Exakt

[stefan]

....
It would be interesting to compare 242s to the T1s but I am not sure I want to really discover the answer - I am enjoying the music too much to then discover that there is yet another level that I should be aspiring to. Maybe after a few years when I have had my fill of the 242s.

Also, accepting that the T1s are more musical ( Fredrik is usually correct in these matters), would I be able to live without some of the lovely sounds coming from the 242s.

I suspect I would, but am too frightened to go down that road, at this present moment in time.

I am just grateful that we have such great products to compare and contrast; and find our own particular sweet spot between musicality and sound.

Less than two years ago (when aktive Akubarik was released) I bought ex-dem 242s from the designer of T1. As you might understand I've heard T1 several times before. I also heard 212s visiting two forum members wereas one of them had a pair for sale. Eventually my choiche was these 242s.

No, I don't regret this. Heard T1 several times after. Yes, Fredrik is usually right and I will not say against him. T1 is THAT good but as you put it "find our own particular sweet spot between musicality and sound".

Akubarik on the other hand, that's the one I would like to.

[u252agz]

Thanks for that Stefan,

I now feel more comfortable in continuing to enjoy the 242s and less curious about the T1s.

One of the issues with T1s is of course dealer support in the UK. I would not be able to install adequately myself, nor perform the various tweaks or upgrades mentioned on the Forum.

I wonder whether the genre of music listened to has some bearing in choice of speakers or even systems.

I do not do much ( ie any) Rock/Punk and much of mine is classical/Instrumental/ Jazz/ Soul with quite a bit of emphasis on Vocals.

As far as Akubarik goes - Anthony says they are better than 242s - and as with Fredrik, he is also usually correct in these matters.

Whether they are worth the extra investment for a 242 owner is another question.

[mrco99]

Being happy with what you've got is one of the most challenging topics these days.
Especially in our ever-changing, ever-improving world.

Life is too short and precious for chasing upgrades, so time to put some music on to comfort and enjoy.

;-)

[Music Lover]

It would be interesting to compare 242s to the T1s but I am not sure I want to really discover the answer - I am enjoying the music too much to then discover that there is yet another level that I should be aspiring to.

I constantly try other products, regardless if it's smartphones, cars and whatever, due to my curiosity. I visit consumer electronic and hifi shops and fairs to check out the competition.
My older products are not any less good afterwards.

PS
I heard T1's vs 242's and the former are more musical. I own 242s and are still happy with them.
You should to! If anything, address the source, rack, NAS, cables, ripping etc first!
Speakers are not that important, instead follow the Source First approach.

[u252agz]

Thanks to everyone for the advice- I will continue to enjoy 242s and work on the source.

Getting back to exact - before I get terminated by a moderator for leading people off piste.

Has anyone heard an Exact system recreate the emotion and magic of really good vocals. The sort of reaction that , on listening to sagatun monos, prompted a forum member to want to either fall in love with or marry the female singer.

Or is this all tied up with the musicality issues discussed in the previous few posts..

I accept that the hi parameters , bass, treble, soundstaging etc are very good- but what about this emotion / x factor that can really get to you, and forces you to put the music on.

[lejonklou]

Interesting. For you, is it this a sound issue or a musical issue?
If it only impact the sound, not such a big deal. Or is it once you observe it?
But if it impacting the musicality, it sure is!
Question; do you hear it on ALL array speakers, 2k, 3k and 4k?
And do you hear it on Exakt speakers?

I'm not sure I can tell sound and music apart. When the sounds get fragmented, it sound more "loudspeaker". And it affects the music.

I hear it the least on the 2K array and the most on the 4K array.

I have found passive the least fragmented, aktiv more and Exakt the most. But I have not heard all models in all configurations, so this may not always be true.

For me, the important item in a projector is motion flow. Some projectors can't handle movements without acting as a stroboscope. As NOTHING moves in small fast steps in reality, nothing - it's killing the experience for me.

