I appreciate your very detailed response. I definitely think the more detailed "hifi" sound you describe is actually what I am craving at this point. The #1 contender for me right now are the Kef R7's or R11's with the Focal Aria 836's as the runner up. Do you have any direct experience with these models? I have a suspicion the Kef's Uni-Q driver will give me the clarity and detail I am after without being too harsh or causing fatigue in the long run. I like the Aria's, but have concerns about them being taxing in the long run.
I've heard great things about the regular L100's, but I definitely prefer the look of those anniversary editions. I hear they have upgraded sound as well.
A few upgrades over the L100 Classic; woofer gets a dual-spider suspension, midrange and tweeter, crossover, dual binding posts, teak veneer, and stands included. I have a pair of L82's that I've been thoroughly enjoying and like to imagine fitting the L100 75th's into this space.
I have the KLH Model 5’s, which I adore. I did get to audition the Wharfedale Linton’s (though not at the same time) & I preferred the KLHs heft & off-axis response / soundstage. And I liked that they are actually acoustic suspension speakers. But they are “cut from the same cloth” as the Linton’s. To be honest, I think we may be at the early stages of some of this retro design. But I don’t know of a lot else that’s out there that is in this family. You can get bigger vintage Advents if you want to take a chance on vintage - that’s really the way to go if you want this “sound”. But they won’t have quite the same accuracy, even if they are lovely. Design has come a long way.
According to Stereophile's measurements, both your Stirlings and the Lintons measure very flat. I'm not saying that measurements determine the tonal character of a speaker but I wonder to what the so-called warmth of the Lintons can be ascribed to? And if the Stirlings have a more pronounced mid-range and treble, how the hell do you listen to Al Stewart's album The Year Of The Cat?!
Just found a really great somewhat local deal on some KEF R11's... They have some cosmetic blemishes, but are roughly half of MSRP. I'm planning on giving it a few days before I do anything I might regret. But I'm getting a significant raise at work this week and am seriously considering taking the plunge and moving my Linton's upstairs. Does anyone have any strong opinions about the R11's? All the reviews I have seen are glowing.
My suggestion is for you to consider internet direct to consumer speaker makers like Salk Sound, Role Audio, Ascend, Decware,Omega et al. Much better value than the usual suspects.
They will sound good for sure Very different than the Lintons; more details, better soundstage... I would go for them.
You asked for my opinion on KEF's upthread, and you're asking again now... but I find myself in an awkward position because you sound really excited about the deal you've been offered on these. Not that my opinion should sway your decision making one way or the other, but KEF's are speakers that have never grabbed me. Top of my shopping list for every single audio purchase I made back at the height of my audiophile excess was transparency... the sense of clarity that you're hearing "everything". And I just never got that from any of the KEF's I've heard especially when compared directly against other brands. I know they're a well regarded brand and have many fans, but I'm not one of them. Perhaps it's that UNI-Q driver which I know is their big proprietary selling point... but there's something odd going on in the transition between the mids and the treble that always makes the tweeter sound "exposed" and thin to me. As if there's a "suck-out" in the presence band where speakers like B&W seem to intentionally place a small bump to make them sound more lively and detailed. And overall KEF's just sound kinda muffled and "nasal" to me... No offense to KEF fans, we all hear things differently... and we're just swapping opinions. [Edit: subsequent to posting I did a quick search and found a lab report on these speakers in UK publication Hi-Fi News KEF R11 Loudspeaker Lab Report and they note: “… frequency responses for the review pair, measured at 1m on the tweeter axis, indicate a trend that's admirably flat but for a suckout between 900Hz and 3kHz.” Granted 3kHz is just below the presence band proper - perhaps someone with better knowledge can confirm but that would be 4-6 kHz right? Anyway, I’m just saying what I’ve heard from KEF’s and at least here’s some measurement suggesting I’m not nuts... and perhaps the dip at this critical part of the audio band explains why I've found them comparatively "muffled"?] You also asked about the Focals... Did you mean the Aria 936? I think the 836 is from their lower “Chorus” line? I have spent quite a prolonged time demo’ing the Aria’s. They surprised me, and not in an entirely positive way either. Very impressive looking towers but they sounded a little softer than I was expecting… and I don’t mean loudness … they weren’t quite as “explicitly” transparent as I was expecting and instead of the lift in the treble that typically characterises these types of speakers (that gives that sparkly top end and the impression of “air” and detail) they sounded quite mid-centric to me. Sure there was detail (in a “meh” sort of way) but overall I found their dynamics strangely muted, so the energy of leading edge transients such as string plucks or snare strikes were quite subdued and the bass (which was tight enough I suppose) wasn’t really as textured, nimble or punchy as I would’ve hoped given these are fairly high up Focal’s product line and when the price gets up this high expectations can and should be set accordingly. My impression of them was that if “maximum information” is what you’re after - these are not the speakers for you. Overall just too "polite" for my taste. I just feel like you've got a good enough budget ($5k right?) to do better for your dollars. And now that you've made it clear that you aren't looking for "Linton's, only more detailed" and you actually want to go towards