I have 8 pairs of Linn Kans from Walnut, to teak and black finish. No rosewood yet but am looking. One pair have serial number xxxxx467 and xxxxx468 made of Walnut when they were built in NYC. My favorite era of the Mk I Kans was serial number 30,000 to 38,000 range. I found a pair at a hi fi store in Indianapolis that a retired woman had as a gift from her son back in 1986. They were virtually never used and were in total mint condition. I have been using this pair since 1997 when I purchased them. I have an active system with two amplifiers and Naim Supercap and Super NAXO 2/4 for my Active Linn Saras. I got the bug to make these Kans active and use the Naim crossover and power supply. IT was simple to do by drilling and adding Cardas copper connectors and sealing them and separating the wires from the internal crossover and connecting straight to the terminals. Absolutely unbelievable. Stunning detail and speed. The speed and dynamics shocked me. Not like they needed an improvement there. They were very surprising, and I regret not doing this a decade sooner. The one thing I noticed is they go a little lower in the bass frequency range being active. I would guess 6 to 8 hz lower. It is noticeable. It warms the speakers a touch. I'll never get rid of them ever.... They are too much fun. KAN I - Modification History from newest to oldest below (top to bottom) - Crossover: Capacitors improved to Bennic type. Feb. 1988 S/N 39,005/6 - Bass Unit: Improved performance. Change to new long throw low frequency driver Kef B110B Dec. 1985 S/N 33,005/6 - Sockets: Changed to Linn 4 mm metal socket. Crossover change. - Connections: Changed from binding posts to the new style 4mm sockets. Feb. 1985 S/N 26,791/2 - Treble Unit: Smoother response. Change to Hiquphone tweeters, which gave a flatter response. Having the Linn logo printed on the front plate, along with “LINN PRODUCTS” Crossover revision. May 1984 S/N 24,077/8 - Crossover: Resistor added in parallel to treble coil. Late 1983 - Cabinets: Changed to Medite cabinet and began doping the B110 with some sticky black mastic for damping purposes. Late 1983 - Introduction: Scanspeak tweeter. Original unmodified KEF B110 bass drivers. Cabinet essentially made of chipboard. The speaker used 4mm binding posts. Feb. 1983 S/N 20,005/6 - Unit Damping: Unit painted with sound deadening material. Cabinet: Material changed to medite. May 1982 S/N 19,153/4 - Drive Units: Bass units painted with sound deadening paint - silicone sealant Mar. 1982 S/N 18,501/2
I remember visiting a hifi show at the Sheffield Hallam Towers Hotel back in late 1970’s/early 80’s and went to Linns demonstration room. My friend and I thought we were listening to the Isobarics and thought they sounded superb. The demonstrators laughed and told us we were listening to the Kans and it was the turntable that made all the difference. It’s something that I still remember and believe today.
I bought an unmodified pair at auction in January - very early model circa 1979 based on the serial number . Have to say they’re totally fabulous - the tone and tightness of sound is incredible for a near 50 year old product.
I have a pair of MK1 Kans on the mk11 stands in a really small room 7ft 8 x 11ft 2 with Lp12 front end and Naim amplifiers. In my tiny room they sound absolutely amazing, they must be the best small room speaker ever made. Crazy dynamics and presence for a cabinet of this size, I’ve not heard a modern speaker that comes anywhere near them.
I've owned a lot of small speakers in my time. Audiomaster MLS1 being the first great small speaker I owned and pound for pound the best. When Proacc launched the Tablette I bought a pair but in truth at the time my Hi-Fi wasn't good enough. I heard them though with a LP12 and Naim 42/110 - outstanding. When I bought a LP12 things did improve but in the end I got a deal on a Nait and Kans and owned them for many years. When I started to record my records though they had no mercy matched with a bright enough soundcard. I replaced them with something larger yet still small Royd Minstrels which I still have today.
