Linn Sara’s

[cpg]

"Infinite baffle" is, IMHO, a very misleading term. I prefer sealed box to describe speakers like the LINN saras.
If you were to significantly increase, factor 2 or above, the size of the baffle on the Sara then the "baffle step" of the baffle would change a lot and the overall tone of the speaker would change significantly.
You can do the change in theory by using http://edgy.softica.dk/ and see what happens.

 

[wow&flutter]

Trying to think of a Linn speaker that wasn’t a sealed box and the only one I can remember is the Linn Nexus.
I bought a very early pair new from Russ Andrews in Edinburgh, although not perfect they worked much better in my room than the original Rogers Studio 1 which they replaced.

 

[Mike Reed]

What is an I.B Design?

What used to be called infinite baffle in days of yore (presumably, meaning no break for a port). I hope this is right, as it's how they were described when I took up hifi in the early/mid sixties.

NB. I'm just too slow at typing ! 3 posts already before mine.

Sorry about this (but it's happened a few times in this thread), but it does irk me to see punctuation used for forming plurals. Punctuation of any sort has nothing to do with forming a plural noun. This apostrophe s goes way back generations to greengrocers ('barrow boys' etc.) when such basic aspects of education were largely absent at that level.

Going back to Kans, what was it in their design or complement that made them excel? I have similar sized TDLs and JPWs, both sealed boxes (no ports) and they're very good for their size and original price point, but Kans have, even in this day and age, a mystique. They did even back then, I remember. If anything, maybe the Kans were smaller than my JPWs etc.

 

[kanwar]

I only bought Briks because I'd always wanted them. I was not unhappy with the Saras and in the beginning I did not enjoy the Briks as much as the Saras. Fixed that eventually but Saras are not the ugly inbred cousin. They are highly capable in their own right. Just the same as the other classic Linn speakers, need a bit of effort to get them right.

Almost exactly my story. I owned from new a lovely pair of rosewood Sara 9’s but then a pair of Briks that needed TLC and were going for a song came along. Kans, Saras and Isobariks were great speakers; then they went and ruined it all by discontinuing them and replacing them with really shitty models.

 

[DaveMc64]

Going back to Kans, what was it in their design or complement that made them excel?

It's an interesting question. The B110 is of course the same driver as the LS3/5a and that is renown for its very good midrange. In the Kan, this driver isn't used with a complex crossover in the way the LS3/5a is and possibly this gives it more dynamics.
Downside to this is it also has an idiosyncratic frequency response. You can acclimatise to that or can do what I do, and apply some digital eq before the dac.
Why does the B110 sound good? Well I've seen theories banded around that drivers with a high mechanical Q don't damp out low level signals as much as low Q drivers. The mechanical Q of the B110 SP1003 used in the early Kans is 6.7 which is way higher than almost any drivers you can find now.
It's not all good news though, there are resonances that can give colourations and KEF couldn't control the size of these resonances from one driver to the next so there's a lot of variability there. Linn applied damping to the chassis which may have helped. Not sure if they coated the cones for the Kans - I think they did on the Saras.

 

[naimplayer]

What used to be called infinite baffle in days of yore (presumably, meaning no break for a port). I hope this is right, as it's how they were described when I took up hifi in the early/mid sixties.

NB. I'm just too slow at typing ! 3 posts already before mine.

Sorry about this (but it's happened a few times in this thread), but it does irk me to see punctuation used for forming plurals. Punctuation of any sort has nothing to do with forming a plural noun. This apostrophe s goes way back generations to greengrocers ('barrow boys' etc.) when such basic aspects of education were largely absent at that level.

Going back to Kans, what was it in their design or complement that made them excel? I have similar sized TDLs and JPWs, both sealed boxes (no ports) and they're very good for their size and original price point, but Kans have, even in this day and age, a mystique. They did even back then, I remember. If anything, maybe the Kans were smaller than my JPWs etc.

Not only entertainment but education.

Makes the journey worthwhile. Ta.

Good luck stay safe

 

[Gervais Cote]

What this thread needs is graphics.

To me, the Sara is very musical and enjoyable so I prefer not to see any graphic and listen to music instead.

