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Should I Buy These Isobariks?

Hi Mike,

From the POV of being fully clued up before making a decision, the tweeters will be Hiquphon OW1-92 (92mm to fit the Linn cutout) and circa $US 290. a pair.

Also, DMS with single XLR sockets will have 2 x 3-way crossovers within each enclosure, with these mounted on the sidewalls within the isobaric enclosure between the KEF B139 bass drivers. Each PCB has 6 x axial caps, any number of which may have gone off by now.

Another thing worth considering is that although these were spec'd at 88lb, they feel more like 120. (you are not getting any younger, you know :)).

Linn_Isobarik_loudspeaker_crossover_-_early_version_inside_isobaric_chamber.jpg
 
Craig B said:
Hi Mike,

From the POV of being fully clued up before making a decision, the tweeters will be Hiquphon OW1-92 (92mm to fit the Linn cutout) and circa $US 290. a pair.

Also, DMS with single XLR sockets will have 2 x 3-way crossovers within each enclosure, with these mounted on the sidewalls within the isobaric enclosure between the KEF B139 bass drivers. Each PCB has 6 x axial caps, any number of which may have gone off by now.

Another thing worth considering is that although these were spec'd at 88lb, they feel more like 120. (you are not getting any younger, you know :)).

Linn_Isobarik_loudspeaker_crossover_-_early_version_inside_isobaric_chamber.jpg
Click to expand...
Thanks for the extra info. I had someone else tell me privately that the Hiquphon's I would need were the OW4, so if I go this route I'll have to double check all that.

I hadn't paid much attention to the age of the cross-over components. That's certainly a concern, making it more likely that I would have to go active.

And yes, I did notice how heavy they were. Even tipping them forwards a bit took a surprising amount of force. Fortunately I have two strapping young sons to help, one of whom is more strapping than the other. :D
 
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I ran Briks passively first with an LK-1/LK-2 (memory fades but basically Linn’s first amps) then later with Kairn/Klout and would not describe them as underpowered, in fact at the time listening to things like Grace Jones Slave To The Rhythm and Joe Cocker Ruby Lee was stunning, oh and Diana Ross I’m Coming Out. Anyone who visited was stunned at the dynamics. I listened to all sorts from Clannad, to the stuff everyone was playing at shows and a lot of classical. It was a golden era for me.
 
Mike Hanson said:
I hadn't paid much attention to the age of the cross-over components. That's certainly a concern, making it more likely that I would have to go active.
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I’d not worry hugely about it. Chances are even the electrolytic caps are fine as there is very little heat in there, they are dealing with an AC source and will have been processing nothing for most of their life. There have been two ‘great capacitor scares’; a) from Naim users who leave their amps on 24/7 for decades and obviously bake their capacitors dry, and b) via the computer industry where there was a truly awful couple of years in the late-90s and early-00s where a lot of absolute shite came out of China that just failed within a year or two in a hot PC. Some Chinese hi-fi, MDACs etc suffered the same fate. For a comparison point my Tannoys from around 1970s are fine, and when rebuilding a vintage Tektronix valve oscilloscope recently from the late ‘60s I needed to replace two tiny ones that were out of spec. All other voltages were spot on. I’d honestly not over-think this one. Unless they have been seriously abused I bet the crossovers will be fine after a week or so of use to give them a chance to reform under some load. All old speakers need time to wake up, but I bet they will.
 
given that your 2 tweeters are going to cost over £300 you need to define "paltry " if they are close to £700 then I would give them a miss as you can get a good pair for under £1000. If they are very cheap then there is no better way to experience a wall of sound with bass that goes subsonic. I have experienced organ recitals with fundamentals lower than 20Hz ( only on vinyl ) on a pair and it was like being in a room with a jet engine but no sound, I've never heard true bass like bricks with any other speaker that I have listened to and they were passive.

I had 2 pairs and it is difficult to have more fun for as little money these days.

