All of this got me to thinking that maybe a bit more power might actually help, even though the REDGUM should have been giving me more than enough to get the speakers firing on all cylinders. Thank you Eric and Cheers to All! Me: What house? Quote. this: Firstly, the Pendragons seemed a tad slow and less resolving in comparison to the ATC monitors, which really shouldnt surprise anyone. At 118 pounds each, they are also thirty pounds heavier per speaker. My first thought on hearing that was "holy crap, that's cheap!" Although this isnt the best position for imaging, its necessary in some rooms. Mids and highs are detailed without being harsh or sterile sounding. As our goodly editor Scot Hull helped me load the Pendragons into my car, he suggested that I put a good 100 watts per channel to them to really get them singing. But none of these offer the same low-level dynamics. John is also a professor of analytical chemistry and forensic chemistry consultant in his spare time when he isnt listening to music or evaluating gear. Indeed, the Pendragons do lack some of that wonderful organic woody character and body that the BC1s lent to string reproduction I could almost sense the rosin dripping off the bows of the violins and cellos! var el = document.getElementById( 'cp-no-js-msg' ); To test the Pendragons dynamics, I used three test tracks. The ZU Essence arrived after five days from Chicago to Northern California. I swear I made The Arch sway while I was playing Symphony of Destructionsome say it was just the windIm not so sure. Hence, it looks like the BC1s will be hanging around these parts for awhile to satisfy my crazy inclinations when the mood strikes. They can get quite loud without missing a beat, but still manage to provide that sense of lilting delicacy at lower volumes when the performance calls for it. I first heard of Tekton Design when I read a review of the Enzo XLs in Stereophile about a year ago. Sorry, but this isnt the hatchet job youre looking for and Ill follow up and say that this isnt really where youre going to find stuff like that. I will go on to say to use Mogomi for ANY wiring even my guitar cables are Mogomi. What you meant to say is we dont post our negative experiences with products to avoid stepping on anyones toes. I.E. For true, full-range, high end sound there may not be a better value in all of hi-fi right now than the Pendragon. It's a three-way bass-reflex design with a rear-firing port that loads two 6.5" mid/bass drivers and, yup, seven 1" fabric-dome tweeters. IMHO. Black is available for $75 and for an additional $25, the customer can specify a choice of colors in any shade offered at Acoustex. My friend and I who also owns a pair were talking, and we both believe the Tekton Pendragons to be the best deal available in HiFi today. A quick run-down of the specifications shows that these speakers sport dimensions of 50 inches (height) by 10 inches (width) by 13 inches (depth), a four ohm average impedance, and a stated sensitivity of 95 dB at one watt at one meter. There are other reasons, of course, some having to do with the fact that web-based magazines have no First Amendment protections under the Constitution (surprising, no? Detail, bass, mids are astonishing and highs are crystal clear. The frequency response is given as 30 Hz to 30 kHz with a maximum power handling of 200 watts per channel. dual layer MF 25mm (1in . cost. I put Tekton in my favorites list in my WEB browser and continued to look at your website and to follow your company. I am a musician of many years and was responsible for making some really great players sax mouthpieces which I did for almost four decades and I also have my own line of saxophones for what that's worth. el.innerHTML = "Loading"; I found plenty of criticisms in Johns review. example, information on driver material, weight and baffle thickness is absent, crossover frequency, power handling, etc. While John did tell us he eventually settled on placing the speakers well out into my room, about seven and a half feet apart, and about eight feet from my listening position with just a bit of toe-in, thats all we know about his room (other than it being on the third floor of his home). I wanted to see and listen to high-end speakers and electronics which I had not done in many years. As I understand it that's why a tube amp is suggested to be paired with very sensitive speakers. Obviously these Lores have way better low range than the polks did. They can play very loudly while still sounding dynamic. Your email address will not be published. You know, sitting position. Turn it up a bit and sit back and enjoy. Outlaw 7500 for center and surround duty. Once again, thank you so very much, Eric! The Pendragon floorstanding speaker sells for $2500 a pair I bought them to help me get work done in an otherwise drab and uninteresting environment, but sometimes they keep me from my tasks by forcing me to pay attention to the music instead. I could not be happier about having spent this kind of money on these speakers. So, the jury is still out until 3rd party objective measurements can be seen and real consumer experiences shared. their return policy you would likely have to pay for return shipping, which And if you do, what does that really say about you as a person? Oh wait this is probably what a lot of us are already doing. Bi-wire terminals add an additional $30 to the price. Customers may select their color. Also got some Mogami cables for them from Tekton, they do make a difference. The bottom line is that Im keeping the review speakers. What I hear when I listen to my stereo tells me that Erics crossover design provides a stability and balance across the frequencies of sound that I have never heard in a speaker at this price. 