tekton lore: www.tektondesign.com/lore.html Disclaimer: Before the review, It was decided that the Tekton lore review unit will be given away on my patreon. for more info on our Reviewer info, patreon, and personal interest in our reviews: nbtsmedia.com/about-us/
How did I miss this review!! I was looking for a solid review of this speaker than the Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 UF52 is out hope you review those also. New Record Day said better than Triangle Bro8 which I was also looking at.
@I was with your mother I mean... our channel name ! jokes aside - I do not generally think theres a "best" but we do have an award with that title - theres only a few that have won that title but of course we use it often for youtube algorithm (is it misleading? depends on what I say in the video. Should we stop using the term "best?" - probably but that's how youtube works and that's because these are what you "the viewers" click on or "search for" (not saying all the viewers but the majority do - hence youtube likes promoting videos with those titles)
Thanks. I'm glad you reviewed the Lore because it's a fantastic performer, an amazing value, American-made, and there are no other thorough video reviews of the Lores anywhere that I could find. I bought this exact pair based on some recommendations on AudioKarma and some written reviews, and I couldn’t agree more with your observations. Great review!
Jay, I know this review has been around for quite some time, but I just watched it for the first time. There are so many reviewers out there, but the way you explain all the little details is impressive. I don't have these speakers yet, but I've been doing my research trying to find the best speakers for me and for my application for around $1,000 and I think these are the speakers I've been looking for. Thanks so much for making these videos. Since is hard or even impossible in many cases to go to an actual store before purchasing something like this, videos like these are immensely helpful. THANK YOU!!!!! Keep the good content coming :)
I bought a set of Tekon Lore's this month based off of this review and Jason from 2 Channel Listening's review. I love them. Thank you for everything you do.
When I first found Jay's channel, I thought that he sometimes talked a bit too long. I now feel that if you bear with him, listening is worth your time.
I find his reviews to be extremely thoughtful and sincere. Every now and then he likens a new speaker to a particular vintage speaker - and he's totally on point. This kid has a great set of ears.
Great review Jay. I can tell by your expression that you really believe what you said in the review. Based on your recommendation, I pulled the trigger on the upgraded Lores with the Beryllium tweeter, upgraded electronics, and Cardas binding posts. I have been listening to my beloved Linn Nexus speakers with the upgraded tweeter OW1's from Oskar Wrondeng . They Linns have sounded amazing and have brought me plenty of joy and listening satisfaction for the 30 plus years I have owned them. I recently purchased an Emotiva BAsX 2 channel amp to use my Yamaha A-840 as a preamp for 2 channel. I still use the surround programs for video and have not yet moved to a dedicated 2 channel system. I was using a Hsu subwoofer to help with the bass. I have demoed some other modern speakers and found I was missing some bass response and overall kick from the Linns. Like the Nexus, the Lore Be's are a 2 way front ported design which I find to be very placement friendly and good with off axis response. Both the Linns and the Lore Be's have excellent treble response and both sound very airy and detailed without being harsh. That is where the comparison stops. The Lore Be's really excel in mid and lower base response. I play mostly Jazz with some older rock and pop. One record I like is Joe Jackson's Look Sharp from the early eighties. The recording comes alive with the Lore Be's. The bass sounds like it does in a live show with beefiness and kick that you can feel. There is a kind of live element that you detect from the Lore Be's, kind of like the vintage JBL sound but not as prominent. I find that I am digging the visceral response of the Lore Be's and find myself constantly tapping my toes and wanting to move to the music. Same thing goes for other well produced records. The bass just sounds so detailed. You can actually hear the difference between a Fender bass as compared to a Rickenbacker (think Yes). Anyway, I am very much glad I pulled the trigger on the Tekton Lore Be's. I have had them for about 2 months now and I am still smiling at every listening. I hope I can live long enough to say I have enjoyed the Tekton Lore Be's for the next 30 years. Thanks for what you do.
Hey Jay thanks for the review. I have had the Lores for two years and everyone that hears them loves the sound. I started with a Yamaha Musicast Class D, but thanks to Covid-19 stimulus check, I am now running a Schiit Freya+ >Schiit Vidar and these babies just take over the room! When I want them to. They also sound just fine at low volumes. The Double Impact gets all the love, but I agree the Lore is without peer at this price. Can’t wait to try them with a Willsenton!
I have Lores and would love to hear them with a pure tube amp though I drive mine with a 70s vintage Luxman S.S. integrated and it's quite a good combination.
Fantastic review! I bought these Tekton speakers not because of this review but because of Eric Alexander. I think the man is the Carol Shelby of the audio world because he makes high performance speakers to recreate instruments and voices, not just sound. It makes sense because Eric is both a trained musician and engineer. The way these speakers recreate music gives great insight into what the musician is doing. They are every day speakers that beg to be played constantly. The first time I listened to the speakers was with a friend who sang in choir and played bass. Hooked up to an NAD C375BEE and fronted by a Allo Revolution DAC to a dedicated music production computer, we played some Chaka Khan and my friend’s jaw dropped. “That is some of the best midrange I have ever heard in a long time,” my friend said. Next, we played some sweet Grant Green. Toes were tapping and my friend started making guitar movements with his hands. Eric is a hero for having the guts to create lively, accurate speakers that normal music loving folks can afford. These are the last pair of speakers I ever care to buy. If I do buy another pair of (the same) speakers, it’s to support Eric’s work and ideas. The man is the real deal.
@@randalllawkin yeah man, I hope you get them. These speakers faithfully reproduce anything you throw at them, providing the source is clean and the amp has some good muscle. My wife loves them!
@@randalllawkin check out the Tekton Lore Reference if you’re looking for another option that’s more affordable. I purchased a pair in white and hooked them up to my restored NAD C370 amp. Music was stored on a network attached storage system and played through a Raspberry Pi Allo Boss DAC running Volumio OS. Power for the streamer came from Allo’d linear power supply. The NAD C370 is no longer available for sale, but any competent solid state or tube amp will give you goosebumps! I played Anita Baker’s Body and Soul and was nearly brought to tears. It’s a song I know very well because my mother loved that song and played Anita to death when I was growing up. The way Anita comes from deep down low then soars to up high was all there. Same thing happened with Aaron Neville’s Baby I’m a Want You and Aretha’s Rock Steady. Clear as a bell! It’s is a speaker which pays respect to the human voice. You can listen all day and never get tired, which is what I did. A really good audio system shouldn’t cost a working man a year of income.
I kinda made a bo bo, these are the ones I bought, not the Lore reference. Man these have blown me away, I’m now near field listening at lower volumes and the sound quality is insanely good. Many thanks for your input on these ;)
I have owned the Lore for two years. They are incredible. Very eclectic taste, jazz to metal and the Lore performs. Big soundstage Eric brings the live music feel into our homes
what are you using to drive them? I just got the Lore last week. I am looking for an amp and preamp that pairs well with them. I have Jamo 707i loudspeakers and have really liked them. I saw the Lore on a private online ad for a great used price and couldn't pass them up. They sound good for sure, but I have gone back to the Jamo as they are paired up quite well with what i have (must be a bit more forgiving) and sound better to me.
This is a high integrity review. Personally own the Tekton Lore for 2 years, and it's one of the best speaker to buy. The more quality you put into the speaker, the more it shocks you. I've driven it with a 20 wpc Vista Audio Spark and it's amazing. And when I pair it with a 300 wpc power amp, the bass is grounded and the overall is full and present. Jay has done a great great job.
My friend just loaned me a pair. Paired with NAD 375BEE amp and a SVS SB-3000 sub. Playing records off a Rega turntable. Listening to Coltrane and Davis makes me feel like I’m in the middle of the recording studio. Bravo!
