Linn Keilidh Mods.

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oldcameraman3
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Linn Keilidh Mods.

Unread post by oldcameraman3 »

I have a pair of the Linn Keilidh speakers,the first batch.I know all the flack that flies back and forth about them and I agree with a lot of it.But the point is I am stuck with them as secondary speakers in my other listening room(namely the office) so want to make the best of them.They have no Kustones or whatever they call them and if needed I would use solid marble style plinths if necessary.As things stand I think this would be overkill as my floor is of a floating concrete construction apparently.
I would gather the first stage would be foam removal or wadding as far as they are concerned.The cones are a plastic finish with the centre domes a similar material so doping might be a problem if it is going to make a difference anyway .The bass and midrange drivers look identical so disconnecting the crossover might not help? Steel lining the cabinet might be beneficial but if memory saves me right the base might be a problem plus some other parts.In short has anybody out there tried it and what are the suggestions.

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Re: Linn Keilidh Mods.

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

ALL the Doc Mods can be done to them. You will be astonished at how good a Linn speaker can be made to sound and wonder why they couldn't do it in the first place.

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Re: Linn Keilidh Mods.

Unread post by _D_S_J_R_ »

Now these are well worth playing with. The early tweeters spit so if the Visatons don't fit, them the ribbed Keilidh tweeters or even the soft-dome Ninka tweeters may be used to huge advantage.

I don't think there's much wadding in Keilidh's to start with, but the main drivers are cheapo soft plastic-cone crap and in passive form, these things have little midrange. if the Doc-Mods drivers can fit, you'll have an immediate upgrade there and then! Linn went through around four versions of the main drivers, the magnets seeming to get bigger with each version I recall (more upper mid and better cone movement-damping from memory). The cabinets are already well blocked up with Kustone material and the bracing is superb I remember. The Kustone floor-mounts also helped bass no end I remember..

I got to know Keilidhs personally in 1998, just after the later version came along and older ones came in regularly for repair and tweeter updating, so I do know what I'm on about regarding stock items here. I even owned and used a pair for six months in a non-Linn system so speak from experience as a user. In active form, the midrange came to life and the sound was only then properly balanced. I don't recall the passive crossovers as over-complex, but the whole thing was a passive dogs dinner sonically.
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Re: Linn Keilidh Mods.

Unread post by oldcameraman3 »

Agree with the tweeters ,I did get a trial on active but found the higher end unpleasant,but that could be down to my hearing but to date the speakers that suit best are my Audiomaster LS3/5As which are first batch models which only came to life when I found the right room -right stand height and close to the wall positioning.I won't mod these as the prices being paid on Ebay just now are obscenely high but I am happy to try the Linn on the basis I have nothing to lose.Thanks for the input,I thought the cabinets would be about right as is but could be new drivers will be the answer.

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Re: Linn Keilidh Mods.

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

Try it with existing driver, perhaps the tweeter can be tamed a bit with a light spray of Plastidip. You don't know until you try. Experiment with existing drivers first.

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Re: Linn Keilidh Mods.

Unread post by oldcameraman3 »

Thanks Doc,will get some plastidip and give it a try,tweeters first and onwards from there.

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Re: Linn Keilidh Mods.

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

Wadding out first.

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Re: Linn Keilidh Mods.

Unread post by karatestu »

Dr Bunsen Honeydew wrote:Try it with existing driver, perhaps the tweeter can be tamed a bit with a light spray of Plastidip. You don't know until you try. Experiment with existing drivers first.
What effect does doping a tweeter have ? Will it work on a B&W metal dome ?

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Re: Linn Keilidh Mods.

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

It is an extreme cure that can work at times with over sharp squawky tweeters (mostly metal ones). With over bright tweeters just increase the size of the padding resistor.

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Re: Linn Keilidh Mods.

Unread post by _D_S_J_R_ »

The Keilidh tweeter was a ceramic dome type. In the three way Kaber, it was really unpleasantly spiteful (the whole speaker was iffy to be honest) but by the time of the Keilidh's it had been tamed to a brightness to sort of balance the excessive bass. As I said the midrange suffered as the punchy bass masked it a lot of the time. Going active, the tweeter could be reduced a notch on the crossover and this was great for me. When the front became veneered rather than grey painted, the tweeter dome was fronted by vertical ribs and this version was the sweetest of them all and rather good. The Ninka that came after went to a soft dome tweeter with a rather milder self-effacing character I remember and sounded in passive form like an active Keilidh - sorry, too much un-necessary info - I can't help wanting to share experiences as I knew these bloody things when they were new... :roll:

Once modified, I wonder if wiring the main drivers in series might be better? Something to ponder as stock Keildhs have a typical Linn-nasty three to four ohm load in the bass and mid which climbed to ten ohms or more in the high frequencies.

The reason for suggesting 'NVA' drivers is because the bass in the stock keilidh is so powerful (not pungent), I worry that heavily doping the soft plastic bass unit cones will emphasise it even more. The drivers the Doc uses are on a different quality bracket in all honesty if they'll fit..

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