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Linn Kan cabinet buzz

Aussie Geoff

Aussie Geoff

Well-Known Member
Having recently recapped etc my nac12s and nap160 ( "it started with a broken switch" thread) i have been enjoying music again after a few years away from it. On occasion I have noticed a resonance when listening to pieces with heavy bass , I thought the speakers were making nearby glass cabinet doors vibrate or similar , i never suspected the kans. This morning when listening to "Soul Brothers" ray charles and milt jackson album (streamed from Tidal) there was very bad buzzing from the direction of the suspected furniture, upon closer inspection it was obvious that the speaker cabinet was the problem. When i hold the speaker during these times you feel the front baffle move in sympathy with the bass notes while the rest of the cabinet has barely any sense of vibration. I swapped left for right speakers to compare and when holding the good speaker there was no vibration of the front baffle or the rest of the cabinet ( i was was surprised just how solid they felt given the volume of bass being put out) I can't get any movement from the front baffle if i try to move it with my fingers but when the music is playing it is very obviously vibrating separately from rest of the enclosure. The bas/mid driver seems fine,no buzzing from there. How do you get into the cabinet to inspect /repair .It doesn't look like it's going to be easy!!! The model is Serial No KAN IV/CH (cherry?) 602852 03-268005 .They have the silly sock grille cloth. Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
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Hi,
I would swap over the bass drivers just to be sure its the cab., is the baffle made from plastic? from memory like a linn index.

I think the baffles are glued in position with the cabinet lying on its back, that how they made keltiks, kabers and keighlys .
 
Thanks for the info hp1. I think the front baffle has let go from the rest of the cabinet in some spot/spots. When playing you can feel the front baffle vibrating while the rest or the cabinet barely has any vibration. Any clues to reattaching .
I assume the front would have to removed and reglued, but I have no clues as to how to "break" the join to remove it. I have removed the front and back of a violin before by carefully wedging a pallet knife or thin wide bladed butter knife into the join and very carefully prying the join open.
 
I think You are going to need to remove the baffle completely to get a strong glued joint again.

Linn used a cream coloured adhesivie probably a 2 part with a bulker added to thicken it and take up any gaps, if you leave whats there in place araldite should be fine to make good.
 
Yes it's going to be interesting trying to get the baffle off. Once off I might try liquid nails , a construction glue that can take up spaces as well as being very strong.
 
My memory of Kan construction is a bit blurry I’m afraid. However, speakers with an inset baffle (like the Kan has) usually have the baffle set into a grooved rebate made in the sides of the cabinet. As such, it’s practically impossible to get at this joint properly. In addition, the Kan had the bass driver seal made from silicone sealant and getting the mid/bass out without damaging the pressed steel driver basket can be very tricky. If I were you I think I would gently remove the grills* and then brush some watered down PVA along the edges of the baffle (so that it has a chance to run into the joint). I would leave this to dry and do this a few times - then you won’t have to remove anything but the grill.

* The grill frame is glued into place so gently persuasion all round with a flat blade screwdriver is needed. Make sure you use some thick cardboard to protect the edge of the cabinet veneer. I don’t think any cherry veneer Kans were ever made, likely the teak finish called afromosia.
 
Original kans ie mk 1and 2 had a baffle which was silicone sealed and screwed in place from the front , Geoffs are mk4 which are more akin to kabers etc
 
Anybody had any experience taking the front off a mk4 kan. I am worried if I apply too much force I will cause serious damage to the glueing surfaces.
 
Update. In the past i have carefully removed the top and back of a violin by slow and careful prying so i thought i would give it a try on the kan. i can't actually get to the join to force a thin pallet knife into the join so i a forced a plastic chopstick (it has a nice gentle taper) along the groove this puts pressure on the join pushing the front off the cabinet. (theory)

Some success, you can hear the glue letting go as you push the the wedge in. i will work my way around the front and hopefully release the front completely. i only tried this just before work and i don't want to rush this process so i won't do anymore until the weekend . looks positive though. may try some sort of solvent if some parts will not let go, at least there is an obvious crack/opening to get solvent into now.

I will definitely use good clamps when glueing, a tight join makes a good join.
 
Well I couldn't wait until the weekend. Got the trusty chopstick out and proceeded to slowly/gently edge it along the grooves. Lots of cracking sounds and in a couple of minutes the front is off. All the glueing surfaces intact. The glue used looks like aquadere, a basic woodworking glue.when I reglue I will use Tightbond or liquid nails. The excess glue inside the cabinet is white and is quite brittle, breaks like hard plastic,which is probably why I could break the join. Maybe Linn wanted a glue that could be released if needed. There are bracing wedges in the bottom corners of the cabinet but not in the top so I will add some to the top because one of the top corner joins of the cabinet has opened . This where the front first let go. Feeling very relieved and happy that I will be able to get them up and working again.also need to check the crossover before closing up.

i will post some pics tomorrow.
 
Well done loosening that without damage. It does appear to be dry and thin glue. Hard to know what is best for a wood/plastic join long term. Anything water based will tend to loosen as it shrinks from the plastic. Is there any rough solvent paint [floor paint?] that you can pre treat the edges of the plastic to give a key for wood glue? Or use glaziers putty?
 
There isn’t a huge amount to upgrade in the crossovers. The capacitors are film, rather than electrolytic, types already (although basic by audio boutique standards). The coils are very basic ferrite cored types though and replacing these with air cores would be the most obvious upgrade IMO. However, to do so, and maintain the same coil resistance, will mean much larger components than those currently fitted. In the case of the small internal cabinet volume of the Kan it is quite likely you may need to move the crossover external to the cabinets - particularly if you decide to use more ‘up market’ capacitors and resistors.
 
Given that they are film caps not electrolytic as i had thought i think i will leave the crossovers as is. Regarding reglueing, if i remove the old glue and clean up the gluing surfaces i should get a chipboard to chipboard join. As the join may not be perfectly flat i will use a glue that has some filling properties like liquid nails.( with that product the fronts will be permanently on!)
 
Update. Well i finally managed to find time to reassemble the Kan. I fitted extra braces to the corners, now all 4 are braced rather than the original one corner.

A bit of resoldering and gluing and it is back together with no visible sign of having been opened.. I left all else the same as i don't want to open the other speaker to make the same changes. I think i was lucky to get the baffle off so easily and don't want to risk it on the other speaker ( unless a fault arises in it then i won't have a choice)

Nice to have them up and running. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qn5wiigYK1pj85Mv7 https://photos.app.goo.gl/XdTa6LdWJQzLVkZs6
 
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