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Linbrook Signature monitors...questions

I have a pair of new Silverline SR17 version III & a new Rogue Audio Tempest II both of which I was able to buy near or at dealer cost .I had a Creek CD MkII that I shopped quite carefully for unlike the other pieces as l recently became a semi shut in due to a neurogenerative disease.

I bought some wires & a IC very inexpensively from designer Alan Yun who seems like a real good guy as he even sent me a beautifully recorded CD that is full of the most inspirational & well recorded instrumentals & vocals you can imagine .I still have several pairs of JMLabs speakers(Cobalt 816 & Daline 3.1) that I would like to sell up here in Canada along with my newly acquired SR-17V3. The 17 are just a liitle bit too hard in the upper mids as I am very sensitive to sibilance plus at a real world 85 db efficiency & my low current tube amp I just can not get much in the way of dynamic range from these speakers .Not-with-standing a little sibilance(which most people don’t even notice) the speakers are amongst the best I have heard especially if I add a little of my top of the line Stratus series PSB modified sub to them from the pre out

.I also have some Analysis Plus Oval 12 cable & thier crystal oval IC which is the top of line in AP. The single wire arrangement Alan suggested sounded better than the biwire AP as well as thier IC. I am keeping the AP products because they sounded so good on both JML speakers & will sell the Silverline audio conductor cable along with the IC because it is obviously “voiced” for the17V3 .I need a slightly warmish smooth in the upper mids but accurate speaker(the Silverlines are dynaudio driver based & thus very musical & accurate) that is fairly efficient.

Well I think from all my research & many emails that I just described the Linbrook Signature Monitors from Tyler Acoustics. I talked to Ty, & he always seems to have some nicely broken in used ones that are still warrantied for around 2K.What a deal.I just need to sell the 17 around $1500 then one pair of JML about $750 each(they were in the $2300 range new 6 years ago)& I am into some Linbrooks. This may take me a while even though my speakers are on CAM(our Audiogon) up here but I am willing to be patient even it takes a year to complete the whole deal. I have to move slowly in that I am somewhat dependent on my adult son due to a illness I have,

I have several questions remaining about the Linbrooks however most of them to do with sonics have been answered by a never ending list of enthusiastic owners.

My first question is will these match up with my Tempest II ?.It does have a 4 ohm tap however only produces about 25 watts at 4 ohms in my favorite triode mode. Which will rival most SET systems I have heard..

I am need to get more bass which I am sure,l even at 25 watts should be there at abot 40 Hz obviating the need to use the sub except when one wants to R & R a bit..The amp is actually rated at 90 wps into 8 ohms but only produces about 60 into * ohms in regular mode .It uses 4 inexpensive KT88 output tubes that are independently biased which saves on matching tubes & allows for a little tweaking .Evidentially, these amps really respond to tube rolling, however that would come last.

I love this amp with the Creek as the two are very synergistic. If my Silverlines were just a tad less agressive in the uppermids (I had to put 500 hours on them just to get them to reasonable HF wise)& would play louder with more bass I would keep them as with a high powered SS amp & the right environment, cables,jumpers,perhapos a zodel ciciut, etc they would be fantastic.It’s just that I don't have the coin to make them sing the way they can plus I think I want something a little more mellow without losing a lot of detail & musicality..

Also ,how are the stands? I have some sand filled beefy 26 inchers however is it worth the money & the shipping (I live in Canada) to buy the stands? Are mine too high at 26"?.Does anyone have experience with the Rougue Audio tube gear or the analysis Plus cabling & the Linbrooks?

Any & all feedback would be welcomed

Bill Mc

Kelowna B.C.

Canada
audiopath49

Showing 5 responses by jax2

jax2
3,031 posts
 
I haven't had the same experience with ssssssibilance on the VIII's as you describe, but then I've always used the VIII's with at least 100wpc SS power. In previous encarnations I've had I've used tubes, and do recall at least one combination that produced distracting sibilance, but I cannot recall which combination and it's probably irrelevant as Alan used a different tweeter, didn't he? The V. IV I was referring to is the SR-17.5 actually. My VIII's are late production. Don't know if any changes took place, but I doubt it.

I used concrete blocks as amp stands for a while and they worked fine. For the amps I topped them with rubber anti-fatigue matt. I bolted 2X6 boards through the middle to cover the openings on either side. For a bit more investment you could do the same with your speaker stands. One 2X6 board on either open end of the cinder blocks with a bolt going through to squeeze one to the other. A single long piece and 2-4 such bolts would hold the unit together as a unit that you could move around. Countersink the holes, paint the boards black...do whatever you like to make'em look to your liking. Add spikes or rubber, or whatever works to make them more effective for your room. Sounds like a good, economical solution to me.
jax2
3,031 posts
 
not withstanding the negative report by other audiophiles & several highly respected online reviewers state that this tweeter is sibilance.

