Floorstanding loudspeakers — Tekton Design ALTA

The Alta is a compact two-way floorstanding speaker from Tekton Design, listed in the Mid Towers category at USD 725 per pair, reduced from USD 800. It follows on from the earlier Mini Lore, and Eric Alexander, who founded Tekton in 2003, designed it for production at the company's base in Orem, Utah.

Key specs that matter

The Alta combines an 8-inch woofer made by Eminence in the USA with a 1-inch silk soft dome tweeter of Danish design. The maker gives the response as 38 Hz to 20 kHz, sensitivity as 93 dB at 1 W and 1 m, and nominal impedance as 8 ohms, with power handling of 200 W. The cabinet measures about 864 x 232 x 254 mm and weighs about 15.9 kg. Unlike many Tekton models, it uses a single conventional tweeter rather than the patented multi-dome array.

Engineering and use context

Tekton describes the driver layout as having perfect impulse time-alignment, meaning the woofer and tweeter are arranged so that their output reaches the listener at the same moment in response to a single pulse. The 8-inch woofer comes from Eminence, an American driver manufacturer, and it is the source of most of the Alta's output below the crossover. The simple two-way layout keeps the crossover to one division between woofer and tweeter. With its modest height and width, the Alta is a small tower that places the tweeter near seated ear height without stands. Tekton lists it among its Mid Towers together with the Electron and Enzo 2.7. Options follow the Tekton pattern - separate bass and treble terminals for USD 75, custom paint in matte or gloss finishes, grilles and a choice of footers - and parts carry a warranty of as long as five years. An upgrade package is also listed, and shipping is free within the continental United States.

Pairing

An efficient design with a benign load lets low-power tube amplifiers and small integrated amplifiers drive the Alta in a room of about 20 m2. The power handling figure is not a minimum amplifier requirement. A subwoofer can extend the bass for home cinema use. The light, shallow cabinet fits smaller rooms, and its narrow width suits placement either side of a TV cabinet in a living room.

Alternatives

The Tekton Design Lore Reference is a Mid Tower model priced at USD 810 per pair, with an 8-inch Eminence woofer and a hybrid high-frequency driver, rated at 96 dB and 37 Hz to 40 kHz.