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Good album too. Produced by Ethan Johns, son of Glyn Johns who worked with The Beatles, Led Zep, The Who, etc.

@charlescheese3828 very interesting, think I need to check it out. Thanks for the pointer.👍

Album is called 'I Speak Because I Can' IIRC th-cam.com/video/J9LdtNYuglk/w-d-xo.html

Cheers Jim!

Never owned the original Sara so don’t know. Seem to recall they are harder to drive than the 9s.

Thanks for listening. Firstly, I should state that I've not been able to keep most of the gear used on this channel. I haven't got the funds or the space in terms of speakers. There are also some Linn speakers that I just couldn't get to work well enough to warrant a video staying up, such as K104s, M109s, A212 mk2's, Ninkas and Kabers. I also had M140s but they pre-date the channel. I actually tried 4 pairs of M109s before finally conceding defeat. One answer is Katans because that's where I've ended up after 5-years of trying so many options, and because there's nothing else I want to try except A212 mk1's and the new 119s. However, I’ve never found them to be a natural fit with Naim amps. Another answer is Kan IIs because I enjoyed them for 20 odd years. I've learned that mixing components from a similar time period works best for me in terms of achieving a well balanced sound. I'm not familiar with Focal speakers but I'd recommend trying SBLs or late Isobariks (without Kustone) with your 32-5/250, although be warned that your LP12 might need an MC cart with Briks but hopefully your Karousel will negate that. Kabers should sound very good but, unlike most people, I found them a bit stand off ish and didn't fully draw me in - a Linn dealer who's ears I trust has always felt the same so I didn't bother with another pair. I absolutely love the Nait but, similar to Kan 1s, have never been able to build a 100% long-term satisfying system around it. Maybe in a tiny box room with Kans could have worked. I've learned to finally give up on both although I can't bear to sell my Kans. If you do have a tiny room then I would recommend trying some Kan IIs with the Nait just in case that works for you. Kans do tend to sound slightly off with a digital source though. Lastly, another Linn speaker that sounds very good with CB/Olive Naim is the Tukan but similar to Kans, very little bass so not for most rooms/people. Cheap as chips though, much happier with digital sources, and fit Kan II stands perfectly.

Cheers Jim Had a listen to your latest clip this morning and also thumbs up - they seem to be working well.

Thanks for listening!

Thanks swordstoke! Glad you've also had many enjoyable years listening through Kans. I probably racked up about 20 all told so not as many as you.

cheers Jim! agree, a decent album

@@charlescheese3828 Hi mate, I replied to your question in the comments of my Tears for Fears video, don't know if you read it? Was just wondering if you did? 😉

ok, tx, been away. I don’t get notifications when anyone responds either. maybe a TH-cam setting.

Sure, just the standard iPhone 14. I can’t be doing with fancy tripods and stereo mics, etc.

:)

@@charlescheese3828 my tongue was firmly in my cheek. Chrome bumper Naim with a Sondek probably one of the most musically engaging systems ever. These days we seem to be chasing ephemera, you cannot have it all. Only thing that has really improved for me are phono stages. Happy listening. PS ooh I forgot something nowadays I find a power conditioner essential because the house is fully off cheapo switch mode power supplies (phono charger, LED light bulbs etc etc), and all these things put noise and DC offset on the mains. Just my $0.02 worth.

Sometimes TH-cam is not allowed and then the video is automatically withheld - the site is very quick to identify the song once uploaded and block if necessary. Examples include The Beatles and Prince, but increasingly artists are open to TH-cam using their music. Fleetwood Mac and Paul Simon have both changed their policy in recent years.

haha absolutely

Yeah, I agree ref more demanding.

Great - tx for the feedback.

Yeah, you're getting on now there. Mind you, doesn't stop Mick 'n Keeff

ok

Yeah, I was wondering that when posting it :) I think 'classic' is probably a truer definition for the Linn elements, but then that word has other connotations. I might re-name it at some point.

Thanks!

Thanks for listening Christopher!

Hi, Both speaker and stand were voiced to be hard against a solid rear wall. You might improve a facet of the sound but musically I've never been able to find anything better.

Never heard a Luxman amp but sounds like you enjoyed it.

Yeah, I know what you mean and this pair has the later KEF unit with even less bass.

Thanks Flatearther!

It will probably take a long time to find them. You could try a wanted add on pinkfishmedia.net - I got my CB160 that way. Alternatively, email all the Naim dealers. Takes time but I turned up a few bits that way. Sometimes Darran at Class A will also have something. Otherwise it's just a case of waiting for one to come up on ebay via a saved search. Good luck!