loved this video my friend you do a great job love your take on audio i had a pair of kans mark 1 paired with meridian 101s and 105 monoblocks and Marantz cd63 cd player loved this set up .it would be nice to hear this set up after all those years ago .🙂🙂🙂
Thanks for doing this. I LOVED my KANs!! In fact, I have a search saved on eBay for a reasonably priced pair to try on my current system. Of course, now you’ve done this, I’ll probably never get them. 😄
Thanks for the video. I’m a big fan of the Linn Kans. I remember around 10 -15 years ago I compared a number of small speakers Neat , Spendor, etc (can’t remember all the brands) and I ended up liking the old Linn Kans the best with Naim amps
Well that was a listen down memory lane for me - having once owned the top of the range LP12 + arm and cartridge and all plumbed into the 32+SNAPs+135's - I can attest to the fact that - given a great source and sent through a more than capable amplifier then - the result out of the Kans was nothing less than fantastic and you always left it for the evening, with the intention to get off to bed and then go to work the following morning and earn even more money to feed the audio phil habit, knowing that you had heard more of the music. I began that journey via Eulipion Audio in Manchester and then grew it even further through Me2 Music in Northendon who later on leant me a pair of ex demo Linns Sara's to try out... only for me to discover that they had gone bust leaving me with a pair of speakers which didn't appeal to me as much as my Kans Kould.
I had LP12/Ekos/Asaka, NAC 42/5 + NAP 110, Linn Kan MKI. It was fantastic, so musical, sweet and dynamic! No one could believe the sound was coming from those little cans. I wish I could listen to that setup one more time.
Interesting. Thanks. I'm only dabbling in the shallows, but came here to say... Choice of stands really does make a difference. I've had Linn Index since the 80's but bought second-hand Linn Sara stands having listened to them in a 'Warrington store'. 35 years later, I can't remember the details, but the difference was staggering. [I also temporarily have a pair of Harbeth HL-P3 (LS3-5/a sound-a-likes, I understand). Hugely clear and dynamic.]
I remember seeing these at a hifi show a zillion years ago, these were amazing, much like the Tannoy Mercury speakers, setting new standards for compact speakers.
Back in the day.. I had a pair of Linn Index + and A&R a60 and an early Linn Axis turntable. I was 21 and still at my parents. Placement restriction in place due to bed!! I soon left home and ‘upgraded’ the a60 to a Rotel RB960 pre/power combo. I then went through a load of dodgy floor standers most notably RTL2’s… Loved the Linn sound and my mate still has mine in his man cave system! In the day I loved the whole Linn system philosophy but like then I can’t afford it!
Good coverage, much appreciated, my buddy has just received a pair of Linn kans at his store with a problem that needs addressing, I’m curious as to how these would behave with some of the current higher end Class D amps these days, anyhow thanks again for the review and breakdown
Great video as always one speaker that would be great to do a retro review would be b&ws dm110s, a mate of mine had linn katans with naim amp and cd and found they could get a bit lively and even with my yamaha ax396 at the end of them but they were excellent speakers
I remember somebody in one of the hi-fi mags making an "audiophile boom box" using a pair of Kans, a Naim Nait & a Sony Walkman Pro, all mounted in a flight case. Needed mains of course, but an excellent exercise
Wonderful video. I have the same MkI's with ScanSpeak tweeters as you have. I do enjoy the MkII models but there's something special about the MkI's that dispensed with the technical side of flat response to a fault (yes, there is such a thing, aka boring) and laboratory "perfect" accuracy. If the expression "musical" applies to anything it certainly does to the MkI's. People either get it or it eludes them, but of course to favor them or not is a personal choice. Also have a pair of Kabers and Tukans. All three are lovely representations of Linn offerings and each bring something different. If there was a "perfect" speaker i.e. ruler flat and spec'd for perfection, we'd only have one sound, and 70% of listeners wouldn't care for it for a multitued of reasons. So much for subjective opinions, it's all about what moves you, nothing more. As stated in the video, the Kan, especially the MkI, is loved by many but often misunderstood, though you seem to indeed understand them. The Sara was Linn's first "bookshelf" style speaker of smaller proportions while maintaining excellent bass extension and weight, while the Kan was designed to be the Isobarik DMS in a BBC monitor "size" without the Isobarik bass requirements. It was never intended as an LS3/5 clone, as people often mistakenly compare it to, but rather a small mini-monitor speaker in the early line up when Linn speakers consisted only of the Isobarik DMS and Sara. Smaller yet than the Sara, the Kan was merely the already established mid/high section of the DMS. Linn now had their holy trinity of offerings for any size required by the listener. An impressive representation of components from a manufacturer of high-end quality components. Love them, like them or leave them, Linn products stood for quality and successfully delivered it. Excellent video, thank you for the very thoughtful and well prepared review and sharing!
i was blown away when i heard kans back in the 80s,i was looking around for these huge speakers in audio excellence i thought the sound was coming from then they pointed at them lol...