 

[Mike Reed]

It's an interesting question. The B110 is of course the same driver as the LS3/5a

Bit over my head technically, Dave, but I'm pretty sure the Kef B110 was widely used both in manufactured models and in DIY. back in the 60s/70s (and maybe later?). When I was a student, I knocked up a pair of 1" chipboard boxes and stuck B110s in them. I used a shed/workshop attached to the primary school where I was doing my practice (no chance in a bed-sit!). They sounded pretty good but sold them to my brother-in-law who, I believe, still has them.

I'd no idea the LS3/5As used these. I had an original 15 ohm pair (forgotten the make) and sold/installed them as part of a living room and swimming pool installation. They hadn't achieved quite such fame in those days (early eighties) despite Ken Kessler ! Silly boy me!

 

[Conan]

To me, the Sara is very musical and enjoyable so I prefer not to see any graphic and listen to music instead.

It was ment to be a joke...

 

[Craig B]

Sorry about this (but it's happened a few times in this thread), but it does irk me to see punctuation used for forming plurals. Punctuation of any sort has nothing to do with forming a plural noun. This apostrophe s goes way back generations to greengrocers ('barrow boys' etc.) when such basic aspects of education were largely absent at that level.

Hello Mike,

I imagine this to have no foundation in English grammar, however, I find that using the plural of a descriptive noun, i.e. one such as a name that has been assigned to an object, always feels wrong to me. For example, 'a pair of Linn Sara loudspeakers' sounds correct to moi, vs. 'Linn Saras' or 'Saras'. Of course, I would use 'Linn Saras' or 'Saras' in casual conversation, but when writing, or, as is more often the case these days, typing such, I have this subtle feeling of dread that my high school English teacher is going to somehow materialize and embarrass the shite out of me in front of the whole class, including the popular girl whom was the object of both my desire and adolescent feelings of insecurity (i.e. the Catholic method of teaching, vis-à-vis guilt, shame, and corporal punishment). Case in point, the ghostly bitch just reminded me that that was a run-on sentence!

Then again, I am of the Canadians, by way of NFLD from just after the latter lost its (no apostrophe) status as separate colony, so what do I know?

Regards,

Plurally Confused of Canada

 

[Charlie_1]

Linn applied damping to the chassis which may have helped. Not sure if they coated the cones for the Kans - I think they did on the Saras.

Yeah, they did start coating the bass unit quite early on in their life.

Going back to Kans, what was it in their design or complement that made them excel? I have similar sized TDLs and JPWs, both sealed boxes (no ports) and they're very good for their size and original price point, but Kans have, even in this day and age, a mystique. They did even back then, I remember. If anything, maybe the Kans were smaller than my JPWs etc.

There are a few things they do for me as a listener but really only one that is in any way unqiue. Their stand out quality is their timing, particularly leading edges where they make 99% of speakers I've heard sound slow and sleepy by comparison. They are the closest I've heard to headphones in that sense. They do some other things well, but not uniquely. For example, they're very coherent and tuneful so very little effort to understand what the musicians are doing. Of course, there are plenty of downsides too

 

[Mike Reed]

including the popular girl who was the object of both my desire and adolescent feelings of insecurity (i.e. the Catholic method of teaching, vis-à-vis guilt, shame, and corporal punishment).

Gosh, Craig; Catholics in Newfoundland? Maybe they migrated from Quebec and Montreal. Think Nfld was the first settlement there (maybe Scottish base?). Didn't realise you were over the Pond (in St. John's?)

Re. your grammatical reticence, you can have one John or two Johns (or a pair of (long)Johns?????). There are a lot of ways of forming plurals but punctuation ain't one of them.

 

[Miss Ariel]

As a Kan user for 5 years,years ago - Absolutely concur with Charlie_1.
I always remember my first dem of them at Grahams Hi Fi in London it was a large room maybe 20 foot wide and 25 foot long and I think the floor was concrete and the walls.
The sofa was maybe 15 foot away.Naim 32 - 250 driving them and a LP12...what else
Anyway they played Walking In The Rain by Grace Jones and for their size I was blown away the sound was so fast - leading edges...Prat like on steriods !...Shut your eyes and it was no way is this sound coming from such a small box !
Enjoyed them at home a great deal.
The only down side was they didn't really go low enough.
Then brought some Tannoy DC 2000's bigger speakers.They where OK.
Then went down the small speaker thing again with AE 1's which I had for the next 10 years....went that bit lower than the Kans.
Kans are very marmite I know,but as so many people say here great fun !

