Speakers more tuneful than Linn

We use the Tune Method to evaluate performance

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Charlie1
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Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by Charlie1 »

What speakers models have folks directly compared to 'any' Linn speaker of any era and found to be more tuneful, using the same amps in a passive setup?
Last edited by Charlie1 on 2018-11-06 16:26, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by tokenbrit »

I preferred Spendor D7 to M140
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by sunbeamgls »

Charlie1 wrote:What speakers models have folks directly compared to 'any' Linn speaker of any era and found to be more tuneful?

I can only recall the following previously mentioned:
- Thomas prefers ATC SCM 100 to Akurate 242 mark 1
- Fredrik prefers Klångedang T1 to Majik 109
- Sunbeam prefers PMC Twenty.26 to Majik 140
- David Neel prefers Graham Audio LS5/9 to Majik 109

Maybe JBL 3677 should be in there but not sure who's directly compared it to what.
Interesting question and list Charlie1. I do wonder if there is more context required though, particularly around active vs passive and price points. For example, if David Neel had £1000 to spend, then the LS5/9 is never going to be more tuneful than Majik 109 because you can't get them for £1000 :)
Is there also a comparison within the Linn range that could be made? For example I think active Keilidhs are more tuneful than passive M140s.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by Charlie1 »

Thanks tokenbrit!
sunbeamgls wrote:Interesting question and list Charlie1. I do wonder if there is more context required though, particularly around active vs passive and price points. For example, if David Neel had £1000 to spend, then the LS5/9 is never going to be more tuneful than Majik 109 because you can't get them for £1000 :)
Is there also a comparison within the Linn range that could be made? For example I think active Keilidhs are more tuneful than passive M140s.
Good point, ref active vs passive. I've amended the original post as I'm just curious about passive speakers. It also makes comparisons easier.

Ref price, I would rather leave that out of the equation.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by Spannko »

Interestingly, I’ve heard a few speakers in isolation which I thought were worthy of further investigation, but never directly against a Linn model.

Of the ones I’ve heard, I’d include the following:

Shahinian
Guru
Larsen

I don’t know for sure that any of them are more tuneful than Linns speakers, but if they’re not, it wasn’t obvious on first listen.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by David Neel »

LS5/9s did replace my 109s. But they did so after comparison with Akubariks, so the way I think about it is that LS5/9s are more musical than Akubariks. :)
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by Ozzzy189 »

Linn majik 109 vs rega rx1 - linn just nudges it, more musical but a touch less detail.
Linn majik 109 vs Totem arro - Totem but took a lot of positioning. Totem more engaging.
Linn majik 109 vs ninka. 109, more detail and more enjoyable treble, musically more enjoyable and I preferred the bass with the standmounts too. Always found ninks a bit 'woody'.
Other comparisons I could post aren't fair due to the vast difference in prices.
Totem model one are just incredible and probably the best standmounts I've heard, I'd expect the new versions, signature one, to be at least as good. I think they are probably more enjoyable than akudorik although I've not heard akudorik enough to make a fair comparison.
I'd be interested in 242 vs tribe tower but the bass that those little drivers can kick out would destroy the linns in that respect and they're very very different from a design point. Still be interesting though. I'd definitely put them up against akubarik passive with the saga monos tundra stereo though. Probably a fairer scrap.
Just a few thoughts and memories I'm sharing with you folks.
ADS3/SagMono/Tundra 2.2- . Totem Tribe Tower.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by Spannko »

Yes, I forgot about the Arrows. I’d put them on the good but not compared list too. A friend of mine had a pair and accidentally knocked them over, breaking open the corner joint. I was going to have them off him and repair them, but when I asked him he’d already thrown them in a skip! ....... Argh!

I haven’t heard any of the other Totems.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by Ozzzy189 »

Arro's are very good, I believe Carol kidd has a pair, the only thing I didn't like was the cheap crappy plinth.
ADS3/SagMono/Tundra 2.2- . Totem Tribe Tower.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by Charlie1 »

Thanks all for sharing your experiences.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by lindsayt »

In a passive only system, same amp same source, same room, same recording.

