Sad to say, I have to sell or trade in a wonderful, active 242 MK1 system powered by a latest spec Akurate 4200/D and a Majik 6100/D. Front end is a maxed out LP12 and a Klimax Kontrol that I intend to keep. Plan is to go two-channel with a loudspeaker approved by my wife ...

I want to stick to with Linn when it comes to power amp – but which one?

1. Should I simply keep the 4200 and use only two channels? Maybe bi-amping my future speakers (if possible)?
2. Would a 2200 be any different than a 4200 that has only two channels in use?
3. Should I trade in the whole back end for a Klimax Twin?

Appreciate feedback on this.

(If anyone is interested in buying the above, feel free to make contact in a pm. Pick up only, central Stockholm)

Thanks!
Jörgen

o.k. you have to sell parts of your hobby - what does she sell ... or is it only one way ;)

take it as a wonderfull chance the universe gives you and make the best out of it and get some Lejonklou Equipment ;)

... and from now on approve all the shoes she is intending to buy in the future

What speakers is your wife considering?

Had a 2200 and a 4200. Got a Tundra, then Tundra Monos. Never looked back. Try them; you might like them.

To answer your questions:
1. 2200 vs 4200 - depends. You will have to listen to the channels - not all Linn amps/channels are created equal. The 2200 should be better but there's no guarantee...
2. 4200 biamped? No; not in my experience. Aside from above indicated channel variation, single wired, single amped is more musically coherent.
3. See if you can audition a Tundra Stereo, or Tundra Monos. Seriously.

So the bad news is you have to get rid of good amplifiers and speakers. The good news is that you can probably improve on them.

You don't say what constraints there are on new speakers: do you have to go smaller? Or is it a cost-saving exercise? Whichever, amplification is more important. I suggest that you listen to a Tundra, and if you like that, compare a Sagatun to your Klimax Kontrol. You may be very surprised.

Once you've sorted the amplification, then the speakers. What is important? Cost or size or placement?

Thanks for all the feedback!

I am sure the Tundra amps are great. I'll put them up as an option. However, sticking with Linn probably makes trade-in easy and swift.

My wife likes small, neat (not Neat) and design oriented speakers. She hates almost all serious ones. I googled hundreds of speakers and the ONE I found that she actually likes is the quite new Ktema Lignea (Serblin). I managed to demo a pair last week and they were surprisingly fun and enjoyable, despite the wobbly wooden stands (rather a part of the construction). Fast, detailed and airy, not clinical.

Now, back to amp issue – has anyone compared a Klimax TWIN w. the latest spec Akurate series of amps?

Cheers
Jörgen

Hi Jörgen

Apart from telling the wife to leave the speakers to me :) !

If sticking with Linn, the difference I find between the Klimax Twin & A4200 is that the 4200 is more clinical sounding (yes its got detail and is crisp, but I find the sound a bit cold), whilst the Twin has a more sublime sound with more depth and warmth (without fuzzy). I definitely prefer the Twin sound.

Cheers,
Chet.

If it were me, then I'd get a Twin but hang onto the 4200 for a few weeks. I'd then compare the two at leisure. Maybe leave the KCT in for a week or two before going back to the 4200.

I've compared the two but the Twin wasn't fully warmed up and the 4200/D was a very early one. I can identify with the comments above and add more strengths and weaknesses to both but it's your preferences that matter and your ears that you need to please - and your wife's of course :)

If you don't prefer the Twin then you can sell it on without losing too much and will be far more secure in your decision.

PS Similar to tokenbrit, I tried bi-amping (Majik 140s) with the 4200 but preferred single-amped and single-wired. I did ensure the two best sounding channels were used when single-amping. But again, try it yourself and see which you prefer.

Thanks for wise replies. I'lll try to compare the two (and if possible a Tundra) before I make up my mind /Jörgen

Sort of reminds me of the gag:

"For sale, top rate hifi units for sale. Knock down prices. Phone 01245 535333. If a guy answers, ring off....."

