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| Model: | Lore |
| Category: | Speakers |
| Suggested Retail Price: | $1200 |
| Description: | Floor standing loud speakers |
| Manufacturer URL: | Tekton Design |
| Review by jaydacus on July 26, 2017 at 22:12:09 IP Address: 70.210.129.46 | Add Your Review for the Lore |
Lore review
I had been considering Tekton Speakers and about 7 years. I was originally considering the Pendragon, but I'm at a point in my life where I have less space and less to spend on audio equipment so the Lore made more sense. I read every review that I could find. There really aren't that many and the ones that do exist are glowing to the point of making me wonder if they were fake. I found a lot of for sale ads where the person selling the speakers loved them but "decided to go a different direction" which really made me wonder if these speakers were any good or not.
I finally decided to take the plunge a few months ago. They were like $1200 with grills and shipping. I figured at that price, what's the worst that could happen?
The buying experience....
This is something that has come up as a negative on many forums. I believe that Eric's strength is designing speakers, not customer service. My experience was better than many I had read about, but not without hizzards. The speakers took a couple of weeks longer to get to me than I had originally been lead to believe and the grills took several more weeks beyond that. There were semi believable excuses given for each delay that really made me question Eric's professionalism, but when all was said and done I would advise patience more than caution when ordering Tekton speakers. The way I look at it is that Eric could hire more people to build the speakers faster and office people to track the orders better, but the price and quality would suffer.
Unboxing.....
All of the web pictures in the world will not replace seeing something in real life. The speakers seemed exceptionally well built and had a certain "not made in China" look and feel to them. Real wood and paint that lost its fresh paint smell in 2 days, not 2 months. Smooth edges and corners that one has to see in person to truly appreciate.
How do they sound out of the box?.....
Fresh out of the box they really don't sound great. The high excursion speaker cones are stiff and take at least 50 hours at moderate volume to start loosening up. The sound, particularly in the low end, improves dramatically during the break in process. I had read about this in other reviews and was prepared not to pass judgement too soon. That said, I could hear great potential almost right away.
How do they sound after break in?.
Compared to Klipsch speakers that I have used for years, the Lores don't produce the jaw dropping imaging that Klipsch speakers sometimes produce. On the other hand they don't produce that shouty, harsh, "ice picks on your ear drums" sound that Klipsch speakers often produce either. The Lores have a pleasant "just right" type of sound that seems to transcend every genre and time period of music. They did seem to lack some detail compared to Klipsch speakers, but as I spent more time listening I began to actually hear fine details that I was previously missing. I realized that I was not able to hear these details over the shouty midrange horns.
Highs.. .
As previously mentioned the Lores do seem a little lacking in highs coming from years of using Klipsch speakers. I think the problem is that my ears have become used to the sound of a high efficiency compression driver shouting from a horn. No non horn tweeter will ever be able to compete, but that may be a good thing. While horn HF drivers produce incredible imaging at times, they are just as likely to produce harsh highs to the point of painful. The gold tweeters in the Lores actually do great highs that are never harsh or uncomfortable to listen to.
Mids...
This is one area that these speakers really shine. If you like the forward sounding midrange and clear sounding vocals that horns often produce, you might be pleasantly surprised. If you hate the shreaky, squaky, and painful sound that horns often produce, you might be pleasantly surprised. I don't know if it's the paper cone, the whizzer, the accordian surrounds, or the combination of these things, but these speakers produce a warm vintage sounding midrange with a clairty more common in modern speaker designs. They also work great for watching TV shows and movies. Virtually every other loudspeaker I have tried had a dip in the midrange, making dialogue difficult to hear. I'm guessing that the full range driver could be the secret.
Bass...
With a rated low frequently response of 30hz the Lores go lower than most modern speakers. That being said, they don't produce super loud bumpy bass. I would not accuse these speakers of lacking bass either. Even at relatively low volumes I can feel the sound. I read another review that describes the bass as "tuneful" and I would agree. I was surprised by was just how many different types of bass sounds there were in my music that I was not hearing before. The Lores seem to have a large "bass vocabulary"that does not include such profanity as "boomy" or "overpowering". Maybe this is another strength of the full range driver. It seems like it would be physically impossible for the speaker to play over it's self.
