BTW, Toneh, that 'Polka' CD slightly reminded me of the Tango CDs by Gidon Kremer. Perhaps you know them?
I agree and I'm sure they will have just that. How on Earth will Peter Comeau convince any living being to buy these at a much higher price than the Lintons if they are not considerably better? Made in the UK and a slightly higher standard of finish alone just don't cut it.
i was fine with the level of detail from the Lintons…they do so many things i liked. The only thing i had an issue with was the level of refinement which i think is mostly due to the tweeter. Maybe cabinet vibrations come into play at higher volumes, not sure. But keep in mind - i really liked the speaker and miss it. I think i want the Linton sound, just smoother and more refined..and i want their looks, too.
Don't forget, you sold them while they were still caterpillars, but you never heard them when they turn into butterflies.
For something looking like them you are pretty much stuck with pricey BBC designs like Harbeth or obviously the Mission 770. More refined and better tweeter for the same money would suggest the Evo 4.4. At £4K would suggest ATC SCM40. Both 3 way towers. I recon they would work well with home theatre as well. Also have you tried the PSB Passif 50 which is another retro design? Darko preferred them to the 770 I think but they aren't as well built. I was looking forward to a new Dovedale having owned a version in the 1970s, but pricing them at or above the superb ATC SCM 40s is a complete non starter.
I posted this in a Harbeth thread is well, I hope that was okay. I have about 270 hours on my SLH5 XD's. The were never bright or irritating when I first got them, but the sound is definitely smoother, which I really like. I messed around with placement some but not sure I am done with that. With that said, I almost don't want to mess with anything because I really like what I am hearing with where they are at. I moved them back about 8 inches from where I had the Lintons. They still have that great midrange, but now there is more prominent bass and a bigger sound with them moved backed. I like them more and more every day, they really draw me into the music. Still not ready to declare a winner between these and the Lintons, I haven't had the Lintons in the system since I got the Harbeths so have not done a direct comparison. I know I love the Lintons, and I will probably keep both as they will be enjoyable in their own ways. I may just put tape on the floor to mark for positioning for each speaker and move one in the system for a month and then swap it the next month. A lot of people say the Harbeths are not good with rock, but for me, I rather enjoy them. With the Harbeths I have listened to classic rock, new wave/post punk, shoegaze and soft rock. The only thing really heavy (is it though?) I have played is Black Sabbath. They did fine, but from memory I think the Lintons are better there.
of course, I may eat my words, but I think I have around 80 hours on them and they’re (still) sounding great. I did notice a few changes after about 20 hours. I guess it will be interesting to see how they sound after 200 hours or more. I thought man1ana said he played the heck out of them while he had them, so probably has at least 80 hours on them if not more. Yes they are a demanding load note <4 ohms EPDR for a pretty wide swath and <2 ohms between 75-100Hz. Yikes. BUT fairly efficient, and music usually doesn’t have excessive energy in that narrow band. Low D, E, F, G, A. Yeah, hip hop or trance might … The 240i does 50W into 8 and 80W into 4, hopefully the occasional foray into 2 doesn’t over stress things. I have a Parasound A 21 but doubt I ever put 80W into them … I don’t listen louder than about 90dBC.
i’ve looked at ATC monitors in the past, but their sensitivity ratings always turned me off…i also, bought the PSB Passif 50s and was VERY UNimpressed (and i love most PSB speakers having owned the Synchrony Ones for 10 years). They were so dull and boring in my room. I returned them quickly (they were demos and fully broken in)….i’ll take the Lintons over the Passif 50s any day, even with their occasional coarseness. The Passifs were very accurate and smooth, too smooth in my opinion and just lacked the oh so important, engagement factor.
Can you list your equipment in your profile then we can tell maybe what would be suitable? Smooth amp and smooth speakers might be an issue here as well as power. I would guess 100 watts needed for ATC but you might get away with something rated lower with great speaker driving ability.
I think that overtime, after several swaps, you will realize that you do not need the lintons, unless you have another system to use them in. The lintons are great, but harbeth is harbeth. We'll see!
I do have another system and that is an option as well. I have the Kelinac 714MG speakers in that one now.
Once into the middle price ranges the inevitable laws of HiFi state that spending triple the price might only gain a 10% benefit in sound. And there are always those quite happy to do that dance. People often shop to a price point. The Dovedale aren’t necessarily competing with the Linton, but rather against other speakers in its price point, Harbeth, etc.
