tekton - the next big thing?

[templemaners]

Thats what i was thinking wondering if that would help the pendragons but then again if a speaker is that good no modifcations should be necessary.

The bold is correct.

Just looking at other options to improve what the pendragons could be lacking hmmmm, highs were good the lows were good just the mid section is what we have read laid back needs more detail.

Re-read the first statement that you made. You shouldn't need to improve the speakers on your own - to do so would indicate that a.) they didn't really design the speaker well as a whole or b.) the design compromises that they chose are not well suited to what you are looking for.

And I would argue, if a manufacturer can't get the midrange correct or to your liking, they aren't worth your money.

 

[jcl]

would this improve the pendragons over all sound again this is an add on but again i have read many thing sabout them, but i do not know anyone who has used them.

Townshend Audio Maximum Super Tweeters

Tannoy SuperTweeter™ will transform any sound system, creating the effect of a quantum leap upgrade in the sound quality of speakers, A SuperTweeter™ is a small high frequency drive unit. TANNOY Dimension DC, 24 Karat Gold Trim Detail, Dual Concentri

So you are looking to improve the speakers before you even have them? Something isn't right here.

Supertweeters? Don't drink that cool aid! You would be far better off investing in some room treatments or a better (or second) sub, or just better speakers in the first place.

If you want big speakers there are plenty out there under $2500. You are lucky to have the option. I have the opposite problem and need small towers to fit in my family room. Defying the laws of physics on a budget isn't easy.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The best part of the Townshend super tweeter:

The Maximum Supertweeters enhance the bass, mid and treble.

WHAT?

You could have saved a ton of money that you spent on your Funk 18.0's if you just got some bass enhancing super tweeters instead!

Not only does the SuperTweeter enhances the bass and midrange, it also cures depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. Heck, your mental health insurance may pay for them.

 

[ski2xblack]

And I would argue, if a manufacturer can't get the midrange correct or to your liking, they aren't worth your money.

QFT. Music lives in the midrange.

 

[whasaaaab]

I can hear about 18K or so on the WinISD signal generator with my $30 computer speakers. Wildly scientific I know .

The best part of the Townshend super tweeter:

The Maximum Supertweeters enhance the bass, mid and treble.

WHAT?

You could have saved a ton of money that you spent on your Funk 18.0's if you just got some bass enhancing super tweeters instead!

LOL classic!!!!!

 

[whasaaaab]

So you are looking to improve the speakers before you even have them? Something isn't right here.

Supertweeters? Don't drink that cool aid! You would be far better off investing in some room treatments or a better (or second) sub, or just better speakers in the first place.

If you want big speakers there are plenty out there under $2500. You are lucky to have the option. I have the opposite problem and need small towers to fit in my family room. Defying the laws of physics on a budget isn't easy.

I have not found any large speakers for that price that are good and compare to the more exspensive ones. I have a budget of about $4000 i i want to spend less after the discount.

Any speaker costing $8000 would be a start i know of a couple good ones which would bring me down to about 4grand or so, but i want to spend less.

Then there are monitor audios new GX300 i have not heard them but all i a m hearing are good things about them that would bring me to about $2100 for them yep i have a great hook up.

if possible name some that i can check out.

 

[ski2xblack]

How about the Soundfield Overtures? They are even positively reviewed by your most trusted source 'parttimeaudiopiophile' here.

 

[GranteedEV]

How about the Soundfield Overtures? They are even positively reviewed by your most trusted source 'parttimeaudiopiophile' here.

+1 now there is a speaker made with good fundamental design principles. May be over his price range though.

For large, capable speakers under $3,000 I would recommend the Pi Speakers 3Pi and JBL LSR6332. These will measure and thus sound much more accurate and resolving that the Tektons, while also having a wider sweet spot.

 

[ousooner2]

How about the Soundfield Overtures? They are even positively reviewed by your most trusted source 'parttimeaudiopiophile' here.

"It’s more awesome than a monkey wearing a tuxedo made out of bacon riding a cyborg unicorn with a light saber for the horn on the tip of a Space Shuttle closing in on Mars while engulfed in flames. And in case you didn’t know, that’s pretty dang sweet."

lol

 

[Swerd]

… I do listen to a lot of music, and i kjnow my RS8's are lacking especially when i am listening to SACD's (symphonies) or classical the tweeters just cant handle it.

