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Been offered a pair of Linn Keltiks..

-alan-

-alan-

pfm Member
An old school-friend who I met a little while back got in touch again to say he's trading up from his Keltiks, and wondered if I had any interest in buying them.

I currently use an old pair of Isobariks, driven by a Kairn/ single LK280 with separate power supply. Presumably I'd have to either buy his amps or similar to drive the Keltiks.

I really know nothing about Keltiks, but did appreciate the offer. Can anybody tell me what kind of questions I need to ask, and what kind of price range I might potentially need to budget for, for a serviceable set of Keltiks and amps ?
 
I wouldn't swap Isobariks for Keltiks personally.

In my opinion, Keltiks were Isobariks on the cheap with their shortcomings hidden by making them active only. Yes, they might sound better than your Briks but only because they'll be driven with much more expensive amplification in front of them.

If you have money to spend I'd upgrade the kit in front of your Briks and they will rise to it.

PS. I don't think you need the 'old' prefix on your Isibarks is necessary ;0)
 
You really need four power amps, you can get away with three, but really, you should use four to bring them to life. You also need a big space for them, and if you have a bass issue in your room, Keltiks will find it. Keltiks are active only, and there are various crossover options, originally they shipped with a standalone crossover box, then came mono active cards (by far the most common) which fit inside LK100s, Klouts, LK240s and the 5105, then came stereo cards as used in the LK85/140, 2250 and 5125. Then came Chakra cards which fit in the current line of power amps, and then there’s the Klimax crossovers which are awesome and really bring the best out of the Keltiks. Find out what he’s using and post back here.
 
alan,

As I have been known to say elsewhere on this forum, IMHO, Isobariks rise to the occasion each time I've improved what feeds them.

If you can afford it buy the Keltik's and amplifiers and try both sets of speakers with the same level of amplification and then decide which to keep.

Regards

Richard
 
I've heard Isobariks in many guises. Passive with everything from a Nait2 to six-pack, Linn amps of various types and the bottom line is that they are capable of doing fekin amazing things. The diversity of sound you can get out of them would surprise a lot of people. If nothing else, Keltiks would be a sideways step and not a very good one as it ties you into only being able to use Linn active amplifiers to drive them. I wouldn't even think about it.
 
Mr Pig said:
PS. I don't think you need the 'old' prefix on your Isibarks is necessary ;0)
Click to expand...

When I say 'old' - I wasn't understating the case .. :)

9tWjriKh.png


Mine are like the one on the left - Serial nos. 10161/2, internal crossovers, foam long gone, and in need of 4 new tweeters (at a minimum) :(

Given that - would there still be a general consensus that spending money on the Briks and amplification would be a better outlay than spending the money on Keltiks and amps ?
 
IMHO your pictures change the situation significantly. If the Keltiks are a bargain, go for it, but you have to factor in the need for lots of amp channels and the active cards. Your Isobariks need money spending on them and they have an interesting mix of non-standard drivers which probably mean they don't perform as 'briks were designed.

A couple of AV5125s should do the job for the Keltiks at around £1k for the pair. Finding the stereo active cards to fit into the AV5125 might be more difficult because most Keltik owners will have been using Klouts which use the mono cards.
 
This is my opinion.... being a Keltik user now and 15years ago with a different pair. Using both Linn Amps, lk 100 and Klouts and Naim 250s and 250.2 and also an Isobarik owner using Naim 250 250.2and Lk280 Sparks.
Price 700 to 1200 depending on condition and Tweeter spec ( the main difference in Keltik over time)
4 lk 100 ( better with later plug in with links for the mono cards than the solder in leads type) 800 to 1000 for 4
3 or 4 klouts ( 3klouts can work where 3lk100 perhaps struggle) but 4 best about £3000 min for decent set.
I recommend a tunebox to keep the xover cards powered up and optimal,
Keltiks with cold cards are not at their best, that's why Keltiks can sound poor from the off when fitted in lk 100 Klout, unless you leave the Amps on all the time.
I do think that the isobarik and keltik sound better with Linn Klouts, and I am a Naim fan of old. But if you use a tunebox any make or model off amp can be used if you go fully naim or full linn as long as gain is similar,
Naim and linn are 1/2 dB gain difference so you can even mix if carefull.
Which is better, it's impossible to say, they are totally different speakers with different sounds and different room requirements, you would not be able to say "x" B&w, speaker is better than "y" kef speaker for example until you heard it in your your room.
Yes isobarik is more versatile in how cheaply it can be driven, as said a Nait will give you sound.
This is how I see it having both speakers,
Isobarik is amazing for short hit exhilarating.
Keltik is more mellow pipe and slippers, long listening session never gives me a sore head.
 
