

well thats a long post, if u made it this far and would like to offer ur opinion for what i should buy to feed my Lores (which i love) then much appreciated!!!

Cheers!

 

[Paul DS]

Hi,

I recently purchased a pair of Tekton Lores to build a system around. My current components are...

Rasperry Pi w/DigiOne > Schiit Modi3 > Vista Audio Countour (basically a buffer) > Schiit Saga > Vista Spark > Tekton Lore

As is it sounds decent, although my room requires acoustic treatment. Imaging is great, sound stage is good, tone is good, slightly sweet id say. All thats good...

What i feel im lacking is some power. Ive got a Emotiva A300 100w amp and i really like how it feels more in control, but def lacking in tone compared to Spark.

Another thing is id def like to simplify. What i have has just been my beginning exploration of audio equipment without spending to much.

Im picturing an analog only integrated with 60 - 150 watts. A separate high quality DAC. And maybe an upgraded streamer, although maybe the raspberry pi is fine if using good power supply?

Oh, i also use Roon with a Core NUC setup, and strictly stream Tidal. So part of me feels i should get something MQA capable.

Oh (lol), i also have a Audiolab 6000CDT and would like to build the n my cd collection.

This system also acts as 2 channel "home theatre" stystem. In all honesty, the system will be playing the news half the time. lol

So, things im looking for. Power (control and strong bass), clarity with smoothness/warmness. System must at min have remote controls for digital input, volume, and mute. Again, prefer seperate dac, but if im being stubborn on that tell me.

things that have caught my attention so far... and to give u idea of budget, which is not terribly limited. In no particular order...

Denafrips Pontus DAC
Schiit Ragnarok 2
Rotel A14 mkii
Schiit Bifrost
Schiit Aegir or Vidar
Schiit Freya +
Audiolab 8300A
Audiolab 6000A
Cambridge 81X
Cambridge Azur 851A
Dayens Menuetto and Ecstasy iii
Peachtree Nova 300 or 500A

couple pics

Box

app.box.com

well thats a long post, if u made it this far and would like to offer ur opinion for what i should buy to feed my Lores (which i love) then much appreciated!!!

Cheers!

Your Lores require very little amplifier power. Any name brand receiver will be more than enough power. If you need more base, simply add a powered sub. I currently run a set of Tekton Double Impacts with a Denon AVRX4700H receiver and powered subs. I run the Tektons full frequency along with the powered subs. The system has more than enough powerer to play far louder than I would ever care to listen to.

 

[jalbert300]

thanks Paul, so i have an Emotiva A300 2 channel power amp, and when using that i get the bass control im looking for, just looses tone quality though. I suspect an AVR would be similar in the sense tone quality would suffer.

Looking to add more power while retaining if not improving the tone over existing setup

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I don't get what you mean by "too sweet" and lose "tone quality".

Is the SQ not Crystal Clear? The sound feels "congested" or "compressed"?

Is it too much treble? Too much muddy boomy bass?

If your speakers (which are supposed to be very sensitive and don't need much power) actually need more power, then you might as well get at least 200 WPC, not 60W or even 150W. But I think the consensus is that your Tekton speakers don't need more power.

External DACs won't do anything for SQ. Don't waste your money.

Most of the time, what people need are good AVR's (built-in DAC, Preamp and Amps).

 

[jalbert300]

by sweet i mean a smoothness or warmess to the sound. For example, right now if i listen to "New Age" by Velvet Underground, with the Vista Spark, Lou Reeds voice is just plain smooth and has this "tone" about it. If i hook up the Emotiva for that song then his voice absolutely looses that "tonal" quality i describe above. Its just flatter and harder on the ears.

I suppose if u think all amps are the same then the conversation is over, lol. no offense, injust have compared enough to know it makes a difference to me

 

[Pogre]

thanks Paul, so i have an Emotiva A300 2 channel power amp, and when using that i get the bass control im looking for, just looses tone quality though. I suspect an AVR would be similar in the sense tone quality would suffer.

Looking to add more power while retaining if not improving the tone over existing setup

I suspect if you were blindfolded and didn't know which was which in a leveled comparison you wouldn't be able to hear the difference.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

by sweet i mean a smoothness or warmess to the sound. For example, right now if i listen to "New Age" by Velvet Underground, with the Vista Spark, Lou Reeds voice is just plain smooth and has this "tone" about it. If i hook up the Emotiva for that song then his voice absolutely looses that "tonal" quality i describe above. Its just flatter and harder on the ears.

I suppose if u think all amps are the same then the conversation is over, lol. no offense, injust have compared enough to know it makes a difference to me

Well, this is YOUR thread, your Matrix , so we're not gonna care what I think about amps.

