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Linn speakers

I'm currently using Linn Sara's and looking to upgrade. I like the sound of the isobarik woofer(s) and the highs very much. But I'm looking for more detail in the mids and better imaging. The Sara's are a 2-way design. I'm thinking that a 3-way speaker might provide the improvement I'm looking for - but I still want the isobarik design. I know that Linn no longer uses the isobarik design in their current speakers, so I'm obviously looking for something used. I am aware of the Keltik, but that's probably out of my price range (and is active only?). Did Linn make anything else that meets my criteria? -

3-way speaker,
Isobarik woofer design,
Can be driven passively (ability to reconfigure for bi/tri-amping would be nice),
Price range would have to be equivelant to one model down from the Keltik.

Thanks in advance
Don
hessong
twl
3,251 posts
 
Hessong, yep, that is the same critter. It had(in each cabinet) 2 B139 modified woofers in Isobarik configuration, and 2 B110 modified midrange drivers, with 1 in front and 1 on top, and 2 Scanspeak dome tweets, with 1 in front and one on top. These top-firing drivers provided an ambience filling role, but from what was explained to me, they also worked in a vibration reducing manner, where the driver frames were directly coupled by rods, and provided equal "shove" against each other, thereby reducing doppler induced effects from the drivers microscopically moving against the cabinet. I feel that there was some crossover related reasons as well. These speakers sounded quite good, and were well above the Sara in performance. They, like all Linn speakers from that era, were designed to be placed against the wall and on their factory stands.
hessong OP
15 posts
 
Twl, OK any idea how much the DMS weigh? I seem to remember their being quite big. And in the passive configuration how much power does it need? From the description, it sounds like a hog. My Plinius 8200 is rated at 175 W.

Does anyone know if there is such a thing as a non-active Keltik? And if so, can it be bi-amped passively?

Thanks for all the help.

Don
twl
3,251 posts
 
I'm guessing at the weight, but I'd say maybe about 125 pounds each. They are only about 3 feet tall, and about 18 inches square footprint, so they are not really that big. The efficiency level was about 89db, so I think a 175 watt unit would be fine. We used to run them plenty loud at the store with a Naim NAP250, which was rated at 125wpc. If you want Isobarik, there are very few speakers made other than the Linns. And I can't even think of any others at this moment.
lugnut
1,190 posts
 
Sorry for the late reply. I've been out all day. The Keilidh's are two way but have two mid/base drivers. I've only listened to mine in the Aktiv configuration but have heard others run passive. The can be bi-amped, bi-wired passive or just about any configuration I can imagine. You can use either two or three stereo amps when going Aktiv. I'll say this much: the base is just stunning and fast. The midrange is great. There have been some reviews by owners about the highs not being quite satisfactory. In the Aktiv configuration you have 8 DIP switches in the treble cards to boost output for room conditions. They are flat to about 45 cycles Aktiv and 70 cycles passive. You must remove one of the drivers to access the crossovers for converting to Aktiv. The instructions are inside the cabinet. Two LK100's with Aktiv cards, K400 wires and the Keilidh's in black finish with the Kustone bases ran about $1500 used. As a short description of the surprising benefit of Aktiv configuration is that much more of ANY music library is listenable. With my Sara's I loved 10% of my collection of music. Now it's 90%. And, yes I can tell the difference between recordings. It's just that the lesser quality ones are so much more listenable. I hope you get a chance to audition such a system. It just simply blows away the Sara's I had being driven by a pair of LK240's which are superior amps to the LK100's. I couldn't be happier with this setup considering the money invested. Good luck.
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