Playground for practical listening exercises

[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

[tokenbrit]

Same volume? Katans seem musical too, like the Edens, but a softer presentation...

[Charlie1]

I left the amp volume the same on them all - not sure if that was a good approach or not.

The sensitivity of the Katans is only 86dB/W, whereas the Edens are 90dB/W and the M140s are 88dB/W, so this probably explains why it's the quietest clip.

Agree, they are softer, although it's a nice sound. I can't make up my mind if they are more tuneful than the M140s or not. It's tricky cos the bass is more defined and nimble on the Katans, which helps me follow the bass guitar melody. However, they don't boogie or have much vitality, so I think this has confirmed they are not what I'm looking for any way.

[cortina]

Have you tried aktiv Katans? I haven’t owned them myself but have heard others’ aktiv Katans and most people agree that Katans (and Ninka) are among the speakers that benefit the most by going aktiv. And they do boogie although do not have the most ”refined” signature. But perhaps boogie is subjective?

[Charlie1]

Hi cortina, I can't go aktiv using the Nait, so just have to find a better passive option. Thanks though. I used to own aktiv Ninkas and they were good fun.

[cortina]

Hi, I realize that :) having two Nait 1’s myself that are ”chained” to their Kans.. Just commented that you might want to try Katans aktiv before you rule them out completely.