Playground for practical listening exercises

[beck]

Now I can hear what it is that makes Kans so special. Compact focus and togetherness in sound. Musically my favorit of the three presented here in this setup.

A great “source first” system. :-)

[tokenbrit]

Interesting clips Charlie1 - thanks for posting. Nice to get back to music here...
Surprisingly close soundwise but musically quite a difference. Not sure I understand your comment about Edens guiding you to 109s - I could sit comfortably in front of the Royds, I would be bopping to the Kans, but the Nait-140 combo left me cold, and I'd expect 109s to be much closer to their bigger brethren than to their beloved (k)ancestor. Can't help wondering whether there's something of a generational synergy...

[Charlie1]

Thanks all for your feedback. Useful as always.

Wow David, 27 years with Kans! We call that 'sweating the asset' in my line of work.

Tokenbrit, the comment about Edens to 109s was just in relation to owning a bookshelf speaker with much less bass as part of my main system. I agree the 140s don't match with the Nait for some reason. I like the tunefulness, boogie and refined treble, but they do seem a bit dull and lifeless compared to the others. Could it be a power issue? The Nait is only about 15-20 wpc. You're probably right and the 109s will have a similar character when combined with the Nait, but I will also be unsure unless I try them. I'm going to hear Russell K Red 100s are some point as they might do the trick - Russell claims they can work with 10w SET amps so should be fine from that standpoint at least.

The Kans are tuneful, fun and bouncy, but listening to them a lot today, they did get a bit tiring - they are quite full on and relentless on some material, although fine on others. The Edens are also a very fast sounding speaker, yet not fatuiging, but the downside is that they seem less tuneful than either Linn speaker, to my ears at least.

I also have Katans which are very tuneful and a good match for the Nait, but they will not boogie for some reason. Any music with a strong rhythm and it's as if they say, "Nah, I'm not doing that - not my thing." I mentioned it to Sunbeam a while back and he thinks they only boogie when active.

I did eventually try the Frugal Horn with a single full-range driver btw. Not as tuneful and engaging as the M140s. Very nice sound though. It was sonically just right for the rest of my system so a bit of a shame.

[u252agz]

Interesting clips

I find these more difficult than I expected, but I am drawn to the two Linn speakers in terms of musicality and tunefulness, even though the Edens are quite good.

Of the two, the Majik 140s sound more tuneful and would get my vote - even if a little laid back.

Kans are interesting but maybe sacrificing some musicality for their undoubted spirited nature and boogie factor.

I think for short sessions Kans would be good fun but long term 140s for me .

[Charlie1]

Interesting clips

I find these more difficult than I expected, but I am drawn to the two Linn speakers in terms of musicality and tunefulness, even though the Edens are quite good.

Of the two, the Majik 140s sound more tuneful and would get my vote - even if a little laid back.

Kans are interesting but maybe sacrificing some musicality for their undoubted spirited nature and boogie factor.

I think for short sessions Kans would be good fun but long term 140s for me .

This also sums up my feelings earlier on.

Having said that, I played 'Jordon the Comeback' afterwards, with the Kans, and it was really good.

[David Neel]

Wow David, 27 years with Kans! We call that 'sweating the asset' in my line of work.

I call it poverty! It was supposed to be 12 months until Isobariks were affordable.... but seriously, I took about five years of trying different speakers before at last choosing 109s to replace the Kans. The problem (or benefit) with both those Linn speakers is that they have headroom, in the sense that improvements in front of them are always heard. The 109s only went when I had four Lejonklou boxes.

[Spannko]

The Kans are tuneful, fun and bouncy, but listening to them a lot today, they did get a bit tiring - they are quite full on and relentless on some material, although fine on others. The Edens are also a very fast sounding speaker, yet not fatuiging, but the downside is that they seem less tuneful than either Linn speaker, to my ears at least.

That’s just how I hear it too, charlie1. It’s really frustrating isn’t it!

[anthony]

Have you tried the kans with the Tundra?

[Charlie1]

I can't keep the KK and Tundra, buy a second LP12 system (£2k ish) and also extract funds out of the system. Or did you mean, just out of interest?