Sound staging and imaging....
I was familiar with the concept of a wide sound stage. I never quite understood what a deep soundstage was until a heard the Lores. Aside from being able to hear the placement of sounds from left to right, I can now also hear sounds from front to back. Sounds can be closer or farther away. I even hear sounds that seem to originate from behind the speakers. The speakers will often completely disappear on good recordings.
The imaging is not as "holographic" as what horn speakers sometimes produce, but the Lores do still produce a clear and coherent image without the harshness that horns more often produce. The "sweet spot" is somewhat small. The Lores sound good anywhere in the room, but dead center at a particular height from a particular distance sounds great. My room accustics and placement could be to blame.
Conclusions......
There are certainly better sounding speakers for more money. Tekton even offers better speakers for more money. If your budget is under $2000 I can't imagine what else, new or used, could beat the Lores in terms of build or sound quality. They have a flat frequently response and produce an open honest sound that will make hours of listening enjoyment melt away. They are able to walk the tight rope between boring and fatiguing and sound effortless doing it.
| Product Weakness: | Nothing to note at this price |
| Product Strengths: | Sound quality |
| Amplifier: | Silk Audio(Yaqin mc-13s) |
| Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | NA |
| Sources (CDP/Turntable): | Raspberry Pi/HIFIBerry with a linear ps and reclocker board |
| Speakers: | Tekton Lore |
| Cables/Interconnects: | Blue Jeans |
| Music Used (Genre/Selections): | Everything from heavy metal to Motown |
| Room Size (LxWxH): | 20 x 14 x 8 |
| Room Comments/Treatments: | NA |
| Time Period/Length of Audition: | 2 months |
| Other (Power Conditioner etc.): | NA |
| Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
| Your System (if other than home audition): | NA |
He actually yelled at me (customer) over trying to return a set that had been damaged by FedEx. His emotions are hanging by a thread obviously. That was about five years ago. I looked at his new site the other day and noticed he is taking all his products "upstream" with much higher prices. Good luck on that.
Well, he seems to have had a problem a few years back with his ex "kidnapping" his three children. I think, now, slack might be in order.
Liking my Lores more and more each day. Good that my pair arrived in perfect condition via FedEx.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
Got the Lores last week and am delighted.Background. I've been on a quest to like Klipsch speakers since the '60s. The only ones that appealed were the K-Horns in a 30X20X8 space. Something about that horn mid/tweeter. Sorry, Heresy lovers. I've really tried.
I agree with much of what you wrote. Being a jazz and classical snob, I listen to different music than yourself. I listened to the Mahler 2nd Symphony last night, Bernstein on DG CD. Wow! The dynamics were incredible and, yes, I am hearing detail that I've never heard before. Perhaps I'll write a "real" review later. It might be a little early(!) for too many conclusions.
I'm not familiar with your amp. The loudest I play music in my 19X11.5X9 room is in the low 90db's. Could you tell me about your amp, power, etc.? I'm thinking about low power tube amps but don't want to run out of juice.
I had pretty good communication with "Karma" at Tekton but am still waiting on my grills. No biggie. May not use them anyway.
Thanks for the write up and hope to hear more from you. Perhaps I'll post some impressions later if there's an interest.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
Edits: 07/27/17
My amp is basically the Yaqin MC-13S. There is a company on Ebay called silk audio that trades the capacitors for better ones sells it under their name. The don't offer the one I have anymore, but now have an newer version that has a different input stage and remote control. I may upgrade at some point.
The amp is rated at 40-52WPC depending on where you look. It's EL34 based so I just assume that about the first 25-30 watts is clean. It has a meter on the front so you have a pretty good idea when it is running out of gas. I don't have a way to measure exact DB. but I would estimate I normally listen between 10 and 60% of what the amp will do and that is pretty loud, but without distortion.
If you are normally listening between 10 and 60% of power output of that amp into the Lores, you are normally damaging your hearing.