I was reminded how the largest "Grand Pianos" do cover the most octaves by far compared to all other acoustic instruments from the lowest to highest of frequency & a Grand Piano's clever woodwork design & resonance control cleanly amplifies the deepest notes through to the highest of the frequency range with no "woody" sound output. This was a very interesting video about this Tekton's clever design (that obviously works very well) & interesting of boxed speakers in general. P.S. I loved my vintage Tannoy 15" MG speakers most of all (until now as one just died by suddenly gaining an unbearable grungy cacophony in the lowish-bass & downwards that previous experience tells me is the well-aged cone's sudden misalignment causing it's attached copper-coil to constantly rub in the magnetic gap ...with no genuine replacements or repair offers from everywhere i've tried) They were good D.C. drivers built into tannoy's cheapest (1968'ish) option of the 'Lancaster' thin unbraced wood-pulp cabinets & their 'woodyness' intruded mainly on 'unplugged' natural instruments & classical until about 2 years after getting them when i took a carpenter/hi-fi friend's good advice & with strategic inner wood bracing & panel damping, the previous resonance was significantly raised & deadened to never intruded again ...really, a subject just for diy sites i know, but nonetheless a ultra-effective but ridiculously cheap option in my poverty-based hi-fi days. P.P.S. There was a German speaker that sounded like (but surely wasn't) 'Düsseldorf' & it's marketing told how it used controlled resonance for a better low-end response caused by a purposefully integrated 'treated'(?) panel & before this Tekton info, i'd never heard of that concept before or after except in musical instruments as i mentioned. (Sorry, but since the worldwide Covid-based life-change bestowed upon all populations by our uncannily predictive ruling-elite ...my comments have tended to waffle on)
Awesome. Glad to hear and this type of feedback - Where I contribute to people's musical enjoyment is what keeps me going. Thank you for sharing. Cheers ✌
It took 3 1/2 months to get them. But, wow! For the money these speakers are just great. I love them. Just listened to a Sinatra concert taped at the Sands in Las Vegas back in the 60s. Just superb sound. Clear. Played using my Naim Uniti Atom and a great pairing. Anyway, these really are as good as the reviews.
Excellent review. Several questions: By now you have reviewed several Tekton speakers. Do Tekton speakers have a house sound that all Tekton speaker share, or are they all different? How does the Lore sound signature compare to the Double Impacts, and would you expect the flagship models to sound like the Double impacts or would you expect them to be very different? Thank you in advance.
I would say they sound different than similar. Tekton lore and lore reference have similar sound characteristics and even pendragons are similar but thats different for the DIs
Thankyou for doing this review!!! Please review the Mini Lore at $600 in comparison with the BRO3/RP-600M/Elac price range. No reviews on the mini-lore on youtube.
I had some older Lore Reference speakers with the earlier bass driver and soft dome tweeters. They were great, but felt a kind of house sound out of them. Relative to the resonance, I personally could make it out, and it presented a kind of shoutiness/boxiness that I could not get over. I know a lot of this has to do with one’s room, equipment integration, etc. I did love them, don’t get me wrong...but probably needed more space for them. But for quartet/quintet jazz (modern and traditional), or intimate vocal recordings, I needed to move more to totem arros...which rendered greater detail, tone, subtlety, richness, stage, etc. and also improved drastically with equipment upgrade. But this iteration of the Lores, seems so much more refined. And your review is intoxicating! Regardless, hope I can eventually get into a larger space and get a set of these newer Lores with something on the order of a Prima Luna.
I've heard the older lores that my friend owned and swore by for 8 years. And he had like insane speakers in the past.... That's when I first heard my first Tektons !
Your love for these speakers was infectious in your review. I'd like to thank you for including the Elac Debut References in you comparisons. I bought the Elacs about a year ago. I like them but (because everything is compromise) I still like hearing the comparisons by people with golden ears. I also appreciated that you made JBL comparisons because I'm still using JBL L100s that I bought in '75 in my living room system (crossovers rebuilt a couple years ago).
Thank you for your review of Tekton Lore, these speakers are very good and very efficient. I have Tekton Pendragon and I connected them to my Tube Musical Paradise MP301 ampt, this combo sounds amazing.
I saw you gave this speaker and product of the year. I am going to keep my eyes out on the used market and see if I can snag a pair up. Very curious to hear a Lore. But once again, get your hands on some ZU's and do a comparison. I would LOVE to hear your impressions between the two.
Jay, I've been tempted to give tekton a shot for sometime now. How would you rate them vs say the Focal Aria line or Dynaudio Evoke ? Also I would like to see you review the Wharfedale Evo 4.4. I feel these lines are offering high performance for the dollar but some models of course cost more than others.
That was a kickass review ! Thanks Jay-Audio ! The Bro3 sound amazing on me Yamaha AS-1100 for real surprised me compared to me Audiolab 6000a and The IOTAVX-STACK but 3x the price
Excellent review and this compare nicely with the Zu Audio Dirty Weekend towers. I added the Clarity caps to my Zu speakers and I love the warm, natural spacious sound they provide. Choice of finishes is nice to have also. 🤙🏼
You got me pondering; and I concluded that if one would have exact environments for two speakers and each a mic; one would be the best sounding one that exists and the other would be worse one that has all the same sizes of drivers and capable of matching complete spectrum of sound as the better one; then the mics would be able to modify output until they would match. providing that one would have also ability of tweaking box's sizes and what not. It likely may have less of capable high output unless using higher output capable drivers. In other words; the top ones are ideal matches for what amps. are providing as output.
Jay, can you do a video on what the sonic differences are between the standard tweeter/midrange drivers on Tekton speakers, versus the beryllium upgrades? This would include just upgrading the single tweeter, and upgrading all the tweeter/midrange drivers to beryllium. I am not taking about this model Tekton, but for one the models with the 7 driver circular array. Can you get them to loan you demos to compare with and without beryllium drivers?
I’ve had the Enzo XL for three years. They’ve been quite satisfactory on classical music, jazz, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and opera. These replaced Vandie 2Ci. They have a similar profile in the sense that they do most things pretty well and nothing badly. These are wife speakers not girlfriend speakers, so pair them with tube amplification. Domestic Tranquility ensured.
I really want to see a review of the Encore one day. There is only one real review of it out there. It is a massive beast. Once I move I am probably going to buy them even if there aren't any more reviews. Tekton is just so good!!
The speakers you choose to compare these to don't make too much sense other then LRS. Would love to hear you compare them to floor standing box speakers in the same price range. There are a lot including klipsch rp6000f, Bro7, ZU DIRTY WEEKEND, ELAC debut 2.0 f6
@@Jayiyagi I got them both and I gonna try to give you an example: a few years ago I attended Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, in the Dynaudio room the have the confidence c4 and the focus (dont remember the model but the ones 3 way towers) paired with octave tube amps both sounded great, even similar voiced, you know that dynaudio sound, but the c4 sounded accordingly to their higher level. Well IMHO that's the difference between the lintons and the lores. For me the tektons are very good speakers for the price while the lintons are very good speakers period, fuller sound at any volume level. Love your channel, man, thanks for asking.
wonderful detailed review! thanks! ... i guess you liked them more than the lore reference by what you said! i have a question, though: which ones would you consider more neutral (for classical and jazz) considering you have listened both speakers thoroughly. i have a medium size room (25 square meters) and i'm not a "bass freak". would love a more neutral honest sound... that would also allow better instrument placement (especially for classical music!). if you or anyone could comment on my question... awesome!!
@@0bzen22 I'm sure there are great products out there but I have tried them against various speakers up to 5500$US and have yet to beat them . Amp synergy obviously impacts that but my 2 amps both sound amazing with them.
@@pickyaudiophile Thank you for the insight on that matter , I'm only comparing US market prices , speaker vs speaker . The most expensive I have compared them to are magnepan 3.7 and to my ear they smoke the maggies. To be candid I'm in Panama , I built my Lores that's why I don't call my speakers tekton , they are however a very close clone. Same driver , tweeter , crossover i purchased on a guess but knowing the bass drivers are run full range to 5khz giving an overlap of mid range between say 2.5-5khz. I.m not getting much cabinet resonance as my cabs are well braced , insulated a bit more , also 3/4 mdf with overlayed/glued 1inch oak. They are obviously correspondingly larger and heavier as I used the original dimension design for the mdf shells. Anyways , cheers !
A really important detail about The Lore, which to my knowledge, is the only speaker in the Tekton partheon with this design, is the wizzer cone eminence combo. "10" Lore transducer' from the website, not just an Eminence driver....
agree with this review on MDF. MDF has resonant property in mids. Its better to use two Plywood(any cheap one) with some soft elastomer compund in between. reduces knocking effect, lowers resonance to bass region and reduces boxyness. solid wood is no no, since they resonate. so if adding flavour or boxyness sound is the aim, then go with solid wood or MDF otherwise wood sandwich composites or reinforced plywood
Thats a kickass review ! Thanks Jay Appricate ya 😃 I will get a pair of these in very soon i wanna see how the doge 10 pairs up ! 😃 calling Tekton tommorrow (eric)
Hey brother did you ever get a pair of these? I know you're a fan of that livelier dynamic sound and thought these would be your thing. Or do you prefer something more...jbl?
