This is a strange one. Erin measured one of Tekton’s speakers and gave what I thought was a nice review.
The speaker had a little dip in the response one place or another and Erin made note of it.
Tekton either has filed or threatened to file for damages. What?
This wont be good for either party or reviewers in general.
notable…combined with the video I posted last week regarding audio shows constraining reviewers, there is this lawsuit…and discussion… (what proportion of reviews are honest?)
Erin is probably one of the most honest and straight forward reviewers.
He spent his own money to buy the Klippel system and I think reading between the lines it may have cost him a marriage.
He is about equally driven by the data and the actual performance of the speakers that people send him.
He gives very detailed test data and explains it in a very plain manner.
His subjective listening tests are also detailed and well done.
I like his attitude in general.
Perhaps the problem could lie in the fact that each speaker will always be affected by the room and position from which it is measured even with same equipment . Thus a reviewer being able to emulate the manufacturer’s condition of testing be it a chamber or elevated on a fork lift as PS Audio did for lack of an acoustic chamber becomes an impossibility.
It would seem a reviewer would need to note the conditions and how they might differ and cause different responses than printed by an OEM. Also how a OEM cannot say with certainty their speakers may have degraded or their acoustics may have boosted in a dip area or test equipment from OEM or reviewer didn’t have problems . The lack of adherence to standards for testing makes for a difficult and expensive lawsuit for either side. Then having a jury or judge being able to wrap their head around arguments becomes difficult. A reviewer is thus forced to say only nice things or be sued. Crazy litigious world we are in. .
Erin uses the $100k Klippel near field scanner which is state of the art I believe. I believe that being near field it is not affected by the room acoustics.
He also presents the info in a non judgemental way. Simply stating the measured results and if he could hear any anomalies in his room.
He also did a test of the PSA FR-10 recently and did a good job with that test too.
He just seems to be an avid hobbyist who spent a lot of money and continues to spend a lot of time doing these reviews simply for knowledge gained and to present his findings.
I dont know the particulars of the disagreement. I am not going to judge either party because both have legit claims to the data involved.
I don’t think Tekton has a Klippel so they probably did not have this info available until Erin did his measurements.
My attorney helped me prepare this statement:
Even if they sound great, they are too fugly for me to even remotely consider.
And then there’s that 
Maybe reviewers should first share all words and test results with the manufacturer for their approval. The manufacturer can then provide edits and have final approval.
Oh, wait, that’s what Rolling Stone was doing with interviews. Scratch that.
Maybe reviewers should standardize a disclaimer like:
“My measurements are not infallible. And there’s much more to sound quality than my measurements.”
Such threats are common among certain quarters and their denizens.
For example, I have been threatened here by a past member multiple times. Whatever.
But such threats can have a chilling effect on honest discussion, very sad.
In this case, is there a threat only, a filing, service? What is the alleged claim specifically?
I dont know if there is a suit filed or just a threat.
Tekton claims that the test was not completely valid because the feet weren’t on the cabinet so the cabinet had some extra leaks due to the threaded insert holes being drilled all the way thru the cabinet base.
I dont know how much 4x 3/16" diameter holes would change things if at all but I dont have knowledge on that subject.
Most of Tekton’s designs are ported so I suspect these extra “leaks” would not change anything but also dont know.
Either way Erin gave a favorable review of the sound and matching measurements so I’m not sure what the issue actually is.
As Ron said maybe reviewers should inform the manufacturer of findings before publishing them but it’s a delicate situation either way.
Erin’s reviews are always at the request of speaker owners not manufacturers and he is not compensated in any way that I am aware of.
Reviewers who give a rosy review of every piece of gear dont hold much validity for me.A few of them say that the current piece under review is always “the best thing ever”
I also dont trust reviewers who are compensated by the gear company as it is an obvious conflict.
I’d say “Why on Earth would you have mounting holes that go all the way through the cabinet” but am not looking to get on an undisclosed manufacturer’s bad side.
In general I believe that’s true; however, I’m pretty sure Erin received Blades directly from KEF to test recently…great review btw. Both measurements and subjective opinion.
Could be.
I have had a couple of convos with him and do believe he is not biased one way or the other and always qualifies his subjective judgement as a “to my likes in my room with my ears” kind of description.
And I wouldn’t mind a set of blades like he tested for me to test. They seemed like really good pieces. Before I got the Vivids, Blades were on the very short list of last speakers to try. 
That was someone else’s observation too. The thread inserts are not very long - maybe 1/2" tops.
From the site that shall not be discussed:
There’s some real misinformation bouncing around. For the record I am not “suing” anyone and I’ve never threatened to “sue” anyone over a review.
Would the review be live today if it didn’t contain any provable mistakes? Yes- absolutely!
Here are the facts… I am protecting my brand and I have no problem with a review [good or bad] so long as it doesn’t contain any mistakes. The review contained a couple of measurement mistakes based on a couple of simple oversights. In all fairness to Erin, the Troubadour is a unique loudspeaker that would throw the best acoustical measurement experts a bit of a curve ball - the speaker is even unique to the point of being allowed a US patent.
The measurement oversights have been talked about between Erin and I and Erin has agreed to remeasure the speaker. I respectfully asked Erin to pull his review temporarily and we’re working together to ensure the measurements he publishes are accurate.
I believe we’ve got everything figured out and expect his review to be published again soon.
Respectfully,
Eric Alexander
Audio Designer
President
Tekton Design, LLC
Onceagain it appears to be a situation of audiphile hyperbole.
No real facts coupled with emotions running unchecked.
Looks like much ado about nothing.
Secondhand information obviously can’t be trusted so it was my mistake even to post the “news” that I did not have first hand information on.
Glad they have common ground to discuss the issues at hand. I am sure both will come out better for the exchange.
If it’s one thing the audiophile community loves, it’s hyperbole. I wonder if when the updated review comes out someone will then proclaim it a “jaw dropping” review?
Probably.