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Shoving Saras

Craig B said:
I think you'll be quite pleased with the 4140S2 on the Saras, Colin.

Power wise, this isn't far from an NAP110. Creek claimed a nominal 40W/ch (=16.0dBW) with instantaneous peak current rated to 15amps (the latter roughly the same as for NAP250).
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If this can help :
I tried this amp on my vintage IMF Super Compact V1 that uses a similar woofer to the Sara (but only 1 instead of 2) and it really didn’t lack power at all. I don’t remember the efficiency of my IMF but they are not the most efficient ones. I think Creek is conservative in their power ratings as it really seemed to be more than just 40 w per channel.
Another positive point for the Creek is that the treble is very smooth (but detailed enough) so this should be a good fit with the tweeter of the Sara or any other vintage Linn speakers.
 
@Mr Pig I ran Linn Saras actively and passively, with NAP160 and NAP250, but they wouldn’t be my choice for something for the workshop. If I wanted to do that, I have a pair of Royd A7's in the loft and an old class 1 transistor amp in the workshop, and a Squeezebox receiver, plus loads of various cables in the cable box. I reckon I could scratch together a really nice system; hell, I even have a NAC12/120 going spare! Don’t put ideas in my head though, because if my wife found out that I had a hi-fi in the workshop, she would never let me in the house!
 
Lots of interesting ideas, thank you everyone.

I don't need them in the shed, I'm just playing around. I have the Saras anyway so why not. If I can get them sounding good without spending too much then great but I'm not too bothered if I can't. I can only use speakers on the wall in the shed and at present I have a Tannoy sub in there as well. If the Saras can make a big noise I might be able to free up a bit of space by getting rid of the sub. I know they can do that in the house but the shed's a far from ideal involvement.

It's all just a bit of fun really. Old picture from while the shed was getting built but you can see where the speakers live and Hi-Fi under the bench to right:

1040428d1452019753-new-pigshed-013.jpg
 
Nice workspace; you couldn't swing the proverbial cat in mine! I'm looking to add another shed; we have the brick built one attached to the house, which stores the lawn mower, strimmer, rotavator etc, a wooden shed halfway up the garden, which is the gardening shed, then my workshop at the top. Trouble is, that my workshop seems to be the dumping ground for stuff that has nowhere else to go! Hence the new shed, which could go at the very top in a space that we can't do much else with; we gained it, when the council moved their boundary back.

Anyway, good luck with the project; it doesn’t sound like it would cost you much either way.
 
wylton said:
Trouble is, that my workshop seems to be the dumping ground for stuff that has nowhere else to go!
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That's what usually happens which is why I refused to let anyone else put their crap in this shed! My mother in law wanted a potting shed, he's a keen gardener, but the patio furniture went in, then the lawn mower and everything else and now it's a tip. Mine is a nice place to be.

It looks very different now but there isn't a recent picture on the net. It's a state just now because I got it ready to get new larch cladding fitted just as the lockdown happened :0( Acoustically it's pretty horrible ;0)
 
Mr Pig said:
Lots of interesting ideas, thank you everyone.

I don't need them in the shed, I'm just playing around. I have the Saras anyway so why not. If I can get them sounding good without spending too much then great but I'm not too bothered if I can't. I can only use speakers on the wall in the shed and at present I have a Tannoy sub in there as well. If the Saras can make a big noise I might be able to free up a bit of space by getting rid of the sub. I know they can do that in the house but the shed's a far from ideal involvement.

It's all just a bit of fun really. Old picture from while the shed was getting built but you can see where the speakers live and Hi-Fi under the bench to right:

1040428d1452019753-new-pigshed-013.jpg
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Those lampshades really pull the room together.
 
Mr Pig said:
Lots of interesting ideas, thank you everyone.

I don't need them in the shed, I'm just playing around. I have the Saras anyway so why not. If I can get them sounding good without spending too much then great but I'm not too bothered if I can't. I can only use speakers on the wall in the shed and at present I have a Tannoy sub in there as well. If the Saras can make a big noise I might be able to free up a bit of space by getting rid of the sub. I know they can do that in the house but the shed's a far from ideal involvement.