Linn Isobariks more tuneful than Linn Saras.
Sansui SP5500's more tuneful than Linn Isobariks.
EV Sentry III more tuneful than Sansui SP5500's and Linn Isobariks.
EV Patrician 800's more tuneful than all of the above.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by markiteight »

lindsayt wrote: 2018-11-30 00:52 In a passive only system, same amp same source, same room, same recording.

Linn Isobariks more tuneful than Linn Saras.
Sansui SP5500's more tuneful than Linn Isobariks.
EV Sentry III more tuneful than Sansui SP5500's and Linn Isobariks.
EV Patrician 800's more tuneful than all of the above.
Interesting! Can you elaborate more on the system, room, and music used? Were the vintage speakers original, restored, or modified in any way?

Have you had a chance to compare the above with any of the VOTT based designs, like Altec's "Spanish series" (Valencia, Flamenco, Barcelona, etc.)?
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by lindsayt »

The Linn Saras, Isobariks, Sansui SP5500's, were totally original.
I believe the Patrician 800's were totally original although it's possible the previous owner may have replaced the surrounds on the 12" upper bass / lower midrange drivers.
The EV Sentry III's had the foam surrounds on the bass drivers replaced, a replacement original spec tweeter and midrange compression driver. Apart from that they are original and unmodified.

I've taken the Sentry III's to a few bake-offs. The Patricians are too big and heavy to cart around. There was a 4 way DIY'd speaker that was more tuneful than the Sentry III's (featuring a Fane full range driver, an 18" bass driver in ported / open baffle hybrid cabinet).
ATC 11's with a rather expensive Hegel 360 were much less tuneful at one bake off than the Sentry III's with a Creek CAS4040 (ultra cheapo) amplifier. Active AVI DM10's with a subwofer were less tuneful at that bake-off too.


For comparing my Linn Saras and Isobariks against these speakers, this was done in a 24' by 18' high ceilinged listening room with carpets, substantial suspended wooden floor and good amount of furniture.
Wide variety of music used, mainly reasonable rock and pop recordings, such as Beatles Abbey Road, Steve Winwood Back in the High Life, Rickie Lee Jones Flying Cowboys, Lyle Lovett I Love Everybody etc

Rest of system, included at various times a Studer A807 tape machine, EMT950 record player, Marantz CD48 CD player. Amplification: Urei 6290, Korneff clone 45 SET, Coincident Frankenstein 300b prototype, Creek CAS4040.


I've not heard Altec Vott's, Spanish Series. Model 19's etc in a comparative demo. However, based on the opinions of at least one person that I trust, they are worth seeking out and buying at the right price.

Just as EV Sentry III's are worth buying at the right price, but not worth buying at the wrong price.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by snatex »

Who has found some new tuneful speakers since 2018?
LP12 / Entity / Sagatun Monos / Tundra Monos / Harbeth M30.1 / Rythmik E22's
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by David Neel »

snatex wrote: 2021-09-13 15:50 Who has found some new tuneful speakers since 2018?
Me. My Graham LS5/9s have become much more tuneful since 2018. I blame the Entity and Karousel...
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by Tendaberry »

snatex wrote: 2021-09-13 15:50 Who has found some new tuneful speakers since 2018?
At the HiFi Show Norddeutsche HiFi-Tage I heard a new model from Graham, that was pretty impressive. It's the floor-standing version of the 5/5, called 5/5F (surprise ;-)). The were best-in-show, I think, even with an unknown digital streamer.
The only drawback is the € 19.000,- price tag...
Graham.jpg
At the same show the french brand Apertura continued to impress me, this time with a cheaper model (€ 8.900,-) Edena Evolution, than last time.
Apertura1.jpg
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by lejonklou »

Thank you for sharing that Tendaberry!