Yup... as I said... deceptively current hungry. I know it's annoying in the extreme when people offer unsolicited opinions suggesting people make changes to the bits in their system they're happy with. And I've seen @mant1ana stating how much he likes this amp - I'm inclined to agree being a Simaudio owner myself. But of the above mentioned speaker options - with the exception of the Arendal's (that Audioholics measured as having a fairly benign load and a useful sensitivity of 89dB) they all place demands of their own either through insensitivity or trickier impedance curves (or a bit of both) than a 50w/8 Ohms amp might be able to comfortably satisfy, especially in a room the size he has? Which I seem to recall him saying was quite big. If we were talking about speakers designed to be easy to drive - I.E high sensitivity and easy loads - like DeVores, Audio Note, Klipsch Heritage and so on... 50/90watts @ 8/4 Ohms would be plenty and then some unless you were trying to fill a barn @ 120dB But those all far exceed the price point we're looking at here. Meanwhile - playing the long game - a good clean 100/200w @ 8/4 Ohms opens up many more possibilities further on down the line? And that's before you consider that aside from some concern over mild treble coarseness @mant1ana has expressed a fondness for the Linton's sound? I've owned 2 pairs of ATC's and even if you can overcome their hopeless voltage insensitivity they sound nothing like Linton's do. And in practice even their modest sensitivity ratings prove "optimistic", they'd eat a 50w amp for breakfast... @mant1ana has wisely expressed an aversion to them because of it. For the record - by now hopefully it's clear that I'm not a one-eyed Linton fanboy... not suggesting @mant1ana didn't "do enough" to get a handle on the Linton's while he had them... I'm merely suggesting that in this case - with these speaker options and the like - the modest power output of a 50w amp is a very real limiting factor.
Oh boy, do we get to talk about current now? It's also possible that someone just didn't like the Linton quite enough to keep them, with the only limiting factor being the Lintons themselves.... while adorable and capable, they are budget speakers with a giant Jack and the bean stalk like stalk stretching off into the heavens above them....
Very nice, listening now on some headphones... we've got an ex tropical cyclone bearing down on us at the moment, so I've unplugged my gear as a precaution - for whatever that's worth Here's hoping we don't blow away before it's all over.
I do. I have just about 2m to my listening spot. I know I should have more room for them but really not able to buy a larger apartment right now. I do enjoy them a lot even though it's very nearfield. I just remind myself that they'll sound better when I can afford a larger space.
But at the end, always pulling in two opposing directions on this planet and milky way in its vast majority: South - North.
Not enough "hifi", you mean thus the focus on the music? Nah, lots of hifi too, only in the Linton case all in the service of the music!
Only 10 days before the Bristol Hi-Fi Show and then we learn more about the Dovedale and the Aston. Any Brits going?
Where did you get to in your research or interest (or non-interest?) in the MoFi Sourcepoint 10's... I'm intrigued. I've heard talk of a "brighter" treble balance, but also impressive resolution and bass heft, genuine +90dB sensitivity and an impedance curve that stays above 6 Ohms - in other words - legitimately easy to drive... more to the point local dealers will be getting their first stock and demo'ing them soon. And since I live in sleepy little New Zealand where no-one even wanted to stock the Mission 770, I have to be excited about something right? These speakers seem to have worked quite a few people up for reasons I can't say I even care to know... the usual mutterings about "Made in China", etc... I don't remember if you were in the like/dislike camp?
I lost all interest the moment I heard that they have tilted treble. As you know, it started with Guttenberg carefully expressing his concerns about the tweeter. The latest person to confirm that the treble is too hot is that millionaire bodybuilder reviewer (and he tried everything to calm it down). It might be a great speaker, but when I listen to music, I don't want to hear the tweeter.
Brilliant. I think that guy is such a... well... I'm not his biggest fan is all. I dunno... I think I'm going to give them a try... can't see the harm in that. Besides this is the same shop where I have a standing appointment to demo Harbeth C7's... and they're where I bought my Linton's from... so it's possible I could do something like a shoot-out between all three? Once my city isn't either flooding or getting battered by extra-tropical cyclones as it is at the minute... It's either that or - in desperation - I'm going to try Forte IV's... I mean there's a whole... ...my Linton's... I can't stay stuck here forever?!
I also lost interest in the Mission 700. 3 reviews warn about the tweeter. Even though I'm not one of them, I know there are plenty of people who want that emphasis in the treble. I used to have a friend who loved Magnat speakers because of their elevated upper treble (back in the '90s). He mainly listened to Jazz but all I could hear was the ride cymbal sticking out: Ping Ping Ping Ping! A Harbeth 7 vs Linton shoot-out could be interesting ...