It's all just a bit of fun really. Old picture from while the shed was getting built but you can see where the speakers live and Hi-Fi under the bench to right:

1040428d1452019753-new-pigshed-013.jpg
Click to expand...

Knowing now it’s for a workshop like this makes it different now..........
My personal choice then would be a vintage Kenwood Super Eleven receiver. It’s a 2 x 125 watts/ channel into 8 ohm so powerful enough to wake up your Sara’s and the look is awesome IMO.
With a bit of luck, they can be bought for little money nowadays so you won’t break the bank.
Many other Japanese manufacturers did similar things so you may have other options as well.
I bought a 1986 Pioneer similar to this for my nephew for less than $200.00 CDN and it was a double mono topology and quite honestly, my very expensive Naim kit sounded better but not by a big margin !
 
stevec67 said:
Those lampshades really pull the room together.
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It's a pity you can't upload pictures here. There is a rug!

Gervais Cote said:
My personal choice then would be a vintage Kenwood Super Eleven receiver.
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A big Jap amp is something I'm thinking about. I've heard some really good sounding vintage Jap stuff. I have a big Yamaha AV receiver in my daughters home studio and it sounds very good. One of the problems is that I'm not familiar with Jap stuff so I don't know what's good and what isn't.
 
Typically, for the good old days of the Japanese, the bigger the number, the better the sound and the power.
For example, a Kenwood KR-9600 is 2 x 160 w into 8 ohm and a Kenwood KR-8050 is a 2 x 120 watts.
Pioneer SA-9500 is 2 x 80 w and a Pioneer SA-8500 is 2 x 60 w.
And so on........
For the Sara’s, I would go at least 2 x 100 watts or more and for a rich sound, I would go series 8000 and up no matter the brand.
A real flea market or local newspaper or local website is the right spot to find something at a very low price.
 
yuckyamson said:
GET A CROWN. DRIVE THE LIVING PISS OUT OF 'EM. THEY WILL SOUND GREAT!!!
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A Crown Macrotech 2400 is happy running into a near-short load. Since pro sound amplification has moved on a lot since the Macrotechs were designed, I imagine they must be cheap on the used market now. No one wants a heavy analog amp anymore.
 
Yank said:
A Crown Macrotech 2400 is happy running into a near-short load. Since pro sound amplification has moved on a lot since the Macrotechs were designed, I imagine they must be cheap on the used market now. No one wants a heavy analog amp anymore.
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They are not hugely expensive but still £300 plus. Given that he wants sounds in his shed and he already has a working amp, investing £300 in an amplifier to drive a pair of speakers out of the scrap box seems a little excessive when a fraction of that would buy some very good speakers instead.
 
Mr Pig said:
It's that simple? Over 8000 is good whatever the brand?!
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From my knowledge, this applies for many Kenwood, Pioneer, and maybe others as well.
The trick is to look for at least 2 x 100 watts and Mid 70’s to mid 80’s was one of the best period, when everything was made in Japan.
Sansui also made some very good ones but their price is much higher.
 
Creek hasn't arrived yet but even driving them with the Rotel is not bad. Better than the HB1s and I like the HB1s, so they can stay.

Hard getting the bass right in a wooden shed but I'll mess with it more once the Creek arrives. It's got a fuller, warmer sound.
 
Craig B said:
Have you given any thought to getting them down onto a pair of Sara stands?
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Not possible. It's a shed, space is managed, and there are two sofas on that space. Not sure it would sound any better anyway. Yeah, sure it would sound worse.
 
A shed with two sofas, a coffee table, and a rug? Sounds more like a lounge with a work bench in (literally, if not acoustically).
 
Craig B said:
A shed with two sofas, a coffee table, and a rug? Sounds more like a lounge with a work bench in.
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It was designed to be a workshop and a lounge space and it works really well. A sitting area at one end, workspace in the middle and storage at the other end. It was one of those things that as soon as you did it you thought 'I should've done this years ago' and several of my friends have built sheds after seeing mine ;0)
 
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