Active Linn Katans

Christian,

One of the first records I listened to after going Aktiv was Donald Fagen's "Nightfly". When Ruby Tuesday came on I got concerned when I heard THAT bass note that happens three times. Whoa. I had no idea my system could go that low.

Two benefits I noticed immediately from going Aktiv was a sense of effortlessnes in the presentation and lesser recordings were improved beyond belief. Were your experiences similar?

As you mentioned earlier the Katans aren't known for going low. That was probably what made me react in the first place. Sometimes I really miss the bass, but I guess that's why there is a Sizmik. What the Katans are very good at is delivering the music.

Since the bass received alot of my attention I haven't yet done a real listening session where I just listen to the music. (There has been alot of A-B tests though.)

Having said that here are my impressions of active. I think that the best way to describe it is that going active is like taking away a pillow from the front of the loudspeakers. The sound just opens up and I'm more _there_, sitting in the room where the musicians are playing. The piano is not coming from the loudspeakers, it's coming from a piano in my room. Combining that with the effortlessnes that I think Linn always have had it their equipment makes everything called listening fatigue vanish. In fact, since the bassproblem dissapeared we (me and my girlfriend) have not watched tv at all.. only listening to music. I think that is a good grade! The same thing about the car audio. I have always found my car audio system to be very good (of course not the same league as my home system), but now the sound just is boring and I end up turning the radio/cd off!

Since the second LK-85 made the setup sound good again, I have decided to trade my Majik for an used Kolektor. I have no use of the poweramp in the Majik anymore. It'll be interesting to see if it makes any difference (this upgrade is a "bonus" upgrade since it won't cost me anything :).

Hi Christian,

I too have Linn Katans, although at this point just a Classik. My future plans are to upgrade via LK-85s, and then go active, and then look at the source. That may be a little bit backwards, I'm not sure.

Some Qs: how far out into the room are the Katans? Did you ever experiment with the tone controls (I know that might get me some flack on that one...).

My Katans are wall mounted, which was a practicle solution due to a small apartment + baby. The bass was immediatly 'muddy', generally horrible. Experimenting with the bass tone control made the difference.

I think about the Sizmik...possibly even the custom one, installed into the wall.

Gavin.

Gavin,

My Katans are standing on a shelf (I know this is NOT a good thing but that part is out of my control), so I have them quite close to the wall, 15 cm:s. Since the space for repositioning is very limitied I think getting the Kolektor will allow me to adjust the tone to better fit my listening room (which is very bright).

The Majik lacks these tone controls so this is yet untested.

What has happened though is I received a response from Linn Helpline where they told me that I had made an error with the connections. I had daisychained the Majik through the first LK-85, which was a big error. The Majik automatically senses the active cards and reroutes the signal to the poweramp, even though the external links are removed. I was feeding the poweramp with two signals.. both the bass from the internal active cards AND the daisy chained signal (which is the original source signal). No wonder thing were mixed up!!

The Katans are singing more and more for every day. I still have some minor repositioning to do, and am waiting for the Kolektor with big expectiations.

I think the Sizmik is a perfect match for the Katans. I have listened to the Katans with a CD12, a 5103 and a 2250, combined with a Sizmik. The sound was (for me) pure magic. In my opinion the Katans are underestimated, they just need a very good source because they are very demanding. My Genki is looking weaker for every day...

Christian and Gavin,

I understand that speaker positioning is sometimes dictated by factors beyond our control. You both need to experiment with methods to overcome the negatives of having the speakers too close to the wall. Tone controls, although perhaps needed in THIS case, are rarely beneficial. You need to place absorption panels behind your speakers. I realize that you will probably be limited in the size of the panels but urge you to do as much as you can. You need to minimize the coupling effect and your bass will improve a great deal. If my memory serves me correctly this early in the morning Westlake offers an accessory that looks like a foam surround that is flush with the face of the speaker. Take a look and try some home brewed remedy that is similar. I do think that "if" you can place Sonex (or similar) panels on the wall behind the speakers the results will make you happy.

The Sonex comes in 2 x 2 foot panels. For description sake, let's assume the speakers are the same size. You would need 9 panels per speaker making the absorption area 6 x 6 feet with each speaker directly in the middle. There are less expensive home brewed designs that are searchable on net.

Ideally you both need really good speaker stands a couple of feet into the room, minimum. The panels would mimic this to a certain degree.

Good luck,
Patrick