not likely anyone cares, but i’m down to 3 speakers - Atalante 3, Magnepan LRS+, Mission 770….because i’ve returned 3 speaker purchases in the last few years (Klipsch Heresy IIIs, PSB Passif 50s, Wharfedale Lintons), i’m reluctant to jump too quickly. By far the Lintons were the most enjoyable of the 3 i returned, including others recently owned - the KEF LS50s i sold and Dynaudios XEO 10s i still have. All the remaining contestants have their own drawbacks - The Maggies will require a much more powerful amp and the Atalantes are also a 4 ohm speaker with only 87 db sensitivity. The Missions are my first choice with a big sound closest to the Lintons, also approx. the same size, but ouch ! 5k…..i’m PARALYZED with indecision. Oh yeah, ive also considered the Sonus Faber Lumina 3….
Well guys... Looks like my time as a member of the Linton owners club has ended. I've just made an upgrade and it seems the ideal sound I had hoped to find has arrived from a very unexpected source. Until a week ago I had never heard a single note played through a Klipsch speaker. I had however heard that they made speakers that were brash and unrefined... forward, harsh and bright enough to strip the paint off your walls At least that's what people said... but their Heritage models still interested me. Given what I learned from the Linton's about the correlation between large cabinets and drivers coupled with (relative) ease of drive to make for an easeful, unforced style of music making, I remained curious. Long story short a local store put selected models of the Heritage line on sale at a price low enough to get me interested. I requested a loan of a pair of Forte IV's (which some describe as both the sweet spot and the most "audiophile" sounding speaker of the range) to try at home for a week. I was thinking that I could satisfy my Klipsch curiosity and likely cross them off the list as an option to replace my Linton's. Kind of "killing two birds with one stone" I guess? That was based on the assumption that Klipsch speakers were everything I had been told they were. Imagine my surprise when they sounded nothing like how they'd been described? Maybe it's a good partnership with the rest of my gear? I don't know? But instead of forward they sound laid back and instead of fatiguing there isn't a single part of the audio band that comes across as remotely harsh, pushy or overdone. In my estimation the speaker has a balanced top to bottom presentation. And in this way - to my ears - the Linton's and Forte's are like two sides of the same coin, meaning this is a sound I immediately feel at home with. The Lintons gave me the ability to replicate what I’ve come to call “big speaker sound” in my own system… a sound that I’d heard elsewhere but was unable to replicate back at home from the succession of skinny towers and smaller standmounts I used to own. To me it’s a sound that sets the fundamentals of tone with solidity, authority and a degree of freedom from compression that lends a sort of inherent rightness to everything else above it in the frequency range. The Forte’s take that baton and run it much further along - adding just the right amount of resolution, clarity and "air" I always felt I was missing from the Linton's all without sacrificing tonality, scale and sense of effortlessness. If anything, all those qualities are enhanced - there's a sense of life-sized scale and dynamic headroom here that the Linton's just can't match. But it was never going to be a fair fight... A single 8" driver in a roughly 50 litre enclosure measured at 87/88dB sensitivity was never going to match a 12" woofer + a 15" passive in a roughly 109 litre box measured at 94dB+ sensitivity? It's not an apples to apples comparison... and then there's the price difference to factor in too. Anyway - I've enjoyed my time with the Linton's immensely. They go down as the speaker that "educated" me on many things that may direct my preferences going forward. But I find them outclassed by these Klipsch. And moreover, I have a sense of there being value on offer here. I'm still unable to shake the opposite sense from IAG's new "Made in UK" pricing strategy.
i bought the Klipsch Heresy IIIs based on my experience of my friend’s 30 yr old pair of Heresy IIs….his speakers sounded great in his condo, never harsh and had “presence” at low volume. ..he NEVER played loud at home so dont know if harshness would have crept in at higher volumes, but overall i was very impressed. My very lively Great Room was not very kind to the new Heresy IIIs…the sound had too much energy with my tiled floors. Room size and gear compatibility is so important… I listened to the Forte IVs at a dealer in CO and was impressed. Glad you found a speaker you enjoy….
Glad to hear you found something perfect for you (we can still be brothers in arms concerning the Lintons ). I'm a little surprised the Klipsch's seem to be in the same vain as the Lintons as I would have thought they would be a lot more direct in their presentation, but this could of course be a case of synergy as you also mention. I'm not surprised that they better the Wharfedales though. they should. As of right now the price of one set of the Klipsch's will buy you five sets of the Lintons (Denmark prices). But who cares, what really matters is getting the music to come alive in your room. Happy listening to you!
We will miss you. I've only tried one pair of Klipsch, and that was a lower end bookshelf. Definitely wasn't for me as it was too shouty and forward, but no idea how the more expensive models are.
put an order in for the Mission 770s (unless i cancel before Monday - what an indecisive flake i am! )….I said i wanted the big sound of the Lintons but a more refined treble, so hope the 770s will stick with me…just have to pay 3x the $….hope its worth it.