If i can get big main speakers that sound smooth and can handle classical and symphonies my wife will be happy. Intern i can get more audio

I believe that's the first time you mentioned that listen to classical music. You mentioned earlier that you now have Monitor Audio speakers. What model are they, and what is it about them that sounds wrong to you?

It's been a while since I heard any Monitor Audio speakers, but I remember them sounding very detailed and somewhat brighter than neutral, certainly not warm. They had somewhat of an "etched" or "brittle" sound. But they didn't lack for mid range. The model I heard was the top of the Silver series. I heard them in a store for no more than 15 to 30 minutes.

I haven't heard the Pendragons that you have such an itch for, but I have heard Zu Omens. I didn't hear classical music with them, bu I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like them with that. They also had a very big hole in the mid range.

If you are used to listening to classical music on Monitor Audio speakers (at least the MA speakers I remember from several years ago), then I am fairly certain you won't like classical music on the Zu speakers, and if I am guessing correctly about the Pendragons, you won't like classical on them either.

It seems like the Pendragon hook is set deeply in your mouth. What made you so hot for them?

Others here have pretty well covered the bi-wire terminals (they're harmless but it's not worth paying a premium for them), exotic capacitors (I'll stick to my guns on this, they work and sound no different than other capacitors that cost 100 times less, despite what others say), and super tweeters (there is very little musical content is in the 10 to 20 kHz range and few people hear well above 16-18 kHz). These audiophile baubles are basically "Bells & Whistles" that can't help a speaker that fails in the mid range. Of course, they do help the profit margin of the seller.

If you really like classical music, then you should be seeking speakers that have as flat a frequency response as possible.

 

[NewHTbuyer]

I have read this forum and learned alot about full range speakers. Interesting discussion. I wonder, are the criticisms directed at the Pendragon specific for that model or all single driver speakers?

I ran across these:

Audiophile Tube Amps and Tube Gear from DECWARE

They seem to address many of the issues brought up in this thread if you read the text at the bottom of the page.

I will, in the next few months, probably be looking for a new set of towers in the $1,500-2,000 range. I am interested in comparing different types of speakers in my house, including one that is a full range design. My original target was the Tekton Lore-S. Of the full range designs out there, which would you guy recommend? Tekton? Zu? Decware? Any others? Skip alltogether and just get the Salk Songtowers?

Thanks.

 

[ski2xblack]

I have read this forum and learned alot about full range speakers. Interesting discussion. I wonder, are the criticisms directed at the Pendragon specific for that model or all single driver speakers?

Tekton? Zu? Decware? Any others? Skip alltogether and just get the Salk Songtowers?

Thanks.

Whatever charms they have, and they do have them, are actually probably more of an endictment of passive crossovers more than support for trying to cover 20-20kHz using a single driver. Genuinely good wide banders tend to be rather expensive drivers, and the Eminence, Silver Flutes, and such used in these deviant speakers are far from that category.

 

[whasaaaab]

I believe that's the first time you mentioned that listen to classical music. You mentioned earlier that you now have Monitor Audio speakers. What model are they, and what is it about them that sounds wrong to you?

It's been a while since I heard any Monitor Audio speakers, but I remember them sounding very detailed and somewhat brighter than neutral, certainly not warm. They had somewhat of an "etched" or "brittle" sound. But they didn't lack for mid range. The model I heard was the top of the Silver series. I heard them in a store for no more than 15 to 30 minutes.

I haven't heard the Pendragons that you have such an itch for, but I have heard Zu Omens. I didn't hear classical music with them, bu I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like them with that. They also had a very big hole in the mid range.

If you are used to listening to classical music on Monitor Audio speakers (at least the MA speakers I remember from several years ago), then I am fairly certain you won't like classical music on the Zu speakers, and if I am guessing correctly about the Pendragons, you won't like classical on them either.

It seems like the Pendragon hook is set deeply in your mouth. What made you so hot for them?

Others here have pretty well covered the bi-wire terminals (they're harmless but it's not worth paying a premium for them), exotic capacitors (I'll stick to my guns on this, they work and sound no different than other capacitors that cost 100 times less, despite what others say), and super tweeters (there is very little musical content is in the 10 to 20 kHz range and few people hear well above 16-18 kHz). These audiophile baubles are basically "Bells & Whistles" that can't help a speaker that fails in the mid range. Of course, they do help the profit margin of the seller.

If you really like classical music, then you should be seeking speakers that have as flat a frequency response as possible.

The size is really what has me for the pendragons, i have always wanted big speakers that play amazing but with out the high price.