I agree! Flow is such an important property. Both in sound and picture!

[lejonklou]

For a couple of years, I was very impressed by the 4K and 3K arrays that were first used in Komri and later introduced in other speaker models. After having lived with 212's and started listening to Klångedang T1's, however, I gradually became aware of how the drive units in the arrays didn't overlap one another perfectly. That is: The character of each drive unit differs from the others and instead of them blending into one smooth whole - the music - I can easily by ear pick them out one by one.

What did you think of the Akubarik's Fredrik, in this respect?

I have only heard the passive Akubarik's once, at Hidden Systems. I liked them and had a feeling they might be Linn's best speaker right now.

It seemed to me that their 3K arrays were smoother and flatter in amplitude. Other 3K speaker have a peak and a harshness in the mid dome that I dislike, but the Akubariks were different.

I still found the 3K array of the Akubariks a bit fragmentised, however. There's a lot of drive units and this can be heard.

[anthony]

For a couple of years, I was very impressed by the 4K and 3K arrays that were first used in Komri and later introduced in other speaker models. After having lived with 212's and started listening to Klångedang T1's, however, I gradually became aware of how the drive units in the arrays didn't overlap one another perfectly. That is: The character of each drive unit differs from the others and instead of them blending into one smooth whole - the music - I can easily by ear pick them out one by one.

What did you think of the Akubarik's Fredrik, in this respect?

I have only heard the passive Akubarik's once, at Hidden Systems. I liked them and had a feeling they might be Linn's best speaker right now.

It seemed to me that their 3K arrays were smoother and flatter in amplitude. Other 3K speaker have a peak and a harshness in the mid dome that I dislike, but the Akubariks were different.

I still found the 3K array of the Akubariks a bit fragmentised, however. There's a lot of drive units and this can be heard.

I wonder how much the 3k calibration affects this?
Would this be so obvious when all three units are equally matched?

[Erik]

I guess it has more to do with placement and blending in the crossover than the individual amplitude.

/Erik

[Music Lover]

I have only heard the passive Akubarik's once, at Hidden Systems. I liked them and had a feeling they might be Linn's best speaker right now.

What do you think of the bass performance?
I find them undefined and sloppy. Like a not perfectly installed sub. And the downwards firing elements produce no SLAM.
= The integration with mid/treble is a bit lacking.

I had very high hopes on Majik Isobarik's and Akubariks but after hearing many passive and active speakers - nothing for me.
Agree, the 3k is better than old 3k designs but that's a rather small enhancements compared to the, for me, unacceptable bass performance.
The active Akubarik's are better in the bass performance, still not perfect. Klimax and Komri both offer, to my ears, a more "real and true" bass.

I understand this post gives the impression that I'm super critical. I'm not! But remember, it's 15 years since Linn introduced the "new" k-array speaker range.
Based on that, I had hoped the new Isobarik speakers would have been better.

Sorry for OT

Back to Exakt, I really REALLY like the sound of Akudorik!! (and no doubt it's the most musical Exakt speaker)

Akudorik has a sound that is "back to the Linn roots".
Not as HIFI-sounding (in a bad way) as 3k-array speakers which to my ears, focus too much on details and treble - less on the whole.
2k-arrays speakers are better in that regard (but less musical)

Komri was the last speaker that sounded "real". Like music was actually being played in the room and not reproduced by an expensive HIFI-system.
Akudorik is a bit like that. Finally.
Now, just address the musical performance please.

[Music Lover]

I guess it has more to do with placement and blending in the crossover than the individual amplitude.

/Erik

A single element always going to have advantages compared with dividing the signal as in a 3k-array.
As many of you know, I'm a BIG sucker for speakers with ONE element!
No filter needed.
Then you add a great sub or two...in which you have filters.
In my dreams...

