linn artikulat vs espek

I am told the Artikulates are vastly superior.

Best,
JOhn

I am sorry, I haven't heard the Artikulat speakers yet, so can't answer the question very completely. But I am familiar with the Espek and I doubt there is any comparison at all. To start with, the Espek costs around 4k, whereas the cheapest Artikulate (the smaller 320, in passive version) runs for around 17k. The 340 A (active) runs for 40k.

I have spoken with my local Linn shop and people who heard them at a show were not overly impressed. They sounded good, but they didn’t think they would compete all that well with other speakers they sell in the price range. Of course these people also sell Sonus Faber, which make great speakers at these higher price points.

Concerning the Espek generally, it is certainly a competent speaker, but I think you can do substantially better in this price range. Since you are in the U.K., I would audition a pair of PMC OB1s. These are simply awesome, provided your amp can drive them. For myself, the only time I have seriously considered Espeks is when I have thought about driving them actively. But even then, the cost of doing so just didn’t make it worth it. I love Linn gear, but speakers are not really what they do best.

I have Espek speakers in an active setup and with the proper power they sound very good.

Schneir1, what amps are you using to drive your Espeks? I still haven't totally given up on trying active Espeks in my system at some point, especially if I can do so with the Chakra amps (which are simply awesome). Anyone who knows Linn gear will readily acknowledge that you haven't really heard Linn speakers anywhere near their best until you hear them active. But historically it has been an expensive proposition with a three-way speaker like the Espek.

Sorry for the late response but it's been awhile since I came to this forum because my work keeps me quite busy.

For the bass section I am using a 2250. It may be somewhat to powerful, however I already had the amp on hand. For the highs and midrange I am using the new Chakra 4100. Two cards were put in the 4100 and of course one card in the 2250.

This weekend I am working at the Montreal Audio/Video show and I had the opportunity to listen to the Artikulat 340. They were hooked up on the Unidisc 1.1 and a Klimax preamp. Although they sounded real good, I wasn't overwhelmed by the results, or in any case I am not ready to run to my local dealer to get a pair. But let's be fair. A show in a hotel room may not be the best way to demonstrate the full potential of a sound system but somehow I was expecting much more from these speakers.

At this point I still think that the Espek in an active setup is a wise decision. However I fully agree on the fact that if they're not to be used in an active configuration, there are better values out there.