First 'audiophile' system I heard in depth and on regular basis had LP12, Rotel pre/powers, and Kans (well damped room). Remember(from 35yrs+ ago...!); punchy, detailed, surprising bass for size, though never found them fatiguing. They did highlight a 'grainy' treble on Arcam CD source.
Saludos !!!EXCELENTE!!! tu trabajo el que estas haciendo, yo tengo un Onkyo Digital A88-00 con un amplificador M504, con un ecualizador EQ540 y otro EQ201 y una platina TA2550 y un plato CP1500F y aguja tocadiscos Ortofon 40 y CD DX708, y la radio T4500. Todo los modelos del INTEGRA que es de lo mejor que de la onkyo NO hechos en masa la producción si no son selectos de la Onkyo Y los cables conectados al equipo son de la marca KabelDirekt Pro Series RCA . EN FIN TODO UN CLASICO DE LOS 80S Y 90S de equipos de sonido de aquella época, con los años jamás se me ha roto ningún modulo eso ya se ve de como trabajaban antes y los materiales de fabricación, espero tenerlo duarte ,muchos años por la calidad de un buen equipo musical ,saludos y muy buenos videos que tienes un gran like para tus grandes videos ya no se fabrican tan estupendos modelos de sonidos como estos aparatos ,es una pena , que hoy en día todo sea platico, saludos desde Barcelona - Podías hacer uno de Onkyo interga también de Review -
I e got my Linn Kans 2’s in front of me now. I had a pair of original Kan’s and gave them to my sister. I bought some wharfedale floorstanders, what a mistake. I soon got the ones I have now secondhand for £300. That was in the late 80’s and they’re going strong. You’d probably have to go for something like the Neat SX3 or above to beat them now! They’re powered by my trusty Sugden A48B 1990’s black case amp.
Appreciate all rooms are different, but any preferences regarding the distance apart between the two loudspeakers? Many folk seem to obtain better results with Kans situated quite close together.
The history of the Lin Kan is well documented but let us go down memory road. Chartwell were licensed to produce BBC LS35/a studio monitors but they unfortunately went bankrupt and that is why and where Lin got their stock from, Lin bought the Chartwell BBC LS35/a stock. Lin retained the Keff B110 cone but they changed the tweeter to the Hiquphon tweeter and used a much simpler crossover. The BBC had a very specific specification for the B110 version used and anyone how has googles the Kan will know the crossover was like no other. The BBC LS35/a was a studio monitor so by design flat as a pancake whilst Linn brought their Kan to life some say to much other enthusiasts would argue it was perfect. Back in the day Keff made some of the best speakers going, my brothers first system had Keff Coda speakers with the B110 (not the same one as the BBC) which I tried out only a few weeks back, they have sat in my parents garage for over 20 years and they sounded superb
My current speakers (Kudos Titan 505's) are extremely fussy when it comes to stands; hence they are supplied with dedicated stands (or "North Sea Oil Rigs"as my Wife call them) as standard. I did try my lightweight Quadraspire stands, but it totally killed the sound (and looked worse)!
I listened to the Kans back in 1987 and with an LP12 they were really amazing. The lack of deep bass is compensated by a perfect pitch and pace. Also liked the Linn tower speaker Kaber that had similar characteristics, quick and tuneful bass, but no one is talking about them nowadays?!
back in the 90s I was told by a good friend to go for the Linn Kan's with my system.. when I tried them in the music room at Absolute Sound in Cheltenham with my set up I found that they were not for me .. but each to his own when it comes to system set ups.
Diplomatically stated Paul AJ, often people will speak negatively of speakers that are not suited for them for whatever reason, and Linn gets more than their share of derision with little to no merit warranted. It somehow takes on a bizarre appearance of "being in the know" for some to bash a well-known brand if there's support from a few others to corroborate a falsely safe point of view masquerading as "experienced audio intelligence" when in reality it's only based on nothing of the kind or regurgitated silly talk. Good for you for resisting and offering a fair opinion 🙂
Great video compeletly agree..... heard the Kan at a Linn demo at Bristol hiFi Show in mid 80's I was blown away............ Having examined them closely - the cross over is a nasty little affair..the layout is poor and the component quality poor. I am in the process of building Kans with an external crossover using high quality parts to the same value......time will tell. Keep up the good work...I will be buying some fuses from you soon.
i"ve got a pair of kan mk1"s languishing in my loft with the H type stands..... swapped them for rega ela mk 1"s some time ago..... just checked serial number 032431..... is anyone interested in buying them ?