I like paper cones the best too. When you rub paper it makes white noise. No other material will. The reason they make cones out of other material isn't for sound but for longer lasting cones. Paper perishes after a decade or so and that is why expensive paper cone drivers have replacement cone kits (like Lowther).
Good review! I like the way you can describe speaker performance. You seem to be able to capture the flavour of the sound. My first impression looking at these speakers is with such a large woofer and small tweeter they must struggle a bit with the midrange. I see the woofers are equipped with whizzers. These are supposed to help extend the woofer range but I often wondered if they were effective. That is to say do they help fill in the gap between tweeter and woofer without introducing any unwanted distortions?? I may be wrong in my thinking but I always viewed whizzers as more of a gimmick. Of course I need to keep in mind these are ~$1000 speakers and budget speaker designs are all about compromises. I guess everyone's tastes are different and trade-offs are part of the deal. As you mention these speakers seem to have great bass and smooth extended treble so a little compromise in the mid range may be justifiable.
You be surprised at what you can get away with and still have audiophiles “excited”, as long as has a good story and tuning that makes it sound somewhat ok. High efficiency does have something going for it, though also trade off with regards to extraneous effects
Jay, Great review! How about a quick comparison to the CSS audio triton? I finished a pair of their triton 2's and find then an incredible value. I would love to know how you compare the two. As I remember you gave the Triton's a "speaker of the year" award too as well?!
another engaging and fun review . I have Lores and have done comparisons with Vandersteen 3a sig, Magnepan 3.7 and a pair of AAD 2001 monitors . All these others are several x the price of the Lores and to my ears the Lores spank the maggies , beat the Vandies in naturalness , fluidity and non fatiguing . The AAD2001's are warm and fluid , very good upper and lower extension but the Lores are better rounded top to bottom including midrange . Like you say , paper drivers have that natural sonic texture and the Audax tweeters are quite special . Thanks again ! Keep it coming .
Awesome. Like I said, one has to hear the maggies for themselves and are willing to go through trial an error to get them right while the Lores just... sound right everywhere you go - most impressive
btw, back in the late 80's, the only U.K. hi-fi mag' i liked & regularly bought (Hi'Fi World) announced Audax had ceased production of the gold plated metal dome tweeters & they could no longer sell their 3 sizes of flat pack speaker kits "until further notice" & told they couldn't find a tweeter near as good anywhere close to the same price, i only recal as i nearly bought the floorstander flatpack, but only 'nearly' The strangest thing is that they had oval shaped gold domes & I've stroked my chin in deep thought thinking "has my memories failed me on this as ive not seen oval domed tweeters ever since" but i'm certain they were oval now & recal them resembling a lid'less human eye when viewing one in their parts pic horizontally aligned tho not so in the assembled pic where the tweeter's long dimension was vertically aligned, oval eye shaped domes asside, those older Audax gold plated dome tweeters were spoke of as having a liquid smooth treble, very low measured distortion & highly detailed sound quality, a rare combo back then. Obviously Audax since started making good gold plated titanium tweeters tho i dont recal those older Audax oval domes described as being titanium, nonetheless, your description of these tweeters is very similar. These Tekton's seem like a veritable bargain from your description of their sound quality. Nothing as promising has come from u.k. speaker manufturers for many years, (at least at non-stratasphorically high prices) who all(?) seem to have moved their speaker production to China or sold their brand name to Chinese companies, which is no bad thing in itself forr U.K. speaker manufturers but they were generally much better speaker made in u.k. in years now past. I fully agree paper cones except for tweeters have always been the most natural sound in my (limited to your own) experience of speakers. My very least favourite main cone material has always been polypropylene, all which ive heard or owned... (& never will again) ...have sooner or later & sometimes instantly revealed a "cuppy" type of couration. Like talking into a tupperware, polypropylene or poly'plastic compound bowl or large beaker of the same material compared to talking normally & not into one of those ...is an exagerate form of that cuppy sound i hear from polypropylene bass/mid cones.
I was hoping the same I really want the beryllium but I don't know if they are really any better then the gold ones technically I think they are but I don't want to ruin a good recipe already
Just received my Lore BE speakers this week. I am very pleased; granted I ordered them back in June. I find them very precise and especially good with details such as fingers on string instruments. I was a little concerned about the loss of those details, as I was moving away from speakers with folded motion ribbon tweeters. Pleasantly, I found that was not the case. Hope my subjective viewpoint helps.
@@Bullet0Magnet thank you for your observation I guess the gold ones are good enough for $10,000 speakers they were put in by different manufacturers I guess they're good enough for me plus they look so much nicer then Gray LOL
Steve Costello Anytime... There was a video on TH-cam ( go figure ) that got me thinking about the benefits of beryllium. Essentially, they had a series of tuning forks setup and they measured how long each fork vibrates when energy was applied. Beryllium seemed to dissipate the energy quicker. That quality seems to provide excellent sound reproduction. I agree, however, those gold dome tweeters are found on some high dollar speakers. I’m sure you’ll be happy with either choice... hope your order doesn’t take as long as mine.
Thanks for another great review. I also think there is something to be said for companies that continue to refine and improve on a design that is fundamentally good. Certainly Tannoy is a good example of this. Yes they are much more than $1000 but to stay with the same design of a speaker for over 60 years says something and they sound exceptional.
@WoundrousMindTrick Any dumbo can DIY a speaker with a couple of drivers in his basement and it may sound ok (trial & error could eventually get you there, that's a ZU dumbo for you, hardly worth the price tag). If you want something that'd blow your mind and slay it for music, go with a Yamaha NS-F901, for instance. They made your piano and your violin and everything else for a 120 years. They know how to make your speaker. Other contenders are Andrew Jones's Elac Unifi 2.0, , some of E. Alexander's (Tekton) offerings, GR research NX Treme (DIY), etc at this price range. Never buy sht fron a dumbo.
@@seunatolagbe4957 Jay's mentioning paper woofers is correct to my ear , very natural , life like with deep textured bass and vocals . If your amp and source send them a dynamic and rich signal they will deliver it fully , great piano , strings , sax . Mids are very life like, highs are highly detailed with sparkle yet very smooth . again , your amplifier and source will to an extent control these things . I currently drive with a 70s vintage Luxman integrated , have driven them with a vintage Pass design amp and Amber series 70 amp with tube pre . All combos sounded amazing .
The key to good speakers? A couple or few good drivers. Keep it simple, and straight forward and you get something really nice. Tekton is a good example, so is magnepan .. then shoot way above their weight (prices)
A few good drivers is not what I think of for tekton's. Cough cough, tweeters and more tweeters with a dash of more tweeters is what they're known for. And I'm glad they have the lore line. It shows they're catching on, ;)
@@thunderpooch those arrays in tektons are not tweeters they are used as midrange 🙂 But tekton is not a speaker i would buy either, they are to expensive and they don't really look that great
Didn't like my new Tektons at first, then I switched to my cheaper speaker cables. How did switching to a worse speaker cable bring out the fullness of the speaker?
The Audax gold tweeter is more extended (brighter maybe?.. definitely more presence) than the Beryllium. Both are refined. The Beryllium sounds more like an extremely well done soft dome. It sounds a tad softer in my experience. I have both (the Audax in the Lore and the Beryllium in the Lore Reference). Just my experience. Yet again..two different speakers. Two different crossovers as well.
Thank you for the great detailed review. I really enjoyed all your reviews keep them coming! Do u think this speaker matches my Rega RP10 turntable to be used my my 15 by 20 ft room ? I like soundstage and listen to vocal jazz and some pop music and I have a budget of $1k to $3k usd.
@@Jayiyagi can u recommend an amp for this setup in the $1k to $2k range? I have no clue how different the ss or tube amp sounds. So I guess it doesn't matter at this point. Appreciate your kind advise.
these are nice I used to put these similar woofers into 4 x 10 cabs back in the day Eminence delta pro they where $140.00 each speakers in the day the kilo max pro was an 18 inch loudspeaker capable of frequencies of 38-700 Hz at 1200 watts very nice drivers.