that "Hifi" sound, well that opens up many more options for you. I would take my time, this really doesn't have to be rushed and even though it might feel like you're being offered the deal of the century on these R11's, deals come and go... I know you were saying it's a long drive to try speakers in person but if you put in the effort and get this selection right for that sort of money you'll probably buy speakers you'll have for the next decade... buying speakers unheard is always a risky idea. And because they interact with your room acoustics more profoundly than any other component in the audio chain ideally you want to be able to hear them in your own room too. The same pair of speakers can sound very different in different rooms. So once you think you've narrowed it down to your final selection you'll want to work with a dealer who could loan them to you for a home demo... just to be sure. Perhaps you've realised it or perhaps not, but you're making quite a big change in direction here - going from the Linton's to almost any of the these speakers isn't like debating Coke vs Pepsi And if details and clarity are high on your list of priorities I wouldn't write B&W's off without at least hearing them first. The trick with those speakers - which I feel many people get wrong - is that they are monstrously power hungry. Get that wrong (mucking around with say 100w'ish amps) and they can sound terrible, leading to people describing them as sounding thin, bright, etc... However, unless I've read the specs on your amps wrong you have 400w/8 Ohms available in bridged mode? So if anyone has enough power on tap, I'd say you'd be in there with a shout. And while I know nothing about the sound signature of Schiit gear, if there's even a hint of warmth in there + that much power I'd say you've got a good chance of making a pair of big B&W's sing! The key thing here is - you have to hear speakers for yourself before committing to a purchase. Well intentioned comments from forums members can help formulate a shortlist... but only you can decide what sounds best to you and after all, you're the one who has to live with them.
This, x 1,000 Buying a speaker unheard, based on the recommendation of a stranger*, who may not (in fact, probably doesn't) hear things the way you do, strikes me as high-risk behaviour. Which I have engaged in, a few times. I was only out a couple thousand bucks, but lesson learned. *Not us. We're all discerning, scrupulous gentlemen, right?
Buy the Rel S/3 SHO subs first before you buy new speakers because they will make your Lintons (and any other speaker) sound like you just upgraded to a $10k pair of speakers!
But he wants more detail and treble so maybe an adjustable super tweeter is the aswer! Aperion makes several models.
I've been called many things in my time, but I draw the line at discerning and scrupulous... how dare you sir?!
That is my current plan. It was actually the thought of integrating the REL's in my system that led me to question my speakers to begin with. I tend to jump in with both feet sometimes - so the idea of doing a complete downstream overhaul/upgrade was enticing. I definitely need to visit the HiFi dealer in Charlotte before I make any calls on speakers though. Hell, when I integrate the REL's and see the results, I may ditch the idea of replacing the Linton's entirely.
Full disclosure, I actually bought the Linton's somewhat blind - based solely on YouTube sound demos. That decision actually turned out well... At least until the audiophile sickness finally took hold. LOL
How much of your listening is vinyl? You could upgrade your cartridge and phono stage and not even break a grand. I’m thinking Rega Exact and a Darlington Labs MM-6. You won’t change your overall sonic signature, you’ll just improve on what you have.
Not much these days, I have a rather large vinyl collection, but I unfortunately only have time to listen to full length LPs on occasion (I'm too lazy to continually swap LP's or move the needle to change tracks). I mostly listen through Tidal.
The KEF R7 is a very nice speaker and your Schiit monoblocks (Vidar? Aegir?) will drive them really well, IME. To my ears, Focal’s Aria line doesn’t sound quite as good. As good as the Linton’s are, especially with what seems to be time and care on your part to set them up optimally in your listening room, the KEF R7 will still be a very audible improvement - dynamic range, responsiveness, clarity, acoustic instrument timbres, and many more things are simply more accurate and more true-to-source. Another thing that aids clarity is the source for your TIDAL streaming. You don’t mention a streamer in your OP or in subsequent posts, or maybe I just missed it. If you’re using a computer/PC/laptop, that’s another area that can be upgraded if 75% or more (I think that’s what you mentioned) of your listening is streamed from TIDAL. Your Gungnir MB DAC should be more than up to the task and its analog output can improve even more when you feed it the output of a good quality, dedicated streaming transport. The new-ish iFi Zen Stream comes to mind mainly because I just finished assessing it for one of the Canadian sales reps and it’s a really good streaming transport. I’d personally use it wired/ethernet rather than wireless, but other than that it’s a winner, IMO.
I actually have been very curious about streamers. I use the tidal app on my LG C8 TV through optical out to my DAC. I occasionally stream Tidal from my phone to chrome cast if I need to control the music from afar (such as when we have a party). I always assumed that the DAC would do the heavy lifting in terms of making the digital audio sound good (considering the data is just ones and zeros that the DAC then converts to analog) - but I have read others' opinions about the importance of streamers on forums. A lot of the ones I have seen are pretty pricey and I haven't been willing to take the plunge for what might be a 5% improvement in sound. I just looked up the streamer you mentioned though and it is quite affordable! How much of an improvement do you think a dedicated streamer would make?
