Linn Speakers, are they any good ?
- Thread starter boegelund
- Start date
Strange thing about Saras, when they were demo'd at Jeffries HiFI in Brighton 35 odd yrs ago now, they sounded rubbish on rock music yet wonderful on classical. Don't know how that came to be the case, even the salesman couldnt understand it. Heybrooks sounded much better. Something to do with the room he said. All Linn speakers from that era were very room dependent.
YNWOAN
100% Analogue
No, not really - neither the older nor newer versions.
FireMoon
pfm Member
Well Linn speakers certainly do divide opinions that's for sure. As for good/bad/indifferent it really does depend where you stand and for my part, it's usually behind the sofa when it Kans or Saras. Never could quite understand where Linn were coming from with their speakers past the brutalist, plug ugly, hey look we really are gawd awful to look at styling of their original big three. Reminiscent of the TNG compared to the original series. Star Trek they met aliens they blew them up they generally waved their collectives phalluses around and had a good romp. TNG touchy feely rubbish and scatter cushions on the Command deck and that to me seems to be what happened to Linn.
They suddenly became all sheepish about their styling and decided on copying, of all people Wharfedale, those paragons of home décor. The sound of Linn speakers fell in line with this new "inclusive" style to become slightly bland erring towards ,pretty chuffin' boring. Really that was that, Linn became a "lifestyle choice" rather than Hifi brand and pretty much, everything they have done since then has been about harmonious spaces and living and really feck all to do with music.
If you want to make a plummy sounding 70s album sound like it was recorded into Pro Tools through straight wire pres and then mastered by someone who is obsessed by upper mids and low treble, buy a pair of Saras or Kans. As for the faithful old "Brix" well all the style of a 1968 Datsun for Aston Martin prices and the uncomfortable feeling the designer grew up in a mile high tenement in Glasgow that was fitted with storage heaters. It's as if Ivor sat down one day and said..."You know you can push a brick through the sound barrier at 20,000 feet so long as there's enough power? Well lets build a pair of speakers using that philosophy.
They made,to my ears music "fun", in the same way driving a E Type with the soft top down on the motorway in February, is fun. One feels one should wear a silk scarf, goggles and a flying helmet to truly appreciate them. Maybe I'm biased having spent way too many hours having to listen to chuffin' NS10s and I always have preferred silk to hair shirts.
To those who enjoy the presentation of Linn's original trio then there are far far better modern alternatives that are generally a lot less cash as well, or if of a similar price point generally just better than Linn. The big Blue Sky 8s and their subs do everything the Brix do and do it well, the Unity Audio Rocks are modern Saras without the aural switch-blade to the ear drum and actual real proper Bass extension. Surgical tools that don't lacerate their owners more than the intended patient I can understand and go with the ethos these old speakers were designed with, trouble is, they have been left well behind by several other manufacturers and adding ever more amps to a Brix is a tad like putting ever bigger engines in an outdated chassis in some vain effort to compete with a car half the size that out performs the old Brix in virtually every area save for, real estate and the ability to constantly lighten your wallet.
They suddenly became all sheepish about their styling and decided on copying, of all people Wharfedale, those paragons of home décor. The sound of Linn speakers fell in line with this new "inclusive" style to become slightly bland erring towards ,pretty chuffin' boring. Really that was that, Linn became a "lifestyle choice" rather than Hifi brand and pretty much, everything they have done since then has been about harmonious spaces and living and really feck all to do with music.
If you want to make a plummy sounding 70s album sound like it was recorded into Pro Tools through straight wire pres and then mastered by someone who is obsessed by upper mids and low treble, buy a pair of Saras or Kans. As for the faithful old "Brix" well all the style of a 1968 Datsun for Aston Martin prices and the uncomfortable feeling the designer grew up in a mile high tenement in Glasgow that was fitted with storage heaters. It's as if Ivor sat down one day and said..."You know you can push a brick through the sound barrier at 20,000 feet so long as there's enough power? Well lets build a pair of speakers using that philosophy.
They made,to my ears music "fun", in the same way driving a E Type with the soft top down on the motorway in February, is fun. One feels one should wear a silk scarf, goggles and a flying helmet to truly appreciate them. Maybe I'm biased having spent way too many hours having to listen to chuffin' NS10s and I always have preferred silk to hair shirts.
To those who enjoy the presentation of Linn's original trio then there are far far better modern alternatives that are generally a lot less cash as well, or if of a similar price point generally just better than Linn. The big Blue Sky 8s and their subs do everything the Brix do and do it well, the Unity Audio Rocks are modern Saras without the aural switch-blade to the ear drum and actual real proper Bass extension. Surgical tools that don't lacerate their owners more than the intended patient I can understand and go with the ethos these old speakers were designed with, trouble is, they have been left well behind by several other manufacturers and adding ever more amps to a Brix is a tad like putting ever bigger engines in an outdated chassis in some vain effort to compete with a car half the size that out performs the old Brix in virtually every area save for, real estate and the ability to constantly lighten your wallet.
david ellwood
Kirabosi Kognoscente
I fundamentally disagree with the notion that new designs are better executed than older examples.
you really can keep your ported 25mm MDF rubbish.
you really can keep your ported 25mm MDF rubbish.
linnfomaniac83
I bet you can’t wheelie a unicycle!
Yep, not saying old linn designs are perfect, far from it but after actually having a modern and well regarded £6k speaker in my home to replace my keltiks and finding that I actually prefer the keltiks, I have realised that something does not have to be perfect to be utterly enjoyable.
