Напольная акустика — Tekton Design EPIC 15

The Epic 15 is a floorstanding loudspeaker in the Full Towers category of Tekton Design, priced at USD 2,199 per pair, reduced from USD 2,600. Unlike the dual-woofer Tekton towers, it uses a single 15-inch woofer, and like the rest of the catalogue it is produced in Utah.

Key specs that matter

Tekton fits a 15-inch 8 ohm Ulfberht woofer, produced in the USA by Eminence, which hands over at 320 Hz to Tekton's patented polygon-oriented tweeter array, whose total moving mass is 1.8 g. Frequency response is 26 Hz to 30 kHz, sensitivity is 95 dB at 2.83 V and 1 m, and nominal impedance is 8 ohms. Maximum power handling is 300 W, and Tekton recommends a minimum amplifier power of 30 W while noting that lower-powered amplifiers also work. The cabinet is about 1,054 mm high and 416 mm wide and weighs about 39.5 kg.

Engineering and use context

With this low crossover point, the 15-inch woofer covers bass and lower midrange, and the tweeter array takes over everything above. A single large cone offers roughly the area of two 10-inch drivers, and the wide baffle is sized to take the 381 mm driver. The array follows US Patent 9247339. Input connectors are solid billet copper units from Cardas, and the cabinet is heavily braced to resist the forces of the large driver. Split bass and treble terminals are a USD 75 option, and high gloss paint and grilles can be added. The Ulfberht name for the woofer is shared with Tekton's larger Ulfberht models, and the Epic 15 and the Perfect SET 15 are the two Tekton towers built around a single 15-inch driver. Delivery to addresses in the continental US is free.

Pairing

Its efficiency and benign load make the Epic 15 suitable for tube amplifiers, including lower-powered ones, and for solid-state amplifiers within its power limit. The cabinet is broader than most towers, and it suits rooms of 20 m2 or more, where the speakers can stand with some space to the side walls. The deep bass extension makes an added subwoofer largely unnecessary for music, and the steady impedance keeps the load simple for the output transformers of tube designs.

Alternatives

The Tekton Design Perfect SET 15 is another Full Towers model with a 15-inch woofer, aimed at single-ended triode amplifiers, at USD 2,190 per pair.