I've not read any reviews at all of the SR17 VIII, either real-world comments, nor reviewers. If you know of any would you point them out with a URL.

Marco
jax2
3,031 posts
 
Interesting. I've had all three versions of Alan's SR17's and currently own the VIII as well. The VIII is certainly the most refined of the lot, and all have been very impressive, coherent speakers, so that is saying alot. I haven't had the same impressions of the upper mids, in either this version, nor any of the previous ones. I have had similar impressions of the speakers not quite living up to their 89db claimed efficiency. I don't know if I'd say they're as low as 85 though. My first thought was break-in, but 500 hours certainly covers that. I biwire as well, but haven't noticed much of a difference. I wonder if you just got yours, whether they are bone stock, or whether Alan incorporated the newer crossover from the V. IV? I've found the best results with the SR17's to come from throwing some power their way. I know they are voiced for tubes, according to Alan, but I've also had great results with at least two SS solutions, currently using a 180wpc Odyssey Dual Mono. If I asked anything of them, it would be to go a bit lower, though I'm still amazed at how low small boxes like these can go. I certainly can't complain about the quality of the bass though. No experience beyond that to convey, except to suggest trying something with more muscle behind them, tube or SS. Perhaps you have a friend with a system with more muscle that you could try them on. Speaker height should allign your ears with the tweeters by conventional wisdom. That will depend on your measurements and the seat you use to listen. My SR17's are on 28" stands.

Marco
jax2
3,031 posts
 
I will try the boards & bolts with the stands ..did you do anything to the bttoms like add a large flag stone to stabilze them?.Did you need a concrete drill to run the bolt through the concrete … or have I got the wrong idea here. One last thing the V3 has the Esotec D280 whereas the 17.5 uses the more common D260..do you know what the differnces are?

No concrete drill is necessary. The boards would go on the open sides of the cinder blocks to cover those large, square holes (two in each block), thus creating a solid collum (in appearence). The bolts go from board to board, through the center of one hole, with only air in between them (they do not even touch the concrete). The whole thing is held together by tension of those bolts. They have to be large bolts. I think I used 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch bolts. I did NOT build speaker stands. I built simple amp stands from only one cinder block and two pieces of 2X6. I'm only speculating on how to do this. Your project would require two cinder blocks and two pieces of (longer) 2X6, and perhaps as many as four bolts. You could stabilize them with a wood or stone base I suppose, but you'll probably want to spike either to minimize the surface area for ground contact.

I've been listening more carefully to my SR17's with many different kinds of material since reading your post. I'm still not sensing anything like what you describe. Rogue certainly is a fine option for amplification, and given your experience and other choices I have no doubt your front end is up to the task. Have you spoke with Alan about this? If so, what did he have to say on the subject? I don't know the specific differences between the two Esotec tweeters. I do know that he made a tweeter change in the VI-VII-VIII evolution also, but I'm not sure which jump anymore. As I said, I do seem to recall one combination of one of the previous encarnations having some distracting sibilance, but I just don't remember which, and what combination it was. It's been too long, and too many changes in my systems since then. I guess I should keep some notes.

Marco
jax2
3,031 posts
 
Let me ask you this; is your sibilance problem something that bugs you on all vocal material you listen to? On the other hand, could you be focusing on only a handful of selective offending CD's? I ask because I know too well the obsessive nature of most audiophiles, myself included to some degree. There are certainly specific CD's that I know to have problems with sibilance - so much so that I wonder how much of it is in the recording and mixing. For instance, I can play Casandra Wilson's, "New Moon Daughter" or "Blue Light Til Dawn", and be sure that no matter what speakers either is played on that there will be some pretty hot "S's". Certainly it can be worse on some systems than others. In the case of my SR17's I can sense that hot 'S', but I've heard it much worse and it has never occured to me as offensive on this setup. It is no worse than on the two other speakers (neither using Esotec tweets) in my home. Same thing with Diana Krall's, "Live in Paris". Now I could see if you were focusing on challenging recordings like those, and nothing else, where you could get caught up on focusing on S's. Then you'd be missing the rest of the music, and that would be really annoying. Have you tried any other speakers side-by-side on your system, or taken your SR17s to play on a friend's system with similar offending program material? Before making serious changes, especially with gear you seem to otherwise like, I'd want to make sure that it was, in fact, the specific gear I was considering giving up that was the offending link in the chain. The other component I'd carefully consider is your front end - have you tried anything different?

Just a thought.

Marco
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