Bi wiring my Sara's


I recently upgraded all my electronics to Linn LK 240's, a Wakonda, and a Genki. The rest of the system consists of an LP12/Ittok/Blue Point Special and a pair of Sara's. The speakers have an XLR connection. My question is four part. Are the Sara's easily modified (DIY) to bi-wire? Can they easily be made active instead? Are either of these options worth it? Should I replace my speakers? I hope that those that have heard Sara's sounding their best will give me some advice. I am not in the least disappointed with the current sound; it's just that I've read so much about bi-wiring and going active that it seems a logical next step.

Because of the traffic pattern throughout my home I require a speaker to be placed close to the rear wall. Actual room dimensions are 14'x24' with an 81/2' ceiling height. This room has a large opening into the rest of the home and the listening position doesn't have a wall behind it. The speakers are placed on the long wall in a dedicated listening room that provides excellent results with this setup.

I'm especially interested in floor standers that work well close to a rear wall but will consider all options. Hopefully I can get a concensus on a few speakers to audition. Living in a remote area makes these kinds of questions difficult to sort out by myself. Thanks for the input.
Patrick
lugnut
When it comes to audiophilia we all live in a remote area.

So are you getting any bass boom? That is the issue with too close to the wall placement. You have an OK size room for typical residential environments.

You could get a very good placment on the short wall at 14 ft. Even the touchiest speakers do not want more than 8 ft of separation. Even that puts them 3 ft from the side walls. If you use the Cardas Golden Mean placement you would be even further from side walls, but several feet from the wall behind the speakers ---pretty much requiring the short wall placement.

If you used the short wall could you come well out into the room? That would put your listening position the same distance as from the wall behind with an equalatrial triangle configuration. Somewhere between 6 1/2 to 7ft. So you would be sitting about 13 ft into the 24 ft length of the room.

Then you probably will tame all room resonances and may be able to get away without acoustic treatment products. Though some treatment, even with furnishings, will no doubt make an improvement.

I personally would not get into modifying any componants. It wipes out resale value which can be crucial to the upgrade process with preowned products.

Bi wiring is proven to improve performance. When you can separate the very low freqencies from the mid-highs you get get better performance from cables as well as speakers. But it is a function of the speakers and the amp primarily. Do it if you can, or if you can upgrade components to make it possible as a function of the upgraded componant.

But I would definately not modfidy anything. Use the expenditure for an upgrade instead, which will hold its value if well cared for, and properly used.

There is a lot of mistuque and misperception in the marketplace of audio components. The heart of a system is the speakers. Get a pair you like that are appropriate to your room and budget. Then with the unlimitless choices of components that will appropriately support them, go for price, availability, and aesthetics, or perhaps evem build quality.

Least important are the infinate subtilties -----of cables. Use cables appropriate to the system and appreciate that the source material you are listening to is a much more crucial concern.

The market is flooded with sub standard mid-fi at best product. Try to find some excellently produced CD's. At least for a reference to get your system set up, and to train your ears to know the difference.

The only place I know of that lists anything close to real live sonics is at: < http://www.linkwitzlab.com/music.htm >
There is nothing to buy there, though a wealth of useful knowledge about the real world of audio excellence, but get at least a couple of CD's to begin with. You will know what to do after you hear them a few times :-)

In conclusion, Speakers first, then placement, and any needed room treatment, along with some legitimate source material. Then components, follwed by cables and tweaks. Anything else is chaos and therefore futile, frustrating, and needlessly expensive.

'If you do know where you are going, you will probably end up some place else.'
Luckily for you, you don't have to do anything at all. The Sara's are difficult to take apart and I wouldn't do it. Secondly, there is a version of the Sara called the Sara DMS that was made especially for bi-amping. They had no internal crossovers, dual connector jacks and a much more reinforced cabinet.If you want to bi-amp, I would recommend that you trade your regular Sara's for the Sara DMS. Thirdly, the Sara's were designed to be placed close to the rear wall, so that fits perfectly with your needs. They should be on the proper Linn Sara Stands to be at the correct height. The stands should be fitted with the Linn spikes made for them. The Sara's are a very critical speaker with a demanding impedance load, and require a clean, high current capble amp with regulated power supplies to sound their best. When properly fed and placed, they are a very excellent dynamic and clear speaker. If they are set up correctly, and you do not like the sound, the problem would likely lie in the earlier components in the chain. My immediate thought would be the Sumiko Blue Point Special as the offending party. The Ittok arm likes a low compliance moving coil cartridge, and I would highly recommend the top Linn offerings for this purpose. I used to have a set up like yours with a Linn Karma cartridge and it was beautiful. With the digital source, even a Linn CD player cannot make up for the drawbacks of CD sound. If I were in your shoes, I would maximize the analog source with the best Linn cartridge available for the Ittok, and make sure the Sara's are placed right. Use the CD player when you need convenience or you don't have the music on vinyl. Also, make sure that LP12 is set up right and sitting on a lightweight rigid table by itself, and not on a rack or shelf with other components. That will kill the sound.