Ive heard alot about the kans being very good. What do you think of the large Linn bookshelf: The Linn helix LS150 and the Linn nexus, sometimes I think older equipment is better than new.
The Helix & Nexus can be compared to the Kan mk1 Scanspeak & Hiquphon.(red & black binding posts models) The Helix in many ways is similar to the Scanspeak. They've got that boogie factor but they're missing a touch of detail & tone. Whereas the Nexus & Hiquphon have less boogie but more detail & tone. (they share the Hiquphon tweeter) Both of these Kan mk1 variants are two very different speakers.
Interesting how many good speakers use the B110 driver. I heard the Kans back in the day and ended up with ProAc Tabs because they were less fussy with how they were driven.
we did a audio thing in 1980's at my work place ... a guy bought his massive home built 4 driver speakers and someone bought a pair of Kans ... guess which speaker sounded best ....LS3 5A's are boring
A word of warning. If you are considering buying a pair e.g off Ebay or privately and they are over 20 years old, be aware that it is highly likely that they will need some money spending on them to bring them back to their original specification and performance. This in part will be due to the fact that the components making up the crossovers, the resistors and capacitors degrade over time and will not measure as they should. The seals may no longer be airtight and drivers too may have failed. I bought two pairs of Linn Kan Mk1 speakers one in 2020 and the other pair in 2021, both from ebay, costing £384 and £342 respectively. The earliest pair has the Scanspeak tweeter and the slightly later one the Hiquphon tweeter. I sent both pairs off to a professional speaker restorer, who evaluated the overall speaker condition and measured the crossover components, which in both cases were way off. The drivers were in good condition. To bring both up to spec, with new internal wiring, crossover components, seals, new gold plated binding posts and modification to allow the grilles to be removable, cost a further £330 per pair. So whilst I now own two pairs of Linn Kan Mk1 speakers, one pair cost me £746 and the other £640. Now let me say that the cost was well worth it. They sound absolutely wonderful and shortly I will have to sell one pair, as I cannot justify owning two. At this time I cannot decide which pair I prefer, they sound very close indeed and any audiophile in my view would be happy to own either pair. When eventually I decide to sell a pair they will be on Ebay for no less than £1000. Why, because the Linn Kan is a very special speaker indeed, producing wonderful, open, dynamic, involving and revealing music. Revealing of poor recordings, these speakers in my opinion shine particularly well with Jazz, acoustic material and vocals. Needs careful partnering with quality amplification and would suggest an amplifier which tends toward the slightly warm side of neutral, of at least 50w, but preferably with ample additional headroom.
Didn't tell the full true story about the birth of Kans. "Chartwell had a BBC licence, they went bust, loads of LS3/5a cabinets left at the cabinet makers, Linn bought them for a song, the Kan was born." You need to listen to more speakers if you think early Kans are the most dynamic ever made. Compare them to decent high efficiency speakers and the Kans sound like the shouty little boxes that they are. There may be a psycho acoustic effect going on with Kans, because they filter out bass drums. When it comes to genuine dynamics, Kans are lacking. But not as lacking as LS3/5a's.
I have a possibility to buy Linn Kan mkII, but my amp (Advanced Paris x-i75) delievers 75W RMS per channel (8Ohm) - wouldn't it be too much for them? Thanks for the answer.
I have 8 pairs of Linn Kans from Walnut, to teak and black finish. No rosewood yet but am looking. One pair have serial number xxxxx467 and xxxxx468 made of Walnut when they were built in NYC. My favorite era of the Mk I Kans was serial number 30,000 to 38,000 range. I found a pair at a hi fi store in Indianapolis that a retired woman had as a gift from her son back in 1986. They were virtually never used and were in total mint condition. I have been using this pair since 1997 when I purchased them. I have an active system with two amplifiers and Naim Supercap and Super NAXO 2/4 for my Active Linn Saras. I got the bug to make these Kans active and use the Naim crossover and power supply. IT was simple to do by drilling and adding Cardas copper connectors and sealing them and separating the wires from the internal crossover and connecting straight to the terminals. Absolutely unbelievable. Stunning detail and speed. The speed and dynamics shocked me. Not like they needed an improvement there. They were very surprising, and I regret not doing this a decade sooner. The one thing I noticed is they go a little lower in the bass frequency range being active. I would guess 6 to 8 hz lower. It is noticeable. It warms the speakers a touch. I'll never get rid of them ever.... They are too much fun.