[mrco99]

Hi Charlie1,

Should you be interested to hear what a GA LS 3/5 'Kan' do then I am happy to send you a pair - no obligations, just to ease your curiousity.

:-)

Marco

[Charlie1]

Thanks Marco. I'll PM you.

[anthony]

Thanks Marco. I'll PM you.

"Curiosity killed the cat" is a proverb used to warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation.

[Charlie1]

:)

I don't think it's 'unnecessary' though. I've yet to find a speaker that's a good enough match.

[anthony]

All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my room
Speakers are unecessary
They can only do harm.

[Charlie1]

lol

Great song.

[lejonklou]

All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my room
Speakers are unecessary
They can only do harm.

Correction:

"Speakers are very
Unnecessary"

I found your clips difficult, Charlie. I've owned two pairs of Kan and as you say they're fantastic with some songs but too distorted on others. The 140's are not bad, but they're not great either in this clip (I recall them sounding much better when driven by KK-Tundra). For some reason, I find I exclude the Royd Eden clip last.

[Charlie1]

The 140's are not bad, but they're not great either in this clip (I recall them sounding much better when driven by KK-Tundra).

Yes, I know what you mean. I feel there are two issues with the Nait / 140s. The first one is the overall sound. The Kans, Edens and Katans all strike me as better voiced for the Nait. The second issue is bass control - the 140s were always a bit woolly until I got the Tundra.

With so many options available, particularly second hand, I'm hoping I'll find a better match for the Nait at a reasonable price. Might take a while though. Rega ELAs, ESL 57s and Shahinian speakers are often mentioned as a good match for the Nait, but will any of them be tuneful enough? Someone also said that the old Linn Index is very underrated - not sure how easy it is to drive though. I'd like to try Tukans as well.

[anthony]

The 140's are not bad, but they're not great either in this clip (I recall them sounding much better when driven by KK-Tundra).

Yes, I know what you mean. I feel there are two issues with the Nait / 140s. The first one is the overall sound. The Kans, Edens and Katans all strike me as better voiced for the Nait. The second issue is bass control - the 140s were always a bit woolly until I got the Tundra.

With so many options available, particularly second hand, I'm hoping I'll find a better match for the Nait at a reasonable price. Might take a while though. Rega ELAs, ESL 57s and Shahinian speakers are often mentioned as a good match for the Nait, but will any of them be tuneful enough? Someone also said that the old Linn Index is very underrated - not sure how easy it is to drive though. I'd like to try Tukans as well.

I think the 'NNait' maybe the common factor :)

[Charlie1]

I think the 'NNait' maybe the common factor :)

It is indeed. And it's clearly flawed, particularly in power delivery. But unfortunately, despite several efforts, I can't find anything else as enjoyable, so I've decided to tailor the speakers to it.

[maffe]

<snip> I'd like to try Tukans as well.

I have had the Nait2 and Tukans as my main system for a long time, now it serves as our bedroom stereo since it did not really work in our new apartment.
With a concrete wall behind the Tukans they really delivered musical joy!

[anthony]

Totem dreamcatcher?

[anthony]

Totem dreamcatcher?

Do you remember the LASKY speaker comparator?

[tokenbrit]

Relentlessness of the Nait-Kan kombo could be kalmed a little by some Spendor bookshelf speakers. There's a pair of S3/5R²s on UK eBay for £599 - stereophile review speaks of clarity *and* musicality :-o

[Charlie1]

Thanks maffe, anthony and tokenbrit for the suggestions!

[Charlie1]

Added K400/Katans for reference as I find it useful to keep track of the differences via a single track, even if recorded at different times.

K400/Linn Katan: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wsrxxvyihrh5a ... 3.MOV?dl=0
K400/Royd Eden: https://www.dropbox.com/s/bk6tey54ffr88 ... 7.MOV?dl=0
K400/Linn Majik 140: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yhuitknu8a776 ... 8.MOV?dl=0
K20/Linn Kan 1: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ahx3eedud1huk ... 9.MOV?dl=0