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.

 

[Pedro2]

Yes. I’ve read that about Linn’s power cartridge. Also, some would like them to be more powerful. They retail for £850 with 100 watts into 4ohm. Nord will provide their Nord Two Ice stereo for a similar price (1200 watts into 4 ohm).

I heard the 119s driven by the Linn power cartridge and thought that the bass sounded slightly too loose. I’m pleased that I went for an external amp. Having said that, they might sound amazing when driving the speakers actively (you need two of them ….. and two dacs).

 

[Witterings]

How do you find the Nord Acoustics amp overall, I've been look at their value line amp recently and not sure whether to go for one of those, a Brio Rega or I currently have one ZA3 which isn't being used to could get a 2nd and set them up as mono blocks.

My concern with the Nord, I wonder if it may be a little "sterile" and possibly "brighter" than the other two options.

@nopiano .... did you buy another ZA3?

 

[Pedro2]

I think that how the Nord would ‘sound’ depends very much on the rest of your kit. They are extremely revealing and open but not sterile unless the rest of your chain is ‘dry’ by nature. They certainly won’t warm the sound up but won’t sound harsh if everything else isn’t either.

I did use a Nord some years back shortly after they set up. It was paired with a pair of ATC SCM11s but I didn’t find this a particularly good combination (definitely too dry, but I find the passive ATCs to be that anyway).

Another factor in their favour is power and the ability to drive difficult speaker loads with some ease. One final note is that the Nord and Linn speakers have replaced a pair of excellent actives from Elac. These are driven by mostly type AB and modified type AB internal amps. On some music, these could sound a little harsh at times, which I think was down to the tweeter and a slightly forward mid presentation. The Linn’s plus Nord do not sound etched at all, but neither do they sound boring… or sterile. Not sure if this helps?

 

[Witterings]

I think that how the Nord would ‘sound’ depends very much on the rest of your kit. They are extremely revealing and open but not sterile unless the rest of your chain is ‘dry’ by nature. They certainly won’t warm the sound up but won’t sound harsh if everything else isn’t either.

I did use a Nord some years back shortly after they set up. It was paired with a pair of ATC SCM11s but I didn’t find this a particularly good combination (definitely too dry, but I find the passive ATCs to be that anyway).

Another factor in their favour is power and the ability to drive difficult speaker loads with some ease. One final note is that the Nord and Linn speakers have replaced a pair of excellent actives from Elac. These are driven by mostly type AB and modified type AB internal amps. On some music, these could sound a little harsh at times, which I think was down to the tweeter and a slightly forward mid presentation. The Linn’s plus Nord do not sound etched at all, but neither do they sound boring… or sterile. Not sure if this helps?

That's brilliant and really helpful so thank you 😀

 

[nopiano]

How do you find the Nord Acoustics amp overall, I've been look at their value line amp recently and not sure whether to go for one of those, a Brio Rega or I currently have one ZA3 which isn't being used to could get a 2nd and set them up as mono blocks.

My concern with the Nord, I wonder if it may be a little "sterile" and possibly "brighter" than the other two options.

@nopiano .... did you buy another ZA3?

No, I bought a pair of V3 monoblocks, which inexplicably I thought were better than the previous Fosi’s I had owned.