For two years I went back and forth on whether to get this Tekton or the Zu Audio Dirty Weekends... yesterday (Oct 1, 2020) the Dirty Weekend’s were up for sale so I pulled the trigger with the upgraded Clarity MR capacitor.
I intend to buy a pair of Tekton Double Impacts in the future. However I wanted a basic speaker where I felt high sensitivity would be ideal for certain types of music (low dynamic recordings). I almost bought the Tekton Lores but I felt the finish and larger 10” offered in the Zu Audio DW’s were worth the wait and money. My total cost with shipping and upgrades came to $1200.
Jay, you HAVE to do an Omen Dirty Weekend and Lore comparison. It's the most logical and fair comparison of any other speaker out there. I mean they are both priced at $999 and use the same design theories. And people can know once and for all, what UT based pro-audioish company reigns supreme. I LOVE my DIRTY WEEKENDS, so much, that I have another pair in a custom gloss finish on order. I am sure that either speaker, people will be VERY happy with but it would make for such a great shootout. Oh, you keep mentioning that tactile, impact and feeling the music. That's EXACTLY one of the many reasons why I love the Dirty Weekends so much. It has such a visceral, tactile and palpable sound that you feel not just hear. And bass guitar is a huge determining factor when testing a speaker, I am a big Primus fan and it nails Claypool's bass guitar. The mid bass and mid range slam of the Dirty Weekend is ridiculous. And I can't find the limits. I had Primus playing at 107db peaks the other day and they didn't break a sweat. One more edit, I know they play well with everything but I recently bought a Hegel Rost, which I know you guys love, and it has brought life to the ZU's like know other amp I have used with them. The damping factor of +2000 with the Hegel controls the 10" ZU driver with an iron fist. Stops and starts on a dime and has such a slam and kick to it. It's truly a moving experience. If nothing else, try out a Hegel with the Tektons.
I'm looking at lore... and primus is part of my test tracks for speakers. If you want to know if you're speakers can produce bass... not synthesized bass but bass guitar, I always tell people. Primus. 😁
@@erics.4113 Totally! Primus is the TRUE test of how a real bass guitar note should sound on a speaker. If the speaker can't rock some Les, then it's a no go for me!
@@jeffadams9699 I like the zu (on paper) and seriously considering, and probably will, order them on their next production order I think it's November 18th? It's on my calendar. In the meantime, I think I'm set on tekton lore.. have a crap bunch of paint chips in the listening room trying to decide on color and sent email to tekton with some questions. I have no other floorstander to compare to. But instead of another pair of bookies or amp or dac I think that's my smartest play right now. Excited for some full(er) range speakers. Even tho I run sub with bookies I know it will be different. Just don't know exactly what to expect so I'm not trying to get too hyped. I'm on a journey and that's the fun part now
@@rapfreak7797 Went for a DIY 4 ways speakers made by a friend who likes to build these big setup. Except if ever I can buy a well taken care off Cabasse Albatros pair I don't feel the need to own another pair of speakers. So I sold the Tekton to a friend of mine. He is in Heaven with them. I repeat great value stock and huge value after upgrade. Best.
I don’t understand why Tekton doesn’t route the cabinet so the woofer can be mounted flush with the cabinet. It would make the speaker look more refined and less like something built in a garage. They’re already routing the cabinet for the tweeter. Why not route for the woofer at the same time?
Apparently doing that can effect the frequency response of the woofer. So depending on what's going on with the response decides wether to route it out or not
@@Jayiyagi 👌👍💪💕❤️🖖🖖Anytime Anyplace Jay you're the best review we're out there I have quite a few components thanks to you and I will be purchasing the tekton speakers lore also in red with a gold tweeter thanks to you again my wallet really hates you😵😵😵😂🤣😂🤣🥺
![[ TEASER ] เงาะป่า - วงL.กฮ. | TMG RECORD](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/M4ObdFfcPww/mqdefault.jpg)
tekton lore: www.tektondesign.com/lore.html
Disclaimer: Before the review, It was decided that the Tekton lore review unit will be given away on my patreon. for more info on our Reviewer info, patreon, and personal interest in our reviews: nbtsmedia.com/about-us/
Just to confirm, the Lore Reference are slightly more detailed while the regular Lore's are more musical/dynamic?
@@tcc5750 correct
@@Jayiyagi Thank you for confirming :)
How did I miss this review!! I was looking for a solid review of this speaker than the Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 UF52 is out hope you review those also. New Record Day said better than Triangle Bro8 which I was also looking at.
@I was with your mother I mean... our channel name !
jokes aside - I do not generally think theres a "best" but we do have an award with that title - theres only a few that have won that title but of course we use it often for youtube algorithm (is it misleading? depends on what I say in the video. Should we stop using the term "best?" - probably but that's how youtube works and that's because these are what you "the viewers" click on or "search for" (not saying all the viewers but the majority do - hence youtube likes promoting videos with those titles)
Thanks. I'm glad you reviewed the Lore because it's a fantastic performer, an amazing value, American-made, and there are no other thorough video reviews of the Lores anywhere that I could find. I bought this exact pair based on some recommendations on AudioKarma and some written reviews, and I couldn’t agree more with your observations. Great review!
Jay, I know this review has been around for quite some time, but I just watched it for the first time. There are so many reviewers out there, but the way you explain all the little details is impressive. I don't have these speakers yet, but I've been doing my research trying to find the best speakers for me and for my application for around $1,000 and I think these are the speakers I've been looking for. Thanks so much for making these videos. Since is hard or even impossible in many cases to go to an actual store before purchasing something like this, videos like these are immensely helpful. THANK YOU!!!!! Keep the good content coming :)
I bought a set of Tekon Lore's this month based off of this review and Jason from 2 Channel Listening's review. I love them. Thank you for everything you do.
When I first found Jay's channel, I thought that he sometimes talked a bit too long. I now feel that if you bear with him, listening is worth your time.
I find his reviews to be extremely thoughtful and sincere. Every now and then he likens a new speaker to a particular vintage speaker - and he's totally on point. This kid has a great set of ears.
I love his thorough reviews.
Same first time I found his channel I thought that he talked too long and not getting to the point. Now I still feel the same.
Great review Jay. I can tell by your expression that you really believe what you said in the review. Based on your recommendation, I pulled the trigger on the upgraded Lores with the Beryllium tweeter, upgraded electronics, and Cardas binding posts.
I have been listening to my beloved Linn Nexus speakers with the upgraded tweeter OW1's from Oskar Wrondeng . They Linns have sounded amazing and have brought me plenty of joy and listening satisfaction for the 30 plus years I have owned them. I recently purchased an Emotiva BAsX 2 channel amp to use my Yamaha A-840 as a preamp for 2 channel. I still use the surround programs for video and have not yet moved to a dedicated 2 channel system. I was using a Hsu subwoofer to help with the bass. I have demoed some other modern speakers and found I was missing some bass response and overall kick from the Linns.
Like the Nexus, the Lore Be's are a 2 way front ported design which I find to be very placement friendly and good with off axis response. Both the Linns and the Lore Be's have excellent treble response and both sound very airy and detailed without being harsh. That is where the comparison stops. The Lore Be's really excel in mid and lower base response. I play mostly Jazz with some older rock and pop. One record I like is Joe Jackson's Look Sharp from the early eighties. The recording comes alive with the Lore Be's. The bass sounds like it does in a live show with beefiness and kick that you can feel. There is a kind of live element that you detect from the Lore Be's, kind of like the vintage JBL sound but not as prominent. I find that I am digging the visceral response of the Lore Be's and find myself constantly tapping my toes and wanting to move to the music. Same thing goes for other well produced records. The bass just sounds so detailed. You can actually hear the difference between a Fender bass as compared to a Rickenbacker (think Yes).
Anyway, I am very much glad I pulled the trigger on the Tekton Lore Be's. I have had them for about 2 months now and I am still smiling at every listening. I hope I can live long enough to say I have enjoyed the Tekton Lore Be's for the next 30 years.
Thanks for what you do.
Just got mine with the Beryllium tweeters and they just keep sounding better and better every time I hear them!!!! Great video!
Awesome ! Enjoy !
Hey Jay thanks for the review. I have had the Lores for two years and everyone that hears them loves the sound.
