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Linn Kan III v Spendor S3/5 crisis

Someone please tell me whats wrong here!

I have a stupid Sony in the playroom, as a tuner & TV amp. Stupid Sony, stupid wires. Noted.

And I had a pair of Linn Kan III's connected and it sounded .. good.

Picked up a pair of Spendor S3/5's (not the SE) and thinking .. newer/better/8ohm not 4 (amp happier)

The Kans BLOW the Spendors away.

Best way to say it is: a piano on the Kans sounds like a piano.. on the Spendors.. a piano in the next room.

Is it me??? The Kans cant be that much better, can they? Seriously, I'm _really_ confused!

Newer and twice the money got me NOTHING. What am I missing? Help!
lester_ears
lester_ears OP
16 posts
 
OK.. Here's the result ! Great Success!

Bi-Wired & Biamped the Spendors off my pair of Linn LK240s

They sound excellent! Both Natalie Merchant & Pablo Casals sound full rich open and deep.

thanks all

AN ASIDE Q
I am surprised though how much I have to crank up the preamp. Spendor specs say 91Db sensitivity. But I'm twice cranked higher than the Rega floormounts.
lester_ears OP
16 posts
 
last update.. I was reading the wrong specs in the Spendor manual ! 84Db sensitivity is the correct figure for the S3/5. And searching thru the Audiogon forums, I see this issue has come up more than once.

Thanks
hndamike
5 posts
 
I have a pair of S 3/5s, they are rated 84 db/w/m. With a Jolida JD-202(40 w/ch) they sound great in a small room, but to rock a large area they would need more power.
turbotk2001
4 posts
 
Yes- even though not an expenive high end speaker per se, the Kan3(b) blow alot of other stuff away in playing music. Just the way it is. Tukans tend to "shout" a bit OTOH and can become a test of endurance.

Making a serious attempt to upgrade a pair of them finally. Will put the drivers into a much better cabinet, make a custom external crossover using some of the best sounding compnenents availabe and of course convert them to bi-wireable.

Could be quite an improvement. But we'll just have to see how they do :)
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