I like the Linn Klimax twin.
I have a twin and a Tundra 2. Both have different strengths and weaknesses. So I keep them both and alternate them weekly when I get upgraditis. Saves a lot of money this way

Donuk beautiful downtown York
PS I used to own a 2200. Both the above are much better.

I agree totally with Donuk.

Both the Tundra and KCT are much better than Linn Akurate but it is a heck of a compliment to the Tundra that it is by no means embarrassed by a comparison with the iconic KCT at more than 2.5 times the retail price. In some respects it actually betters it!

My advice would be to get a listen.

How long have you have had your 242 and what part of your Hifi-kit is it that your wife disapprove of?
Why the sudden change and need to replace?
I’m living in a small apartment and managed to keep the “madness” in an acceptable WAF level. Only the LP12 and akudoriks visible. I know that I could get better performance with a Harmont shelf, but we both think that how it looks in our home is important. She’s really picky when it comes to how it looks in our home, maybe it helps that my she enjoy listening to music as well ;)

I am very fortunate, my wife accepts even JBL3677s in our large living room.

Matt

I wasn't familiar with JBL 3677s, but a quick Google tells me that you are, indeed, a very lucky man, Matt!

There is no way I would be allowed to bring those over the doorstep irrespective of how good they sound!

cjs wrote: ↑2019-02-05 12:48 I wasn't familiar with JBL 3677s, but a quick Google tells me that you are, indeed, a very lucky man, Matt!
There is no way I would be allowed to bring those over the doorstep irrespective of how good they sound!

John,
looking quite industrial they fit nicely into a minimalist interior and my wife loves the sound too:-)

Matt

cjs wrote: ↑2019-02-04 20:17 I agree totally with Donuk.

Both the Tundra and KCT are much better than Linn Akurate but it is a heck of a compliment to the Tundra that it is by no means embarrassed by a comparison with the iconic KCT at more than 2.5 times the retail price. In some respects it actually betters it!

My advice would be to get a listen.

I use passive 212s in my bedroom system and I was quite surprised at just how tuneful (and smooth) these passive Akubariks sounded when you hooked them up to the Lejonklou power amp; it all made a very fine sound!

Incidentally, when I first spotted this topic, I rolled my sleeves up and was prepared to potentially contribute something useful - perhaps even a solution - then when opening it and not seeing the sort of question that I was expecting, I realised that the title was 'Wife', not 'WiFi' (and on the former, I most certainly cannot provide any technical advice); perhaps I need new spectacles?

Bri :-P

maffe wrote: ↑2019-02-04 22:35 How long have you have had your 242 and what part of your Hifi-kit is it that your wife disapprove of?
Why the sudden change and need to replace?
I’m living in a small apartment and managed to keep the “madness” in an acceptable WAF level. Only the LP12 and akudoriks visible. I know that I could get better performance with a Harmont shelf, but we both think that how it looks in our home is important. She’s really picky when it comes to how it looks in our home, maybe it helps that my she enjoy listening to music as well ;)

We're moving to a new apartment, and my wife is in a state of interior design frenzy, where the 242's simply doesn't have what she's aiming for (preferably no speaker at all, or in wall/ceiling). But at least I can keep my LP12 and over 2500 records .... fingers crossed. So I'm m not sad. The Serblin Lignea speakers, that she likes the look of, were fun to listen to, not better, of course, than active 242's, but still very good. I've always had a thing for small speakers anyway, and I really enjoyed the kind of fast, natural, open and airy sound they had. Easy to live with, both in looks and sound. Perhaps then, driven by a Klimax Twin – if it's a significant step up from my 4200 (current version).

how about the here often discussed Klangedang T1´s

Think you can make some kind of compromise there that make both happy!
If listening to music is important to you I guess it should be important for your wife to a reasonable extent :)
Have a demo of Klångedang and akudorik both available in different finish. Find a nice cabinet and hide the electronics in and have the LP12 visible as an interesting design element.
If it wasn’t for (at the time) external filters I would have bought the T1’s. Anders have now addressed that and have the filters internally and also an exakt version if you’re into that.