Yeah, the 9s are supposed to be easier to drive but this CB160 also struggled at times. What did you get in the end?

@@charlescheese3828 I ended up with a Linn pre+power largely for cost reasons. However, this proved to be a mistake. I didn't have the money at the time to go for a Naim 250 and tried to compromise with the Linn amps. The best course would have been to go for the Naim 160 and upgrade later when I had the funds for a 250. A few years later I was burgled with the amps and one of the Saras being stolen!

How strange to take just one speaker. So what did you get with the insurance money? Was that LK1/LK280 or Pretek/Powertek you had from Linn? I am thinking of getting an LK1 to partner the LK280 that's being serviced.

@@charlescheese3828 Does seem strange - the only thing I can think of is that they must have been disturbed somehow and had to rush out of the house. If I remember correctly, the amps were LK1/LK2. The LK280 wasn't out at the time. I think the LK280 was probably a better power amp but not having heard one, I don't have any experience to know how it was better.

Thanks!

I know what you mean

Yeah, great speaker. Must have been amazing back in the day.

Thanks for sharing your experiences back in the day. Would love to go back in time and hear that setup.

​@charlescheese3828 The next record we listened to was Tears For Fear, Songs From The Big Chair album, track 2, "The Working Hour". You could actually hear the fabric of the pads of William Gregory's E-Flat Alto saxophone slightly sticking to their sockets and causing a momentary husky grunt as he played the solo intro.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. What decks are you looking at?

Cool

Great! Thanks!

Once I'd finally got them setup with a new gasket kit (which they didn't really need but I didn't know at the time) then I didn't keep them long, so that probably says it all. They were excellent at a lot of the Hi-Fi stuff so very clean and clear - you'd probably have to spend 10-20 times what I paid for a modern speaker that matches them in that respect. However, they were not that musical to my ears. I compared them to my first pair of Keilidhs and the Linn speaker made much more sense of the music and was more engaging across a wider range of music, but then I like Linn speakers (up until 2K/3K arrays). Hope that helps.

This is a fair assessment, at least given your partnering amps. I use SBLs and recently a tweeter blew in one of mine (after 20+yrs of use!) and so I was thinking how do I better these. The answer is that you have to spend bucket loads of money to do so (10-15k). Needless to say I sourced a replacement tweeter! The SBLs are, as you say, incredibly transparent and this can be their downfall when used with anything less than top dog amps and sources (I use an LP12 Naim Aro, Armageddon, Lyra cartridge and Naim CDX, NAP 82 - 2 hi caps - driving a NAP250. My gear is all olive and so is perfectly voiced for the SBL's. Apart from wonderful transparency, they are always never less than musically engaging. The 250 delivers grunt and tremendous fineness! All that said, they are in a room with solid floors and solid walls. Anything less than this (e.g. if you have either suspended floors, partition walls or both) and the SBLs can sound like the woofer has been disconnected! All this is to say, and is a fact commented on, on many forums and by dealers, they are a pain to set up and get right, but if you do so, they can sound wonderful. Interestingly, a friend with a CDX2, 282, DR Hi Cap, Nap250DR driving Dynaudio speakers, was genuinely staggered by how much better my rig sounded than his (CD and vinyl), especially in terms of musicality and musical communication. And I admit that listening to his rig I could hear what he meant: it did all the hi fi stuff right, but musically it was, how can I put this delicately, flat and uninteresting...At the time he attributed the difference to the fact that, notwithstanding his kit was newer, that the only real difference between our rigs was the SBL's. And to be fair I think he had a point, but I also said that SBLs were voiced for the olive kit, which may be a bigger factor in play in this instance. At the same time, reading the forums it is clear that there are many SBL users who have upgraded to the newer kit (from CB and Olive) and still love the SBLs. This has to be a testament to SBLs ability to reveal upgrades - it is often commented Naim 135's diving SBLs is reckoned to be better than the 500DR, with many owners seeing no need to upgrade! On an interesting note, my dealer, as you can imagine who listens to wonderful (and often eye-wateringly expensive) hi fi all day long for a living, goes home to listen to guess what? It is also worth remembering that it was a Naim active system fronting SBL's that was Hi FI Choice's reference system for almost a decade!!! Finally where I am now. I see that the Naim 250DR can now be had relatively cheaply second hand, with recent release of the new classic 250, so I thought about pulling the trigger one and giving it a go to see if I like it (some Olive owners don't, others do). I'll admit that I have heard the 250DR at shows and one at a dealer dem and was unimpressed. At the same time, I know that I have heard gear that I know well and rate in my own listening room, sound indifferent and sometimes outright awful, and so I not going to let a few negative experiences colour my judgement. Put simply, if I don't like it, I can always sell it in for next to no loss.... Have fun with your rig, whatever speakers it is fronting!