 

[Miss Ariel]

Back to SARA's

Am I right that there was a non Isobarik version called Tins ?

Apologies if I am wrong in thinking SARA's are Isobarik ?

 

[Craig B]

Gosh, Craig; Catholics in Newfoundland? Maybe they migrated from Quebec and Montreal. Think Nfld was the first settlement there (maybe Scottish base?). Didn't realise you were over the Pond (in St. John's?)

Re. your grammatical reticence, you can have one John or two Johns (or a pair of (long)Johns?????). There are a lot of ways of forming plurals but punctuation ain't one of them.

Yes, I hail from St. John's (yes, apostrophe) which is one of the oldest cities in North America, having existed on maps as early as 1519, and 'said' to have been settled by the British in the 1600s. According to my maternal Grandmother, we 'emigrated' to Canada in 1965, specifically Ontario, Her words to me on the day we left were, "So, you are moving to Canada now". Her generation, and that of my parents, were Newfoundlanders first and foremost. Even then, some were still a bit miffed at The Crown for suggesting Canada decided what was to become of Newfoundland the colony back in '49. I've a Newfoundland Red Ensign of my late Grandfather's here that I occasionally let fly on Canada day.

BTW, the NF Catholics were mostly of Irish decent, with the Catholic schools run by priests, and policed by nuns who were tougher than b'Jesus, b'y! I wouldn't dare suggest to any of them that they might have hailed from Quebec. To put it succinctly, Latin was compulsory, French optional.

Longo vivas tempore et bene, mi amice.

 

[Mr Pig]

Am I right that there was a non Isobarik version called Tins?

I've never heard of that? Closest I can think of is the original Index which had a B200 and a cheaper tweeter.

 

[Stemcor]

Back to SARA's

Am I right that there was a non Isobarik version called Tins ?

Apologies if I am wrong in thinking SARA's are Isobarik ?

You are correct on both points. I have never seen a pair of Tins and suspect that they never got beyond the prototype stage. Would be great to be wrong on this as I would quite like to hear a pair.

 

[Mike Reed]

Longo vivas tempore et bene, mi amice.

Never had the chance to do Latin (I now regret) but understand that . Oddly, Spellcheck (or whatever it's called) underlines 'vivas' but nothing else. Guess Spellckeck must be Latin American . Who is subject and whom is object, simplistically, though who is often used nowadays instead of the latter except after a preposition. Interesting about the Irish influx and the 'quasi nationalism' still felt in Nfld. Still have a fair few old Nfld stamps (I was a philatelist) and I think Nfld may have been lumped with Labrador when it became a province (not sure though).

 

[Blurboy]

I once spent a morning listening to Sara’s, Kans and Briks in a local Linn/Naim dealer sitting and talking to head man of Linn Ivor. It was a surreal experience which I enjoyed being an engineer the same as Ivor and we shared our thoughts on the various speakers and amp arrangements. I must admit, I wasn’t impressed with the Sara’s, even driven by the NAP250 and a full Linn LP12 front end. I genuinely preferred the Kans.
what did impress me was the Briks and their ability to play music but sadly well out of my budget then.

 

[Craig B]

Never had the chance to do Latin (I now regret) but understand that . Oddly, Spellcheck (or whatever it's called) underlines 'vivas' but nothing else. Guess Spellckeck must be Latin American . Who is subject and whom is object, simplistically, though who is often used nowadays instead of the latter except after a preposition. Interesting about the Irish influx and the 'quasi nationalism' still felt in Nfld. Still have a fair few old Nfld stamps (I was a philatelist) and I think Nfld may have been lumped with Labrador when it became a province (not sure though).

Labrador has an interesting history, having been settled by the Basque in the 1500s and subsequently becoming part of what was known as New France. IIRC, it was only after the Treaty of Paris that this eastern most part of French territory was transferred to the British and became part of what was then known as 'Lower Canada'. According to Wikipedia, it was in 1809 that the British Imperial government detached Labrador from Lower Canada and transferred it to the then separate, self-governing Newfoundland Colony. Sounds like a major feat of engineering!