KAN I - Modification History from newest to oldest below (top to bottom)
- Crossover: Capacitors improved to Bennic type. Feb. 1988 S/N 39,005/6
- Bass Unit: Improved performance. Change to new long throw low frequency driver Kef B110B Dec. 1985 S/N 33,005/6
- Sockets: Changed to Linn 4 mm metal socket. Crossover change.
- Connections: Changed from binding posts to the new style 4mm sockets. Feb. 1985 S/N 26,791/2
- Treble Unit: Smoother response. Change to Hiquphone tweeters, which gave a flatter response. Having the Linn logo printed on the front plate, along with “LINN PRODUCTS” Crossover revision. May 1984 S/N 24,077/8
- Crossover: Resistor added in parallel to treble coil. Late 1983
- Cabinets: Changed to Medite cabinet and began doping the B110 with some sticky black mastic for damping purposes. Late 1983
- Introduction: Scanspeak tweeter. Original unmodified KEF B110 bass drivers. Cabinet essentially made of chipboard. The speaker used 4mm binding posts. Feb. 1983 S/N 20,005/6
- Unit Damping: Unit painted with sound deadening material. Cabinet: Material changed to medite. May 1982 S/N 19,153/4
- Drive Units: Bass units painted with sound deadening paint - silicone sealant Mar. 1982 S/N 18,501/2
I remember visiting a hifi show at the Sheffield Hallam Towers Hotel back in late 1970’s/early 80’s and went to Linns demonstration room. My friend and I thought we were listening to the Isobarics and thought they sounded superb. The demonstrators laughed and told us we were listening to the Kans and it was the turntable that made all the difference. It’s something that I still remember and believe today.
I bought an unmodified pair at auction in January - very early model circa 1979 based on the serial number . Have to say they’re totally fabulous - the tone and tightness of sound is incredible for a near 50 year old product.
I have a pair of MK1 Kans on the mk11 stands in a really small room 7ft 8 x 11ft 2 with Lp12 front end and Naim amplifiers. In my tiny room they sound absolutely amazing, they must be the best small room speaker ever made. Crazy dynamics and presence for a cabinet of this size, I’ve not heard a modern speaker that comes anywhere near them.
I've owned a lot of small speakers in my time. Audiomaster MLS1 being the first great small speaker I owned and pound for pound the best. When Proacc launched the Tablette I bought a pair but in truth at the time my Hi-Fi wasn't good enough. I heard them though with a LP12 and Naim 42/110 - outstanding. When I bought a LP12 things did improve but in the end I got a deal on a Nait and Kans and owned them for many years. When I started to record my records though they had no mercy matched with a bright enough soundcard. I replaced them with something larger yet still small Royd Minstrels which I still have today.
loved this video my friend you do a great job love your take on audio i had a pair of kans mark 1 paired with meridian 101s and 105 monoblocks and Marantz cd63 cd player loved this set up .it would be nice to hear this set up after all those years ago .🙂🙂🙂
Thanks for doing this. I LOVED my KANs!! In fact, I have a search saved on eBay for a reasonably priced pair to try on my current system. Of course, now you’ve done this, I’ll probably never get them. 😄
Thanks for the video. I’m a big fan of the Linn Kans. I remember around 10 -15 years ago I compared a number of small speakers Neat , Spendor, etc (can’t remember all the brands) and I ended up liking the old Linn Kans the best with Naim amps
Well that was a listen down memory lane for me - having once owned the top of the range LP12 + arm and cartridge and all plumbed into the 32+SNAPs+135's - I can attest to the fact that - given a great source and sent through a more than capable amplifier then - the result out of the Kans was nothing less than fantastic and you always left it for the evening, with the intention to get off to bed and then go to work the following morning and earn even more money to feed the audio phil habit, knowing that you had heard more of the music. I began that journey via Eulipion Audio in Manchester and then grew it even further through Me2 Music in Northendon who later on leant me a pair of ex demo Linns Sara's to try out... only for me to discover that they had gone bust leaving me with a pair of speakers which didn't appeal to me as much as my Kans Kould.
Nice video I’ve got some old mission book shelf speakers upstairs might try them on my io in a few week
I had LP12/Ekos/Asaka, NAC 42/5 + NAP 110, Linn Kan MKI. It was fantastic, so musical, sweet and dynamic! No one could believe the sound was coming from those little cans. I wish I could listen to that setup one more time.
