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Post by Cogito on May 20, 2017 16:20:44 GMT -5
There is a $20k pendragon now! There seems to be a new Tekton every other week now. Maybe it's just me, but I would think it would take a considerable amount of time to properly design a speaker system. Everything from driver selection to enclosure/crossover design and tweaking are typically time consuming endeavors for manufacturers. It just makes me wonder how much engineering is really involved with their designs. |
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Post by Boomzilla on May 21, 2017 4:19:12 GMT -5
Once you have a recipe that works, modifying the same recipe for different flavors isn't too much extra work required.
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Post by milsap195 on May 21, 2017 8:59:59 GMT -5
Once you have a recipe that works, modifying the same recipe for different flavors isn't too much extra work required. $18000 for voicing and crossover changes??? |
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Post by Boomzilla on May 21, 2017 9:57:51 GMT -5
I'm not trying to defend pricing...
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Post by pedrocols on May 21, 2017 12:09:08 GMT -5
Once you have a recipe that works, modifying the same recipe for different flavors isn't too much extra work required. $18000 for voicing and crossover changes??? Eric must have discovered there are a lot of folks out there with very deep pockets...  |
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Post by tektondesign on May 21, 2017 12:52:46 GMT -5
Anyone that knows me personally will attest to the fact that I practically live at the shop and have for years now - all of this is a ton of work.
The origination of the PMD line is a funny story and anyone wanting to know the history can call me to get it. The PMD Pendragon is an entirely different loudspeaker using premium parts throughout. The tweeters are the only interchanged parts between the two models and this too will change within a month as new PMD tweeters have been produced. Knowing first-hand the models that exist in the $20K-$30K price point I'm confident the PMD Pendragon will hold their own upon comparison.
We are happy producing truly affordable hi-fi speaker systems and will continue to do so. However, this will not prohibit us from producing higher priced speakers.
Eric Alexander - designer
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Post by Mark on May 21, 2017 13:06:22 GMT -5
Anyone that knows me personally will attest to the fact that I practically live at the shop and have for years now - all of this is a ton of work. The origination of the PMD line is a funny story and anyone wanting to know the history can call me to get it. The PMD Pendragon is an entirely different loudspeaker using premium parts throughout. The tweeters are the only interchanged parts between the two models and this too will change within a month as new PMD tweeters have been produced. Knowing first-hand the models that exist in the $20K-$30K price point I'm confident the PMD Pendragon will hold their own upon comparison. We are happy producing truly affordable hi-fi speaker systems and will continue to do so. However, this will not prohibit us from producing higher priced speakers. Eric Alexander - designer Welcome Eric! You make a great speaker and as you can tell from all the conversation on the Emotiva board more and more people are jumping on the Tekton band wagon. Keep up the great work Mark |
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Post by tektondesign on May 21, 2017 13:10:01 GMT -5
Thanks, Mark!
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Post by Mark on May 21, 2017 13:16:24 GMT -5
People don't understand what you do until they talk to you and more importantly experience the sound of a Tekton in a room. You can knock anything you don't understand because its easy. It's hard to take the time to experience something personally and then provide an opinion. Boom wrote a great article about his Pendragons on Secrets. He has more of an ear for audio than I ever will yet people still question what he said / heard. You keep doing what is making you successful, those of us that own Tekton's are proud to say we own Tekton's! Thank you for taking the time to talk me thru my set-up and customizing my surrounds to fit my environment. People that hear my room can't believe the sound and the SIZE of the speakers. I love it. |
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Post by Darksky on May 22, 2017 0:50:40 GMT -5
I believe "Straight from the horse's mouth" is the phrase.
Eric, I (among many) am thrilled that you have joined our community. Please make yourself at home, the members here are very welcoming. Your products are renowned and regaled by several of our trusted regulars.
