linn kabers

Forget the cosmetic similarities; the Kabers are a much more capable speaker, having a better crossover, better bracing for a heavier cabinet and each drive unit is seperated from the others - when you press in a driver on the Keilidhs, the other one moves out - ie there will be interferance when playing music.

I am on my second pair, and they represent, in my opinion, one of the great speaker bargains; a decent set can be had for under £600. The later sets had a mesh covered tweeter, the final series had bars covering the same. The Ku-Stone ( polymer ) stands are essential to get the most from the speaker. They actually do bass.

Hope this helps

Regards

Mike

On the Yellow Brick Road and Happy

Scotty

I run my Kabers with an olive 250.

The Kabers are an extremely capable loudspeaker which have been very revealing of every upstream upgrade I have done since I have had them.

When I bought them, I demo'd against the Keilidh (amongst others) and found the Kabers to be a significantly superior product.

Mine have the stone bases and they are in turn sitting on M*** Soundbases to great effect.

Kabers can be an aquired taste so I suggest that an audition is a must!

Julian

julian,
so what would be the best ones to go for.??
would a 180/82 combo be enough.??
single or bi-wire.??
regards, dave

Scotty,

I've just bought a pair of Kabers (final spec inc Kustone bases) just over a week ago which I'm running at the end of a CDS3/52/250.

It's bit too early to tell as I'm trying to get used to them still. They replaced large standmounters so I'm missing the bass weight I used to have. That said the level of information retrieval/control is much superior compared with the ones I replaced.

They do throw the vocal balance forward so it would appeal to those that like a fairly bright balance.

Jeff

Scotty

I have only ever used the olive 250 to power my Kabers so I can't comment on the suitability of a 180. My 250 does run very hot on a session though!

Mine are the last spec. ones with the bar fronted tweeters. I think the later tweeters are a little less bright than earlier versions.

I tri-wire them to great effect (IMO) with NACA5

Julian

thanks again j. much appreciated
regards, scotty

Running late Kabers with a NAP250 and they're great. Even better on Mana.

The later ones with fully veneered fronts look particularly fine too.....

hi stevo,
you wouldnt happen to have a photo of these late ones . would you.!! ??
scotty

quote:

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Originally posted by Jellyheadjeff:
I'm missing the bass weight I used to have.
Jeff

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Jeff

I have found the bass response on Kabers can be improved substantially by moving closer to / from a wall. The more solid the wall the better they sound, IMO. Try re-positioniong yours.

Regards

Miike

On the Yellow Brick Road and Happy

well thanks again boys especially stevo for the picture. they sure do look grand in that finish, is it oak ??

Scotty,

It's probably American Cherry, which is the finish I have, although in reality it's a bit more orange/less blonde than that pic. IIRC the standard finishes were Black, Walnut, Am Cherry & Rosewood.

That pic also shows the Kustone stands.

Cheers,

Stephen

and in Rosenut with stones plinths and Mana Soundbases

quote:

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Originally posted by Julian H:
and in Rosenut with stones plinths and Mana Soundbases

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Yikes - so that's what soundbases look like!
:-(

Computers are supposed to work on 1's and 0's - in other words "Yes" or "No" - why does mine frequently say "Maybe"?......

quote:

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Originally posted by blythe:

Yikes - so that's what soundbases look like!
:-(

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Yes! And that's the only reason I don't have them. But a very kind chap once brought a pair round for me to try, and they sounded quite superb.......

Stephen

Scotty,

I have run Kabers for nine years (actually choosing them over SBls in my original demo) and feel they are a superb speaker, using LP12 and Karik, but always with Naim Amps (simply the best IMHO). First used 72/140 then 102/180, moving through HiCap and second 180, to currently run them with 82/Supercap/2x180. In terms of any future upgrade the kabers would certainly be my last component to consider changing.

Regards
Paul

Quote:
------------------------------------------------
Jeff

I have found the bass response on Kabers can be improved substantially by moving closer to / from a wall. The more solid the wall the better they sound, IMO. Try re-positioniong yours.

Regards

Miike
------------------------------------------------

Mike,

They are against a wall (although toed inwards a bit). I think it's a physics thing - they replaced MUCH larger speaks having bigger enclosure & drivers so I'm possibly being somewhat unfair on them.

I am interested though in any experiences of the soundbases - do they help the bass extension? Any bad points? How much do they cost?

Thanks

Jeff

Jeff

The soundbases help with bass AND treble extension. They also remove a lot of the Kabers "warmth" giving better PRAT

You really need to try them to see if you like the effect. Don't forget the Mana moneyback guarantee

Julian

Jeff

Try moving them away from the wall, per my original comments. This may work.

Regards

Mike

On the Yellow Brick Road and Happy

quote:

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Originally posted by Julian H:
and in Rosenut with stones plinths and Mana Soundbases

---

Very nice.

Having heard both Julian's and Mike's sistems I can confirm that they are very fine speakers. They sounded very good with the high spec front ends they both have and of course Naim amps.

They do do bass and benefit from giving the volume plenty of welly so maybe a 180 is not quite enough (I'm a 140 owner so what do I know ).

p.s. Julian, the Ittok has settled in nicely and I am playing more vinyl now than any at time since I bought my LP12.

Tweeters

Has anybody tries updating the tweeters in their Kabers?

I've got the ceramic ones with the mesh cover. IIRC my options are the final Kaber tweeters - ceramic with three bars at £140/pair - or the Ninka's tweeters - Neodyniums at £70/pair.

Now Linn Loudspeaker dept's advice was that the Kaber is really a very old and out of date loudspeaker and that technology has moved on so far that I should buy a pair of Ninkas. Somehow I've got a feeling that this is a little biased towards new sales.

I'm running mine passive, and am always likely to be, if that makes a difference (I believe it might with the Neo tweets). I know a lot has been written on this and the other forum about these tweeters, but little of that was about Kabers.

Anyone tried?

Stephen.

I have neodymiums in my own kabers.
The differences are:
- Not very pleasant whilst running in (but that's nothing new to a Naim user
- Slightly brighter do to a different impedence to the old tweeters
- Far smoother and less harsh than the ceramics
- More detail

Overall, I'm more than happy with the changes.

Anyone tried the three-bar ceramics in place of the mesh-covered ceramics?

Stephen