Nice to read about your experiences Percy - thanks for contributing. The 250 is so popular but I just never got on with it. I owned a CB 250 and an olive 250 (with H&F transformer), both Class A serviced. Tried NAC 32, 32.5, 42.5, SNAPS, and CB HICAP with the CB250 and used olive 72/HICAP with the olive HICAP, all serviced. I do love all the unregulated amps though. Not tried 135s :( Like you I'm also an advocate of using equipment from the same era for best results/synergy. I bought the one-owner SBLs from my Linn/Naim dealer so got to hear them on a top-spec system fronted by Klimax LP12 prior to taking them away. Before going inside, I could hear music playing through the window and automatically dismissed that it could be from the £500 used speakers I was about to collect, but I was wrong! :)

@@charlescheese3828 I have a CB250, NAC32 and a CB HiCap with a Linn LP12 (Ittok 2, pre-Cirkus, Valhalla) from my dad. He also had some speakers that deteriorated and looking to buy some for the system. Theres used SBL going for £500 and I'm really tempted to go for them. Also, on a side note, what kind of cartridge should i go for, pretty sure its got a really old MC cartridge on it and should probably change it up. Thanks

If they are a good pair then definitely go for it as you won't lose out if you don't like them. Only familiar with a few MC carts. If you can find a Troika then Goldring will refurb and that will match well in the system - there is a clip of one on my channel. A Linn Krystal might work, or might not - I had mixed results with vintage Linn/Naim systems.

That would have ended decades ago.

Thanks. I guess what I meant was, who did the "recent service”?

Anapeach Loudspeaker Restoration

Thanks! Yep, I did compare the late (teak) pair shown in other videos. They were more coherent but too thin sounding. The early serviced pair (painted white) that I've since acquired would have suited that system/room even better than the 2s I think, although they wouldn't have done the Hi-Fi stuff as well. I'm guessing that most people would go for the 2s.

@@charlescheese3828Thank you. I am still looking for a Kan I or IBL in decent condition

Welcome! Glad you enjoyed it.

Not as a business - I just buy and sell stuff for myself. I'm hanging onto both of my Mk 1 pairs at the moment but will let you know if something changes in the short-term, although that's unlikely. Best bet is to follow ebay. Chances of a Linn dealer having any these days are very low.

Hi Andy, A mix of Hi-Fi forums, ebay, and Naim dealers around the UK.

Thanks! The Kan 2's in this clip were unserviced. There is a newer clip with white Kan 1s that had a light touch service by Anapeach Loadspeaker Restoration.

Thanks fanclub! - that's very kind of you.

Thanks fabclub! :)

Did you go in or just passing?

Yep, just need to find the right combo which is proving tricky. Not really enough bass with Tukans.

@@charlescheese3828 Ah I see. I’ve got some LS3/5A for my Nait 50, but am thinking of going completely different with JBL 4309. Need more excitement than the well-behaved BBC design can muster.

Hope it works out. I've always liked the LS3/5A at shows but they clearly play very sympathetic music. I'd also like to hear the N50 with the Dynaudio Evoke 10 based on online clips. So many options out there though.

@@charlescheese3828 Spendor Classic 4/5 would be interesting but not many pairs about

72 is miles better 👍

Glad it brings back fond memories.

For you Leo, anything :) But unfortunately it's blocked by TH-cam - I tried to use the first track just a few weeks ago.

@@charlescheese3828 oh ok ...must be a copyright thing ,keep up the good work anyway 😄

Yeah, a few artists are still anti-TH-cam. As you can perhaps tell from recent uploads, Fleetwood Mac used to be blockers but not any more :)

Yes, and would cost a fortune to manufacture these days. Probably a lot more than Linn's current flagship speaker.

Thanks for commenting!

Thanks Lloyd. Not sure what pressing it is but it has the multi-coloured label.

Thanks Jim!

@@charlescheese3828 you're welcome my friend.

Thanks - I bought the 110 from Class A. To be fair, that was the going rate at that time.

Thanks! Amazing what you can get a the Plumb Centre these days :)

@@charlescheese3828 haha….nice loudspeakers…they need bleeding ! :-)