Linn Forums

A-Ten · 2008-08-31, 14:46

Hi,

I've bought Classik Music 2008, and now I'm thinking about speakers and cables, which make Classik sound as good as it's possible Smile

I know, that Katans have many good opinions, but maybe you can refer something cheaper/better for my player? Smile

I would like to know something about speaker cables also, will K20 be good enough?

Thanks a lot for your posts! Smile

JohnNick72 · 2008-08-31, 16:56

Congrats on your purchase! You may not be fully aware at this point, but you have made a very fine selection & a great entry into Linn's current line-up.

Starting with speakers, I would highly recommend the Katans, & I assume your price aversion is related to their cost new as I find the used prices irritatingly low (for someone who bought his new only 2 yrs ago). Consider 2nd hand an get the optional stands for the best sound. If you don't like the Katan sdound for some reason, that's ok too. B&W makes a large range of speakers that sound good from a Classik. You may want to jump in at the 600 series for best mix of cheap & tolerable sound quality. Another relatively inexpensive speaker line would be PSB (the Canadian Co.). They have low prices & decent quality sound. My final recommendation (as there could literaly be hundreds) would be to listed to some of the Dynaudio monitor speakers. They have some that are priced (new) around the same as the Katans (can't recall the model name/number), but have a whole different sound. I found them quite pleasing, although being a Linn devotee, & someone who believes Linn sounds best with Linn (except for the cabling), I ultimately selected the Katans in my Classik setup.

With regards to your cabling question, its even more tricky, & I'm not the person to ask b/c I will recommend a cabling solution that would cost you as much as your Classik Music (or more). So, since frugality seems important, get your speakers first and then take your dealer's recommendation for cabling at the price you want to pay & you'll have have enjoyable starting point.

Word of caution, though. After you have your system running, stop lurking in this forum, don't go to the Hi-Fi shops, & don't go to friends houses to listen to music if their system is known to or has the possibilty to be better than yours. This behavior only causes cold sweats, marital discomfort, and sleepless nights lying awake trying to decide what to buy next to improve your cherished system. As with any piece of technology, there is always something that promises (& many times delivers) better sound than what you have now. It's best to stop before your a junkie!

Written by a modern day Hi-Fi crack whore! :-)

Just kidding! ...or am I?

Have fun!

curefan · 2008-08-31, 20:39

Very wise words from JohnNick72!

I use the earlier Classik with K400 cable and Katans in a big kitchen. It's a knockout system but I will say I tried Kan IV's with the Classik in a smaller room and was astonished at how good the sound was. The Kans can be found second hand for a lot less than the Katans if you have the patience.

Good luck.

A-Ten · 2008-09-01, 16:09

Thanks for your replies! Smile

I think that Katans will be the best solution, but I have one more question. Many people say something about "activating" Katans. What does it really mean? Do I have to buy some additional features to make my Katans active (and to have better sound?), or maybe it's just a type of connection with player?

per a · 2008-09-01, 19:35

A-Ten Wrote:Thanks for your replies!

I think that Katans will be the best solution, but I have one more question. Many people say something about "activating" Katans. What does it really mean? Do I have to buy some additional features to make my Katans active (and to have better sound?), or maybe it's just a type of connection with player?

Hi A-Ten,
Yes you need two stereo amplifiers and an active cross-over (sometimes called X-over) filter that divide the signal from the preamplifier in high and low frequencies. All though this can actually be acheived with other amps and coss-overs than Linn's it is not something I would recommend. You can read about it on Linn's web-site.
My Katans are driven by the excellent AV5125 5-channel poweramp which was a big improvement from the AV2250 I used with them in the passive mode earlier. The only drawback is that I can't borrow other speakers to test since my only amp is impossible to use for an ordinairy passive speaker. This is a bit irritating but perhaps clever from Linn''s perspective.

Per

Bill · 2008-09-02, 02:14

A-Ten Wrote:Thanks for your replies!

I think that Katans will be the best solution, but I have one more question. Many people say something about "activating" Katans. What does it really mean? Do I have to buy some additional features to make my Katans active (and to have better sound?), or maybe it's just a type of connection with player?

To make your Katans active you need to connect a 4100 power amp (or the more expensive and powerful 4200) to your Classic Music. These amps provide 4 channels of amplification, two channels for each Katan. Linn provides the active crossovers which are installed in the power amp. Two channels provide power for the bass drivers, two channels power the treble drivers.
The improvement is phenomenal. You have to hear it to believe it.
For starters try bi-wiring your Katans. This simple and cheap step (you just need another pair of K20 cable) will get you closer to what the Katans are capable of.
And yes, K20 is perfectly fine cable. Linn uses it with even the best speakers... I use it too and I am always surprised that such a relatively inexpensive cable can sound so good.

ADIKT · 2008-09-02, 09:30

A-Ten Wrote:Hi,

I've bought Classik Music 2008, and now I'm thinking about speakers and cables, which make Classik sound as good as it's possible I know, that Katans have many good opinions, but maybe you can refer something cheaper/better for my player? I would like to know something about speaker cables also, will K20 be good enough?

Thanks a lot for your posts!

I use Atlas Hyper 2.0 with my Classik-K and Uniks, Atlas Cables with my Afekt, too. They are far better than the cables that came with the Uniks and affordable!

lubo · 2008-09-02, 09:31

Bill Wrote:For starters try bi-wiring your Katans. This simple and cheap step (you just need another pair of K20 cable) will get you closer to what the Katans are capable of.
And yes, K20 is perfectly fine cable. Linn uses it with even the best speakers... I use it too and I am always surprised that such a relatively inexpensive cable can sound so good.

You won't be able to bi-wire your katans using the classik music 08 as it only has one set of power outs ,the older classik had two so you could bi- wire it on that.

What I would say is source first for audio improvemets. The classik/katan setup sounds great as it is but I personally wouldn't start adding amps and active cards to that system .

ADIKT · 2008-09-02, 09:59

per a Wrote:[quote=A-Ten]
Thanks for your replies!

The only drawback is that I can't borrow other speakers to test since my only amp is impossible to use for an ordinairy passive speaker.
Per

why?

Bill · 2008-09-02, 13:34

lubo Wrote:You won't be able to bi-wire your katans using the classik music 08 as it only has one set of power outs ,the older classik had two so you could bi- wire it on that.

lubo, you can bi-wire, tri-wire, etc. any Linn speaker (provided it allows x-wiring) with an amplifier with only one set of speaker outputs. You just have to do some soldering and it gets a little messy and tight behind the unit but of course it is possible.
And wile source first is okay as a fundamental rule... in this case the source (CD) is much more capable than the power amp in the Classic music. Making the Katans active with an additional power amp is a HUGE improvement and it shows what the Classic Music preamp and CD player are capable of doing.