Did you know that Linn evaluated single drivers? (including the BRM-driver that now Naim use in Ovator)

[lejonklou]

What do you think of the bass performance?
I find them undefined and sloppy. Like a not perfectly installed sub. And the downwards firing elements produce no SLAM.
= The integration with mid/treble is a bit lacking.

In the room where I heard them, bass was good. Not much slam, but clean and musical. But I need to hear them in other rooms to know how they really perform!

I agree about bass being notoriously difficult. Down firing elements close to the floor seems to always lack slam and instead create a subwoofer-like sound.

So few loudspeakers have really good bass. Komri is an exception. Original Isobariks were great too. And 345 is a really good sub (but has no mid bass or slam of course).

[matthias]

A single element always going to have advantages compared with dividing the signal as in a 3k-array.
As many of you know, I'm a BIG sucker for speakers with ONE element!
No filter needed.

I think absolutely the same.

This is my favorite speaker:

http://www.zuaudio.com/loudspeakers/druid

It is my dream to listen to this speaker with Lejonklou amps.

Matt

[hcl]

So few loudspeakers have really good bass. Komri is an exception. Original Isobariks were great too. And 345 is a really good sub (but has no mid bass or slam of course).

Have you tried 345 with the highest filter settings? It gives a lot more slam (eh, I think). It requires that they are used in stereo (e.g.two of them), but it gives a more well defined (old fashioned PA-ish-bass). I use mine (one 345) at the 85 Hz setting, altough I should investigate the 55 Hz setting. It has been on the agenda for years, as there are a bit of an obvious overlap between the 212 and the sub, but it works musically so I can not bother too mich. Its not a big problem, its just that I have a feeling that the integration could be even better, but ..., maybe when I get old ;-)

[Spannko]

Further to my earlier ramblings, It's only fair for me to report that the Akudoriks which I said were really disappointing turned out to be faulty. I heard their replacements and they were MUCH better. The dealer had only just had them replaced with a new pair, so were far from being run in. The exakt room compensation was switched on, with the room modes reduced by the stock value. Unfortunately the dealer hadn't had time to experiment with the levels, which as we know are often a bit aggressive and benefit from being reduced a little. Despite all this, I thought the Akudoriks showed great promise. They were able to produce a big, expansive, musical sound, sounding much bigger than their actual size. They weren't perfect, but considering that they were new and not set up fully, I was pretty impressed.

One thing we discovered was just how sensitive to placement the Klimax EDS is to positioning. The differences were not subtle - about the difference between a Valhalla and a Lingo. The sound can vary from the disintegrated, etched sound people often complain about, to a beautifully integrated and surprisingly analog sound. And all this with a digital only KEDSM! Krazy, I know.

[lejonklou]

Have you tried 345 with the highest filter settings?

Yes, I have played around extensively with the settings. And indeed it plays clean notes pretty high up in frequency. I can imagine that two are necessary for it to work well, but the only time I did install a system with two 345's, a lower frequency cut off was found to be the most musical setting. And I found the same for all installations with a single 345.

[Charlie1]

I know Fredrik and ML hate speakers with sloppy bass. I guess I should count myself lucky that I'm seldom distracted by it provided it's tuneful.

I don't think I've ever heard a system that can control deep bass on all the music without some resonance (I've not heard a good, well set-up sub though). Is this even possible? It seems to me there are always recordings that cannot be damped down enough to remove all resonance. On the other hand some music has such tightly controlled bass that I doubt any system would trip up on it.

As many of you know, I'm a BIG sucker for speakers with ONE element!

Anything in particular that you've heard and can share about? I presume a horn speaker has just one element? Is that the sort of speaker you have in mind?

How come a small pair of headphones can cover the entire frequency range, but most hi-fi speakers cannot?

[Music Lover]

Yeah, I prefer quality over quantity.

As many of you know, I'm a BIG sucker for speakers with ONE element!

Anything in particular that you've heard and can share about? I presume a horn speaker has just one element? Is that the sort of speaker you have in mind?

