I’m facing a SAF* issue with my Hi-Fi setups, and the answer may be a set of the above Linn loudspeakers.

I built a setup before Miss Stripes moved in, but it’s just not getting used much in the newest place due to her [rightly] feeling that the layout should be as much for her enjoyment as mine.

I was using a set of AE109’s, driven by a Cambridge Audio azur 540r. However, they sound awful when less than 60cm from the walls.

Closer to the walls results in a room featuring decor as oppose to large boxes.

Therefore we have settled on using the old Technics sealed-box speakers driven from my smooth Sony Amp, and wedging them in bookshelves.

However, they’ve never sound as good as the 109’s, and lack the impact of the larger speaker [fair enough – they’re ancient and smaller]

I have a chance to buy some Keilidhs for £180, this version:

As they are Infinite Baffle/Sealed box, am I right in thinking they’re going to be OK closer to the walls than the front and rear ported 109’s?

Has anyone got any experience of them? I’d be especially interested if it’s vs the AE’s.

Could this be the route to audio/partner bliss?

*Spouse Acceptance Factor

I always thought it was Wife Acceptance Factor but I had the same problem.

I’ve no experience of these speakers, but I can say for sure that you won’t know how any speaker will react in a room until you’ve had them in the room and heard them.

If you can get a demo, that would be less risky.

They should be but avoid corners.

Can you try them first?

I’m using some Monitor Audio S5’s that I have had for 10 years now and when I first got them home they sounded awful. This was with a flat wall at the rear, as soon as I built a chimney breast in the room the sound was how it was in the dealers.

So if you can try them at home that’s the best advice i can give.

I think it’s SAF now as it’s a bit more inclusive 🙂

Demo – well, it’s very hard or perhaps impossible to arrange as they’re at a branch of Cash Converters.

Also I am known to get too attached to things to make a good decision, let alone the issues of letting myself get excited and therefore not having such good judgement.

I guess I’m most interested in hearing if people have used them much closer to a wall than ported speakers, and if the consensus is that it would even be an upgrade over 109’s.

they’re at a branch of Cash Converters.

That’s the first and only reason you need not to buy them!

Huh? All my gear is from these shops. When I had a problem, they sorted it out – the 109’s had surrounds split next to the cone – when I checked them in the shop I rolled the foam the other way and missed it.

I took photos, went back got £40 back and spent it on a pack of 5 new surrounds for about £20 🙂

I doubt it’s nicked – they have the full setup there, but I only want the speakers.

What is your concern?

EDIT – I suspect I can talk them into letting me demo them, the staff know me well, BUT: if I return them it’ll probably damage my rep there and use up my karma/chance of a favour – therefore I don’t want to risk wasting that if people here KNOW they aren’t as nice as AE109’s.

they’re at a branch of Cash Converters.

There’s an 84% chance there’s a 9 bar situated somewhere within the casing. 😉

What is your concern?

I was only being semi-serious. If they are connected to and working with a complete system then obviously you’ve got nothing to worry about other than whether they will work in your room.

I’ve got a 2nd hand Linn system with a pair of Keildhs downstairs and I think they’re ok- played about with positioning for a bit and I think I’ve got them as good as I’m going to. I’m not blown away by them, but i’m not disappointed by them either. But I suppose I’m commenting on the full system rather than just the speakers.

I had a pair years ago, I think I had them about 8-10″ out from the back wall. I quite liked them, they are much better actively driven. The biggest problem I found is that the tweeter is quite low, which I was not too keen on. £180 seems a decent deal, I think they ended up at about the £1000 mark new (Not that that means anything). I’ve no experience w/109’s, so I can’t help w/direct comparison. The Keilidhs are quite lean sounding unless driven well.

The AE109’s appear to have lots of ports…have you tried plugging some of them w/socks to see if this helps control them?

I have tried that lodious, but not in this room!

You may be on to something. At the very least I can A/B the two ‘speakers then 🙂

The AE109’s appear to have lots of ports…have you tried plugging some of them w/socks to see if this helps control them?

This can work wonders when there’s too much boundary reinforcement and/or room gain happening. A subtler tweak is using some rolled up cardboard to lengthen the port and lower the tuning or only lightly stuffing the port so it becomes aperiodic.

lengthen the port

Dude, you know I value your advice very much, but sadly I can’t take it this time. I have two house rabbits! The covers must be on!

a pack of 5 new surrounds

I was thinking of the dangers even then.

Or, would this work if the card protrudes into the cabinet?

as soon as I built a chimney breast in the room the sound was how it was in the dealers.

blimey, that’s a step up from buying directional cables 😯

In the end, I settled for this:

Nearly new Monitor Audio Bronze BX2s [wonderfully clear, punchy and able to go close to a wall]

and

A 5’7″ by 18″ by 18″ transmission-line subwoofer with dual Kef b139 racetrack drivers. It was built in 1980ish and went for £20 on ebay

Yes, it really is that “bench” in the pic.

The sound of this combo is stunning and MissStripes kinda likes it.

Result.

Thanks again 😉

Sam

Is MissStripes the rabbit? It would explain a few things… 😉

A 5’7″ by 18″ by 18″ transmission-line subwoofer with dual Kef b139 racetrack drivers. It was built in 1980ish and went for £20 on ebay
Yes, it really is that “bench” in the pic.
The sound of this combo is stunning and MissStripes kinda likes it.

I’m not surprised… 😯 😳 😉

and MissStripes kinda likes it.

Kinda means she doesn’t! At least when she tells you to shift the subwoofer you’ll be able to turn it into a new rabbit hutch. 😛

Kinda means she doesn’t!

A subwoofer that you can sit on? I think she’ll probably put up with that 😳

House rabbits are great. Just watch your cables!

Is MissStripes the rabbit? It would explain a few things…

No, that’s Mr Tak.

Kinda means she doesn’t!

No – honestly, she wanted a piece of furniture 🙂
I then buggered the plan up by fitting it under those curtains, under the bookshelf. Sounds better, fatter, but she can’t sit on it.

A subwoofer that you can sit on? I think she’ll probably put up with that

I actually hadn’t thought of that, buuuuuut – I suspect we’d get evicted long before she got an jollies out if it!

House rabbits are great. Just watch your cables!

They are. We must 🙂 Most laptops and DVI cables are patched up in this flat.

Seriously. This sub. Oh yeah. It sounded best upright in the corner of the room with the port low and the drivers high, but it was a little “Glasto” even for me in the living room. Against the wall is an acceptable compromise. The only issue is I now need a turntable shelf to put the Rega and the CDP on. Oh, and I need to build an active crossover and switching preamp so I can use the Cambridge Audio amp to the full. Currently I’m using 2 of it’s 6 channels and the line-level sub output passes through to the Sony amp, which is less powerful and a bit wasteful. Hey-ho.

One step at a time 🙂

Sitting on a sub-woofer seems an interesting idea, really get involved with music in quite a physical way. Is the sound nice and tight though? Some sub-woofers can be pretty boomy.

Deffo get that photo on the current system pics thread on pinkfishmedia.

Love it!