Besides, I don't even want to debate or argue about amps anymore. There's no point. It goes round and round.

So....the problem is the Emotiva amp?

Because using the Emotiva amp destroys that sweetness tone for you (flatter and harsher)?

You could get those Integrated amps with built-in DAC or just get an AVR like most people. But there is no guarantee how it sounds to YOUR MIND.

 

[lovinthehd]

I can't imagine a tonal difference between those amps but I don't have much imagination with amps after using so many as I have with several different systems in several different rooms....it wasn't the amps being different in my experience.

 

[jalbert300]

ok, so i guess thats the first question right, does any of it make any difference so long as u have the features and proper specs. In that case i should be looking for conveinence over anything else. Thats what im getting from the feedback.

So perhaps it is in my head. So, i have a few diff systems and will do a few blind tests and report back. Should be interesting. Ill do my best ensure level matching.

I feel like if in reality none of it matters that much then great! Id love to just get someone simple and just enjoy In that case i like the Audiolab 6000A to match my 6000CDT

 

[Paul DS]

thanks Paul, so i have an Emotiva A300 2 channel power amp, and when using that i get the bass control im looking for, just looses tone quality though. I suspect an AVR would be similar in the sense tone quality would suffer.

Looking to add more power while retaining if not improving the tone over existing setup

A 100 watt or more receiver will give you all the power you want plus many options to tune the sound into whatever pleases you most. An amplifier only amplifies.

 

[lovinthehd]

ok, so i guess thats the first question right, does any of it make any difference so long as u have the features and proper specs. In that case i should be looking for conveinence over anything else. Thats what im getting from the feedback.

So perhaps it is in my head. So, i have a few diff systems and will do a few blind tests and report back. Should be interesting. Ill do my best ensure level matching.

I feel like if in reality none of it matters that much then great! Id love to just get someone simple and just enjoy In that case i like the Audiolab 6000A to match my 6000CDT

I'd definitely put features at the top of my list of importance, right up there with connectivity and convienence in use for any dac/pre-amp. If the amp is sufficient for the speakers, and I'd think your Emotiva is, I'd play around more with other things (placement/room or just speakers altogether) long before changing amp out. Aesthetics/matching towards the bottom of the list.

 

[jalbert300]

ok, this doesnt count , but just did a non blind compare with Vista Spark (AB 20 ish watts) vs Orb Audio Booster (D 20ish watts).

No comparison here, Spark blows Orb out of water. I guess its distortion with Orb, i had to turn it down and still an edgyness in upper frequencies.

I will be suprised if i cant pick that out in blind test.

Ok, now gonna compare Vista against Emotiva

 

[jalbert300]

here is the test setup, Spark vs A300. Now i need to enlist a willing neighboor and prob should do some sound level matching

 

[lovinthehd]

How are you going to compare so you can quickly switch? One on each channel in mono? Volume level matching via measuring spl or voltage? How blind?

 

[jalbert300]

 

[jalbert300]

ok thats my crazy AB setup

got it so i can AB amp vs amp, or amp vs amp with "effects chain" basically either the Vista Contour or the DarkVoice tube preamp, or both if i rewire.

I def need to do some good level matching first, then enlist a freind.

Fun stuff and pretty much utilizing all the little peices ive purchased over last few years.

Ill say this, ive listened to all scenarios and all sound good. Lets see if i have a preference or can identify certain scenarios blind

‍‍‍‍

 

[lovinthehd]

ok thats my crazy AB setup

got it so i can AB amp vs amp, or amp vs amp with "effects chain" basically either the Vista Contour or the DarkVoice tube preamp, or both if i rewire.

I def need to do some good level matching first, then enlist a freind.

Fun stuff and pretty much utilizing all the little peices ive purchased over last few years.

Ill say this, ive listened to all scenarios and all sound good. Lets see if i have a preference or can identify certain scenarios blind

‍♂‍♂‍♂‍♂

Good luck. Me, I'd rather just listen to the music rather than the gear....

 

[Eppie]

Thought I would mention not to concern yourself too much with MQA. Do some research or watch this video by GoldenSound. MQA is lossey and worse than flac. I hope it dies the slow horrible death that it deserves. Stick with flac and if Tidal insists on their crusade to replace flac with MQA, I would seriously consider other options.

 

[jalbert300]

Good luck. Me, I'd rather just listen to the music rather than the gear....

yep, to each their own. I find it fun experimenting and trying to sharpen my blade

 

[lovinthehd]

yep, to each their own. I find it fun experimenting and trying to sharpen my blade

Been there done that. Just generally found trying to pick certain combos of electronics wasn't worth the time.