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and that's colored. Isobariks are incredibly fun speakers, big, warm, agile, solid, extended bass but with a sound all of their very own.I used the DMS with a Naim 250, upgraded to 135s, followed by a PMS with a Naim six-pack. Great fun....great music, trouser flapping extension when the second isobarik speakers got their own dedicated pair of 135s(!), even better when mounted on Mana stands (side-spiked to stop the speakers from walking away) and capable of generating incredible dBs without strain. And did I mention the bass? Better secure all those lose cupboard doors and shelves and make sure the windows don't rattle when those 'bariks boogie.
In their time a great speaker but by today's standards a mile and 2 furlongs away from neutral.
Important point, which is what I was getting at when I said, "I don't know how they'd sound to me now." Revisiting former speakers we loved can be...well enlightening. I had a pair of Spendor BC 1's around for a month or so last year and, as I said at the time here or elsewhere, they made violins sound like violas. Nice violas - but violas nonetheless.
I have not heard the current generation of Linn speakers. Anyone who has and also knows the earlier ones care to comment on whether they've improved or just changed? I find that the new Nautilus B&W's have changed but not improved. They are less colored but the baby's gone too...
I lived with and loved listening to Isobariks for many years. Having sold my pair, it was over 3 years before I heard another 'Barik. My immediate reaction was to instantly recognise the sound but with a new found insight into the degree of coloration that had previously escaped my notice due to lack of an appropriate reference.
JR I had a simliar system to yours but I had active Naim SBL's, hence 4 x 135's. I tried the Isobarik DMS when I was looking for a replacement for the Naim SBL's. The Isobarik's were dissapointing to be honest. To my ears they were very bright and no where as smooth and dynamic as my SBL's.
cheers Shane
These were the speakers that epitomized PRAT. No, they didn't do the audiophile depth deal very well, but they could be tremendously involving.The Isobarik principle, as employed by Linn, made for a particlarly nasty load for amplifiers. The best I ever heard was the Naim amps.
I also tried to use them with 'audiophile' amps of the day (mid-80s), but they usually failed miserably. I remember thinking that the huge, high power (at the time) Mark Levinson ML-3 would drive them awesomely. It did get the "aw" part right - if you followed it with "efully."
I'd want to make sure that the amp I had could make these speakers come alive. The Linn amp that Bob mentioned is another choice, though I never heard it on the big DMS.
Best regards,Jim Smith
The second generation of Saras - called the Sara Nine after Ivor's daughter's age at the time, I believe - were better than the originals. Improved crossover. I owned them for around six months and then traded them for the Isobariks. Clear as a bell, wonderful monitors. But, at least in my house, they did not have the larger Isobarik's room filling warmth.
If you mean the big DMS Isobariks, I don't know how they'd sound to me today, but back when I owned them, some ten years ago, they were the best speakers I'd ever heard. VERY solid, clean bass; sweet mids and highs, and, thanks to their extra top-firing tweeter and midrange driver, great at filling a room with sound. "Best jazz and rock speakers ever" is how they were often characterized, and damn good on classical too. Because they were designed to be placed against the wall, they didn't do spatial depth atall - just a flat band of great music that spread across the room. I drove them with a Class B (I think) Linn LK 280 and they could have used more. Never heard them tri-amped as they were designed to be. And again, don't know how they'd sound to me today. I sold them because I had to move into tiny quarters, listening room was eight by fourteen or so...I've seen them around for $1600, which is what I sold mine for ten years ago.
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