Whether or not Linn Keilidhs are OK in Naim systems

Posted by: Kingsley on 20 November 2002

I have just bought an ex-demo 102/180 amp and I am using it with my Linn Sondek Valhalla/Akito 2/Ortofon Rohmann/Creek OBS 9SE into a pair of biwired granite stand Keilidhs I've had from new for 9 years, but with the latest tweeters. I also have a CD 3.5 and Flatcap 2.
For those of us getting on a bit in years, with families, wives, and no aim of pursuing hifi as a 'hobby' as such, ie. simple music lovers with busy lives, who will not be going round showrooms nor visiting other hifi nuts regularly so as to make constantly chafing comparisons with other peoples' rigs or 'something better' all the time, this system is seriously wonderful. I do keep up to date with the hifi press, though, and have no envies. We upgrade only very occasionally.I had an old Linn LK1/Dirak/280 amp before, which sounded OK, although I now see how much the bass was unevenly 'flapping' on the speakers. The 102/180 give perfect control and superb musicality, depth, and even a lot more imaging (which is not a priority given our poky living room, and is rarely considered at all it seems by most people in the 'real world').The Keilidhs seem perfectly matched to the Naim amp, and quite honestly I would feel undignified wanting better. We know of no-one else with such a good music system in their homes, and count ours as being great good fortune. We listen to all kinds of music, with a very wide ranging collection, including many old LPs, some of which (large orchestral pieces, organ music, Sergeant Pepper for instance) are a real revelation through our new system. I do understand now why people rave over Naim amps as well as CD players, but if, like me, you are what some appear to think of as 'saddled' with a pair of Keilidhs, despair not, they sound absolutely marvellous with Naim equipment. Maybe Linn's Isobarik speakers (and Naim's own speakers of course) do sound even better, but in the world of wives, families, budgets, you could be accused of being churlish to want better than what we have found!
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Posted on: 20 November 2002 by mg
I know that keilidh's have been criticised by some on the forum but I have lived quite happily with them for a number of years. They exhibit none of the qualities that are usually panned. In fact they are musical, time well and their bass is tight. They display a goodly measure of PRAT qualities, in my system anyway.

Having said that they are the latest models and they have been tweaked. They are on mana stands. The banana socket jump bars have been replaced with NACA5 cable and the drive units have been siliconed in ala Kans.


Regards

Mike
Posted on: 20 November 2002 by Steve C 01
I've had cherry Keilidhs on 2 layers of Mana Soundbases (with the latest tweeters) for the past 5 years. They've improved as I've upgraded from:

CD3.5/Nait3
CD3.5/Flatcap/92/140
CD3.5/Flatcap/82/HiCap/250
CD3.5/HiCap/82/Supercap/250

and apart from an initial 'dead' period when first running with 82/HiCap/250 I have no complaints!

(I'm looking for a CDX now, and expect another improvement there).

I might try and get hold of the Kustone bases, but as I've no doubt said before, I'd have to spend £2k+ to get upgrade significantly

Steve C 01
Posted on: 20 November 2002 by kan man
Quote: into a pair of biwired granite stand Keilidhs

And at a guess it's Linn cable you're using?

Bin it or sell it and replace with single wired, dual plugged NACA5. This will cost around £100 plus the cost of retrieving your jaw from the floor and attaching it back to your face.

Regards
Steve
Posted on: 20 November 2002 by NB
Its all a matter of personal choice, if your happy with the Keilidh's then thats all that matters.

Just sit back and enjoy the music!!

Regards

NB

smile
Posted on: 20 November 2002 by Mr_Sukebe
I remember hearing a pair of Keilidhs a few years ago and thought they were wonderful speakers. At the time I dem'd them against some B&W P5s, which even the dealer thought were better.
The P5s were very good at doing the "hi-fi", but IMO were rubbish at doing the music, certainly when compared to the Keilidhs.

