First Listen: Tekton Designs Pendragon SEAS

31 Comments

1. any update? Honestly I’m looking at little brother but very interested in these.

   • They were featured in a review back in December …?

2. The tekton speakers even with Mundorf capacitors are front row perspective, I heard seas, as will as big Pendragons. Great for playing rock,electronic, hip hop, and Loud. If you want great inner detail or detailed at low volume Absolutely not,also sensitivity is also not accurate I heard these with Klipsch speakers that were 98 db not even close the Pendragon is more like 92 db at 1watt
   And at low volume not much detail.you need to give them some volume.

3. Back on April 29 I mentioned I had ordered the Lore-S in early Jan. and was patiently awaiting delivery… well they arrived June 28;. a full six months. Was the wait worth it? Absolutely. They sounded good out of the box but after ~30 hours they dialed in nicely and I’m loving them. The sound is excellent. I’m using Red Wine Audio Sig 15 for two channel mostly streaming Radio Paradise via laptop / USB / RDac (Radio Paradise has excellent sound by the way) and Marantz SR7005 from Oppo 83 for surround / SACD. Room is 12′ wide by 16′ long open on one side to kitchen, speakers on short wall, two feet out and eight apart. I don’t consider myself a learned audiophile but for what its worth, I’m extremely happy with the Lore-S. Very solid all around performers.

4. Ordered the Enzo’s from the crew at Tekton on 30May13…they shipped on 11Jul13. When I asked about shipment date about a week after placing the order, Daniel (production manager) said he expected them to ship in 6 – 7 weeks. They delivered on that commitment.

5. It would be interesting for you to install a crossover with the upgraded caps that Eric offers and see if that improves the detail retrieval? That would help alot of us pondering if the expense is worth it.

   • Not sure I can do that “in the field”, can I?

     • If you are handy with a soldering iron. Ask Eric to send you some complete cross overs so its easier to change over. Mate if i can solder anyone can.
       Anyway just an idea. Not to worry if its too much.

6. Hi! Any updates on the sound of the SEAS Pendragons?

   • Not really — but I do like them. They’re big, play big, and generally sound big. I like that, and it’s a “thing” that monitors, no matter how well-crafted, simply never seem to capture. So, that’s the plus. On the other hand, the detail retrieval is only “fair”. Better than the Pendragons, for sure, but this is a differentiator for the speakers that tend to cost significantly more. If it was here, in abundance and at this price point, these would be “giant killers”. It’s not, so we’re back to weighing all the strengths against expectations again. In short — I’d happily put these up against some $10k+ speakers from B&W.

     • Thanks for your impressions.

7. Old blog but I had wanted to throw out there that I had put in an order for a pair of black m lores and after about three months I canceled my order. Eric kept telling me “soon”. Then when I had expressed my frustration he was dismissive. I went to cancel my order and he called my cell phone and said that he had been going through some personal stuff and that was why he was behind. Just felt manipulated and lied to. Canceled my order and got something else.

8. Just a update my m-lores 5.1 will ship anyday wiill let you know

9. Steve,
   Since the Lore S is very similar to the Lore in size and specs…and I own the Lore, I can maybe make a comment or two that may be helpful. I have them in an open concept room, 30 x 30 with 11 foot ceilings (see link http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=94833.new#new ) The floor is tile on concrete. They are positioned 7″ from the back wall, the right speaker is 3′ from the right side wall, 9′ apart, 12′ from the listening area…and from this position, they have deep and accurate bass, and throw a really nice, dimensional soundstage. They can easily play very loud both at the seating area 12′ back….and at 25′ back. Here is a link to a photo that may help you picture how they may look in my room with grills… and remember that the Pendragons are 11″ taller….which for me was an issue.

   The only issue I can suggest is that if your room is too small ( say 12′ x 12′ ), then they could overpower the room and or have node problems that reduce the low end.

   One more thing…they don’t have to be played loud to sound good.

   Good luck

   • Thanks Ron, I would not be using these in a big room. Maybe the Lore (S) version will work. I always just wonder what I am leaving on the table when I could ‘upgrade’…

10. Hello,
    I am very interested to hear your thoughts — considering the previous review of the Lore-S. Given the reasonable cost of these speakers, I would be in the market for either model. Could you include a recommendation in your review as to recommended room size for the two different models?

11. I suspect that Eric has to produce loudspeakers in economic batch quantities, say 10 pairs of a specific model at a time…so if you are number 1 or number 11, you wait could be longer than if you are number 9…and its obviously not predictable when more orders for the same loudspeaker will come, so a projected lead time is just an “average estimate”.

    I ordered a pair of standard black Lores, with grills, early in January, they were delivered in April. No doubt that he was getting lots of Pendragon orders and not as many Lore orders so I had to wait longer. Sure, there were moments when I was frustrated that I couldn’t get them sooner; but I’m glad I hung in there as the Lores were really worth the wait. You can tell from correspondence with Eric that he is more of an artist and craftsman than a mass production oriented businessman. Sound, carpentry, paint…all the details really matter to him! That is good news because when you finally get what you ordered, it’s going to be great.