I was originally thinking between the Lintons and PSF 50’s but I decided to go with KLH Model Five’s instead. I read the Five’s had better detail and imaging than the Lintons and the bass was just as good. After having the Five’s in my listening space for two weeks playing with placement and treatments, the speakers had amazing detail and nice punchy bass but they were too freakin’ bright so I took the plunge and exchanged them for the Mission 770’s to be delivered next week. I thought about going for the Lintons but I wanted my “end game” speakers so I am taking a chance and stretching my budget on the Missions so I hope they are the ones.
good for you….i also briefly considered the KLH 5s, but the metal tweeter concerned me, not to mention the reviews which hinted at the tipped up treble. I’m starting to doubt how much time these reviewers really spend with a speaker. I rarely read a negative review these days…it seems they sometimes reference an elevated treble but qualify the comment with “the tweeter is not fatiguing or never too aggressive.” Im preparing to be underwhelmed with the 770s for the price….i hope they’re not too forward and bright, but easygoing enough for long listening sessions. Maybe i’ll be pleasantly surprised… BTW…i had the Passif 50s for a short time and found them boring in my listening room.
anyone besides me concerned about the toxicity of new speakers in the home ? i buy organic latex foam mattresses and attempt to avoid flame retardant furniture, but only recently contemplated the toxicity of speakers, specifically the formaldehyde in the glues, sealants, type of damping materials in ported speakers, the laminates. The 770 is built in England so i imagine more environmentally strict with materials used in manufacture than in the US… just thinking about the foam damping material and more worrisome, the glues used to make the MDF in the 770 more inert in place of real wood…
i read that on their site…i considered their Model 15SE….not crazy about the looks, available finishes…plus resale value.
I have a pair of original Windjammers from Role. Purchased them about ten years ago and I still enjoy them. I also have a nice Role sub. The Windjammer is a a very nice small floorstander with great tone and dynamics. Erol at Role provided very responsive customer service. Some of their speakers are too pricy for me, however. I think the Windjammers are still reasonably priced. I am a sort of "value" audio consumer and am very price resistant. Role/NSMT products look very nice in reality, in my opinion.
not many reviews on their speakers and most are ancient…i did see one on the 20M from 2001 by Doug Schneider (who’s speaker tastes generally align with mine). There was one a few years back on the Model 15SE…all positive.
When I spoke to the dealer about exchanging my KLH's for the Mission's, he was supposed to set a pair off the to the side for me but he ended up selling them so I may not get them until next week or the following.
ah, i should be getting mine Saturday or Monday…the dealer only had one black pair available. I usually love the black oak/ash finishes, but the walnut looks damn nice.
The black finish is what they had when I was getting the exchange sorted out but when they received the KLH's to finalize the exchange transaction, they were sold out. I was comfortable with getting the black finish because I thought they looked cool but when they failed to secure a pair for me, they gave me the option of the walnut so I jumped on it because they do like really nice.
the black finish is very nice and works well in my room, but i think with the grills off, the walnut looks classier. There is not such a strong contrast and the white baffle looks more subdued with the walnut cabinets. I think you’ll be pleased with the look. As for the sound and additional $2500 to step up from the “freaking too bright” KLH Model 5s (your words), i believe you will be pleased with the Missions. They are easing going, non fatiguing, much like the Lintons, so hoping they become your end game speakers. However, for current Linton owners who are considering the 3x more expensive 770s, the choice to upgrade becomes much difficult to justify. I don’t have a huge amount of hours on the Missions, but in my room, with my equipment, they sound a lot like the Lintons. Shouldnt be too surprised since they are voiced by the same designer and have almost identical cabinet dimensions. The drivers are certainly different, the build quality improved, and i will say the 770s are smoother, more refined, but the Lintons are not that far off in performance. Both, are somewhat bass light in my room, an area where i thought the 770s would really shine. I remember owning a PBN Montana flloorstander in the early 2000s for 5 yrs. I replaced them with the larger, 2.5x more expensive EPS IIs. They had the same house sound, but they sounded much bigger, more live and really filled the room. I have not experienced that so far with the 770s vs the Lintons. I dont mean to discourage anyone from buying the Missions, but thought i would impart my experience to you Linton owners who might be thinking of upgrading.
Thanks for your review. Sounds exactly what I am looking for. When I had the KLH's, I remember reading reviews that they were bass light and required a woofer but the bass response in my room was fantastic. The bass and the detail were my favorite features of the KLH's but I could not get used to the brightness. KLH's had no problem filling my room with sound so we will see the Mission's respond the same way. Hopefully the 770's come around and surprise you. I still have to wait another week for my Missions.
Yes, it’s a little surprising that the Lintons’ and Missions’ bass response is so light in my room - particularly the Lintons’ with their back ports. I’m not a bass head, so i’m fine with the balance at moderate volumes, but i do wish for more at lower volumes. In finding my end game speaker, one of the most important attributes i seek is the ability to sound full and rich, while not losing too much bass and dynamics at LOW volumes. That ability to still sound engaging at low volume is so crucial for my listening habits. Additionally, i want a speaker that performs well doing double duty for TV…
The Lintons tick those boxes in my room (and with my system). But there you go, rooms are different and systems are different.
pretty sure i got more bass from the Lintons with their rear port design…i set them up about 2 ft from the back wall. What bass is there from the 770s is fast and tight.
Pretty sure you will enjoy these speakers…right now im listening to Listening Booth:1970 by Marc Cohn and his voice and music sounds stellar on the Missions. Playing at moderate volume the bass is full and fast, the soundstage is broad and tonality is really good. The nice thing about the 770s is that they retain their composure and effortless quality at higher volumes.
Was that a Paul Money special deal? Look forward to hearing how you feel in a week or 2 when they have broken in.
I'm sure the Mission 770s, Atlante, and Klipsch heritage all add some good SQ sauce over the Lintons. Here in the UK 3 yrs ago I looked at Lintons, KLH, Klipsch (not easy to find here) and in the end chose Tannoy Eatons. This and the new Fyne classic stand mount worth a look (as roughly in same price bracket of Missions and Klipsch) and have that full scale non fatiguing sound Linton owners seem to appreciate.
