2nd hand Linn vs everything else

[isophene]

Hello everyone. This is my first post here. I'd like some advice. I'm building a system from scratch and am looking at some 2nd hand Linn kit - starting with an ikemi cd. Is this still regarded as a decent player for the money (it's over £500) and bearing in mind I've not really got into streaming does it compare well with broadly similarly priced new components? Eg a Cyrus, or I could save for a bit longer and go for an entry level Naim. I hope I'm not being too naive - bear with me, this is all new to me. Though I will add that a friend of mine had a Linn Classik for years and I really liked that.

All comments/opinions welcome. Thanks.

 

[the record spot]

You can do as good for less IMO. I picked up my AVI Lab Series CD player last summer off Gumtree for a good bit less; it originally retailed for £1500 and performance is terrific. The Ikemi was a good player alright, but players like the Marantz SA-7001 KI are just as good, see also Sony's XB-940 which was a whisker of their famous ES range (QS as it happens) and you'll snag one for good money easily enough.

My setup sounds terrific in my room, absolutely love it. The amp and source components were all at least £1000 at list price, but the Tannoy DC4 speakers I use were only £350 and for the money they've a performance that's way beyond expectation.

Get the balance right and you'll be rewarded with near limitless hours of pleasure. If it was my money, I'd work out what kind of sound I wanted and target those amps and speakers that'll give you that. You need to do a bit of legwork, or reading up as the sound I get just now might be exactly the opposite of what you're after.

I'd also suggest considering other gear that isn't flavour of the month. You don't need to look to far in this forum to see that the current forum favourites are KEF's R100 and LS50, Dali's Zensor 1 and Q Acoustics Concept 20. Other brands are available! I found the R100 to be a nice looking speaker, lovely finish, but ponderous with a lumpy bass. Others love it. Don't rush it, choose carefuly and read up as much as you can.

 

[isophene]

Thank you, Record Spot, for a helpful and informative reply. I'll certainly give this whole thing much more thought. I like your approach.

I'll consider a wider range of sources as per your suggestions. I didn't realise AVI made a cd player. Their speakers of course, the neutrons, I've heard of those.

I am looking at Tannoys as well.

Sound wise, I don't have a particular sound in mind, though that is mainly because I am coming to this fresh. I love music, and have yards of cds, but for the last year or so have done most of my listening in the car. Which is ok, but I've reached the end of my tether with it.

If I could describe the sort of sound I think I'd like it would be clear and spacious but not too cold.

I think you're saying amps and speakers provide the main contour of the sound. Is the source not as important, or is it rather that components further down the path inflect what's already there.

Thanks again.

 

[ESLee]

Buy some Sony ES. Not that im biased!

 

[the record spot]

Hi Isophere, I must admit that I didn't think - overall - that sources, or at least digital ones in recent years, were vastly different. I wouldn't necessarily buy a supermarket DVD player as my main source, but but by the same token, I wouldn't lash the cash on the AVI player I use as a brand new item (£1500 in its day a decade ago). Until recently I had the Marantz SA7001-KI I mentioned, which was £600 on release. There's no way the AVI was £900 better. Not a hope, both are excellent players.

In my room, I have the stereo setup across the width rather than firing down the room and the speakers are just over 6-feet away from me and about the same apart, maybe a little more. So this isn't a massive space to play with. The Tannoys just own the space they're in. Anything bigger doesn't work as well (Pioneer S-71B - great speaker if you have room to spare).

So yes, speakers and amps first and then source - for digital. Source first for vinyl though. I've used a stack of amps for hobbyist stuf in the last five years or so. Now I don't follow a traditional hifi approach and use an AV amp instead (the Onkyo) and haven't looked back. The 818 has plenty of grunt, takes all of my digital source, music or TV and sounds excellent, the most important thing!

One other tip - spend time getting speaker positioning right if you can. It'll take about five minutes listening to a track or two to see where the speakers should best sit but it can potentially save you hundreds - people will spend hundreds on cables for a very minimal change but wouldn't think about moving their speakers around first.

So good luck with the search. Enjoy it though, it's fun. In the end, buy right, buy once.