I started with a Yamaha Musicast Class D, but thanks to Covid-19 stimulus check, I am now running a Schiit Freya+ >Schiit Vidar and these babies just take over the room! When I want them to. They also sound just fine at low volumes. The Double Impact gets all the love, but I agree the Lore is without peer at this price.
Can’t wait to try them with a Willsenton!
I have Lores and would love to hear them with a pure tube amp though I drive mine with a 70s vintage Luxman S.S. integrated and it's quite a good combination.
Fantastic review! I bought these Tekton speakers not because of this review but because of Eric Alexander. I think the man is the Carol Shelby of the audio world because he makes high performance speakers to recreate instruments and voices, not just sound. It makes sense because Eric is both a trained musician and engineer. The way these speakers recreate music gives great insight into what the musician is doing. They are every day speakers that beg to be played constantly. The first time I listened to the speakers was with a friend who sang in choir and played bass. Hooked up to an NAD C375BEE and fronted by a Allo Revolution DAC to a dedicated music production computer, we played some Chaka Khan and my friend’s jaw dropped. “That is some of the best midrange I have ever heard in a long time,” my friend said. Next, we played some sweet Grant Green. Toes were tapping and my friend started making guitar movements with his hands. Eric is a hero for having the guts to create lively, accurate speakers that normal music loving folks can afford. These are the last pair of speakers I ever care to buy. If I do buy another pair of (the same) speakers, it’s to support Eric’s work and ideas. The man is the real deal.
Man I totally agree with hour thinking and I don't even own any of his speakers....waiting for wife approval and a new baby again lol
@@randalllawkin yeah man, I hope you get them. These speakers faithfully reproduce anything you throw at them, providing the source is clean and the amp has some good muscle. My wife loves them!
@@randalllawkin check out the Tekton Lore Reference if you’re looking for another option that’s more affordable. I purchased a pair in white and hooked them up to my restored NAD C370 amp. Music was stored on a network attached storage system and played through a Raspberry Pi Allo Boss DAC running Volumio OS. Power for the streamer came from Allo’d linear power supply. The NAD C370 is no longer available for sale, but any competent solid state or tube amp will give you goosebumps! I played Anita Baker’s Body and Soul and was nearly brought to tears. It’s a song I know very well because my mother loved that song and played Anita to death when I was growing up. The way Anita comes from deep down low then soars to up high was all there. Same thing happened with Aaron Neville’s Baby I’m a Want You and Aretha’s Rock Steady. Clear as a bell! It’s is a speaker which pays respect to the human voice. You can listen all day and never get tired, which is what I did. A really good audio system shouldn’t cost a working man a year of income.
..the Shelby reference is perfect! Eric even drag races as well...spot on comparison!
I kinda made a bo bo, these are the ones I bought, not the Lore reference. Man these have blown me away, I’m now near field listening at lower volumes and the sound quality is insanely good. Many thanks for your input on these ;)
Think ya mean to say boo boo. Bo Bo is a whole different thing
I have been waiting for this review for 3 weeks. Thank you.
That's nothing I've been waiting 4 weeks 😅😂
I have owned the Lore for two years. They are incredible. Very eclectic taste, jazz to metal and the Lore performs. Big soundstage Eric brings the live music feel into our homes
what are you using to drive them? I just got the Lore last week. I am looking for an amp and preamp that pairs well with them. I have Jamo 707i loudspeakers and have really liked them. I saw the Lore on a private online ad for a great used price and couldn't pass them up. They sound good for sure, but I have gone back to the Jamo as they are paired up quite well with what i have (must be a bit more forgiving) and sound better to me.
@@slackjef Rogue integrated kt120. ive also hooked them up to NAD integrated. But kt120 far superior
Great review! Think the best Ive seen from you. And you are much better soloing than with those other 2 store dudes.
Thanks Pete ! Cheers
@@Jayiyagi you are now dead to me...
This is a high integrity review. Personally own the Tekton Lore for 2 years, and it's one of the best speaker to buy. The more quality you put into the speaker, the more it shocks you. I've driven it with a 20 wpc Vista Audio Spark and it's amazing. And when I pair it with a 300 wpc power amp, the bass is grounded and the overall is full and present. Jay has done a great great job.
My friend just loaned me a pair. Paired with NAD 375BEE amp and a SVS SB-3000 sub. Playing records off a Rega turntable. Listening to Coltrane and Davis makes me feel like I’m in the middle of the recording studio. Bravo!
I was reminded how the largest "Grand Pianos" do cover the most octaves by far compared to all other acoustic instruments from the lowest to highest of frequency & a Grand Piano's clever woodwork design & resonance control cleanly amplifies the deepest notes through to the highest of the frequency range with no "woody" sound output. This was a very interesting video about this Tekton's clever design (that obviously works very well) & interesting of boxed speakers in general. P.S. I loved my vintage Tannoy 15" MG speakers most of all (until now as one just died by suddenly gaining an unbearable grungy cacophony in the lowish-bass & downwards that previous experience tells me is the well-aged cone's sudden misalignment causing it's attached copper-coil to constantly rub in the magnetic gap ...with no genuine replacements or repair offers from everywhere i've tried) They were good D.C. drivers built into tannoy's cheapest (1968'ish) option of the 'Lancaster' thin unbraced wood-pulp cabinets & their 'woodyness' intruded mainly on 'unplugged' natural instruments & classical until about 2 years after getting them when i took a carpenter/hi-fi friend's good advice & with strategic inner wood bracing & panel damping, the previous resonance was significantly raised & deadened to never intruded again ...really, a subject just for diy sites i know, but nonetheless a ultra-effective but ridiculously cheap option in my poverty-based hi-fi days. P.P.S. There was a German speaker that sounded like (but surely wasn't) 'Düsseldorf' & it's marketing told how it used controlled resonance for a better low-end response caused by a purposefully integrated 'treated'(?) panel & before this Tekton info, i'd never heard of that concept before or after except in musical instruments as i mentioned. (Sorry, but since the worldwide Covid-based life-change bestowed upon all populations by our uncannily predictive ruling-elite ...my comments have tended to waffle on)
Rotating the driver 180° didn’t help?
10" drivers babe... that's what you're feeling. 98dB in 10".
I'd love to get your opinion on how the Zu Dirty Weekend MKII stacks up with the Tekton Lore.
Mk II is now upgraded to DW6
Love my Lore References!! I purchased them based on your review. Great job!
@@paulgibson3259 Some folks don't like the smell---it didn't bother me at all.
Awesome. Glad to hear and this type of feedback - Where I contribute to people's musical enjoyment is what keeps me going. Thank you for sharing. Cheers ✌
Another huge thumbs up for the Lore Reference. Had mine for over a year and absolutely love them!
yo same here XD
It took 3 1/2 months to get them. But, wow! For the money these speakers are just great. I love them. Just listened to a Sinatra concert taped at the Sands in Las Vegas back in the 60s. Just superb sound. Clear. Played using my Naim Uniti Atom and a great pairing. Anyway, these really are as good as the reviews.
Yes! Finally someone reviews the Lore. Thanks, Jay!
not a problem. thank you. Cheers
Excellent review. Several questions: By now you have reviewed several Tekton speakers. Do Tekton speakers have a house sound that all Tekton speaker share, or are they all different? How does the Lore sound signature compare to the Double Impacts, and would you expect the flagship models to sound like the Double impacts or would you expect them to be very different? Thank you in advance.
I would say they sound different than similar. Tekton lore and lore reference have similar sound characteristics and even pendragons are similar but thats different for the DIs
@@pickyaudiophile You are a picky audiophile. Thats why ! - haha, jokes aside I have the SET 2-10 coming my way I believe.
Thankyou for doing this review!!! Please review the Mini Lore at $600 in comparison with the BRO3/RP-600M/Elac price range. No reviews on the mini-lore on youtube.
Owned the Mini Lore, it skyrocketed my journey on towards my perfect speaker. Loved the M-Lore.
@@jeffadams9699 what did you move on to after the M-Lore?
@@adambozak5372 Omega Super XRS then Pendragon’s.
@@jeffadams9699 what amp did you find best with mini lores?
Zu Omen vs Tekton Lore side by side video !