I just love the look of those 5/5F.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by matthias »

Tendaberry wrote: 2023-02-21 11:52 At the HiFi Show Norddeutsche HiFi-Tage I heard a new model from Graham, that was pretty impressive. It's the floor-standing version of the 5/5, called 5/5F (surprise ;-)). The were best-in-show, I think, even with an unknown digital streamer.
The only drawback is the € 19.000,- price tag...
Yes, thanks for sharing, Tendaberry!
The Graham 5/5F look very nice, nearly minimalist.
The streamer was an Aqua Linq, I have heard so far good impressions about it. Marco from Hexagon Audio is the distributor but for Benelux only (afaik) not for Germany.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by tpetsch »

Yes, interesting looking speakers those 5/5f's and even sounds nice enough in this video for me to want to hear them in person, see the 1:20 mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf55Uc4qGNc
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by ThomasOK »

lejonklou wrote: 2023-02-21 11:57 Thank you for sharing that Tendaberry!

I just love the look of those 5/5F.
Spoken like a true male audio enthusiast, Fredrik! They do look pretty interesting. Thanks for the report, Tendaberry.

In a related note, Matt Thomas of Hearken Audio will have a room at the Montréal Audiofest March 24th through the 26th that Fredrik and I are co-sponsoring with Matt. He will be featuring a Graham loudspeaker, I think the LS8.1s, as he just started carrying them, Lejonklou electronics and a TJN (Turntables by Jean Nantais) turntable (which should make Arjen happy). He recently became a dealer for Lejonklou and really loves the Boazu and Entity 1.2, as is pretty clear on his Instagram posts. There is a Källa on the way to him which should make it to the show as well, with prayers to the internet gods that it all works well. I will put more information in the events section when I have it.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by Hermann »

Interesting insights, thank you very much.
Charlie1 wrote: 2018-11-06 13:37 What speakers models have folks directly compared to 'any' Linn speaker of any era and found to be more tuneful, using the same amps in a passive setup?
The Shahinian Acoustics Diapason long time ago. Not affordable for me, they had the Isobaric down pat with NAC 52/NAP 135. Clearly more musical with the same virtual size of room, amazing in every way.

I had a few conversations with Richard Shahinian regarding music reproduction and that with my mad English skills. But he was patient and like me he loved the piano and violin music.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by ThomasOK »

I've always been interested in Shahinian Acoustics but I've never heard one of their top level speakers. I briefly heard Obelisks and found them interesting but they didn't wow me at the time. However, the system wasn't something I was familiar with. One of the older designers who had a unique way of doing things and has stuck with it. Similar in some ways to Richard Vandersteen who also has unique and musical sounding designs that still follow original principles from over 45 years ago. I'd certainly love to get a chance to hear a Diapason Ensemble in a well structured system.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by Hermann »

It would be worth listening Diapasons. They needed potent power amps, because the 135s quickly reached their limits. At the time, the source was of course an LP12 of which I no longer remember configuration, only the musical impression has remained. Other models I had also listened, but I could not cope with them.

I would of course be interested in the Grahams, but who lends such a speaker if the price can not be settled? I'm not the type to leave such things open in hopes of getting a home demo.

Fortunately, I am further along than ever before, which is a very reassuring feeling. The Tundra monos 3 may be coming...
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by anthony »

I remember when working at Studio 99 in the 80s I was always impressed with Epos 14, but the early version were better.
Played. Tracy Chapman track lp12 kairn….or lk1 with quad valve amp.
Left a good impression.
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Re: Speakers more tuneful than Linn

Post by Spannko »

anthony wrote: 2023-02-23 12:59 I remember when working at Studio 99 in the 80s I was always impressed with Epos 14, but the early version were better.
Played. Tracy Chapman track lp12 kairn….or lk1 with quad valve amp.
Left a good impression.
And there lies a massive problem, imho! Very few modern components manage to exceed the musicality of the best 1980’s hifi. Most people on this forum are struggling to find a speaker designed within the last 25 years which deserve house room, and I can fully understand why.
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