NaimClontarf
pfm Member
I didn't know that my mesh tweetered Linn Keilidhs were krap until I joined PFM. I have had and enjoyed them for 20 years; Now I just have status anxiety over them and they must be got rid of.
Despite the fact that
1) they are better than any set of speakers anyone in my circle of friends and acquaintances has
2) replacements will cost at least €1k which I don't have and am unlikely to have in the near future given the costs associated providing for a family and yacht
Those linn guys have really ruined my life...
Despite the fact that
1) they are better than any set of speakers anyone in my circle of friends and acquaintances has
2) replacements will cost at least €1k which I don't have and am unlikely to have in the near future given the costs associated providing for a family and yacht
Those linn guys have really ruined my life...
linnfomaniac83
I bet you can’t wheelie a unicycle!
Keilidhs are great, beautifully made too, carry on enjoying them
.Some people force their opinion as though it were fact.
Linn have been highly successful for years as have naim, this wouldn't be the case if the kit they produce was anything less than excellent. It's not to everybody's taste but wouldn't life be boring if we all liked the same things!
Gaius
pfm Member
I used Kans for 25 years and loved them.
I recently had a pair of Index. Not even close to being in the same league as Kans.
I also had Katans a few years ago and really liked them.
Still have Keilidhs and dont like them, and dont rate them very highly. But my wife likes the colour/finish so they are still here, in the Conservatory. Who am I to argue?
I recently had a pair of Index. Not even close to being in the same league as Kans.
I also had Katans a few years ago and really liked them.
Still have Keilidhs and dont like them, and dont rate them very highly. But my wife likes the colour/finish so they are still here, in the Conservatory. Who am I to argue?
Robert
Tapehead
At some point they employed a Canadian chap IIRC who could understand how a crossover worked. This lead to the Sara 9 and the Kan2 which work far better IMO.
The Kan 2 is actually a nice mini monitor deserving of the term. Much of the old honking and clanging stripped away with the tight funky bottom end retained. Great for small rooms tight against a wall.
I've heard Briks sounding good and bad depending on the room and music, but they have some excellent qualities.
The cabinets and drivers on those older sealed designs are pretty good, and the build was excellent. If Linn are now offering software active crossovers for them, I can see good potential for keeping them running and sounding far better than back in the day.
Robert
Tapehead
This is interesting because it opens up many possibilities. Effectively those older classics can be made to sound very different to the originals with the benefit of more advanced active crossovers.
wylton
Naim and Mana member
I must admit, I'm a bit of a fan of the Linn Kan!
I'm using a pair of Kan Mk II's in an active system downstairs, and I'm very pleased with the result; I'll write it up at some point.
Meanwhile my old Mk1's are up in the office/spare room in a passive system on the end of a NAC22/ZAP120 system and that is sounding rather good too.
I'm using a pair of Kan Mk II's in an active system downstairs, and I'm very pleased with the result; I'll write it up at some point.
Meanwhile my old Mk1's are up in the office/spare room in a passive system on the end of a NAC22/ZAP120 system and that is sounding rather good too.
linnfomaniac83
I bet you can’t wheelie a unicycle!
The kit driving linn speakers matters, Linn and naim kit tending to work pretty well.
Most linn speakers are pretty easy to drive in electrical terms but can be a little fussy, get it right though and they can be fantastic.
I used to use a cosmetically challenged pair of keilidhs for testing kit that I had repaired/restored and I have driven them with all kinds of kit imaginable, often with surprisingly good results.
In fact as I type this message, that very pair of keilidhs are hooked to the end of an arcam alpha 9 (being used as a power amp) on the end of a Allen & Heath desk in my brothers practise studio and they are sounding very, very good!
ff1d1l
pfm Member
Based on Linn speakers I've heard:
At shows
At Harrods
In my own home - Bariks internal crossover and with crossover in stand, driven by Krell KSA/KSL, ran these for many years.
At my parents house who still run internal crossover Bariks
I have to conclude that Mr A above is of sound opinion and there is far better out there for far less. For example, direct comparison is available at my parents - they have a pair of JBL 4410's of mine which came in very cheap (£30.00) and I restored/souped up. They slaughter the Bariks in every area...Bass, imaging, clarity, DYNAMICS and portraying depth. Oh and PRAT. Lest we forget...prat...
per flemming
Registered User
each to their own
ff1d1l
pfm Member
Indeed. There are those who like their earth flat...and the others
I just tend to think that people who rave about Linn speakers haven't heard much else, or what they have heard isn't too clever.
I got rid of my Bariks when I realised they were comprehensively outclassed by a pair of 12" Tannoy monitor gold chassis in some floorstanding home made cabs a friend gave me. We're not talking opinion here, this was outright clear superiority, unless your criteria for hi fi reproduction prioritized a flat, unreal sound, a limited soundstage, sat-on dynamics and listener fatigue. Friends who knew my system concurred, visiting civillians said how real it sounded (comments the Bariks had never attracted) as did my other half who isn't interested in hi fi but seemed to be playing more records...
When I sold them I demo'd them, but I didn't dare have the buyer listen to them in comparison with the Tannoys. I know he'd have walked away.
Although Linn called the Bariks DMS (domestic monitor system) and PMS (pre menstrual sorry professional monitor system) I don't think they were ever used in a studio enviroment, or had a studio heritage, as do Tannoy or JBL. You have to ask why professionals shunned them, if they were such fabulous speakers?
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
I must have heard the early ones!