I had some older Lore Reference speakers with the earlier bass driver and soft dome tweeters. They were great, but felt a kind of house sound out of them. Relative to the resonance, I personally could make it out, and it presented a kind of shoutiness/boxiness that I could not get over. I know a lot of this has to do with one’s room, equipment integration, etc. I did love them, don’t get me wrong...but probably needed more space for them. But for quartet/quintet jazz (modern and traditional), or intimate vocal recordings, I needed to move more to totem arros...which rendered greater detail, tone, subtlety, richness, stage, etc. and also improved drastically with equipment upgrade. But this iteration of the Lores, seems so much more refined. And your review is intoxicating! Regardless, hope I can eventually get into a larger space and get a set of these newer Lores with something on the order of a Prima Luna.
I've heard the older lores that my friend owned and swore by for 8 years. And he had like insane speakers in the past.... That's when I first heard my first Tektons !
@@Jayiyagi think you can get your hands on Oman DW?
Your love for these speakers was infectious in your review. I'd like to thank you for including the Elac Debut References in you comparisons. I bought the Elacs about a year ago. I like them but (because everything is compromise) I still like hearing the comparisons by people with golden ears. I also appreciated that you made JBL comparisons because I'm still using JBL L100s that I bought in '75 in my living room system (crossovers rebuilt a couple years ago).
Thank you Al !
Thank you for your review of Tekton Lore, these speakers are very good and very efficient. I have Tekton Pendragon and I connected them to my Tube Musical Paradise MP301 ampt, this combo sounds amazing.
I cannot wait to try it I have the same amplifier really a little gem
Rock on !
Really amazing what great products we can now buy with normal people money
👍👌💪💪
This went to the top of my consideration list.
I saw you gave this speaker and product of the year. I am going to keep my eyes out on the used market and see if I can snag a pair up. Very curious to hear a Lore. But once again, get your hands on some ZU's and do a comparison. I would LOVE to hear your impressions between the two.
That was a crazy review, it was detailed, and makes me want to buy one
I freakin Love my pair!!
Thank you. Cheers ✌
Jay, I've been tempted to give tekton a shot for sometime now. How would you rate them vs say the Focal Aria line or Dynaudio Evoke ? Also I would like to see you review the Wharfedale Evo 4.4. I feel these lines are offering high performance for the dollar but some models of course cost more than others.
Lol, to hear you say I dunno quite a few times make me think that the speaker is easy to place and play with all amp and dac. 👍
I know right ! 😉
That was a kickass review ! Thanks Jay-Audio ! The Bro3 sound amazing on me Yamaha AS-1100 for real surprised me compared to me Audiolab 6000a and The IOTAVX-STACK but 3x the price
Excellent review and this compare nicely with the Zu Audio Dirty Weekend towers. I added the Clarity caps to my Zu speakers and I love the warm, natural spacious sound they provide. Choice of finishes is nice to have also. 🤙🏼
You got me pondering; and I concluded that if one would have exact environments for two speakers and each a mic; one would be the best sounding one that exists and the other would be worse one that has all the same sizes of drivers and capable of matching complete spectrum of sound as the better one; then the mics would be able to modify output until they would match. providing that one would have also ability of tweaking box's sizes and what not. It likely may have less of capable high output unless using higher output capable drivers. In other words; the top ones are ideal matches for what amps. are providing as output.
Jay, can you do a video on what the sonic differences are between the standard tweeter/midrange drivers on Tekton speakers, versus the beryllium upgrades? This would include just upgrading the single tweeter, and upgrading all the tweeter/midrange drivers to beryllium. I am not taking about this model Tekton, but for one the models with the 7 driver circular array. Can you get them to loan you demos to compare with and without beryllium drivers?
Great video Jay...enjoyed that review.
Have you had a chance to compare the Lore to the Zu Dirty Weekend mk.II? Would love to hear your thoughts!
Whats with the awesome opening shots of Kinki Studio's monoblocks...yet no review? 😁
coming soon
I'd love to hear a pair of these with my father's Dynaco amp. I bet it would be a fine wine!
I’ve had the Enzo XL for three years. They’ve been quite satisfactory on classical music, jazz, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and opera. These replaced Vandie 2Ci. They have a similar profile in the sense that they do most things pretty well and nothing badly. These are wife speakers not girlfriend speakers, so pair them with tube amplification. Domestic Tranquility ensured.
Is your Enzo XL the version with two ports on the front or the newer version with one? Thanks.
@@brydon10 the two-holer.
I really want to see a review of the Encore one day. There is only one real review of it out there. It is a massive beast. Once I move I am probably going to buy them even if there aren't any more reviews. Tekton is just so good!!
Yea... I don't know about that one unless I want to buy a back brace.
Is the Lore worth $250 more than the Lore Reference? Good reviews of both!
The speakers you choose to compare these to don't make too much sense other then LRS. Would love to hear you compare them to floor standing box speakers in the same price range. There are a lot including klipsch rp6000f, Bro7, ZU DIRTY WEEKEND, ELAC debut 2.0 f6
I hate hearing you talk so highly about Tektons cause getting them here in Italy is practically impossible :(
😵😵😢😢😢😩😩
They aren't that good; wharfedale diamonds/ lintons far better at the price level.
@@ramonvives1674 have you heard the Lintons and the lore side by side? If so, what did you like about the lintons more?
@@Jayiyagi I got them both and I gonna try to give you an example: a few years ago I attended Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, in the Dynaudio room the have the confidence c4 and the focus (dont remember the model but the ones 3 way towers) paired with octave tube amps both sounded great, even similar voiced, you know that dynaudio sound, but the c4 sounded accordingly to their higher level. Well IMHO that's the difference between the lintons and the lores. For me the tektons are very good speakers for the price while the lintons are very good speakers period, fuller sound at any volume level. Love your channel, man, thanks for asking.
@@ramonvives1674 Thank you for the detailed explanation ! love it. I'm looking to bring in the Lintons for a review so I'm definitely excited. Cheers
Really good review. Thanks.
wonderful detailed review! thanks! ... i guess you liked them more than the lore reference by what you said! i have a question, though: which ones would you consider more neutral (for classical and jazz) considering you have listened both speakers thoroughly. i have a medium size room (25 square meters) and i'm not a "bass freak". would love a more neutral honest sound... that would also allow better instrument placement (especially for classical music!). if you or anyone could comment on my question... awesome!!
I very much appreciate the detailed review.
I wish they had a distributor in the EU.
😢😢😢😩
I own a pair , I've yet to listen to anything up to 5x the price that better them . It would be worth maritime shipping .
@@artsabound7627 With taxes and everything I'd be lucky to get them for €1,500. Loads of options there though.
@@0bzen22 I'm sure there are great products out there but I have tried them against various speakers up to 5500$US and have yet to beat them . Amp synergy obviously impacts that but my 2 amps both sound amazing with them.
@@pickyaudiophile Thank you for the insight on that matter , I'm only comparing US market prices , speaker vs speaker . The most expensive I have compared them to are magnepan 3.7 and to my ear they smoke the maggies. To be candid I'm in Panama , I built my Lores that's why I don't call my speakers tekton , they are however a very close clone. Same driver , tweeter , crossover i purchased on a guess but knowing the bass drivers are run full range to 5khz giving an overlap of mid range between say 2.5-5khz. I.m not getting much cabinet resonance as my cabs are well braced , insulated a bit more , also 3/4 mdf with overlayed/glued 1inch oak. They are obviously correspondingly larger and heavier as I used the original dimension design for the mdf shells. Anyways , cheers !
A really important detail about The Lore, which to my knowledge, is the only speaker in the Tekton partheon with this design, is the wizzer cone eminence combo. "10" Lore transducer' from the website, not just an Eminence driver....
Jay, thank you for the video. Any chance you can post some sound demos on these Lore speakers? I can hardly find any on TH-cam. Thanks in advance!!
Good one Jay....you got me thinking of trying to get these speakers against my mag LRS...🤔
He made a very good point the lrs are very finicky and demanding speakers these are just so easygoing I don't think you can get bad sound out of them
The maker of those speakers should have some trim rings made to cover
the screws. It would really clean them up and make them look better.
ok, but this is just a home made speaker , junk
@@michaelmcintyre9179 I doubt it's junk...My Mother makes
homemade food and guess what, it taste far better than what Kraft makes~
agree with this review on MDF. MDF has resonant property in mids. Its better to use two Plywood(any cheap one) with some soft elastomer compund in between. reduces knocking effect, lowers resonance to bass region and reduces boxyness.
solid wood is no no, since they resonate.
so if adding flavour or boxyness sound is the aim, then go with solid wood or MDF
otherwise wood sandwich composites or reinforced plywood
Very good bang for the buck, and plays well with lower powered tube amps, SETs..I would love to try their SET model.