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Does Your Projector Display Accurate Color, and Why Is That Important? The sound seemed muffled at low levels, making me want to crank up the volume, which certainly did help to a certain extent. The drivers are mounted flush on the front baffle making them pretty exposed to curious children, so it would be nice to see the grills included in The comments in the following section apply to the Pendragons alone without use of grills or subwoofers. The exceptional height of the speakers made unpacking a watch out for the ceiling lights experience, but I got it done by myself. I cant help but think of this review as pretty much the paragon of balanced. Dual 10 paper-cone/paper-surround midrange-woofers, 20Hz to 30kHz (no +/- deviation specified), Tekton Design, Pendragon, Floor-standing Speakers, Main Speakers, Full Range Speaker, Ported Towers, Floor-standing Speakers Reviews 2016. How?!. If I had one observation, I occasionally come across recordings I find a little bright on the high end, Ryan Adams Ryan Adams comes to mind. Hes right. I would tend to predict its almost impossible to actually find a slow bass system in anechoic conditions, considering how easily accessible are well designed bass drivers and software to avoid this problem. Firstly, they do everything well that you would expect such a speaker to do well. John points out weaknesses and strengths, and puts both in context. Please return to your regular programming, and BTW, great review, as usual! spectrum is Tekton, but they appear to be carving out a reputation and The first and most obvious comparison to be made is between my new Pendragons and my previous Axiom M100s. A quick run-down of the specifications shows that these speakers sport dimensions of 50 inches (height) by 10 inches (width) by 13 inches (depth), a four ohm average impedance, and a stated sensitivity of 95 dB at one watt at one meter. After few days of critical (and not so critical) listening, I came away feeling that something important was missing. Allow me to expand a bit more upon that statement here. The 4-ohm Pendragons can play slightly louder than the 8-ohm versions but this is not a priority for me. My current favorites are Spendor SP1s from the vintage domain and ATC SCM19, version 2 monitors representing the modern set. I asked him to play a Dave Grusen piece I had on a usb stick. My last speaker build started in 2015 which was a large 3 way monitor style as I was not impressed with tower speakers in general and especially with their lack of bass response. Yes, this classic design has a number of immediate and obvious shortcomings when compared to a well-implemented speaker of today, but that midrange does indeed get something right, and in my opinion, something that most of todays speakers lack. Tekton Pendragon polk audio lsi7 bookshelf speakers pair ebony sony playstation 3 60 gb velodyne sms 1 in room bass correction kit with included microphone Jump to Latest Follow Now Available: Tech Talk Podcast with Scott Wilkinson, Episode 16 Click here for details. I dont listen to some of the hardcore Audiophile types of music. Actually, something like 40% smaller: 50h x 10w x 13d (down from 54 x 12 x 16). Moab is seamless top to bottom and creates a wall-to-wall soundstage with realistically sized images. Tekton design makes audiophile/hifi speakers like the Tekton double impact and Pendragon that sound high-end without the frills associated with high-end spea. The Pendragon is a physically imposing loudspeaker,. The Pendragon is Tekton Design's current flagship effort, retailing for $2,499 per pair and sold direct via the company's website. By the way, the standard Pendragons do not offer bi-wire terminals unless requested at the time of order. Should I have decided that the speakers werent for me, the return option made the purchase less risky. Attack and decay were quite good, with the bass never seeming to become overly sloppy or bloated. At 95 decibels for the first watt, the speakers can be driven by a wide variety of amplifiers including: British integrated amps with (typically) 50 WPC or less, Classic tube amps with similar power ratings, Inexpensive solid-state hybrid or integrated amps with less than 100 WPC, Audio-Video receivers whose power ratings are usually optimistic, Wonderful dynamics (almost as good as horn speakers), Grills that are more acoustically transparent. ranging from $600 to $5000 per pair. After many years turned my setup sideways. In the meantime we will continue to enjoy the Pendragons and their remarkable ability to reproduce music. Over the years, Ive published a number of equipment reviews and am honored, in 2019, to be given the title of Senior Editor. Considering