Kans revisited

They can be quite awesome!!!  They need to be right up close to a solid wall on Kan MKII stands or as I have them on Sound Org wall brackets.

Get some Kan 2 stands, and put them as close to the wall as you are able. It will be interesting to see how they stand up against the 606s - with a big amplifier up them Kans are quite remarkably capable. 

I wouldn't discard the Tonträger lightweight wooden stands made for the Harbeth series in Germany. I have heard a very audible difference in respect to all other stands in the store with a pair of HP3/ESRs, with M30.1s and with SHL5s. They are expensive, but incommensurably better looking than the 80s Kan stands (unless one is determined to go vintage, which is something I don't recommend as a path leading nowhere else than nostalgic musings and bad sound) and do sound good.

Best wishes

Max

P.S. Why each post containing the two words my wife has always a bad start or a bad ending?

Max_B posted:

P.S. Why each post containing the two words my wife has always a bad start or a bad ending?

Wasn’t giving the Kans away a kindness?

Wow Titans priced at £9k interesting to see how the Kans perform especially on the end of your kit !

On a slightly different speaker I use the Proac Tab10 with a NAP250, Tabs up against the wall, 250 with the grip, music playing and when I close my eyes you forget how small these speakers are as the sound is HUGE

Innocent Bystander posted:

Wasn’t giving the Kans away a kindness?

Certainly a considerable kindness to whomever received them. 

The KAN may not be the best "hi-fi" speaker ever made, tonally they are not exactly neutral, and sometimes they can grate on certain material (I find them preferable on vinyl than on digital), but on the right song they can communicate to me and move me better than just about anything else.

The Kan was progressively sonically watered-down over time. Originals (with sticky-out binding posts) were the best sounding variant as far as I'm concerned. And yes; Richard, I concur - vinyl (logically) was, and probably still is their preferred source.  

I used to run a pair of original model Kans on a pair of 135's and enjoyed watching visitors look around for the hidden big loudspeakers. 

John. 

Are there any UK dealers for ton trager?

m.paul taylor posted:

Are there any UK dealers for ton trager?

Looks like a Brexit on UK dealers probably not to bad dealing direct with the Netherlands or Germany though.

Richard Dane posted:

Innocent Bystander posted:

Wasn’t giving the Kans away a kindness?

Certainly a considerable kindness to whomever received them. 

The KAN may not be the best "hi-fi" speaker ever made, tonally they are not exactly neutral, and sometimes they can grate on certain material (I find them preferable on vinyl than on digital), but on the right song they can communicate to me and move me better than just about anything else.

Agree with you Richard one of my great audio memories was going to Grahams in London in 1985 to buy a 42 -110 which was £ 400 2nd hand.I was useing a Nait at home with Kans,so they set up a LP12 -Ittok and Asak -T .From what I remember the dem room was very large and I was sitting maybe 10 foot back and they played Grace Jones - Walking in the rain.It personified what Kans do right.They sounded so fast and communicative.I suppose the fun with Kans is you know their flaws like the bass rolls off and their a bit letter boxy in sound stage but did like their engagement.After Kans got some Snell type K's which where much more neutral not as exciting as Kans but much better especially on classical.

Out of interest my Kans had internal binding posts would they have been mark 2 ?

There are all sorts of ins and outs regarding KAN development. Some profess to prefer certain years, serial number ranges etc.. FWIW I think the "MkII" designation officially started with the bi-wire option.  The earliest KAN Mk1s had scanspeak tweeters then Hiquphons.  The earliest cabs were also different to later ones. Similarly the earlier Mk.1s had binding posts and later ones had 4mm banana sockets. I've heard good and not so good examples of all types.  Just avoid anything post Mk.II...

My MKI Kans with the stick out terminals, proper MKIs!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/K6waWZ][img]https://farm5.staticflickr.com...329_93578fd786_c.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/K6waWZ]2017-12-01 23.19.24[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/149352678@N06/]Mark Digman[/url], on Flickr

Playing with a 62/180/CD5, stupid good and a such a MASSIVE sound.

I'd swap them for Wilson Sasha but they are around 38K, maybe SL2s also, maybe.

Kans are da bomb if you like what they do and what they do is engage and communicate in a very musical way.

Regards,

Mark

Classic looking speakers, Mark - nice 

@Gaius,

And If Kans had bass they’d be.........

PS like the wall mounts! Been after a pair for some time.......

I am genuinely puzzled. People wax lyrical about Kans ...but in many cases seem to have either relegated to a second system, or put them in the loft, or moved them on. That doesn’t make sense if they are truly great.

 From reading about them I gather they don’t suit classical music, and they don’t do full bass, and they suffer from significant colouration, however they make certain music “exciting” -  but other music sound bad. How is this good? To me, all music should sound good, and only exciting when it s exciting (and that is a function of the music not the speakers).

@ Suzy; when set up right you'd be surprised as noted up stream on this thread , set up bad  tin cans would be fair and that's what I called them many many years ago.  They were demonstrated on a shelf against a plasterboard wall and sounded rubbish.  Get them right...

https://www.google.co.uk/url?s...ust=1517780556630095

Innocent Bystander posted:

I am genuinely puzzled. People wax lyrical about Kans ...but in many cases seem to have either relegated to a second system, or put them in the loft, or moved them on. That doesn’t make sense if they are truly great.

 From reading about them I gather they don’t suit classical music, and they don’t do full bass, and they suffer from significant colouration, however they make certain music “exciting” -  but other music sound bad. How is this good? To me, all music should sound good, and only exciting when it s exciting (and that is a function of the music not the speakers).

Oh I don't know. They tap into our earlier hi-fi buffery selves, when the music mattered more, a good night out could be had for a tenner (-ish), and our bodies were somewhat tauter :-)