Interesting. Thanks. I'm only dabbling in the shallows, but came here to say... Choice of stands really does make a difference. I've had Linn Index since the 80's but bought second-hand Linn Sara stands having listened to them in a 'Warrington store'. 35 years later, I can't remember the details, but the difference was staggering.
[I also temporarily have a pair of Harbeth HL-P3 (LS3-5/a sound-a-likes, I understand). Hugely clear and dynamic.]
I remember seeing these at a hifi show a zillion years ago, these were amazing, much like the Tannoy Mercury speakers, setting new standards for compact speakers.
Based on this entertaining retro review, I picked up a pair of Mk1's........ not disappointed! They boogie with great drive and dynamics!
Mine is 03099 and 03100. Still performs beautifully daily on my side. 👍🏻
Back in the day.. I had a pair of Linn Index + and A&R a60 and an early Linn Axis turntable. I was 21 and still at my parents. Placement restriction in place due to bed!!
I soon left home and ‘upgraded’ the a60 to a Rotel RB960 pre/power combo.
I then went through a load of dodgy floor standers most notably RTL2’s…
Loved the Linn sound and my mate still has mine in his man cave system!
In the day I loved the whole Linn system philosophy but like then I can’t afford it!
Good coverage, much appreciated, my buddy has just received a pair of Linn kans at his store with a problem that needs addressing, I’m curious as to how these would behave with some of the current higher end Class D amps these days, anyhow thanks again for the review and breakdown
Great video as always one speaker that would be great to do a retro review would be b&ws dm110s, a mate of mine had linn katans with naim amp and cd and found they could get a bit lively and even with my yamaha ax396 at the end of them but they were excellent speakers
I remember somebody in one of the hi-fi mags making an "audiophile boom box" using a pair of Kans, a Naim Nait & a Sony Walkman Pro, all mounted in a flight case. Needed mains of course, but an excellent exercise
I still have the magazine!
I think it was the Cornflake shop and I think it was Wharfedale Diamonds
Wonderful video. I have the same MkI's with ScanSpeak tweeters as you have. I do enjoy the MkII models but there's something special about the MkI's that dispensed with the technical side of flat response to a fault (yes, there is such a thing, aka boring) and laboratory "perfect" accuracy. If the expression "musical" applies to anything it certainly does to the MkI's. People either get it or it eludes them, but of course to favor them or not is a personal choice. Also have a pair of Kabers and Tukans. All three are lovely representations of Linn offerings and each bring something different. If there was a "perfect" speaker i.e. ruler flat and spec'd for perfection, we'd only have one sound, and 70% of listeners wouldn't care for it for a multitued of reasons. So much for subjective opinions, it's all about what moves you, nothing more.
As stated in the video, the Kan, especially the MkI, is loved by many but often misunderstood, though you seem to indeed understand them. The Sara was Linn's first "bookshelf" style speaker of smaller proportions while maintaining excellent bass extension and weight, while the Kan was designed to be the Isobarik DMS in a BBC monitor "size" without the Isobarik bass requirements. It was never intended as an LS3/5 clone, as people often mistakenly compare it to, but rather a small mini-monitor speaker in the early line up when Linn speakers consisted only of the Isobarik DMS and Sara. Smaller yet than the Sara, the Kan was merely the already established mid/high section of the DMS. Linn now had their holy trinity of offerings for any size required by the listener.
An impressive representation of components from a manufacturer of high-end quality components. Love them, like them or leave them, Linn products stood for quality and successfully delivered it. Excellent video, thank you for the very thoughtful and well prepared review and sharing!
i was blown away when i heard kans back in the 80s,i was looking around for these huge speakers in audio excellence i thought the sound was coming from then they pointed at them lol...
First 'audiophile' system I heard in depth and on regular basis had LP12, Rotel pre/powers, and Kans (well damped room). Remember(from 35yrs+ ago...!); punchy, detailed, surprising bass for size, though never found them fatiguing. They did highlight a 'grainy' treble on Arcam CD source.
