Parasound and Tekton | RMAF 2019

I made a joke to a fellow show attendee when I entered the Parasound and Tekton room at the 2019 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest and I saw the massive, almost phone booth-size Tekton Moab speakers. Based on what I read from John Richardson’s review of the Tekton Pendragon loudspeakers from a few years ago, I know that Tekton is one of those new generation loudspeaker manufacturers that offer an enormous amount of product for surprisingly little money. So I took one look at these monsters, each one with a 15-tweeter array, and said, “Yeah, these probably retail for $4000.”

I was, of course, a little off. By $500. These huge loudspeakers, large enough to require a complicated strategy to get them in and out of your home, retail for just $4500/pair. As a former distributor, I would imagine the international shipping on these speakers would come close to that–it’s a good thing Tekton is based in Utah. But that wasn’t the only surprise in the Parasound and Tekton room.

Parasound brought a very interesting little integrated amp/DAC to RMAF 2019 for use with the Tekton Moabs. Called the NewClassic 200, it retails for just $1195 and offers 110 wpc. Yes, it’s a Class D amp (by Pascal), but it offers an incredible amount of features such as an MM/MC phono stage, the same Burr-Brown DAC that’s found in the Halo P5, USB/optical/coax connectivity, home theater bypass, dedicated headphone amp, input level matching and much more. None of this would matter if the Parasound and Tekton combo didn’t produce excellent sound–and it does.

While Parasound and Tekton were switching back and forth between a much more expensive set-up with the Moabs, I listened exclusively to this simple $7500 system–including the Oppo source and cabling. Compared to the finest systems, the Moab and the NewClassic 200 may have lacked some inner detail and warmth, but it was simply awesome in its ability to project a dynamic, full-range sound. When I reviewed the $3000 Parasound Halo Hint6 for the Spring Issue of The Occasional, I was amazed at the value–especially in terms of the thoughtful features included, and the NewClassic 200 continues in that tradition.

But those Tekton Moabs…how can this company offer so much for $4500? A couple of weeks later, I’m still amazed at the value of this system.