Back to passives!

[Pedro2]

It’s probably been nearly 10 years since I owned a pair of passive speakers but that changed recently with the purchase of a pair of Linn’s latest 119 stand mounts that I’ve paired with a Nord Hypex power amp.

It’s probably cost an extra £1k to improve on the sound of the Elac Navis actives, but I’m happy with the move. I’ve never really been a fan of Linn speakers in the past although I know that many love particular models. Got to say, however, that these 119s are cracking, with the retailer saying that they compare closely with similar priced Dalis.

Paired with a£600 Nord Hypex, the sound is open, detailed, incredibly well timed and totally natural to my (aging) ears.

 

[nopiano]

I thought that once you’d had actives there was no going back?!

Glad you’re delighted with your new speakers though! 🙂

 

[Pedro2]

I thought that I’d struggle to match my actives without going far north in price but the Linn’s sneaked up on me! I’d read a review of them by Alan Sircom and he appeared impressed. What’s more, they can be made active (relatively) easily when paired with a Selekt DSM (I’d bagged one second hand about 12 months ago). So there is a road map back to actives if I want to at some point.

I have often seriously moaned about Linn and their pricing structure over the last few years but with some judicious second hand buying, it is possible to buy Linn kit without having to sell a kidney. They also sound extremely good. Even with digital, there’s no hardness on the ears. Very natural sound that just draws you in.

Must also sing the praises of Nord Acoustics. I bought one of their low to mid priced power amps for just under £600 inc vat (their Hypex and purifi stereo range go up to nearly £2k). As I didn’t know whether the demo Linns would stay or not, I was prepared to sell it on eBay and take the hit. However, it appears to be a magic pairing with the 119s. It’s powerful, detailed, transparent and smooth. Suits them beautifully.

 

[nopiano]

As I didn’t know whether the demo Linns would stay or not, I was prepared to sell it on eBay and take the hit. However, it appears to be a magic pairing with the 119s. It’s powerful, detailed, transparent and smooth. Suits them beautifully.

That figures, as Linn adopt class D amps in the Majik and Selekt amplifier stages. I was surprised to learn recently that the Majik uses TI modules which are probably the same as in my Fosi v3 that cost a fraction of the price.