Rgds
Stuart
 
I have a pair I run passive with two musical fidelity f15 power amps.
Sound is fantastic. I have had two pairs and I will take alot for me change them now. I would like to try them active again one day.
I'd definitely give them ago.
 
stuwils said:
given that your 2 tweeters are going to cost over £300 you need to define "paltry " if they are close to £700 then I would give them a miss as you can get a good pair for under £1000. If they are very cheap then there is no better way to experience a wall of sound with bass that goes subsonic. I have experienced organ recitals with fundamentals lower than 20Hz ( only on vinyl ) on a pair and it was like being in a room with a jet engine but no sound, I've never heard true bass like bricks with any other speaker that I have listened to and they were passive.

I had 2 pairs and it is difficult to have more fun for as little money these days.
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They're a bit more expensive than that, and likely needing tweeters. There's a difference, though: Here in Canada they don't come up very often, so I'm less hopeful that a better pair will appear tomorrow for less money.

Here's the ultimate problem I'm trying to solve: I'm running the Royd RR3 in my family room, and I've decided I want it to be more dynamic with a much greater sense of scale. I've added a sub, which helped, but not enough.

I started pondering big possibilities like the Klipsch Cornwall IV or larger Tannoys. Open baffle speakers might make me happy, but I can't have them out in the room. Many of the other options I considered were stupidly expensive, and therefore not really options.

Then these Isobariks appeared on my radar, and it seemed like it might do the trick. It's a relatively compact speaker (compared to a Cornwall IV) and sits hard against the wall. It's always reported as sounding big and dynamic, with lots of slam.

So if I could be confident that there were many other pairs out there, I would wait for the perfect one. I don't think I have that luxury, though.
 
I think it will take a ton of money to better if they are as cheap as you say they are. That said a pair of klipsch heritage speakers could definitely make for a dynamic listen.
 
We ran our first pair passively (bought 1984) from a Meridian 101/103D combo. Enjoyed them for a dozen years before going Aktiv with Kairn/Aktiv Isobarik XO/3 x LK280.

The system is still going, and gets run up mostly by my wife (it’s in the conservatory). Sounds pretty good for a thirty (and some!) year old!

BTW there’s a thread somewhere on PFM about renovating Briks. It has lots of pictures. I think the writer was @Richard Lines.
 
Those are Hiquphon tweeters. But the B110s are an issue too, see the big white rings around the dustcaps? That means the "plastiflex" coating is coming unstuck from the Bextrene cones. There's no fix for that, apart from a new set of four B110s from Falcon Acoustics.
 
I possibly ought to qualify my comment about loud and low.

The poster formerly known as fox found a tune named something like sand and/or desert and/or wind. I'll look it up sometime. That could drive the bass units into distortion. In essence don't expect ATC levels. Even though they are really quite large. 70s technology meets 90s excess with the volume turned up.

So, assuming the sums involved are not stressful to you, and you have a reasonable sized room, go for it. And an active conversion project with a DIY NAXO will be well worth following.
 
Mike, my memory fails but a few years ago, a PFM member here was running some Briks with a single NAP 160 with rather good success so passive shouldn’t be an issue IMO.

As for the Iquphon tweeters, Solen can find a very acceptable interchange at a lower cost if you don’t want to break the bank.

https://www.solen.ca/en

Such speakers come very rarely on the market here so this could be the first and last time to take a plunge !
 
Should I Buy These Isobariks?

I say no.

My best mate has a mint pair.

He’s spent a load of time and money getting them right - and drives them with a fortune’s worth of late model NAIM gear.

They have their own sound, which some enjoy.

My view is that the design is way too convoluted to deliver truly coherent and palpable replay.

The big LINNs don’t sound terrible, but less complex speaker designs with simple crossovers seem to deliver far more realistic sound, to my ears.

Just one opinion. Sorry to be a detractor, but you asked the question.
 
SONDEKNZ said:
Should I Buy These Isobariks?

I say no.

My best mate has a mint pair.

He’s spent a load of time and money getting them right - and drives them with a fortune’s worth of late model NAIM gear.

They have their own sound, which some enjoy.

My view is that the design is way too convoluted to deliver truly coherent and palpable replay.

The big LINNs don’t sound terrible, but less complex speaker designs with simple crossovers seem to deliver far more realistic sound, to my ears.

Just one opinion. Sorry to be a detractor, but you asked the question.
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Thanks for the dissenting view. I hear what you're saying. What I have now sounds very realistic, but it doesn't sound BIG. I guess I'm yearning for a hyperbolic, larger-than-life experience.
 
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