If those Lores are 98dB at 1 Watt, then 4W per side will yield about 104dB at the listening seat (give or take). Being generous and assuming that is peak level and your decently recorded music has, say, 14dB of dynamic range, you are exposed to 90dB of noise, continuously (plus the peaks). So even with this very rough estimate you are at risk of some damage with about 2 hours of exposure. If you are listening to music without much dynamic range (very common now) continuous exposure would be more like > 95dB and your hearing is at risk after 15 to 30 minutes or so. A lot of people would find these levels (very) "loud" in a domestic setting.
Assuming a quality amplifier - one that does not need power to mitigate its sins - two Watts should be loud enough for most folks... and still capable of inflicting hearing damage over longer listening sessions. Personally, these days I prefer a system that does not need to be cranked... though I still turn it up on occasion.
Take care!
91.
"Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems to characterise our age." Albert Einstein
You're correct about how loud and damaging it would be. And it would be true if that speaker were closer to 90 dB efficient because 1 watt alone would be 90 dB which is dangerously loud long term. But I'd add that around 90 dB is probably the true efficiency of the Lore. There's no way a single, small driver can go down to 30 Hz and play 90 dB with 1 watt, much less 98 dB without horn loading and 30 Hz means a huge horn.
B102-8 (from a French site)
my B102s
Old B102 ooutdoors in fake Druid
indoors - old B102 vs new spec B102
Karlson Evangelist
Edits: 07/29/17
Good point. With most of the acoustic energy in much music being generated in the bass to lower mid frequencies, if a speaker is not efficient there, then it is not practically efficient.
Still, as you say, the risk of damage is high.
Cheers,
91.
"Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems to characterise our age." Albert Einstein
All very true I'm sure. I'm getting older, so I really don't listen at crazy volumes anymore. If I were sitting right in front of the speakers that would be more the 10-20%(estimate). Anything beyond that would be for listening elsewhere in the house. Yes. Most of the music I listen to has very little dynamic range because I do tend to listen to newer music like Train and Coldplay. I wish everything was recorded more like Steely Dan, but that is just not where recording levels are at right now.
I was thinking that all of these remasters keep coming out louder and louder. The re-re-release of Sgt. Pepper is gash in my opinion. Very loud and bumpy. Maybe in the future the selling point when remastering will be MORE DYNAMIC. One can only hope.
In Roon, I can now easily see the dynamic range of recordings. Amazing that much of the ambient (not new age) and minimal composition - quiet music - is far more dynamic than "energetic" popular recordings.But hey, why do something well when you can do it cheaply yet superficially impressive and aspirational (broad appeal and status affirming). Ultimately unsatisfying and disposable are also good - keep them spending. I hope true independent recording artists/ labels, niche producers, designers, crafts-persons, artisans etc. will prevail and point to a different way - satisfying, long-lasting, well-designed products that have meaning beyond commerce and its best friend, fashion.
Wow, sorry for the off topic. I'll stop there.
Enjoy your speakers - they seem like good ones!
Cheers,
91.
"Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems to characterise our age." Albert Einstein
Edits: 07/28/17
.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
Yeah, 30WPC would get those Lores goin' for sure.
Thanks for the tips.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
I thought we had this discussion.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
~$85 for Eminence's B102 shipped from Sweetwater
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LegendB102
you could run it without any filter, or with lowpass or perhaps a notch filter25 watts might move it pretty well - use more if you have it - speakers in this range will not work with a single 2A3
B102 spl French site
Eminence's published curve
The old version - less smooth, lower qts, went higher, had more mids and treble. A Druid sized pipe is about 1.3 cubic foot internal volume - so cutoff about 1.4 * higher than a cabinet twice the size.
indoors relative comparison - old B102 vs new spec B102
old spec B102 in fake Druid outdoors - that B102 now resides in
an old Karlson K12 type cabinet
typical sized cabinet - a forwards facing tweeter would be easy
Karlson Evangelist
Edits: 07/29/17 07/29/17 07/29/17 07/29/17
Right now I'm stuck with an 80WPC NAD integrated. The gain is so high that 9 o'clock on the volume knob is maxing the room and my ears out so there's little room for fine adjustment. I've tried in line attentuators but they seem to suck the life out of the music. I was thinking about an 8 WPC tube power amp with an additional volume control to fix this gain problem and also have an appropriate amount of watts.
