Speaker advise

second hand SBL's.

easy really

Mullet Audio

'a more "round earth" sound ' is what he asked for, despite being thin and horrid sounding - SBL's could hardly be described as that.

Get some kelidhs

As many people have probably already realised I am a strong advocate for Dynaudio speakers. I have been told by many people that the Contour 1.1's need more power than a Nait can give, but the 1.3's are OK. However these are £1200, I would therefore suggest trying the Audience 52's which are a great speaker for £577, thus meaning that you wouldn't have to spend much after selling your Kans. However, if funds allow I would highly recommend the Contour range, and also music taste dependant, the Rega Ela's are also excellent - far better than the Intro 2's (IMHO) offering similar PRaT but also a good dose of lower end welly!

Scott

SBL means spending more cash on amps. I want to be able to change speakers without changing the rest of the system. I have been thinking about Dynaudio speakers, which can be found second hand at good prices here in Sweden.

All suggestions are welcome.

It Kan be done!

Firstly I would consult your dealer.

Next, does the sound of vinyl and CD differ markedly. If one is OK, while the other is terrible, it suggests a problem at the source rather than the speakers. If its the turntable, I'd suggest you talk with Linn or Expert stylus about buying a re-con Karma or Troika, this will definitley fill out and smooth the sound out.

If both are as bad, check the set-up of the Kan's, make sure they are nice and steady. Try moving them to the short wall, if they are currently on the long wall or vice-versa. This may well help.

You may wish to try a Mana sound-stage under the speaker stands. I'd suggest you give Mana a call if this appeals. In my experience, Kans can be made to improve dramatically by carefully considering the surface the stand sits on - it doesn't have to be Mana, a MDF platform screwed to the floorboards works well in woodedn floored rooms too - I'm not a fan of paving slabs though.

If on the other hand, all this fails or does not appeal, I'd suggest you try Shahinian Super-Elfs on good stands. They can really sing, have tuneful bass, yet are much more 'round-earth' than Kans.

As ever, use you ears.

Hej Lars!
The Epos es11 is a good match to your system. Probably the es 12 too.
You can most likely get hold of a secondhand es 11 at about 3500 SKR (About £250)incl. stands here in Sweden.
I know that HiFi Art in stockholm has a new pair of Es 12.(Naim dealer)
If you like the Es 11 try removing the spikes facing the speakers(not the spikes facing the floor) and place Sonic designs SD foten between speaker and stand. Makes a big improvement on a already great little speaker.

Greetings/Hälsningar Gunnar

Steve T,

Try listening to the latest ones, they haven't been out long and they apparantly have a whole bunch more bass than the old model

Scott

I would also suggest to try the small EPOS but DON'T use soft feet as the SD as it makes things big, soft and takes away a lot of PRaT.

/Erik

Erik. On the contrary, It does not have that effect. As a matter of fact I put the spikes back on my stands for a couple of weeks ago and soon have them removed again. Its a matter of speaker-placement
Gunnar

I have never heard soft damping improve a speaker with spikes and I have really been giving it a fair try. Everything get soft and boring, like the worse US expensive so called "high-end". If You say there's a matter of speaker placement it might be the same for the ones with spikes. Maby something else in the chain is wrong and concealed by the SD feet.

/Erik

Steve T,

Hmm..dunno..we'll put it down to a difference in testing then I think, I certainly seemed to prefer them.

BTW you are from 'the Midlands' care to elaborate as Kidderminster is obvioulsy also there. Also where did u listen to the Ela's?

Scott

You owe it to yourself to hear some Shahinians, especially the ARCs. Your front end will do these no disservice at all but you would need to up your amps in the future. A private s/h pair could come in at around £1000 if you can find them. They do PRaT very well but are incredibly musical and certainly have some aspects of 'round earth' philosophy because of their rather airy and spacious presentation - almost like electrostatics on steroids. I replaced my SBLs with Arcs several months ago and still can't believe just how good they are. You'd never need to upgrade further (unless you needed the last nth degree).

Steve

Lars

Contact me if your kans are not black and You have decided to sell them. If needed I can pick them up in Malmö.

/Tomas