12. I ordered a set off m-lores 5.1 system in march, still no speakers

    • I ordered a pair of Mini-Lores and a Mini-Lore Center Channel speaker from Eric at the beginning of November 2012, I’m still waiting for delivery. This was my second order with him. The first, placed last August, was for a pair of Mini-Lores. Eric gave me a delivery time of 6 weeks (my Mini-Lores have a Cherry veneer/lacquer finish which adds to the production time) and my order arrived in 8 weeks.

      I’m extremely pleased with the Mini-Lores. These speakers are for my first five channel home theater system, and I don’t think I could have bought a better speaker for my purpose. Eric has been very helpful to me. While (still) waiting eight months for an order that I was expecting in eight weeks is disconcerting, I know the wait will be worth it, so I’m going to wait.

      Any business is an exercise in problem solving, and I really hope that Eric will be able to sort his out. I really like him and his speakers.

      • Wow, Eric told me today that mine would be done very soon. I guess I don,t know what his soon is. I know he is busy I would like a little more detail in the word soon.I don,t want to order different speakers because all the the reviews are great. But I also want a new set of speakers this year

      • I also ordered a pair M-Lores and an M-Lore center channel January 11, 2013. I was originally told 3-4 weeks but I still don’t have them. After quitting my search for new speakers (thinking I had found the right ones) I have commenced my search again. I really wanted the M-Lores but I’m starting to doubt Eric and his business sense. He has not under any circumstances been honest with me about when I can expect to receive my order. If he had told me 8 months, I would have waited patiently because I am upgrading, so it’s not like I am without a system. Instead – he was dishonest about the initial time frame and since then has been mostly vague in his responses. I have a hard time believing he has no idea how long it will take to complete an order. I stopped asking him because I knew he wouldn’t be honest. He then sent me an unsolicited e-mail saying that my speakers would be shipped soon and he was sorry for the delay – that was over 2 months ago.

13. My Lores took seven weeks although Eric told me 3~4 weeks at the time of placing the order. I’m pretty satisfied with the quality and performance of Tekton products, but this long wait time may hinder their business success.

14. I ordered a set of Lores on Friday (4/26)…talked with Eric for 15 mins. “4-5 weeks” is what he told me….i get the sense from the tone of the conversation that its going to be longer than that, He did mention he has hired a few more people. I told him that the internet is going to ruin him…he responded with a nervous chuckle. With everything ive read about his speakers on the web, I think hes going to get overwhelmed very quickly.

    • I am aware of three sets of Tekton speakers in the hands of reviewers at this time: PTA has, of course, the Pendragon Seas, Thomas Turner (HionHiFi.com) has a pair of the Enzo model, and Andrew Robinson (Andrew-Robinson-Online.com) has a full-blown 7.2 Pendragon-based HT system he is currently evaluating in his new dedicated home theater.

      With an active thread over at AudiogoN, other reviews of these speakers, including Scot’s previous reviews of different Tekton speakers here on this Blog, word will continue to spread and more orders will come in.

      I think Eric is already overwhelmed – not just with orders, but it has been suggested there are some personal things he is dealing with as well. At this point, I think Eric needs to start quoting more realistic times for his customers. Steve Deckert over at Decware stopped taking orders on his highly-regarded Zen Torii amp for awhile so he could catch-up on his order backlog.

      There might be some risk in that – not taking orders. Unless one have achieved some kind of cult following such as Emotiva has apparently been able to cultivate where their customers are willing to wait years for a product, when you are in business, you are always wondering when that next order will come.

      • ….And in fairness to Emotiva, I should note that they continue to introduce other new products and fulfill orders on existing products in a pretty timely fashion. A different business model to be sure, but for the most part, it works for them quite well.

      • Any update on the Seas?

    • I ordered a set of Lore S on Jan 4/13… was told 4-5 weeks. Its going on 20 now and nothing. However, I confident the wait will be worth it. Good things come to those who wait.

      • WOW! That’s not right at all. I’ve been looking at the Pendragon for a little while now (along with others like RF-7II) but if it is taking them MONTHS to ship an order I will just go with plan B. Like many have said if they are upfront about the long wait time, one could plan accordingly or look elsewhere……sounds like a doomed business model sure to go the way of Rocket Speakers…..

      • Don’t get too exercised. Check with Eric before jumping to any conclusions ….

    • They shipped on 7/23. About what i expected.

15. Elsewhere, some buyers have been complaining about long wait times for their Tekton speakers. Given these are hand-built, long lead times are to be expected, but it does seems as if it is taking much, much longer these days for product to get into some buyers’ hands.

    What is your sense ( I am guessing you spoke with him, not just email) of how Eric is doing these days?

    I look forward to your review.

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