dspatterson said:
This is my opinion.... being a Keltik user now and 15years ago with a different pair. Using both Linn Amps, lk 100 and Klouts and Naim 250s and 250.2 and also an Isobarik owner using Naim 250 250.2and Lk280 Sparks.
Price 700 to 1200 depending on condition and Tweeter spec ( the main difference in Keltik over time)
4 lk 100 ( better with later plug in with links for the mono cards than the solder in leads type) 800 to 1000 for 4
3 or 4 klouts ( 3klouts can work where 3lk100 perhaps struggle) but 4 best about £3000 min for decent set.
I recommend a tunebox to keep the xover cards powered up and optimal,
Keltiks with cold cards are not at their best, that's why Keltiks can sound poor from the off when fitted in lk 100 Klout, unless you leave the Amps on all the time.
I do think that the isobarik and keltik sound better with Linn Klouts, and I am a Naim fan of old. But if you use a tunebox any make or model off amp can be used if you go fully naim or full linn as long as gain is similar,
Naim and linn are 1/2 dB gain difference so you can even mix if carefull.
Which is better, it's impossible to say, they are totally different speakers with different sounds and different room requirements, you would not be able to say "x" B&w, speaker is better than "y" kef speaker for example until you heard it in your your room.
Yes isobarik is more versatile in how cheaply it can be driven, as said a Nait will give you sound.
This is how I see it having both speakers,
Isobarik is amazing for short hit exhilarating.
Keltik is more mellow pipe and slippers, long listening session never gives me a sore head.
Click to expand...

I agree with much of what you say, although I’ve never heard Keltiks referred to as pipe and slippers before, I do understand that you’re speaking in relative terms. For me, no other speaker has matched the sense of scale and presence I got from Keltiks, I had Klimax crossovers which were a good step up from cards and worked brilliantly with Klouts or 2250s... however, it wasn’t until I had KCTs that I realised just how good Keltiks can really sound. I know a lot of people would scoff at the thought of spending that much on electronics to drive a speaker which can be bought for a (relatively) modest sum now... but they’re well up to the task.
 
sunbeamgls said:
IMHO your pictures change the situation significantly. If the Keltiks are a bargain, go for it, but you have to factor in the need for lots of amp channels and the active cards. Your Isobariks need money spending on them and they have an interesting mix of non-standard drivers which probably mean they don't perform as 'briks were designed.
Click to expand...

Apologies for the confusion - those aren't my Briks: I only used the picture to show the older mdf(?) fronted construction - mine still have the original bass and mid drive units (front and top), but are undeniably in need of four tweeters. That's not to say that the bass and mids may be a fair bit past their best-by dates either at this stage.

Appreciate the inputs all btw.

I think the starting point is to see what he's got and what kind of money he's looking for. Could be quite a short discussion perhaps :)
 
Briks of any age passive really do boogie driven by a nap 300 of any age, I have had keltiks with klouts ,2250s ,5103 etc and have to say they were infuriating never sounding quite right , I would give them a wide birth.

Also keep an eye out for some newer briks as you can here the cabs alot on those chip board early models, I would get some with the x over in the stand and a nap 300, together they have that unburstable brik sound that just makes you grin.
 
With exakt it’s possible to get keltiks sounding great. As a speaker they are a terrific bargain compared to what you can buy new.

almost certainly capable of a better sound than your aged bariks but a bit behind what a later pair can manage.

whether you’re looking at keltiks or bariks it’s a big window you’re opening with all the expense of requisite front end and amplification. And the potential room problems of managing that much wide bandwidth energy.

It’s all about the setup/install
 
david ellwood said:
With exakt it’s possible to get keltiks sounding great. As a speaker they are a terrific bargain compared to what you can buy new.

almost certainly capable of a better sound than your aged bariks but a bit behind what a later pair can manage.

whether you’re looking at keltiks or bariks it’s a big window you’re opening with all the expense of requisite front end and amplification. And the potential room problems of managing that much wide bandwidth energy.

It’s all about the setup/install
Click to expand...
What's the smallest room you think it would be possible to get Keltiks sounding good in?
 
Shahinian Arcs are great speakers and much less fussy to live with than Bariks.

The only disadvantage is they lack the potential to sound anywhere near as good.

Thats not to say that within the limitation of some rooms/systems they might be the easier option.

With room correction I reckon Keltiks could sound pretty stonking in a 12'x12' room.

The main consideration is being able to get a reasonable amount of space behind them if needed (5"-15")
 
david ellwood said:
Shahinian Arcs are great speakers and much less fussy to live with than Bariks.

The only disadvantage is they lack the potential to sound anywhere near as good.

Thats not to say that within the limitation of some rooms/systems they might be the easier option.

With room correction I reckon Keltiks could sound pretty stonking in a 12'x12' room.

The main consideration is being able to get a reasonable amount of space behind them if needed (5"-15")
Click to expand...

That’s about the size of the room my second system lives in. Would be very interested to hear Keltiks on the end of an Exaktbox-I. I’ve heard them on the end of a separates Exakt system at the Linn factory and they were excellent... the demo Phil Hobbs did of the updated filters that took account of the (minuscule) time of flight between the isobaric drivers was something else.
 
Further info. What is on offer is:

- 1 pair Keltiks (age/spec unknown as yet, but prob good condition) plus

- " 2 x Linn akurate 4200 dynamik amps and the active cards that need to be inside the amps to make up the active crossover
Prob would need about £1k for the keltiks and £2k each for the amps"
 
Its so good to read praises about bricks.
Ive had bricks since 1986. At that time i had an lp12 ,lk1 preamp , linn active crossover and 6 lk2 mono blocks .

Back then it was the bees knees. A close friend of mine had active keltics and they were no way near as good,the bass was wooly and the sound was not exciting at all.

Imo nothing compares to the excitement and musicality of bricks. They need to be driven hard and the harder they are driven the better they perform.

I still have bricks although modified and are powered by 12 mono blocs. They sound outrageously amazing. Bricks on lsd lol.
 
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