Saludos !!!EXCELENTE!!! tu trabajo el que estas haciendo, yo tengo un Onkyo Digital A88-00 con un amplificador M504, con un ecualizador EQ540 y otro EQ201 y una platina TA2550 y un plato CP1500F y aguja tocadiscos Ortofon 40 y CD DX708, y la radio T4500. Todo los modelos del INTEGRA que es de lo mejor que de la onkyo NO hechos en masa la producción si no son selectos de la Onkyo Y los cables conectados al equipo son de la marca KabelDirekt Pro Series RCA . EN FIN TODO UN CLASICO DE LOS 80S Y 90S de equipos de sonido de aquella época, con los años jamás se me ha roto ningún modulo eso ya se ve de como trabajaban antes y los materiales de fabricación, espero tenerlo duarte ,muchos años por la calidad de un buen equipo musical ,saludos y muy buenos videos que tienes un gran like para tus grandes videos ya no se fabrican tan estupendos modelos de sonidos como estos aparatos ,es una pena , que hoy en día todo sea platico, saludos desde Barcelona - Podías hacer uno de Onkyo interga también de Review -
I e got my Linn Kans 2’s in front of me now. I had a pair of original Kan’s and gave them to my sister. I bought some wharfedale floorstanders, what a mistake. I soon got the ones I have now secondhand for £300. That was in the late 80’s and they’re going strong. You’d probably have to go for something like the Neat SX3 or above to beat them now! They’re powered by my trusty Sugden A48B 1990’s black case amp.
Appreciate all rooms are different, but any preferences regarding the distance apart between the two loudspeakers? Many folk seem to obtain better results with Kans situated quite close together.
The history of the Lin Kan is well documented but let us go down memory road. Chartwell were licensed to produce BBC LS35/a studio monitors but they unfortunately went bankrupt and that is why and where Lin got their stock from, Lin bought the Chartwell BBC LS35/a stock. Lin retained the Keff B110 cone but they changed the tweeter to the Hiquphon tweeter and used a much simpler crossover. The BBC had a very specific specification for the B110 version used and anyone how has googles the Kan will know the crossover was like no other. The BBC LS35/a was a studio monitor so by design flat as a pancake whilst Linn brought their Kan to life some say to much other enthusiasts would argue it was perfect. Back in the day Keff made some of the best speakers going, my brothers first system had Keff Coda speakers with the B110 (not the same one as the BBC) which I tried out only a few weeks back, they have sat in my parents garage for over 20 years and they sounded superb
Systems today do more…but Kans with a good Naim amp can be listened to for hours and nothing is more fun.
My current speakers (Kudos Titan 505's) are extremely fussy when it comes to stands; hence they are supplied with dedicated stands (or "North Sea Oil Rigs"as my Wife call them) as standard. I did try my lightweight Quadraspire stands, but it totally killed the sound (and looked worse)!
I listened to the Kans back in 1987 and with an LP12 they were really amazing. The lack of deep bass is compensated by a perfect pitch and pace.
Also liked the Linn tower speaker Kaber that had similar characteristics, quick and tuneful bass, but no one is talking about them nowadays?!
Used to have a pair of aktiv Kabers driven by 3 lk100 later 3 klouts. Still miss them...
The first cabinets were produced using LS3/5a birch ply cabinets.
Yes, I think they were old Chartwell stock
Im using the four legged Linn stands, but I wouldnt call them light weight. Maybe I should experiment
I used Linn Kan MK1s from 1983 - 2011. Sounded great!
One woofer split in 2011. I could not get any response from Linn North America.
Did your shop have an email address? Couldn't see one on the site. I wanted to pick your brains on Sugden amps! Cheers.
back in the 90s I was told by a good friend to go for the Linn Kan's with my system.. when I tried them in the music room at Absolute Sound in Cheltenham with my set up I found that they were not for me .. but each to his own when it comes to system set ups.
Diplomatically stated Paul AJ, often people will speak negatively of speakers that are not suited for them for whatever reason, and Linn gets more than their share of derision with little to no merit warranted. It somehow takes on a bizarre appearance of "being in the know" for some to bash a well-known brand if there's support from a few others to corroborate a falsely safe point of view masquerading as "experienced audio intelligence" when in reality it's only based on nothing of the kind or regurgitated silly talk. Good for you for resisting and offering a fair opinion 🙂
Do you ever get ram loudspeakers traded in.
Kans were always a marmite speaker, much like the Naim SBL. Don’t forget the Kustone version.
Great video compeletly agree..... heard the Kan at a Linn demo at Bristol hiFi Show in mid 80's I was blown away............ Having examined them closely - the cross over is a nasty little affair..the layout is poor and the component quality poor. I am in the process of building Kans with an external crossover using high quality parts to the same value......time will tell. Keep up the good work...I will be buying some fuses from you soon.
i"ve got a pair of kan mk1"s languishing in my loft with the H type stands..... swapped them for rega ela mk 1"s some time ago..... just checked serial number 032431..... is anyone interested in buying them ?