I just love it when I have to go up against interior designers. We put some very expensive equipment into a new mansion being built here a few years ago and I was the point man on the Hi-Fi installation. We had a lunch meeting with all the involved people, the HVAC people, construction people, electricians, and the interior designer. Most of the house ended up with Linn's best in-wall speakers but there was a pair of 212s and hidden K345s in the great room and a home theater of K350s/K340/K345s. The designer mentioned that we had tiny, quality phones, computers, etc. and wanted to know when we would have tiny but great speakers. I answered that there would be tiny, full-range speakers when there were tiny, full-range tubas, contra-bassons, upright basses, tympani, kick-drums and pipe organs. In other words never, since to put out low bass you need to move a lot of air. I asked why she didn't go for flat, wall mounted sofas rather than having those big monstrosities out in the room. She seemed to get the point - but probably still pushes for in-wall speakers.

Music is important in my life so I make room for it, just as big-ass TVs are important to others so they make room for them and grand pianos are to others so they make room for them. If music reproduction is important to your enjoyment of life, why should you have to compromise on the space required (assuming, of course, that you actually have the space) any more than you compromise on the space for a comfortable sofa or a comfortable bed. Everyone has to have their priorities. Then again, I have no SO I currently have to keep happy. ;-)

But it does amaze me that these huge houses with a ton of rooms filled with artwork, furniture, books and various other trinkets, many of which go unused for months - including some of the rooms themselves - somehow can't accommodate a really good Hi-Fi system because it takes up some space!???

All that said, we used to carry Sonus-faber speakers when they were actually designed by Franco Serblin (now sadly deceased) and I did rather like his Guarneri, Amati and Stradivari Homage speakers. I also heard the Ktema and Accordo speakers at a couple of Hi-Fi shows and felt they carried forward that sound. So I would not be surprised if the Lignea was also good. We sold a fair number of systems with the sf speakers above and also in the Cremona series with Linn electronics and they were a good match. I remember reading a post once from a music lover in Europe who ended up purchasing I believe a Linn/Cremona setup after having first heard how good is was in our store.

So if you go with the Ligneas I'm sure the KCT would work well. But I wouldn't leave out the Tundra - the latest stereo 2.5 is quite the machine and very musical, the Tundra Monos even more so. You might find yourself enjoying it as much or more than the KCT.

Klangedang is out of the question from her point of view, as is Akudorik, 320a and probably 99% of all "serious" speakers. Prior to me showing her the Lignea, she suggested Devialet Phantom on their tripod stands (a friend has them). But that was not an option for me. Too digital, too gimmicky, don't like the sound. I googled a lot of speakers, found the Lignea – and that was it. I went to a demo and consider myself lucky that they turned out to be so enjoyable. Listened for almost three hours (!), compared them quickly with a Falcon LS3/5a (nice) and Lignea's big brother Accordo, which was probably "better" and more "full range", but not at all as fun,, the sound came so obviously from a speaker. Maybe the quite small demo room suited the Lignea better, I don't know, but the fast, agile and quite unique, natural sound actually made it hard to leave the shop. But, of course, they do nothing for bass lovers. They're a light delight.

If you want to consider very slim and compact floorstanding speakers then please try to get look and listen at the totem acoustic tribe tower loudspeakers. You'd also be surprised just how much more enjoyable a two channel passive system with a good amplifier can be compared to the set up you currently have.

If your wife is struggling with speaker aesthetics, try Audio Physic.

Great sounding slim speakers which come in virtually any wood finish or colour you can think of, in addition to the option of having them encased in toughened glass.

My demo pair of Classic 15s are high gloss white encased in toughened glass!

They're still pretty big though!

They were actually quite neat and petite; they do look a lot larger - then I remember them being - in that photograph (probably the low equipment rack is what's mostly confusing the perspective).

Bri