Thats a kickass review ! Thanks Jay Appricate ya 😃 I will get a pair of these in very soon i wanna see how the
doge 10 pairs up ! 😃 calling Tekton tommorrow (eric)
Hey brother did you ever get a pair of these? I know you're a fan of that livelier dynamic sound and thought these would be your thing. Or do you prefer something more...jbl?
I like paper cones the best too. When you rub paper it makes white noise. No other material will. The reason they make cones out of other material isn't for sound but for longer lasting cones. Paper perishes after a decade or so and that is why expensive paper cone drivers have replacement cone kits (like Lowther).
Good review! I like the way you can describe speaker performance. You seem to be able to capture the flavour of the sound. My first impression looking at these speakers is with such a large woofer and small tweeter they must struggle a bit with the midrange. I see the woofers are equipped with whizzers. These are supposed to help extend the woofer range but I often wondered if they were effective. That is to say do they help fill in the gap between tweeter and woofer without introducing any unwanted distortions?? I may be wrong in my thinking but I always viewed whizzers as more of a gimmick. Of course I need to keep in mind these are ~$1000 speakers and budget speaker designs are all about compromises. I guess everyone's tastes are different and trade-offs are part of the deal. As you mention these speakers seem to have great bass and smooth extended treble so a little compromise in the mid range may be justifiable.
You be surprised at what you can get away with and still have audiophiles “excited”, as long as has a good story and tuning that makes it sound somewhat ok.
High efficiency does have something going for it, though also trade off with regards to extraneous effects
Jay,
Great review! How about a quick comparison to the CSS audio triton? I finished a pair of their triton 2's and find then an incredible value. I would love to know how you compare the two. As I remember you gave the Triton's a "speaker of the year" award too as well?!
you do a great job explaining these speakers..thank you..how about pairing it with my music fidelity 225 encore
How do they compare to the Triangle BRO8, which are a little more expensive?
another engaging and fun review . I have Lores and have done comparisons with Vandersteen 3a sig, Magnepan 3.7 and a pair of AAD 2001 monitors . All these others are several x the price of the Lores and to my ears the Lores spank the maggies , beat the Vandies in naturalness , fluidity and non fatiguing . The AAD2001's are warm and fluid , very good upper and lower extension but the Lores are better rounded top to bottom including midrange . Like you say , paper drivers have that natural sonic texture and the Audax tweeters are quite special . Thanks again ! Keep it coming .
Awesome. Like I said, one has to hear the maggies for themselves and are willing to go through trial an error to get them right while the Lores just... sound right everywhere you go - most impressive
Maggies and Vandies sounds like drug candy
Fair to say if you have a pair of good subs the Lore reference is the best option?
btw, back in the late 80's, the only U.K. hi-fi mag' i liked & regularly bought (Hi'Fi World) announced Audax had ceased production of the gold plated metal dome tweeters & they could no longer sell their 3 sizes of flat pack speaker kits "until further notice" & told they couldn't find a tweeter near as good anywhere close to the same price, i only recal as i nearly bought the floorstander flatpack, but only 'nearly'
The strangest thing is that they had oval shaped gold domes & I've stroked my chin in deep thought thinking "has my memories failed me on this as ive not seen oval domed tweeters ever since" but i'm certain they were oval now & recal them resembling a lid'less human eye when viewing one in their parts pic horizontally aligned tho not so in the assembled pic where the tweeter's long dimension was vertically aligned, oval eye shaped domes asside, those older Audax gold plated dome tweeters were spoke of as having a liquid smooth treble, very low measured distortion & highly detailed sound quality, a rare combo back then. Obviously Audax since started making good gold plated titanium tweeters tho i dont recal those older Audax oval domes described as being titanium, nonetheless, your description of these tweeters is very similar.
These Tekton's seem like a veritable bargain from your description of their sound quality.
Nothing as promising has come from u.k. speaker manufturers for many years, (at least at non-stratasphorically high prices) who all(?) seem to have moved their speaker production to China or sold their brand name to Chinese companies, which is no bad thing in itself forr U.K. speaker manufturers but they were generally much better speaker made in u.k. in years now past. I fully agree paper cones except for tweeters have always been the most natural sound in my (limited to your own) experience of speakers. My very least favourite main cone material has always been polypropylene, all which ive heard or owned... (& never will again) ...have sooner or later & sometimes instantly revealed a "cuppy" type of couration. Like talking into a tupperware, polypropylene or poly'plastic compound bowl or large beaker of the same material compared to talking normally & not into one of those ...is an exagerate form of that cuppy sound i hear from polypropylene bass/mid cones.
Nice review Jay!
Thank you Lynn. Cheers
Any thoughts on this Model with the Beryllium tweeter? Was hoping you would have reviewed with that tweeter for the Lore.
I was hoping the same I really want the beryllium but I don't know if they are really any better then the gold ones technically I think they are but I don't want to ruin a good recipe already
Just received my Lore BE speakers this week. I am very pleased; granted I ordered them back in June. I find them very precise and especially good with details such as fingers on string instruments. I was a little concerned about the loss of those details, as I was moving away from speakers with folded motion ribbon tweeters. Pleasantly, I found that was not the case. Hope my subjective viewpoint helps.
@@Bullet0Magnet thank you for your observation I guess the gold ones are good enough for $10,000 speakers they were put in by different manufacturers I guess they're good enough for me plus they look so much nicer then Gray LOL
Steve Costello Anytime... There was a video on TH-cam ( go figure ) that got me thinking about the benefits of beryllium. Essentially, they had a series of tuning forks setup and they measured how long each fork vibrates when energy was applied. Beryllium seemed to dissipate the energy quicker. That quality seems to provide excellent sound reproduction. I agree, however, those gold dome tweeters are found on some high dollar speakers. I’m sure you’ll be happy with either choice... hope your order doesn’t take as long as mine.
It varies from person to person, but, i've had speakers with beryllium tweeters that caused me extreme listening fatigue.
Thanks for another great review. I also think there is something to be said for companies that continue to refine and improve on a design that is fundamentally good. Certainly Tannoy is a good example of this. Yes they are much more than $1000 but to stay with the same design of a speaker for over 60 years says something and they sound exceptional.
I totally agree - I'd rather see improvements than new models with jacked up pricing cuz its "new." Very admirable but not something everyone will do
I can see the Dali Epicons in the back... Review coming soon?
They seem to be the Dali Opticon 8, not the Epicon.
Hey Jay, how did these compare to you Pendragons? I know they're almost twice as much but what did you think?
Id Say that the Pendragon is more of a meaty and more bass speaker. The Lores have my respect in the imaging and separation department.
How do the Lores compare with the Klipsch RP-8000F?
I would love to know how these compare to the Zu DW
Me too!
Zu's a piece of sht (a company with very low engineering aptitude). Tekton is eons above.
@WoundrousMindTrick Any dumbo can DIY a speaker with a couple of drivers in his basement and it may sound ok (trial & error could eventually get you there, that's a ZU dumbo for you, hardly worth the price tag). If you want something that'd blow your mind and slay it for music, go with a Yamaha NS-F901, for instance. They made your piano and your violin and everything else for a 120 years. They know how to make your speaker. Other contenders are Andrew Jones's Elac Unifi 2.0, , some of E. Alexander's (Tekton) offerings, GR research NX Treme (DIY), etc at this price range. Never buy sht fron a dumbo.
@@wa2368 The Soul Supreme was thoroughly vetted and praised by Stereophile... I'd like to hear those.
@@wa2368 I've owned the Zu speakers and they were excellent.
Just because you don't like something doesn't mean it's shit.
Grow up~
Did you get the tweeter upgrade and/or also get the optional internal upgrades offered on the site?
What was the woofer called again? Your description sounds like a 2000's rock band. :0) Do you mean Eminence?
yes , modded b102 excellent drivers , I have a pair of Lores.
@@artsabound7627 Thanks.
@@artsabound7627 please say something about how Lores sound, and whether you continue to personally recommend them?
