Which Kan is the best?

Try this for Kan info:

"http://freespace.virgin.net/tony.lonorgan/"

Ron the Mon and Tony Lonorgan are the resident experts.

Kan II's seem to be regarded as better, but Kan I's are ok.

Kan II stands are regarded as the bast

Arthur Bye

Kan II stands are definitely the best, but opinion is divided over the speakers themselves. Quite a few people prefer the original Kans to the Mk II version...

Kan 2 stands became available well before Kan 2 speakers. Some time while Kan 1s still had protruding 4mm input sockets. FWIW.

Paul

Ian

There is no definitive answer to which is better. The differences between Kans and most other speakers is far greater than the relatively minor differences between different Kan iterations. You will love or hate all Kans regardless of which model and from there, it's just down to minor personal preferences. My own preference is for the later bi-wire model because I find bass playing a bit more groovy and tuneful. There are other differences but this is the only musically important one (to me) that I've noticed and bothered to remember.

Regards
Steve

Ian !

Kan 2 is most famous and some say best.
I do think so, especially after listening Kan 3
these days at dealer place.

Ozren

Ian
To quote Steve you either love Kan's or hate them ,me I love them. They were the first speaker that I can[if you will exccuse the pun]
That gave you so much involvement with the music they could bring tears to your eyes I wish that at the time that I bought my SBL'S I could have afforded to keep the Kan's as well
but unfortunately !!for my money the original Kan's with the 4 piller stands[the sound org. i think] gave to my ears the best sound ,but as Steve has said they are all good you pays your money you takes your choice but you will not be disappointed which ever you chose.
Enjoy the music
Oldie

Klassik Kans

I've had three pairs.

Early ones (binding posts) designed to work on vinyl and kan be a bit 'in-yer-face' on CD, but explicit and very musical.

Mid-period (around S/N 25,000) best all rounder.

Latest bi-wireable ones: Bloody awful. Fat and boring.

Thank for the info guys that was very usefull although I am not too sure what finish is on a rocking horse.

Ian

Ian

If you like Kans, you will love IBL's.

Try to hear some, they murder Kans.

Kans have attracted a myth which is over hyped.

IBL's are just plain good.

Regards

Mick

The best kans are active!

Phil

Phil

I heard Bob Atherton's IBL's in active mode....they were something special.

Regards

Mick

I ended up with my kans active almost by chance (free naxo with a hi-cap, two 250s sold as a job lot when I was only looking for one) but have to say active seems to do something really very special, adding a real solidity and definition to the sound. Maybe it's just that the passive crossover in the kans is pretty crummy, or that going active with such a small pair of speakers is so un-mullet. Only problem will be when the kids stop climbing and I can go back to floor mounted speakers I think I'd find it very difficult to go back to passive. Oh well, just tweak the crossover, get a 2nd hand pair of SBLs and I'm there!

Phil

Kans vs IBL’s….?

Mick, thanks for that vote of confidence in my IBL’s.

I have owned 2 pairs of Kans, SBL’s & now IBL’s and thay are ALL bloody good speakers. I found that, if set up correctly, Kans to be the more forgiving. One can get away with say a 42, 110 into Kans & achieve great results, lots of music, excitement, & plenty of groove.

From my experience IBL’s are nowhere near as forgiving. IMHO a 250 is an essential minimum to drive them, but your investment will be well rewarded. I believe that IBL’s have the Kan’s virtues in spades. They are more open, more tuneful, and faster & still have plenty of groove. I have every intention of hanging on to my pair even if I have the good fortune to get to NAP 500 level.

I remember Tony L not finding IBL’s to his liking so, as ever, one must try before you buy, but to my ears it was a no brainer.

Bob

Mick said:

quote:

---

Try to hear some (IBLs), they murder Kans. Kans have attracted a myth which is over hyped.

---

That may well be the case, but put some Linn amps into the equation and the Kans murder the IBLs.

The interesting comparison would be Naim amps/IBLs vs. Linn amps/Kans.

Andrew

Andrew Randle
Linn Binn Sinner

Per

Mrs Mick says no way.

Regards

Mick

quote:

---

Originally posted by bob atherton:
Kans vs IBL’s….?


have owned 2 pairs of Kans, SBL’s & now IBL’s and thay are ALL bloody good speakers.
Bob

---

Thanks for that Bob. I exchanged my SBLs for Rehdekos as I found the SBLs a bit "hi fi". They had good swing and bass extension but for me they seemed slowish and in passive mode anyway did not sound like the real live event. Since the IBLs are lower in the naim range I would expect them to have a smaller sound but probably a faster bass. Would you concur on this? How would you compare the IBLs to the SBL?

All the best
Ian

hi I am thinking of converting my Kan 1 to active mode would appreciate any help. My system 72/140/kan1/rega P9. Thanks

There are quite a few people running active kans on the forum including me. Heare are a few links.

here

here

here (this one has my original how I did it write up)

If you search for active kans you'll probably find more refs.

A couple of words of advice, SBL naxos work OK, although can be tweaked to match kans better, remember you'll need another hi-cap for the naxo, take it slowly - it's easy to damage those kans, if you're pulling the kans apart it's prob a good idea to replace the tweeters (I've got the Rega version of the scanspeak which is good, the new Linn neodyn (sp?) are supposed to be good too), look forward to many days of tweaking the naxo to get the balance right - I left the sleeve off mine and reduced the treble in tiny steps over the course of a couple of weeks.

Hope this helps
Phil

quote:

---

Wood finish Kan2s are like rocking horse shit.

---

Would 400UKP be about right then for wood-finished Kan IIs (pre KuStone/biwireable) with Kan II stands? Or is this rather high?

Paul

quote:

---

That may well be the case, but put some Linn amps into the equation and the Kans murder the IBLs.

---

Far be it for me to doubt your always well-considered opinions, but having owned Kans for some 9 years, and IBL's for some considerable time now, I'd be stunned if the IBL's didn't totally trounce Kans in every imaginable manner irrespective of the amp used.

IBL's are the most revealing 'speaker I've ever used though, maybe that's part of the reason .

Kan's by comparison are coloured, lacking in musical intricacy, have worse dynamics and obvious resonances - they totally mask information that the IBL's reveal with ease in standard passive form.

Kans are great, but not that great.

Bob,

The key with IBL's really is source first - my 150 drives them superbly in a modest room, they don't need a big amp at all, although will obviously sound better with better amps.

Andy.