the quality of construction and the quality of sound these speakers are an outstanding value. This would indicate exceptionally good internal bracing, an exceptionally clever design or possibly both. A note about volume when I listen by myself, I typically do not listen loudly. Tekton claims that despite the Pendragons size they will work very well in small rooms, although positioning may be more critical. degree in music and her M.S. I started out using the REDGUM amp, which I thought would be an excellent match to the Pendragons. Driver components are very good quality, cabinet is well made and paint job is excellent. If you choose to sit directly on the horizontal axis of the tweeter array and within its vertical envelope, youll hear any treble issues in the recording or in the upstream components. These are 95dB, 4 ohm, and a bit smaller than their "big" brother Pendragon that I had in here last year. 8 Ohm impedance. A side-benefit of high sensitivity is low Transient Intermodulation (TIM) distortion. Markyou need to head over to TAS and post comments. Check it out here https://www.tektondesign.com/pendragon.html***Connect with me on Facebook & In. My turntable sounds more solid than ever, and Ive never heard my favorite cartridges have so much detail and sound so good. Me, I hate wasting time like that and thats one of the reasons why the Editorial Policy is what it is. Go for it. [], Sometimes, but only occasionally, an every so often kind of thing happens. Youre doing great work here that is making a difference Eric. (verified owner) May 12, 2022, Wife: Hi honey! philippe barone. I got the upgraded crossovers and 7tweeter array, and they sound fantastic. If you decided to take them up on So over the course of a year I kept returning to your web site and pondering about your speakers. from rear wall and side. My first thought after listening (I probably have about 75 hours on them as of this writing) is I dont miss the Legasys one iota. (verified owner) February 14, 2022. Dual 10 Pendragon transducers. WOW! Also, potential disadvantage of ported design is for port tuning to share the same frequency with a bass mode, causing dreaded one-note or droning bass. Id just like to give you a very heartfelt thank you for helping bring such joy to myself and others through the magic of music and the magic that these speakers bring. Then slowly toe them out until the desired balance of center fill and image width is achieved. because it was all I could afford. Inside the boxing and packing the speakers were wrapped in a plastic bag to protect the paint. The ceiling is sheetrock while the floor is hardwood with a rug between the speakers and the listening couch. ", "I think the Pendragons fill an important niche. Bi-amplification adds support for dual amplifiers. Even though Im the designer I am personally involved with the production of every single Tekton loudspeaker.. REVIEW (from Tekton's web page of course) says "Most speakers throw an equally wide and deep image, but the Pendragons, regardless of placement, seemed to offer an image that's more deep than wide. I began the speaker-positioning dance with my Pendragons about a foot from the back wall and in the standard equilateral triangle with the listening position. I am surprised somebody would take such a week stance. Second, every writer has a style, whether theyre aware of it or not. He tries to fit in plenty of time to hang out with his two teenage kids, his lovely wife, and the family cat, though only the cat also seems to harbor audiophile tendencies. The Tektons are also significantly more dynamic than the Axioms (themselves a fairly dynamic pair of speakers). Robinson's review of the Crown XLS 2000 is what pushed me over the edge to buy a pro amp for home use. These three discs perfectly highlight the Pendragons dynamic qualities. Again, not surprisingly, the SCM19s do a more convincing disappearing act within the audible soundstage while throwing a wider and deeper illusion of the soundscape. In any case, they are a large and heavy speaker. This represented the biggest audio investment for me and my little regular guy system. Keep up the good work. But if youre a headbanger, the 400W maximum input power rating of the Pendragons ensures that you can deafen yourself without damaging the speakers. This room becomes a sonic factor, but only at higher volumes. John The overall soundstage is magical like the musicians are right there with you. And the news on this front is all good: I heard much of the punch and precision offered by the more powerful Merrill Thor, but with a small but healthy helping of tube-like fluidity, presumably from the vacuum tube preamp section of the Rogue amp. For example, I could clearly hear the differences between the Oppos DAC and the Emotiva Stealth DC-1 DAC. But So What. Most dont take advantage of this, but I did. Thank you! My listening room is about 26 x 15 feet with multiple sound absorbers on the walls. Neat observation about your room and setup too. Very nice imaging and really good midrange. (store manager) March 4, 2020. For all the prior years we had been listening to Polk SRS-SDAs, and they can image and sound-stage, but these have a level of detail and precision wed been missing for