My monitor audios RS8's sound amazing with music, but sometimes when i listen to lets say dvorak SACD theres certain intrusments when played loud sounds like the tweeter really cant handle them theres a fuzzy sound. When the MA PL300 played SACD orchestra music it handled the high notes well no noise just crisp and clear.

I even had my tweeters replace for free of course to see if they were the problem, but they were not. My wife loves classical so i need speakers that play that and movies well.

I know i can just go out and buy paradigm sig8's or PL300 but i am just look for something different i guess, but big when people com eover they say wow those are big speakers, i have a big base ball and my speakers look small now

Now I am sure with the new RX or GX line with ribbon tweeters that solves the problem

 

[cschang]

Now I am sure with the new RX or GX line with ribbon tweeters that solves the problem

Don't be so sure of that. Just like any other tweeter type, there are good and bad ones. In fact, there are not many ribbons that sound good to me.

 

[gtpsuper24]

Don't be so sure of that. Just like any other tweeter type, there are good and bad ones. In fact, there are not many ribbons that sound good to me.

If you ever get the chance, try out a pair of the Arx speakers. The planar ribbon is a very nice tweeter. After hearing those, I don't think I could ever go back to a dome tweeter again.

 

[whasaaaab]

I am compiling a list of speakers under $9000 when i am done i will ask about each one, reviews are good, of course i will have to try and listen to the ones i have not heard.

Maybe by then the pendragons will have measurements or a better model out lol

 

[cschang]

If you ever get the chance, try out a pair of the Arx speakers. The planar ribbon is a very nice tweeter. After hearing those, I don't think I could ever go back to a dome tweeter again.

Will do.

After hearing so many tweeters/speakers, I don't think I would ever make a blanket statement like that...especially since there are so many variables.

 

[gtpsuper24]

Will do.

After hearing so many tweeters/speakers, I don't think I would ever make a blanket statement like that...especially since there are so many variables.

and blanket statement would be what? That I said "i dont think I could go back to domes again" ?

And thats a blanket statement how?

Its the same kind of statement someone would make who likes big dynamic pro hometheater speakers saying they would probably never go with small hifi 2way bookshelf for HT.

The planars have been great and i'm more than pleased with their performance, so in the future I will probably look for similar performance, like a more expensive higher end planar speaker.

 

[Swerd]

My monitor audios RS8's sound amazing with music, but sometimes when i listen to lets say dvorak SACD theres certain intrusments when played loud sounds like the tweeter really cant handle them theres a fuzzy sound. When the MA PL300 played SACD orchestra music it handled the high notes well no noise just crisp and clear.

I even had my tweeters replace for free of course to see if they were the problem, but they were not. My wife loves classical so i need speakers that play that and movies well.

That may not be the tweeter even though it sounds like that fuzzy sound is high pitched.

It sounds to me as if it could be woofer break up noise. I haven't heard these speakers so this is only an educated guess. But I've encountered it before in other speakers. Most people who hear this noise blame the tweeter when it really is coming from the woofer.

Every woofer makes some harsh sounding noise at higher frequencies. It comes when the woofer cone stops moving as a single piston, and starts to vibrate irregularly in different regions of the cone, and is called break up. Noise can also occur when a resonance develops between the cone material and the rubber surround, and this also occurs at high frequencies.

Metal woofers, as in the Monitor Audios, have been known to make especially noticeable break up noise. It's the job of the crossover to suppress break up noise, but I can think of more than a few examples that don't succeed at that.

If you go back to some earlier posts in this thread, I warned against that possibility with the Pendragons. Those 10" paper woofers will go into break up at a much lower frequency than the smaller metal MA woofers. However, paper woofers often don't sound as harsh as metal ones do when they go into break up. Generalizing can quickly get wrong. Suffice it to say, you should never hear a woofer in break up mode.

All this comes down to the crossover. The speaker designer must know at what frequency to cross over a woofer to avoid break up noise, while still maintaining a wide dispersion of sound. Then the designer must select a tweeter than can go low enough to blend well with the woofer. Its not a simple matter.

 

[cschang]

and blanket statement would be what? That I said "i dont think I could go back to domes again" ?

And thats a blanket statement how?

Its the same kind of statement someone would make who likes big dynamic pro hometheater speakers saying they would probably never go with small hifi 2way bookshelf for HT.

The planars have been great and i'm more than pleased with their performance, so in the future I will probably look for similar performance, like a more expensive higher end planar speaker.

OK...I took it the wrong way, sorry. I don't think it is the same as your analogy.