I can’t find a way to send a PM.
If they’re anything like the ls3/5a they are not loud enough to reproduce music accurately.
Ive heard alot about the kans being very good. What do you think of the large Linn bookshelf: The Linn helix LS150 and the Linn nexus, sometimes I think older equipment is better than new.
The Helix & Nexus can be compared to the Kan mk1 Scanspeak & Hiquphon.(red & black binding posts models)
The Helix in many ways is similar to the Scanspeak. They've got that boogie factor but they're missing a touch of detail & tone. Whereas the Nexus & Hiquphon have less boogie but more detail & tone. (they share the Hiquphon tweeter)
Both of these Kan mk1 variants are two very different speakers.
Had kans but went to naim ibls
The first great small loudspeaker? The LS3/5A, surely.
Had Kans but by far royd had more muscle quality for me and my taste because royd had bass 👍
Love Royds, the Sintras were much easy to live with than Kans
Try Shahinian loudspeakers
Interesting how many good speakers use the B110 driver. I heard the Kans back in the day and ended up with ProAc Tabs because they were less fussy with how they were driven.
we did a audio thing in 1980's at my work place ... a guy bought his massive home built 4 driver speakers and someone bought a pair of Kans ... guess which speaker sounded best ....LS3 5A's are boring
They need a lot of power.
A word of warning. If you are considering buying a pair e.g off Ebay or privately and they are over 20 years old, be aware that it is highly likely that they will need some money spending on them to bring them back to their original specification and performance. This in part will be due to the fact that the components making up the crossovers, the resistors and capacitors degrade over time and will not measure as they should. The seals may no longer be airtight and drivers too may have failed. I bought two pairs of Linn Kan Mk1 speakers one in 2020 and the other pair in 2021, both from ebay, costing £384 and £342 respectively. The earliest pair has the Scanspeak tweeter and the slightly later one the Hiquphon tweeter. I sent both pairs off to a professional speaker restorer, who evaluated the overall speaker condition and measured the crossover components, which in both cases were way off. The drivers were in good condition. To bring both up to spec, with new internal wiring, crossover components, seals, new gold plated binding posts and modification to allow the grilles to be removable, cost a further £330 per pair.
So whilst I now own two pairs of Linn Kan Mk1 speakers, one pair cost me £746 and the other £640. Now let me say that the cost was well worth it. They sound absolutely wonderful and shortly I will have to sell one pair, as I cannot justify owning two. At this time I cannot decide which pair I prefer, they sound very close indeed and any audiophile in my view would be happy to own either pair. When eventually I decide to sell a pair they will be on Ebay for no less than £1000. Why, because the Linn Kan is a very special speaker indeed, producing wonderful, open, dynamic, involving and revealing music. Revealing of poor recordings, these speakers in my opinion shine particularly well with Jazz, acoustic material and vocals. Needs careful partnering with quality amplification and would suggest an amplifier which tends toward the slightly warm side of neutral, of at least 50w, but preferably with ample additional headroom.
Who did the overhaul on your kans?
Anapeach Loudspeaker Restoration, based in UK.@@LanceSpangles
Didn't tell the full true story about the birth of Kans. "Chartwell had a BBC licence, they went bust, loads of LS3/5a cabinets left at the cabinet makers, Linn bought them for a song, the Kan was born."
You need to listen to more speakers if you think early Kans are the most dynamic ever made. Compare them to decent high efficiency speakers and the Kans sound like the shouty little boxes that they are. There may be a psycho acoustic effect going on with Kans, because they filter out bass drums. When it comes to genuine dynamics, Kans are lacking. But not as lacking as LS3/5a's.
Linn Kan ... & they probably did ... I do not like Marmite ... 😂🤣
Tin cans
Linn Can't.
They were horrid speakers
OMG! Linn Kans, particularly mk1s, were horrible squawk boxes. Amongst the worst supposedly “hi-fi” speakers I’ve ever listened to.
Truly awful sqawkers. Much over-hyped and grossly overpriced like the LP12.
I have a possibility to buy Linn Kan mkII, but my amp (Advanced Paris x-i75) delievers 75W RMS per channel (8Ohm) - wouldn't it be too much for them? Thanks for the answer.