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61.11.46.110
The Linn floorstander which was the rave of the British audio along with the Linn turntable are not to be heard at all.How can such great speakers not be mentioned at all after 15 years? All reviewers in UK had either this or Linn Sara or Linn Kan.Some overpowering control over choices which has waned over the years or what? Were these Isobariks really that good? Are there any UK inmates around? Where are Jimmy Hughes,David Praekel,Chris Frankland and Chris Thomas gone?
Follow Ups:
Isobarik (or compound loading) is fun on paper and an interesting way of selling more amplifier power.
Unfortunately - for this technique - people are getting more interested in efficiency.
The only isobarik designs I know of at this time are the FREMONT and Totem (was it model One signature?)
I believe Eggleston speakers used this technique. They called it "compound loading" (Isobarik being somewhat proprietary to Linn) but it's the same thing. Only some of their models apparently used THREE drivers coupled in an acoustic tunnel. They claimed this further improved transient response and lowered distortion.
*Totem (was it model One signature?)*
Mani-2 is Isobarik.
The same two drivers would provide significantly better performance in a much larger enclosure where the output of one driver was not "wasted" to downsize the enclosure.
I built an isobaric subwoofer in the 1980's and have nothing against the design other than the extra cost of a "spare no-output driver" needed to downsize the enclosure.
REAL mEn have really BIG subwoofers with BIG woofers like my DIY subs at home:
- 6.5 cubic feet main system sub with 15" driver
- 6.5 cubic feet "CDR recording studio" sub with two 12" drivers
- 2.0 cubic foot car sub with 15" driver
(unfortunately too big for current car!)
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Richard BassNut Greene
"I know what I hear" is often an audio fantasyland
I once did some measurements of a sealed isobaric system vs a twice-the-volume sealed box system, same woofer(s) in both. Isobaric theory predicts they'd have identical response. The measured performance was very different; the isobaric system behaved as if the Qtc was about 1.4 times higher than that of the sealed box system.I have no explanation for this, but if my observations are correct then the theory is not yet mature.
Duke
p.s. - is your two cubic foot sub too big for your car, or is your car too small for your sub??
;o)
Folks found that a ratio of enclosure volume between the two drivers,(not the enclosure volume of the entire enclosure) and theoretical parameters was a hot topic in ISO-was-hot days. Facing the two drivers together (cone to cone) reduced this volume to minimum, less fluid dynamics/fluid compression "adjustements".
Well you asked for a UK inmate so here I am. Awrite mate?
It is important to appreciate that the Linn Isobarilk and the reputation that it had over here in the 70s and 80s centred on the axis that then existed between Linn and Naim. Basically if you wanted a Linn LP12 many dealers would not sell it without a Naim amp and vice versa. And as one climbed up the ladder of Linn/Naim the pinnacle was capped with a pair of Linn Isobarik PMS' tri-amped with 3 Naim 250s.
The whole Linn and Naim thing was incredibly hermetic. Linnies wouldn't even bother to listen to anything else and even read their own monthly hifi magazine "Flat Earth". So for many it was in a sense irrelevant how good the 'bariks were objectively. Within their world they were aspirational irrespective of other merits or demerits.
My own experience of them was fairly extensive in that era. Yes, I was a Linn/Naim person myself in those days. I heard a pair of DMS' ( various incarnations) regularly at my dealer, the lamented Studio 99, where they solely occupied a custom built listening room. I even got to hear the prototype PMS' on a memorable trip to Salisbury when Julian Vereker of Naim played them to me with a Linn LP12 front end with a Breuer Arm and Koetsu cart. Magic sounds for the time (Rumours!).
I agree with posters who refer to the speakers' colorations ( especially those made before the baffle was cut from higher density MDF). But with the Naim amps, boy could it connect with the music. Not a speaker that plays by the accepted criteria of soundstaging, transparency etc. but forget that and BOOGIE.
My friend had a pair which gave me the opportunity to listen to them in domestic surroundings. One day he bought the newly released Linn LK whatever the number was ( their first power amp and in competition with Naim). They were fired up but the musical magic flew away.
By today's standards? Not the classic that I thought in the 70s it would one day become.
Thanks.
Cheerio
That I can't argue with!
I remember first time I've listened to the DMS, my very first thought was 'gees, it's hopeflessly coloured' :x
But you know what?
After the initial shock, I realised they were doing something good. The DMS is still hanging in our living room to date.
The soundstage and transparency, actually I found above average. ( not bad for a 30 year old design ) And you're right, they are just so much fun listening.
Given the right power behind it, they are extremely articulate.
You're right in that there is really nice synergy going on between a Naim electronics and the old set of Briks.
Having a non-FE background ( I thought that a 6-pack meant a half a dozen bear ), the way they reproduce the music gave me a whole different fresh perspective.
Still looking for a modern day Briks, tho. ( Haven't found any yet. )
Thanks, that is a great summary. Our listening experience at Audiophile Systems was using the the Linn LK-1 and LK-2s but I'm sure the PMS Isobariks would have had the MDF construction (circa 1986). We had heard them at shows using Naim gear in prior years.
I was working in high end audio retail in the mid 1980s at a shop that had been one of the first Linn dealers in the U.S. Audiophile Systems was the Linn importer at that time. They were very keen to get us on board with the full Linn program (we just displayed the tables, arms, and cartridges). We had had the Kans and the Saras in the shop and decided to pass on both. The Isobariks we had heard at shows and not liked on a performance per dollar basis. They eventually flew us to Indianapolis to try to get us on board but even the fully active Isobariks in their listening room just didn't impress any of us. They did some things quite well but they were extremely colored. Faced with a choice of representing the full line or getting out of Linn entirely we chose to drop them.
was that the dealer in Omaha NE? With Karen and her husband?
I heard this stuff (Linn LP 12/Grace 707) in KC MO with Fulton and ARC stuff, never heard the full Linn/Naim gear setup.
Last year or so, there was a pair of the Linn Isobariks in fair condition being sold by dealer in L.A.
The Fulton dealers in Lincon were Karen and Tom Morgan. I think he still teachers at the University. I have a pair of Fulton Js and the tweeters are not working. Does anyone know where I might start to find someone capable of repairing them?
Audiophile Systems was the Linn importer and distributor. They are based in Indianapolis but they no longer have any connecion with Linn.
I'm not sure who you are referring to in Omaha - maybe Charles Santmire at the Sound Environment? I can't remember if they were ever Linn dealers or not.
now I remember. It was in the late 70's and Karen Richardson and her more senior English husband had a shop in Lincoln NE, not Omaha. I got my GAS Son of Amps there. They had Maggies and Fultons and drove them with the aforementioned ARC and GAS and other stuff.
I learned of an EMI Columbia of Cartref 1972 and still have 2 (a bit noisy) copies--choral recordings of famed Welsh choir and also the ARK Fulton recordings of amateur musicians.
Both the "isobaric" technique and the "upsampling" technique were marvels of marketing, and not engineering. When the curtain is pulled back, you can see that the "wizard" is just an ordinary guy.
The only significant advantage to an "isobaric" design is that the cabinet volume can be decreased by 30 - 40%. All of the other claims made for them are pretty much not true.
The disadvantages include doubling the cost of the woofers and significantly increasing the complexity (and therefore cost) of the cabinet. It simply isn't the "magic bullet" that it was presented as. If it were really that great of a technique, everybody would be using it by now.
They have faults. ( which speakers wouldn't? )
But I still love mine.
I remember dreaming about Linn Isobarik's. Somehow when I had the money to buy them they were discontinued and Linn had amps and Naim had the SBL's. Which I bought.
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