BDM
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Post by vneal on May 22, 2017 7:51:24 GMT -5
Anyone that knows me personally will attest to the fact that I practically live at the shop and have for years now - all of this is a ton of work. The origination of the PMD line is a funny story and anyone wanting to know the history can call me to get it. The PMD Pendragon is an entirely different loudspeaker using premium parts throughout. The tweeters are the only interchanged parts between the two models and this too will change within a month as new PMD tweeters have been produced. Knowing first-hand the models that exist in the $20K-$30K price point I'm confident the PMD Pendragon will hold their own upon comparison. We are happy producing truly affordable hi-fi speaker systems and will continue to do so. However, this will not prohibit us from producing higher priced speakers. Eric Alexander - designer Welcome. I am considering your speakers for a second system. As yet have never heard any of the models. Why no reviews in the big journals? Stereophile or Absolute Sound |
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Post by pawsman on May 22, 2017 10:07:34 GMT -5
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Masif
Minor Hero
Posts: 35 
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Post by Masif on May 22, 2017 15:05:04 GMT -5
Anyone that knows me personally will attest to the fact that I practically live at the shop and have for years now - all of this is a ton of work. The origination of the PMD line is a funny story and anyone wanting to know the history can call me to get it. The PMD Pendragon is an entirely different loudspeaker using premium parts throughout. The tweeters are the only interchanged parts between the two models and this too will change within a month as new PMD tweeters have been produced. Knowing first-hand the models that exist in the $20K-$30K price point I'm confident the PMD Pendragon will hold their own upon comparison. We are happy producing truly affordable hi-fi speaker systems and will continue to do so. However, this will not prohibit us from producing higher priced speakers. Eric Alexander - designer Welcome Eric, thanks for joining emotiva lounge. Is there any place where we can demo your speakers (Pendragons/Double Impact)? |
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Post by Mr Perez on May 24, 2017 23:25:36 GMT -5
Anyone that knows me personally will attest to the fact that I practically live at the shop and have for years now - all of this is a ton of work. The origination of the PMD line is a funny story and anyone wanting to know the history can call me to get it. The PMD Pendragon is an entirely different loudspeaker using premium parts throughout. The tweeters are the only interchanged parts between the two models and this too will change within a month as new PMD tweeters have been produced. Knowing first-hand the models that exist in the $20K-$30K price point I'm confident the PMD Pendragon will hold their own upon comparison. We are happy producing truly affordable hi-fi speaker systems and will continue to do so. However, this will not prohibit us from producing higher priced speakers. Eric Alexander - designer Welcome Eric, thanks for joining emotiva lounge. Is there any place where we can demo your speakers (Pendragons/Double Impact)? As far as I know the only place Eric allowed his speaker to be demoed and sold was at a hi end AV store in utah called Argenta. Unless he allows for other places to demo...other than Argenta you have to go to Eric's shop |
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Post by pawsman on May 25, 2017 6:30:56 GMT -5
Welcome Eric, thanks for joining emotiva lounge. Is there any place where we can demo your speakers (Pendragons/Double Impact)? As far as I know the only place Eric allowed his speaker to be demoed and sold was at a hi end AV store in utah called Argenta. Unless he allows for other places to demo...other than Argenta you have to go to Eric's shop According to the Tekton website Eric will be at the L.A. Audio Show (June 2-4), Room 533, with the Double Impact towers. I don't know what other speakers he'll be demonstrating- pawsman |
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Post by Boomzilla on May 29, 2017 21:58:56 GMT -5
And a question for Tekton owners:
Has anyone tried restricting the ports on their Tekton speakers? I have the 10" Pendragons, and they have (in my room) a +5 dB peak centered around 34 Hz. If I use equalization to tame the peak, all the sub-30 Hz. output goes away too. I want to preserve my 25 Hz. output while taming that peak.
I've read online that some manufacturers encourage the use of port-plugs or else stuffing polyester batting into the ports to smooth bass response & extend low frequency extension. Has anyone tried this with Tekton speakers?
Did it work?
Thanks - Boom-less-zilla
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Masif
Minor Hero
Posts: 35
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Post by Masif on Jun 2, 2017 8:16:07 GMT -5
I received my pair of DI’s without grills. I got a reply from Tekton that grills are in backlog and will take sometime to receive them. Meanwhile are there any cloth covers/socks available in market which I can use till I receive grills?
In my opinion these are big speakers, bigger and heavier than I expected. For convenience purpose instead of spikes can we use wheels, any ideas?