Whenever I can, I listen to speakers to find a good one/few element speaker.
Not sure I like horns, or at-least I haven't heard one yet that impress on me. Most of them have that slow undefined bass I have issues with.
On the other hand, I'm not easily impressed of ANY speaker. Outside some Linn speakers and Klångadang that is.

But a BIG THANKS to matthias for directing me towards Zu Audio! This page is a good read !!
http://www.zuaudio.com/questions-list/? ... oudspeaker

Have anyone else heard them?

How come a small pair of headphones can cover the entire frequency range, but most hi-fi speakers cannot?

Moving Air is easier in a small enclosure.
But since I listen to music with my body, headphones don't cut if for me. Real music is felt in you body and just not only by the ears.

[matthias]

But a BIG THANKS to matthias for directing me towards Zu Audio! This page is a good read !!

My pleasure, Music Lover,
they make two nice subwoofers too.
And even on YouTube this sounds musically involving:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvyk7_xiL-8

Matt

[Ozzzy189]

I couldn't find any prices when I browsed via my phone. Interesting site though..

[matthias]

I couldn't find any prices when I browsed via my phone. Interesting site though..

There is one Zu Audio dealer in UK:

http://www.audiocounsel.co.uk/brands/zu/

KR

Matt

[rowlandhills]

Just thought I'd add to this thread to say that I had a couple of hours demoing Exakt 242s today, which was very interesting.

Worked through a series of systems, each of which was an improvement (albeit of different scales) as follows:

1 - ADSM/1 - Akurate amps with analogue aktiv cards (gains set flat)
2 - ADSM/1 - Akurate amps with analogue aktiv cards (gains optimised for the room)
3 - ADSM/1 - Akurate Exaktbox - Akurate amps (no room correction)
4 - ADSM/1 - Akurate Exaktbox - Akurate amps (calculated room correction)
5 - ADSM/1 - Akurate Exaktbox - Akurate amps (calculated room correction plus position optimisation)
6 - ADSM/1 - Akurate Exaktbox - Akurate amps (calculated room correction with position optimisation and one filter optimised)
7 - ADSM/1 - Akurate Exaktbox - Akurate amps (calculated room correction with position optimisation and all filters optimised)
8 - AEDSM - Akurate Exaktbox - Akurate amps (calculated room correction with position optimisation and all filters optimised)
9 - KEDSM - Akurate Exaktbox - Akurate amps (calculated room correction with position optimisation and all filters optimised)

I had to leave before heading a pair of Klimax Exaktboxes in place of the single Akurate Exaktbox, which was probably good for my wallet in the longer run!

I think that option 9 is now the best I've ever heard 242s, a place which was previously held by Dynamiked Solos passive (which I preferred to aktiv on Akurate amps).

Note that I didn't consciously do this as a TuneDem comparison, and also that I didn't compare back to an optimised passive setup, but I think it's useful info to add to the thread.

Thanks go to Ian Ridge at BillyVee for running the demos.

[rowlandhills]

Two slight clarifications on my last post.

There was actually a step 4a, where the speakers were moved from the optimal position to a new position right back against the wall (which was noticeably worse) before the the position correction was then applied in step 5.

Also, the difference between KEDSM and AEDSM (9 vs 8) was greater than between AEDSM and ADSM/1 (8 vs 7), but there was definitely an improvement in both cases. I can only assume it's because removing the analogue circuitry in an ADSM makes the digital bit more stable or something like that.

[rowlandhills]

It would be interesting to compare 242s driven:

Passive on Solos
Aktiv on Akurate amps
Exakt Aktiv on Majik amps

Budgets not that dissimilar for all three...

[matthias]

It would be interesting to compare 242s driven:

Passive on Solos
Aktiv on Akurate amps
Exakt Aktiv on Majik amps

Budgets not that dissimilar for all three...

What about passive on Tundra Mono2s?

Matt