FinkTeam KIM - thoughts?

He @zlone 

I do indeed still have them, and have no interest in replacing them. My current room is larger than yours: 14x21 with a sloping, high ceiling. I did use them initially in a space that was quite small, and while they sounded good, I believe that they have benefitted from being placed a bit further away from the back wall. They currently sit ~34 inches, as measured from the wall to the front plane.

I have little doubt that they would bring more energy than the QLNs, and that is part of the reason why I stepped up from Harbeths. I am now using them with a Linear Tube Audio Z40+ integrated amp, and the combination is outstanding!

My main concern about a room as small as yours would be scale. By that I mean that the further out in the room the KIM’s sit, the bigger the stage will be. Even in my current set-up, I expect that the scale is somewhat compressed relative to the speaker’s full potential. But it’s a trade-off that doesn’t bother me at all.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

@whipsaw Great comments and very helpful, thanks. I am mainly a low volume listener, any comments on when these speakers “wake up”?

@zlone You're welcome. I'd say that they are good at lower volumes, probably due to their dynamism. Having said that, when my girlfriend is not around to object, I prefer to bring the volume up to point at which both the scale and impact seem fairly realistic. Not super loud, mind you, but enough to produce a visceral reaction.

Just to flesh out my previous comments, as they do have rear ports, they benefit from room to breath behind them. But even at less than 3ft from the wall., with my ears a touch over 8 feet from the drivers, I am quite happy with them.

Might you have an opportunity to audition them at a dealer, or are you looking at the used market?

Thanks. I have space to get them out from the wall a bit, so they would be able to breathe. I realize how important this is , especially for rear ports. I can only find three dealers in the US, mostly on the coasts, and I am in the middle, tough to demo without a dedicated trip. I would buy used if they showed up. Thanks again for your comments, appreciated.  

As you probably have heard, Colin King of Gestalt Audio in Nashville is highly regarded. Perhaps he would agree to ship on the basis that you could return them within a week if you aren't completely happy.

They appear occasionally on the used market here in the EU, but probably rarely in the U.S.

Please keep us posted if you do end up with a pair, as I'd enjoy hearing your reaction. I've owned many good speakers over the decades, and these, along with the (very different) Magnepan Tympanis have been my favorites.