@@seunatolagbe4957 Jay's mentioning paper woofers is correct to my ear , very natural , life like with deep textured bass and vocals . If your amp and source send them a dynamic and rich signal they will deliver it fully , great piano , strings , sax . Mids are very life like, highs are highly detailed with sparkle yet very smooth . again , your amplifier and source will to an extent control these things . I currently drive with a 70s vintage Luxman integrated , have driven them with a vintage Pass design amp and Amber series 70 amp with tube pre . All combos sounded amazing .
@@artsabound7627 grateful for the helpful detail
The key to good speakers? A couple or few good drivers. Keep it simple, and straight forward and you get something really nice.
Tekton is a good example, so is magnepan .. then shoot way above their weight (prices)
A few good drivers is not what I think of for tekton's. Cough cough, tweeters and more tweeters with a dash of more tweeters is what they're known for.
And I'm glad they have the lore line. It shows they're catching on, ;)
@@thunderpooch those arrays in tektons are not tweeters they are used as midrange 🙂
But tekton is not a speaker i would buy either, they are to expensive and they don't really look that great
Didn't like my new Tektons at first, then I switched to my cheaper speaker cables. How did switching to a worse speaker cable bring out the fullness of the speaker?
Great video ! I'm team cheap too but for a moment I believed that was a legit Audio Note Amp untill research 😭.
It is a Chinese copy right ?
Would either Lore or Lore Reference standard tweeter be good enough? Or will beryllium tweeter be too bright and analytical? Is it worth the upgrade?
The Audax gold tweeter is more extended (brighter maybe?.. definitely more presence) than the Beryllium. Both are refined. The Beryllium sounds more like an extremely well done soft dome. It sounds a tad softer in my experience. I have both (the Audax in the Lore and the Beryllium in the Lore Reference). Just my experience. Yet again..two different speakers. Two different crossovers as well.
Great job - nicely done
MDF does not create boxiness but the lack of internal bracing on a large speaker certainly does. Is the cabinet of the Lore internally braced?
It is
Thank you for the great detailed review. I really enjoyed all your reviews keep them coming! Do u think this speaker matches my Rega RP10 turntable to be used my my 15 by 20 ft room ? I like soundstage and listen to vocal jazz and some pop music and I have a budget of $1k to $3k usd.
Id say rega and project makes great tt in that range
@@Jayiyagi can u recommend an amp for this setup in the $1k to $2k range? I have no clue how different the ss or tube amp sounds. So I guess it doesn't matter at this point. Appreciate your kind advise.
It's "Eminence" btw for the woofers.
these are nice I used to put these similar woofers into 4 x 10 cabs back in the day Eminence delta pro they where $140.00 each speakers in the day the kilo max pro was an 18 inch loudspeaker capable of frequencies of 38-700 Hz at 1200 watts very nice drivers.
When's the review for the Kinkis? I've been considering those amps for a few months.
Either those or I'll end up going with the new Purifi 1ET400A
Review coming soon. Cheers
So curious, How is this review holding up ? Is your review standing the test of time?
yes it is. Still amazing speakers that's hard to beat at the given price point
Jay, what’s your opinion of these vs. the Buchardt S400s? Also, any experience with the Tekton Impact Monitors?
Another great review, Think I'll go with Klipsch ....
Is beryllium worth the upgrade?
Sounds like you described a best speaker at just about any price point
Did you ever review the Kii Audio’s Kii threes? Love mine.
Hi there! Does tekton ship overseas? I cannot find anythig in Europe
For two years I went back and forth on whether to get this Tekton or the Zu Audio Dirty Weekends... yesterday (Oct 1, 2020) the Dirty Weekend’s were up for sale so I pulled the trigger with the upgraded Clarity MR capacitor.
Good choice, Tekton has mediocre customer service. Various threads back this up as well as my own personal anecdotes.
I have purchased two pairs of Tektons and have experienced excellent customer service...
My experience with Tekton’s service over more than the past year has been excellent.
I intend to buy a pair of Tekton Double Impacts in the future. However I wanted a basic speaker where I felt high sensitivity would be ideal for certain types of music (low dynamic recordings). I almost bought the Tekton Lores but I felt the finish and larger 10” offered in the Zu Audio DW’s were worth the wait and money. My total cost with shipping and upgrades came to $1200.
Doan Trinh just an FYI, the Lore woofer is also 10” like the ODW.
How did this compare to the Pendragon?
What about the whaferdale linton infront of them ?
Lintons far better.
Jay. How are these for late night low spl listening? Jazz and classical since don't want to disturb anyone? Recommendations?
Jay, you HAVE to do an Omen Dirty Weekend and Lore comparison. It's the most logical and fair comparison of any other speaker out there. I mean they are both priced at $999 and use the same design theories. And people can know once and for all, what UT based pro-audioish company reigns supreme. I LOVE my DIRTY WEEKENDS, so much, that I have another pair in a custom gloss finish on order. I am sure that either speaker, people will be VERY happy with but it would make for such a great shootout. Oh, you keep mentioning that tactile, impact and feeling the music. That's EXACTLY one of the many reasons why I love the Dirty Weekends so much. It has such a visceral, tactile and palpable sound that you feel not just hear. And bass guitar is a huge determining factor when testing a speaker, I am a big Primus fan and it nails Claypool's bass guitar. The mid bass and mid range slam of the Dirty Weekend is ridiculous. And I can't find the limits. I had Primus playing at 107db peaks the other day and they didn't break a sweat. One more edit, I know they play well with everything but I recently bought a Hegel Rost, which I know you guys love, and it has brought life to the ZU's like know other amp I have used with them. The damping factor of +2000 with the Hegel controls the 10" ZU driver with an iron fist. Stops and starts on a dime and has such a slam and kick to it. It's truly a moving experience. If nothing else, try out a Hegel with the Tektons.
I'm looking at lore... and primus is part of my test tracks for speakers. If you want to know if you're speakers can produce bass... not synthesized bass but bass guitar, I always tell people. Primus. 😁
@@erics.4113 Totally! Primus is the TRUE test of how a real bass guitar note should sound on a speaker. If the speaker can't rock some Les, then it's a no go for me!
@@erics.4113 And by the way, my ZU's pump out Primus like a champ!
@@jeffadams9699 I like the zu (on paper) and seriously considering, and probably will, order them on their next production order I think it's November 18th? It's on my calendar. In the meantime, I think I'm set on tekton lore.. have a crap bunch of paint chips in the listening room trying to decide on color and sent email to tekton with some questions. I have no other floorstander to compare to. But instead of another pair of bookies or amp or dac I think that's my smartest play right now. Excited for some full(er) range speakers. Even tho I run sub with bookies I know it will be different. Just don't know exactly what to expect so I'm not trying to get too hyped. I'm on a journey and that's the fun part now
Every review I’ve read says the Dirty Weekends are only good for rock, and your comments seem to highlight rock. How are they with other music?
Thujan has the Kef Q950. I really loved these in the store. How do the Lores compare to them?
They get even better when you upgrade the capacitors and resistors of the crossovers ! I used to own a pair. Fantastic value for money.
Why did you get rid of them?
@@rapfreak7797 Went for a DIY 4 ways speakers made by a friend who likes to build these big setup. Except if ever I can buy a well taken care off Cabasse Albatros pair I don't feel the need to own another pair of speakers.
So I sold the Tekton to a friend of mine. He is in Heaven with them. I repeat great value stock and huge value after upgrade.
Best.
I don’t understand why Tekton doesn’t route the cabinet so the woofer can be mounted flush with the cabinet. It would make the speaker look more refined and less like something built in a garage. They’re already routing the cabinet for the tweeter. Why not route for the woofer at the same time?
Apparently doing that can effect the frequency response of the woofer. So depending on what's going on with the response decides wether to route it out or not
🙏💪👌👏👏👋👍
I've been waiting for this review for a long time and I'm still waiting to win my speakers great review Jay.. 💕 stay safe😷😷
Thank you for your Patronage Steve !
@@Jayiyagi 👌👍💪💕❤️🖖🖖Anytime Anyplace Jay you're the best review we're out there I have quite a few components thanks to you and I will be purchasing the tekton speakers lore also in red with a gold tweeter thanks to you again my wallet really hates you😵😵😵😂🤣😂🤣🥺