I was lucky enough to buy a pair of Kabers (big brother to the Keilidhs) second hand and very cheap. Completely brilliant speakers, a lot like the Keilidhs, but with better control and better extension. Frankly I can't see me changing them for a long time.

Ref the cables, go for the Naca5. I was given some K20 with my Kabers. The Naca was more detailed and removed a certain degree of rather nasty top end "fizz" that seemed to exist in my system
Posted on: 20 November 2002 by Peter Gear
Kingsley

I had a cdi/72 (then 82)/180 running into keilidhs for years - they were on one level of mana soundstage which I found gave a big improvement in PR&T.
Replaced them a few years back for SBL's which does it all for me now (but without the soundstage). I do now have cs2 and 52 as well.
However I could happily live with keilidhs again if I had to with the naim system I originally had. I found them a really good speaker for my old setup and room layout.
They are (IMHO) a fine speaker - stay with them if you like them and enjoy the music.

Peter
Posted on: 20 November 2002 by plynnplynn
My local dealer introduced me to Naim electronics playing through a pair of Keilidhs. I went into the demo with no intention of buying and walked out of the demo with a Nait 3 in my arms. I need say no more.

Terry
Posted on: 20 November 2002 by Mike in CO
From what I've seen on the forum, most negative reactions seem linked to the original tweeter, which sounds dark, distant, and musically dull, when compared against the new tweeter (which I believe is the same model in all newer Linn 'speakers). When I had my dealer upgrade the tweeters in my set, it immediately brought much more tune and life to the overall music, and more warmth as the tweeters broke in (about a month). The stone bases or some equivalent also make a big difference in the speed and tune of bass notes. Add the NACA5 replacement for the cheesy link plates, and they can sound quite impressive.

M
Posted on: 20 November 2002 by Phil Barry
Look. Kingsley is a junior member. He's got to learn fast that if he's satisfied with his system he will be in a very small minority on this forum. The natives will grow restless, and even the most even-tempered of us can't make any claims for his long term safety here.

OTOH, K may be envied, albeit silently.

K,

Seriously, I'd be reluctant to change something I'm happy with, even if it's not politically correct, but if you can get a trial of single-wired NACA5 you may like the results.

Regards.

Phil
Posted on: 21 November 2002 by Kingsley
quote:
Originally posted by kan man:
Quote: into a pair of biwired granite stand Keilidhs

And at a guess it's Linn cable you're using?

Bin it or sell it and replace with single wired, dual plugged NACA5. This will cost around £100 plus the cost of retrieving your jaw from the floor and attaching it back to your face.

Regards
Steve

Dear Steve,
Thanks for the comment. We had Kans before I bought the Keilidhs, and we loved them - how they just sing when properly set up - really remarkable!
My speaker cable is actually 2 very long lengths of 'ZAP 2 by MIT' (rather long in the tooth) that I had remade into biwires. Seems to work very well - I think MIT are very 'fast' cables.
all the best
Kingsley
Posted on: 21 November 2002 by kan man
Hi Kingsley

Always nice to hear from someone who appreciates Kans. You have a great system and a healthy outlook on the choices one has to make in life. I only mentioned A5 because it made such a big difference in a friends system that I was astounded. Basically it changed it from a system I couldn't live with to one that I think is excellent. I'm not familiar with the cable you use but if you like what Kans do and you are getting some of that from Keilidhs it must be pretty good. Happy listening.

regards
Steve
Posted on: 22 November 2002 by Not For Me
I had 72/Hi/250 into Keilidhs, with Ku-stone and they sounded great!. They now have the new tweeters in and are better.

They are however a bit overpowering for the room I use them in, so I was pondering whether I could get a bookshelf speaker on a sideboard to approach thier quality. Or not ?

DS

ITC Suicide - American Supreme
Posted on: 22 November 2002 by kan man
Hi David

I think you Kan but the 'on a sideboard' bit means you probably won't... There are plenty of good standmount speakers and a few that will work well on wall brackets but bookshelf speakers don't generally work that well on bookshelves or sideboards.

Regards
Steve