Capital Audiofest (CAF) 2017 & CanMania Show Report
Tekton Design, Linear Tube Audio, Wolf Audio, And Mytek
CAF 2017 Show Report By Kemper Holt

  There's a grassroots following that is reveling in the combination of Tekton speakers and Linear Tube Audio tube electronics, and it's easy to see/hear why. Eric Alexander who is Tekton, designs speakers with out of the box thinking and creates very high sensitivity models, making them very friendly with low output amp designs, from SET, Chip, and PP families. Mark Schneider has made David Berning's unusual tube topologies more accessible by licensing David's designs and making them easier to build and produce in larger numbers so many more music lovers can enjoy David's ideas.

It turns out the combination of low watt, 10 to 40 Wpc, LTA amps provide all the power needed, and the lack of coloration from either the speakers or electronics makes for great music listening. If there ever was a synergistic combination, Tekton and LTA would be at the top of that list.

The room was difficult without a full back wall, and it was a little small for the Tektons, but the listening was rewarding. I found vocals that were tightly focused and real sounding, small details like breath inhales were evident, the stage was wide and deep and the sense of hall was present in The Trinity Sessions, orchestral bass drum pressurized the room easily and drum kits had nice impact on my chest, and dynamics were startling. The presentation is forward and very live sounding, and in this small room the speakers didn't quite disappear, but I assure you at RMAF in just a slightly bigger room they pulled the 100% vanishing act perfectly, and with powerful SS amps to boot.

The level of detail without any edge or fatigue is amazing. The room was packed most of the times I dropped by as the buzz at CAF was "have you heard how good those $3,300 speakers sound". If you live near the DC/Baltimore area stop in at LTA's shop in Takoma Park because Mark purchased the DIs for display in the showroom.

In a stunning red color, the Tekton Double Impact speakers with upgrades ($3,300/pr) were driven by a Linear Tube Audio micro ZOTL MZ2 preamp ($2,050) and a LTA ZOTL 10 Mk II amplifier ($3,200). A Wolf Audio Alpha 2 server ($4,000) fed a Mytek Manhattan II DAC ($6,000). Cables were supplied by Audience from their AU-24 SX lineup.

I hope you got to listen in this room as the values here were outstanding, and the music was exciting, live sounding, and engaging, congratulations on a superb sounding system.

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