9 hours with the Linkwitz Labs Orion loudspeaker system - kerr

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Technical and scientific discussion of amps, cables and other topics.

9 hours with the Linkwitz Labs Orion loudspeaker system

Posted by kerr (A) on April 7, 2007 at 20:23:51

AJ, as promised.

My initial impression was definitely WOW which was soon replaced by disappointment. Where was the pinpoint imaging I was used to? It was good but not as precise as I liked. After listening further, I was eventually struck by how the mind works. As the objectivists always say, the mind plays tricks. After an hour or so, I began to suspect that normally when I sit down to listen to my stereo, my subconscious tells me that it's not live music and I should focus more on "audiophile" qualities such as pinpoint imaging. I never worry about that stuff when listening live and guess what? Live music doesn't image as well as many stereos. What I was finally hearing through loudspeakers was the closest to live music I have ever heard. These speakers aren't audiophiles wet dreams but damn, are they a nice sloppy one for the music lover!

Anyway, we threw everything at these speakers. They are incredibly live sounding. Perhaps the most interesting thing is what they did for mediocre recordings. The discs still sounded tonally indifferent but somehow it just didn't matter so much. They didn't spotlight the flaws but they also weren't hiding anything. The open-ness of the speakers just seemed to help mitigate the damages. As my friend the owner of these speakers so succinctly put it "It's like farting outside in the open air rather than in a closet". Whatever. :) But you get the idea.

Anyone that enjoys solo piano will love these! We couldn't get enough Art Tatum. But they also made sense of avant garde large group jazz and full orchestra. The soundstaging was phenomenal and the speakers sounded transparent. But lots of speakers can claim that. Where these excel is in the sheer spaciousness of the sound. They really can make you believe you're in a small to mid sized nightclub. All this using generic wires and solid state amplification. Somehow the idea of swapping ancillary gear just never entered our minds.

Anyone that knows me knows how precious my guitar collection is to me. But I'm seriously thinking of selling a couple in order to buy these speakers. They are that good. We spent 9 hours listening, from Coltrane to Copland, Beethoven to the Beatles and beyond. The thought of coming home and listening to my own system is disconcerting.

Sorry for the mini-review on a technical forum but these had come up around here from time to time.

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Topic - 9 hours with the Linkwitz Labs Orion loudspeaker system - kerr 20:23:51 04/07/07 (23)

What you heard - AJinFLA 09:40:20 04/08/07 (2)

Re: What you heard - kerr 14:24:08 04/08/07 (0)

the result of the 'scientific method? - Analog Scott 11:11:11 04/08/07 (1)

Will you swear you were not drunk or stoned when listening and did not get biased by positive reviews? - Richard BassNut Greene 21:41:23 04/07/07 (7)

Why drunk *or* stoned? Why not both? (nt) - AJinFLA 10:19:10 04/08/07 (0)

That's two separate questions - kerr 09:14:27 04/08/07 (5)

"He used generic wire on purpose as he wanted to get to know the speakers on their own without adding anything" - Richard BassNut Greene 16:27:17 04/08/07 (3)

Re: "He used generic wire on purpose as he wanted to get to know the speakers on their own without adding anything" - kerr 16:45:20 04/08/07 (2)

You already believe better wire will make the Orions sound better = expectations bias - Richard BassNut Greene 17:00:09 04/08/07 (1)

And I already believe holding a lighted match to my finger will burn! - kerr 05:42:57 04/09/07 (0)

Rest assured - AJinFLA 10:39:30 04/08/07 (0)

These are the most favorably reviewed speakers in the history of audio - Richard BassNut Greene 21:37:02 04/07/07 (11)

That is an easy one. - fortysomething 22:15:28 04/08/07 (0)

Re:These are the most favorably reviewed speakers in the history of audio. Jeez Richard, that's rather subjectisvist. - AJinFLA 10:15:55 04/08/07 (4)

Re:These are the most favorably reviewed speakers in the history of audio. Jeez Richard, that's rather subjectisvist. - morricab 05:27:16 04/10/07 (0)

No one needs blind tests of speakers to know what they hear with accuracy -- speakers are subjective - Richard BassNut Greene 16:16:11 04/08/07 (2)

Re: No one needs blind tests of speakers to know what they hear with accuracy -- speakers are subjective - AJinFLA 17:11:43 04/08/07 (1)

''Must be the you-are-now-a-subjectivist thing where everything is taken seriously and literally." - Richard BassNut Greene 17:36:14 04/08/07 (0)

I just changed my mind - kerr 09:26:38 04/08/07 (4)

Kerr you don't need reviews BEFORE you hear speakers and certainly don't need reviews AFTER - Richard BassNut Greene 16:25:02 04/08/07 (1)

Not a question of "need" - kerr 16:57:02 04/08/07 (0)

I hate to tell you this - AJinFLA 09:50:47 04/08/07 (1)

Re: I hate to tell you this - kerr 14:12:40 04/08/07 (0)

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