How much are Linn Katan worth?

[admin_exported]

Hello

I am trying to put together a system. At first I was just going to take the budget system reccommended here on this site (Marantz pm6003 and wharfedale diamond 10.1)

Looking for it, I went into a local shop where the guy showed me the following system:

Cambridge 640A Amplifier, new but discontinued

Linn Katan Speakers, new but discontinued

I was pretty impressed, but the asking price for the Speakers is 720 Pounds Sterling. Are they worth that much?

PS

New B+W 685 cost about 500 quid around here.

 

[simonlewis]

Couldn't tell you TBH, but premiere home cinema have the linn katan speakers for £735.00.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, much appreciated

Does anyone have an idea about how they would compare to say... Wharfedale Diamond 10.1, B+W 685 or Dali Lektor 2 ? There are practically no reviews around for them...

 

[simonlewis]

A google search came up with premiere home cinema, but they are showing no stock, try superfi with a price of £734.04.

EDIT superfi are showing out of stock as well, so i reckon if you can get hold of them for £720.00 that sounds like a good price IMO.

 

[Anonymous]

Here are a pair on ebay with stands ... no bids yet and standing on £249.99 with 3 1/2 days to go

seller states there is a cracked tweeter grill ... I do not see that in any pics, so if you are keen ask for additional pics ... there is also a chip on the veneer of 1 speaker ... this will put bidders off, but may be in good working condition? (seller states they work fine)

there is a 14 day refund policy .... may be worth investigating (£500 off the original price may be worth the effort? plus you save over £100 on stands) ...

If I were after a pair, I would look closely at these, but have them checked out by a competant dealer .... if they are faulty, you can get your money back ... if they are fine, you will have a huge saving of over £600 (assuming no one bids), and would be cheap to replace the tweeter grill and have a carpenter sort the veneer chip

---------------------

and here are a pair in good condition with stands on a buy it now of £349

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks!

Now that I have an idea about the price I have to find out if they are worth it. I live in central Europe btw....

Iïll go today and audition the B+W 685 and try to decide if the Linns are worth the extra cash...

 

[Anonymous]

katans are pretty good, my friend had a pair (along with a unidisc, lp12, 4100 poweramp (i think)) I wouldn't say that they were better than the proac's i went for, and that was being able to buy the katans at a big discount.

 

[Anonymous]

I went to a shop today to try the B+W 685 out but there was a guy hogging up the listening facilities.

He was actually auditing the B+W 685 with a Rotel RA-05. After just sneaking around I must say that I did not get the impression of them standing up to the Linn Katan and Cambridge Azur 640A. But I will go again tomorrow and check it properly.

 

[mojoseven]

Listen carefully, I heard the Katans on the end of a Classik/LK140 and thought it was so polite I nearly fell alseep with boredom.

 

[Anonymous]

OK I went to two shops today and auditioned three sets of speakers:

Totem Deamcatchers and a Cambridge 650A

good high to mids but the bass was lacking.

Duevel Planets and a Cambridge 650A

Not that "in the room" feeling you get when listening to good speakers. Very pronounced bass.

B&W 865 Cambridge 640A

I was quite impressed, they were truly great. Even people who just had been auditioning more expensive gear said so. But a bit more bright than a Rotel + 685 combination.

Linn Katan & Cambridge 640A
Excellent for such small speakers. I smiled. I really got the feeling that a band was playing in front of me.
I can get the Cambridge 640A for the same price as a NAD C326BEE. And a pair of 685 is just about as expensive as a pair of EB1 around here so I might be tempted to order them blindly.