Floorstanding loudspeakers — Tekton Design NEBO

The Nebo is a Tekton Design tower selling for USD 3,000 per pair, reduced from USD 4,200. The maker says that the design puts value ahead of appearance, concentrating the budget on drivers and parts, and it pairs two large woofers with a fifteen-dome high-frequency array. Production is in Utah.

Key specs that matter

Two 10-inch woofers and fifteen waveguided domes in a hybrid MTM layout, covered by a pending patent, form the driver set. Frequency response is 20 Hz to 30 kHz, sensitivity is 95 dB at 2.83 V and 1 m, and power handling is 300 W. The Nebo is available at 4 or 8 ohms, with 4 ohms recommended. The cabinet measures about 1,467 x 346 x 394 mm and weighs about 56.7 kg.

Engineering and use context

Each of the small domes sits in a waveguide, and the domes are grouped symmetrically so that they form a tall radiating area instead of acting as one small tweeter. This follows Tekton's patented polygon-oriented array principle, US Patent 9247339. An optional upgrade package replaces standard parts with Cardas billet copper inputs, military-specification internal wiring, Mundorf or ClarityCap capacitors and a Jantzen or Erse inductor. Grilles cost USD 75, and bi-wire or bi-amp terminals are the same price. High gloss paint is also offered with a longer lead time. The Nebo shares its array concept and twin woofers with the more expensive Encore. Its cabinet is about 9 kg lighter than the Encore and about 108 mm shorter, which makes the Nebo easier to fit into a typical living room.

Pairing

The high sensitivity lets amplifiers of moderate power reach high levels, and the rated handling allows larger solid-state designs. The recommended low-impedance version needs an amplifier stable at that load, while the 8 ohm option suits tube amplifiers. Rooms of 20 m2 and larger suit the tall cabinet, and a subwoofer is unnecessary given its low bass limit. Shipping is included for buyers in the continental US. Compared with the Pendragon, which also uses two 10-inch woofers, the Nebo adds a fifteen-dome array, a taller cabinet and about 17 kg more weight per speaker.

Alternatives

The Tekton Design Encore adds two 7-inch mid-bass drivers to the Nebo layout and extends to 50 kHz, with 96 dB sensitivity at USD 6,499 per pair.