Do you think 8WPC would be enough power for a 19x11.5x9 room? Max peak levels around 90db.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
does your NAD have pre=amp out amplifier in jacks with a jumper? if so - is there where you installed the attenuators ?
Karlson Evangelist
It does but I installed the attentuators separately in the DAC and vinyl chain. CD and TT are my only sources aside from a Sirius/XM tuner which ain't worth the trouble.
Maybe I should try that but it seems like it would do the same thing. I have a pair of -6db and -12db barrels.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
am not sure how you're hooked up but it might (??) sound better when the attenuator is between the preamplifier -out and power amplifier-input - rather than attenuator between the DAC and the preamp's high level input jacks - unless your DAC can overdrive the preamp-in
Karlson Evangelist
Edits: 07/29/17 07/29/17 07/29/17
I may try this tomorrow. Will let you know.
Thanks for the suggestion.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
might be - I have Heresy I with paper-oil caps running from an 8 WPC EL34 single ended amp - sound very sweet with Fritz Wunderlich, Jimmy Martin - I've not played large scale pieces on them.
(didn't realize you had a set of Lore until read the first post)
Karlson Evangelist
Wow, somebody who knows who Wunderlich is!
Got 4 or 5 LPs and some CD operas with him. One of the most gorgeous lyric tenors of any era.
Too bad he got drunk that time.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
yeah - bad fall - its a lot of fun to watch him too - one video with Kurt BI like a lot of the singers of the past - for tenors- Rosvaenge, Tauber, Wittrisch, Schock, Fillipeschi, Dermota, Peerce, Richard Lewis, Pears, Taccani, Pertile, Gigli, Nelepp,Kozlovsky and of course, Del Monaco
Patzak and Traxel were very good. Heinz Rehfuss singing Bach and Mahler - very good
in case you somehow aren't familiar with Armenian baritone Pavel Lisitsian Here's A GOODLY SAMPLE OF HIS SINGING
Karlson Evangelist
Edits: 07/29/17 07/29/17 07/29/17 07/29/17 07/29/17
Now that we've hijacked this thread.....LOL!
You're much more of a connoiseur of older singers than I am! I'm more with the singers I grew up listening to. Thanks for the Lisitsian. I had only read the name, never heard him. God knows the Prologue is hard enough in Italian. Impressive. My fav version is Cornell MacNeil from about 1959.
Given tenors, I usually go with the Italians but that's just me. Surprised you didn't include Corelli, my fav. Yeah, he could be a train wreck musically but wow!
Cheers!
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
lol - am too old and tired to type -Corelli was something else and really great - with videos available, he seemed very good on stage despite stage fright - for what little its worth, I like Mario Del Monaco's tone better (judging only from recordings). Gobbi was great - Tibbet - - Bob Merrill too - too - almost forgotten about Cornell McNeil as haven't listened for years. Protti is someone I've come to like very much - (best somersaults !)With Youtube, we can hear Ruffo, Granforte, and a bunch of once famous singers at a click
here's one older recording that should be fun
btw - those Lore sure give a lot of driver value for a low price
Karlson Evangelist
Edits: 07/30/17 07/30/17
Thanks for the link! Yeah, and Leonard Warren.
A close friend who had a nice career at the Met and elsewhere tells me the story that MacNeil used to torment Corelli, who was, of course, easily tormented. In the dressing room next to Franco, Mac would voalise to high C(!) and Corelli would get all bent and refuse to go on. At least until they placated him.
Yeah, the Lore is built like a tank with a very nice finish. Can't believe the 1K price and you don't have to search for a ton of watts to drive the things. So far, so good.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
Great story !!!! (-hope you are cataloging them for posterity) how 'bout Del Monaco ?? - did he come to the Met? - wonder how touchy he may have been ?? I've never been to a full live opera - not listened much for a long time eitherhere's someone way cool https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogWdRFrJmWM
Your Lore must have over $400 just in drivers - then add cabinet, labor - amazing pricing -
Karlson Evangelist
Edits: 07/31/17
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