Very important question: Is there any break-in period for DIs?
I connected DI to my Emotiva Power amplifier/ XMC-1, my present listening position is at 10’ and i’m trying to set the levels for these towers. My radioshack SPL meter measures 80db at bottom db level (-12db) in XMC-1 (i’m using 75spl huss noise in XMC-1 to set levels and the range is -12db ~ +12db)
I am a newbie please correct me if i’m doing something wrong.
Thanks
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Post by pawsman on Jun 2, 2017 8:47:29 GMT -5
Congratulations on the receiving the Double Impacts; we'd love to see pics, and a review when they're broken in.
I've heard that Herbie's Audio Lab Fat Dots work well for speaker support, though I've never used them-
pawsman
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2017 10:13:08 GMT -5
I received my FedEx tracking info e-mail from Tekton Designs on my Pendragon grilles. It is showing tentatively it will be delivered on Thur Jun 8th. There is finally some light at the end of the tunnel. I look forward to setting up the speakers next weekend.
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 4, 2017 13:35:07 GMT -5
Were I to criticize anything (much) about Tekton, their grills would be it. They're structured of square wooden stock with the cloth stretched over the frame. Yes, they can look OK, but without contouring of the inner grill, there's got to be some serious diffraction going on underneath. Tekton cared enough to chamfer the speaker boxes themselves for diffraction control - Why not deal with grill diffraction?
Do they assume that anyone wanting to listen with grills on doesn't care about imaging? If that were the case, why would the customer buy Tekton speakers in the first place?
The stated reason that Tekton doesn't use magnetic grills is that Eric and his audio buddy were listening to some other brand of (expensive) speaker at ungodly levels, and the magnetic grills shook themselves off the speakers. Personally, I don't think that this should automatically disqualify magnetic grills, but it's Eric's choice, not mine.
But I would not be averse to listening to my Pendragons with grills on IF those grills didn't mess up the imaging. The current grills certainly have that potential, so I generally listen sans grills.
My second Tekton gripe would be the bass frequency response. Eric apparently believes in "voicing" his speakers by ear and declines to publish frequency (or impedance) curves. Fine. You either like the sound of the speakers or you don't. It just so happens that I do (mostly), but occasionally I want to modify the response a bit. Not so much as in "this particular song needs a bit more midrange" but more along the lines of "the speakers image best in this location, but when I put them there, they have a +5dB peak in the bass @ 35 Hz."
That peak is low enough in frequency that if I use a parametric equalizer to bring down the bump, I also lose any deeper bass response (that I'd like to keep). Without equalization, the speakers can have some output at 25 Hz., but if the 35 Hz. peak is smoothed out, the bass rolls off completely from 35 Hz. on down, and there's nothing left down there.
My most likely "fix" will be to apply a very steep high-pass filter to the Pendragons (either 18 or 24 dB / octave) at about 70 to 80 Hz. and to use subwoofers beneath. This is feasible for me because I happen to have two muscular subs laying around. Most folks won't be that lucky and will either have to live with the 35 Hz. bump (if it exists in their room as it does in mine) or else forego low bass. OTOH, some may well just love that 35 Hz. peak because it makes their home audio system sound "like my car stereo, man..."
My third (and last) Tekton gripe has to do with the crossover area. Where the 10" woofers cross over to the trio of tweeters, there may be (and may not be) a small treble peak. Again - on some music this isn't too bothersome, but on some music, it can sound slightly shrill. I'm suspecting that this shrillness IS actually the speakers and not the amplification because it is pretty consistent regardless of amplifier used (Emotiva A-300, Lyngdorf Class-D, VTA ST-120 tube amp, or Heathkit mono tube amps). This, however, I can tame with parametric equalization once I identify the exact frequency range.
To that end, I have a calibrated UMIK-1 USB microphone on order and I have REW installed on my MacBook Pro.
And so that's it. All of my Tekton Pendragon "gripes" in one swell foop. Of course, I'm a frigging perfectionista, and the vast majority of Pendragon owners are pleased as punch with the speakers as delivered. Each to their own.
Overall, I still consider the Pendragons an amazing value, and recommend them highly.
Boomzilla
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