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upgrading from activ kabers to keltiks

Andrew Podmore

Andrew Podmore

Pod
Hello all

Ive been running active kabers with 3 lk100s
Thinking about keltiks &
1 x extra Lk100
Find 4 klouts later on...
Have members done this themselves either now or in the past...
Any thoughts on this ...?
You wise and wonderful people...
 
Yes I have, you will need more room behind Keltiks than you do with Kabers and they really favour a good 3 feet or more between them and a side wall, otherwise they can overwhelm the room with bass, especially with LK100s. The Keltik cards do have roll off and gain adjustments so you should be able to get them singing... they’ll benefit from Klouts though.
 
Personally I would put Klouts on the Kabers first, it's a huge improvement (I have both). Possible to run Keltiks on the three LK100's, or so my dealer said back in the day, but then he was trying to sell me the Keltiks. Save on the fourth LK100 and put the cash towards the first Klout, no problem to mix them.
 
forester said:
Personally I would put Klouts on the Kabers first, it's a huge improvement (I have both). Possible to run Keltiks on the three LK100's, or so my dealer said back in the day, but then he was trying to sell me the Keltiks. Save on the fourth LK100 and put the cash towards the first Klout, no problem to mix them.
Click to expand...

Totally agree, I’d not touch keltiks without exakt or some form of dsp to sort the bass out.
 
Of course you can put Klouts on Kabers and they will sound nicer than with lk100. But you are talking a fundamentally different sound with Keltiks via lk 100 or any other amps for that matter.
I could not live with Kabers, so if you love Kabers you may not like Keltiks.
The bass on the Keltiks with care and a bit of luck (depending on your room) can be phenomenal. We are talking in a different league to Kaber. I don't mean quantity (of which there is ample) but depth and the integration of that depth leaves you Never requiring anything more.
But they are not everyone's cup of tea. Simply read the Internet for plenty bad comments, many from former Isobarik owners. Slow, dull, uninspiring, are many of the comments.
David
 
dspatterson said:
Of course you can put Klouts on Kabers and they will sound nicer than with lk100. But you are talking a fundamentally different sound with Keltiks via lk 100 or any other amps for that matter.
I could not live with Kabers, so if you love Kabers you may not like Keltiks.
The bass on the Keltiks with care and a bit of luck (depending on your room) can be phenomenal. We are talking in a different league to Kaber. I don't mean quantity (of which there is ample) but depth and the integration of that depth leaves you Never requiring anything more.
But they are not everyone's cup of tea. Simply read the Internet for plenty bad comments, many from former Isobarik owners. Slow, dull, uninspiring, are many of the comments.
David
Click to expand...
I had them for years, first with two LK100s on bass and two Klouts on the mid and treble... they were good, but had a lot more to give. Next I replaced the LK100s with Klout, definitely better... then I got KXOs, MUCH better, then I tried 2250s, sideways step... and then finally Klimax Twins, just breath taking. I needed a more suitable house though, and a mortgage I could more comfortably afford being disabled and less able to earn a big wage, so it all went. Lovely though... without Exakt.
 
My brother had active Kabers driven by 3 Klouts, that system was simply blown away with a change of speaker to a pair of JM Lab Mezzo Utopia and using just one Klout (amplification was later changed to Audio Research) That system was cheaper than the active one :)
 
I agree Keltiks are way different to Kabers. Fortunately the massive depreciation in values over time means that with a bit of patience it is possible to pick up either for relative buttons compared to their once new price. The fact that all the Linn power amps have the same gain means they can be mixed although fitment and type of Aktiv cards may be a restriction unless a tunebox is used. Linn's flagship speaker from the 90's for hundreds of pounds compared to tens of thousands for the current models, would be a shame not to give them a go but don't judge either without the best amplifiers too.
 
Many thanks to all above who have taken the time to comment and share their experiences, it has been truly enlightening and your experiences are worth their weight in klouts....lol truth is I have had my head turned by keltik bargains out there. I will pursue upgrading my 3 x lk100 to klout with the kabers, also my room might be slightly on the small side for keltiks. Eyes bigger than my belly.....
 
It is MUCH easier to get Keltiks working well in a large room... I did have them working well in an almost 4x6 meter room, I say almost because it was L shaped with 1x2 meter (WxL) section cut out of it. That room seemed to swallow bass though. They would be extremely difficult to get working properly in my current 3.5x4.5 meter listening room.
 
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