For those of you who have been following us for some time, you may recall that we teased a new development in hi-fi audio recording and playback that we called Project IRL back in 2019.
Since that announcement, we’ve seen a wave of interest from studio engineers, professional musicians, and avid hobbyists eager to learn more. Unfortunately, due to some setbacks since that time (especially COVID complications) we haven’t had much to share in the way of updates.
That is, until now.
We’re thrilled to announce that we have received a patent allowance for the foundational technology of Project IRL and will be releasing more details about this technology before long.
Truth be told, some of the most widely-adopted audio technologies, including Dolby Digital* and DTS*, are mere simulations of a live listening experience.
With the introduction of Project IRL, the simulation is obsolete.
We have plans to develop this into a complete ecosystem consisting of recordings, playback configurations, and more. For now, feel free to listen to (or revisit) these sample IRL recordings courtesy of Maxwell Hughes and SLCAudio:
Sample IRL Recordings
As a reminder, this new technology will not make your loudspeakers obsolete, as the bulk of the technology is upstream from the loudspeakers. Our loudspeakers are and will continue to be central to the listening experience.
Stay tuned, as we will have much more to share about Project IRL very soon. And trust me, you won’t want to miss out on what it has to offer.
– Eric Alexander
* Note: Dolby Digital and DTS are trademarks of their respective holders. The use of these terms does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by Dolby, Xperi, or any other entities associated with these trademarks.
I am now 2 years with my Tekton 2 10 Perfect Set speakers. Everything Eric promised about these speakers were spot on. My original idea was to merge the tweeter array into an existing multi speaker system. I was using an overly large 12″ midrange which was the weak spot in the system and the upper mids were muddy. Moving the crossover point down was taxing the 811 Altec horn and also gave a metallic color to the mids so the Tekton design seemed the exact fix. Well it certainly was, however I also retired the 811 horns in the process. It will be used in an old school project in the works. Now, after experimenting with a variety of amplifiers of various designs, the Tektons fit my needs very nicely and while they respond well to most power amps, I found around 75 wpc of high current output fit my audio tastes the best, though I rarely use a fraction of that much. Erik stated that he didn’t know what I hoped to gain having them wired for bi amping, and he was correct. A single amp as described above is glorious and simple, but the bi amp wiring does leave me open to further experimentation to use either the woofers or the mid/hi array singly. As of this moment the need to do that seems almost silly as I love the sound so much as it is. I also tried BeCu Tweeters but returned to the stock silks after a few weeks. If you want to enjoy fine, clear, detailed imaging as well as solid slam these speakers are great. I can only imagine what the larger more complex models will do in a space that can take advantage of them. Thanks Erik.
Do you have any Tekton updates? Especially these days, prolonged silence from a manufacturer causes concern. BTW – I am a proud and happy owner of a pair of Impact Monitors for 3 years. Most importantly, my wife who is harder to please than I am never ceases to comment favorably on my speaker selection.