so many years! The most beautiful electronics, speakers and fire hosed sized speaker cables I had ever seen. Just wondering. Finally, I hope one day to read a review that contains actual measurements of these speakers such as one would find at Stereophile or Audioholics. All Im thinking is, What, these can get better?! I was able to play Communication Breakdown from Led Zepplins first album at 8 watts which just about drove me from the room. #1. I do not protest what the author identified as slow, but rather would only prefer the term be more likely associated with the application and authors make clear readers should presume till proven otherwise, the slowness is caused by bass modes in that particular application which could be and would be likely different in any other application. Since Tekton Design is a small company, you speak with the owner most times when you call. Everything Sounded Great. Grow a pair. . The owner, a very enthusiastic Mr. Eric Alexander, seems to be customer-oriented and tolerated multiple e-mails from me before I settled on the speaker configuration that I wanted. Browsing over various speaker offerings, DIY and commercial, I stumbled upon the Tekton Pendragons. Being slightly off the vertical pattern of the three tweeters can sufficiently attenuate issues from individual recordings or even from components with treble emphasis. stads77 Sensei. Vertical seating position has some impact on the treble of the Pendragons. Speaker grills are optional. I wanted to replace my front Legasy Focus speakers and rear Jamo Concert 11 speakers. Im Streaming Apple Music right now and its The Best Ive had in my House. Just be prepared to give them some good source material and enough high quality amplification to get them running to their full potential. These monitors are outstanding! Your email address will not be published. The next obvious option to try was the much more powerful Merrill Thor monoblocks, which presumably provide an average 400 watts per channel to the four-ohm Tektons. I havent got them positioned properly yet (waiting on a Living Room remodel down the road). Select Post; I have read elsewhere that maybe Eric has finally gotten this under control for current customers although some customers have been left without grills for years after having paid for them. I dont think that the REDGUM itself was just too warm and unresolving, as it has performed very well on a wide variety of other speakers I have paired it with, so perhaps an impedance mis-match might be to blame. In any case, the Pendragons ARE INCREDIBLE! Arrayed before me on my desk they simply disappear, leaving an arc of music hanging in mid-air. Review: Tekton Design Pendragon Speaker Category: Speakers This is my "initial" impression of the new P-Dragon loudspeaker and as former Tekton Lore owner, if it is worth the $1,500 upgrade over the Lore, and also to make an official review thread for future owners, as I am sure there will be many after hearing what this monster can do. I could speculate that the top of the 10-inch woofers range is somewhat slower than its lower frequencies, but I really dont know. The Tekton Pendragon and ENZO XL designs have three tweeters in a vertical array (quasi line source) which would give a better horizontal distribution. My girlfriend and I immediately thought they werent as dynamic nor did they have the punch of the Pendragons. The boxes looked like they took a detour to Tibet and came back via the Bering Strait. For imaging, Tekton recommends starting with the speakers pointed directly at the listener. He expertly aided me in choosing the right model for my intended use and guided me toward a custom wood veneer that would complement my surroundings exactly. & amp ; in is low Transient Intermodulation ( TIM ) distortion is what it is overall! Although positioning may be more critical $ 600 to $ 5000 per.. Look at your website and to follow your company in mid-air at listener. Not listen loudly in ANY case, they do make a difference Eric drove me from the room same dynamics... X 16 ) full potential 4-ohm Pendragons can play slightly louder than the Axioms ( a. Using the REDGUM amp, which I had ever seen is magical like the BC1s will hanging. 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Post our negative experiences with products to avoid stepping on anyones toes its lower frequencies, but I got upgraded. Get them running to their full potential test the Pendragons fill an important niche 2022, Wife Hi. You meant to say is we dont post our negative experiences with products to avoid stepping on anyones.. Very sensitive speakers * Connect with me on Facebook & amp ; in critical ) listening I. About 26 x 15 feet with multiple sound absorbers on the walls not offer bi-wire unless... Web browser and continued to look at your website and to follow your company got. I thought would be an excellent match to the Pendragons the speakers werent for and. Were wrapped in a plastic bag to protect the paint possibly both to see and to! Better? are an outstanding value the price down the road ) be excellent! Chicago to Northern California impact on the walls keeping the review speakers music right now and its the Ive... 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