Another thing you can do to see if it is the setup/room or the sound of the speaker you don't like is to put some music on, leave the door open, and then go to another room that is not in a direct line from the room and listen. Obviously you won't be listening for the 'sweet spot,' soundstage, bass extension, etc., but you can concentrate on the general tone of the speakers.
100% this! also I find clicking fingers a good test for a space.. I find an almost metallic ringing response to clapping or clicking is a bad sign requiring treatment. Loving the Lintons even more now I recently purchased a vintage 1970s Marantz 140 Power amp.. WOW! the Marantz gives the Lintons so much more low-end thickness resulting in big, warm round sound... Currently being fed by a Peachtree nova acting as pre amp / Dac (was using this as the integrated amp previously). Down the vintage Hifi rabbit hole I go
Thanks for the suggestions! I've read somewhere that Leak recommend matching their Stereo 130 with the Wharfedale Linton's (there's a video review of this set up on YouTube) and I'm pretty sure I've also read that Wharfedale has demoed their Linton speakers with the Audiolab 6000A. Have you actually heard these amps with the Linton's? They might very well prove to be an excellent combo with the Linton's, but I'm also aware of the fact that Leak, Wharfedale and Audiolab are all part of the International Audio Group and naturally IAG would recommend something from their own brands.
I don't know if my mind is playing tricks on me, but suddenly the sound feels a lot more balanced without that annoying upper mid-range bump and bass seems to be improved. Following your suggestions I've tried running the Linton speakers on a different amp just to see if it would make a difference in sound. Unfortunately it's yet another Cambridge amp (Azur 340A), but it's all I have access to at the moment. I went the pseudo-scientific route and recorded a couple of songs using my Zoom H5 recorder and then did a frequency analysis to see if I could actually SEE the difference. Well, there is a difference but it's not huge and I'm not even sure I could actually hear it: I forgot to add explanatory notes showing which image belongs to which amp, but the CXA81 is the one with the slightly recessed bass/mids and a small bump around 10 kHz. The Azur 340A would appear to have more of a smiley face frequency response.
I am going to pass for bozzo the clown, but i'll say it... I replaced speaker cables for the kick this morning, and I can hear this effect: less hardness in the upper-midrange, and an additional layer of transparency, better separation and articulation... I went from a Van Damme hi-fi 4mm (11.5awg) to a canare 4s8 (13.5awg). My parasound gear has now about 70hrs of playing time.
I CERTAINLY heard a positive effect going from AudioQuest Slate biwire cables to my present Analysis Plus Oval 9 ... similarly, better sonics and a big increase in bass solidity, seemingly more extension as well ...
What I like is that you're keeping it real...both are priced fairly. I'm using 12AWG Monoprice OFC copper, with a 2-strand construction inside a wider jacket ( I don't bi-amp). I think the whole 50 ft roll cost me $40 bucks. It was a noticeable improvement over my 16AWG copper, probably from Radio Shack, to date myself. I'm happy with it. If I decide I need to spend $2,500 for a tone control, I'll buy an equalizer, not a fancy-shmancy speaker cable.
I don't know about the Lintons but Audio Note E speakers take several hundred hours for the bass drivers to break in.
This has been my experience. I probably have about 20 hours on mine now. The change has been significant.
OK, at the risk of being accused of being a hipster (although I absolutely love the look of it!), I ordered a Leak Stereo 130 and will give it a try at home with my Linton speakers. I'll report back with my findings in 6-8 weeks.
In the meantime, make sure you give the Linton's a relentless workout Come to think of it, my Verity Fidelio speakers that I had before my Audio Notes also took several months to find their true selves.
I'm excited to hear what you think. They definitely look good. I'm curious about the matching CD transport as well.
I definitely will! Listened to the redbook layer of the MFSL SACD of Love's "Forever Changes" yesterday and it sounded fantastic. I could really crank that one up loud without any harshness or fatigue. Can't remember hearing that old classic sounding so good (although it's been many years since I last heard it, mind you). I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking that... A lot of people seem to think it's nothing more than a "lifestyle product" aimed at the hipster market. So far I've only found one serious review, and it's in a German magazine called Audio Test. They gave the Leak Stereo 130 a "sehr gut" rating (and 86 out of 100, IIRC) and the CD transport a "gut".
Hi, I still have Linton's. They're nice, but I have a few problems with them. When the song is quite saturated in the middle tones (as it sounds "big" by itself) then the picture gets quite blurry. I don't know how to describe it, but then the Lintons just don't have enough space and air to fit the rest of the instruments. Midtones then covers the top and bottom maybe ? Do you have any ways to recess midtones? Maybe EQ? (I tried only with few amplifiers- a bright thin amp doesn't help as the trebles get unpleasant and the problem still remains unfortunately.)
"Blurry" mid-range is often caused by sidewall reflections. The blurriness is caused by the reflected signal arriving slightly after the direct signal from the speaker. Have you tried the remedies suggested previously in this (and other ) threads? These include moving speakers away from wall, toeing in, moving closer, or room treatment?
I think this is not fault of room reflections. I've tested Linton's in several different rooms. I knew my room modes too. I'm living with Linton's few months. It's occurs only when songs are "midrange heavy". In that case other instruments doesnt have a sufficent space-air to breathe. I think there is a problem. because Linton's are midrange heavy. That's why im asking about solutions to recess midrange a lil bit.
Have you tried the Yamaha A-S801? It's quite powerful, and has a slightly recessed mid-range, which might clear away some of the midrange unpleasantness you seem to perceive.
The more I listen to the Lintons the more I feel they sound best with music that is more forward and perhaps more current. When I listen to them with older records I fear my Marantz 2238b is too laid back for them. Possible? My vintage Technics (which are empirically inferior to the Lintons) perhaps just match better with my amp.
The marantz has 38 watts and is a 40 year old SS amp. I would say it’s not going to bring out the best in those speakers.
Can you give us some examples of tracks that you find to have this mid range saturation? Curious to see if I hear the same thing in my system. Just curious what you think is missing from the sound. Is it low end or highs? How many hours do you have on the Lintons? I'm probably at about 50 hours on mine now and have found the sound changed pretty drastically over the first 30 hours or so.
I mean that midrange is more prominent that bass and trebles. Example - Killing Joke "Im The Virus", Threshold - "Legends Od Shires" album.
