Komris soldier on

[Newton_John]

I am curious to know how people view the viabilty of the Komris in a Linn system twenty plus years on.

I really don't know much about the alternatives, except that the 350s never really challenged them. Kudos Titan 808s have higher quality drivers and arguably a better design. The same is certainly true for the 360s, which have superior imaging. All three of these speakers look so much better than the Komris and are probably less demanding to set up. Are there other options?

I can't deny the advantages of integrated loudspeakers, but feel that none of them quite have the oomph of the Komris driven by Solo 500s. For the first time we now have a serious contender in that respect with the Solo 800s. However, I feel something is lost when going from Exakt to passive.

I am very much a source first man anyway. This philosphy appears to be justified by the vast improvements we've seen during the time many of us have been using Komris. CD Players turned into DSs and then DSMs and then Next Generation. Analogue pre amplifiers were retired. The LP12 has been upgraded beyond all expectations since the turn of the millenium. Crossovers have gone from passive to Activ, to Exakt, to Katalyst, to Organik. Power supplies have gone to Dynamik and now Utopik.

In short, the extra performance that has been wrung out of the Komris is remarkable. I guess you could also say that for the 350s, etc. Yet, potentially there's more to come with Utopik for Klimax Exaktboxes and power amplifiers. I wonder if money will be better spent on Utopik than changing speakers.

My main worry about them is how long they will be serviceable. Given, their relatively low trade in value at present, I came to the conclusion that there is little to lose by keeping them until they fail and worrying about it when it happens.

There's much there to be picked apart and many will disagree with some of my comments. I'll be interested to hear what you think.

[Loogiefi]

Hi
I have been using Aktiv (Analogue) Komris with Dynamik solo's for over 2 years now. I have auditioned 808's and 360's (Integrated) in past and have felt I was not missing much by sticking with the Komri's, and that's within my setup which currently has a KDS Katalyst! I am really looking forward to hearing what the Komri's have to offer once my KDS has been upgraded with Organik and Utopik.

I have taken the view that the cost of upgrading the Komri's is too high to achieve similar results and funds are better allocated to upgrading the source and hopefully amp power supplies.

It's always a worry that something could go wrong with Komri's which may not be repairable, but I was aware of that when I made the investment to acquire Komri's and have never regretted that. Komri's are an incredible design and offer so much of what I like about the Linn sound moving from
Kabers to 242's prior over a 30 year period.

[fschmeis]

Yet, potentially there's more to come with Utopik for Klimax Exaktboxes and power amplifiers. I wonder if money will be better spent on Utopik than changing speakers.

I completly agree

My main worry about them is how long they will be serviceable. Given, their relatively low trade in value at present, I came to the conclusion that there is little to lose by keeping them until they fail and worrying about it when it happens.

Once again I completely agree. Fortunarely my two modules were changed by Linn three years ago (no more available today) .. but if a driver fails I might be lost

There is one more question I am worried about: With KEB and NGKSH we are limited to a small set of high quality loudspeakers, you named most of them … B&W e.g. doesn’t support Exakt … it feels a little bit like a lock in …

[JensA]

I am definitely not qualified to make any comments about how good (or bad) Komris are as I have never listened to them.
For me as an outsider, however, the situation appears to be relatively straightforward:
if you have some, keep them until an irreparable defect occurs
if you don't have any yet: hands off!

apart from the fact that these monsters don't fit into my listening room, the potential upgrade costs (2 x 5 ways!) for exact speakers, mono amps etc. would probably put me off. (I'm already annoyed by my 140s, which is why I'm currently flirting with Kudos Titans)

[Roman]

I have original, late manufacture Linn Isobarik speakers driven by 8 solos, 2x Klimax Exakt boxes, Organik, and a NGKDSM utopik hub. The Isobariks still sound superb and they have only improved when, over the years, I have upgraded other Linn kit upstream of them.

In another room I have 350 integrated organik speakers and a NGKDSM utopik hub. They are very nice but nothing like as good as the Isobarik set up. My Isobarik set up is light years ahead of the integrated 350s.

Yes… the acoustics of the two rooms are very different and perhaps the difference would be less so if they were played side by side in the same room. However… I purchased my Isobariks in 1989 and they have been (and still are) magnificent. I’ve blown the odd tweeter over the years, which my (excellent) local Linn dealer has replaced with hiphoquins. Thank you Nigel at Peter Tyson.

… so back to the point of the original post… improvements upstream will likely continue to extract many a good tune out of old (Isobarik) fiddles. I have never heard Komris but they enjoy an excellent reputation. I would keep Komris until they are unrepairable and tweak the cheaper* upstream upgrades (eg utopik for solos, utopik for Exakt boxes etc) as and when they become available.

* cheaper is of course relative in the Linn ecosystem.

[Coyote Jim]

[akamatsu]

I have original, late manufacture Linn Isobarik speakers driven by 8 solos, 2x Klimax Exakt boxes, Organik, and a NGKDSM utopik hub. The Isobariks still sound superb and they have only improved when, over the years, I have upgraded other Linn kit upstream of them.

In another room I have 350 integrated organik speakers and a NGKDSM utopik hub. They are very nice but nothing like as good as the Isobarik set up. My Isobarik set up is light years ahead of the integrated 350s.

Yes… the acoustics of the two rooms are very different and perhaps the difference would be less so if they were played side by side in the same room. However… I purchased my Isobariks in 1989 and they have been (and still are) magnificent. I’ve blown the odd tweeter over the years, which my (excellent) local Linn dealer has replaced with hiphoquins. Thank you Nigel at Peter Tyson.

… so back to the point of the original post… improvements upstream will likely continue to extract many a good tune out of old (Isobarik) fiddles. I have never heard Komris but they enjoy an excellent reputation. I would keep Komris until they are unrepairable and tweak the cheaper* upstream upgrades (eg utopik for solos, utopik for Exakt boxes etc) as and when they become available.

* cheaper is of course relative in the Linn ecosystem.

Excellent advice!

[Martin Kelly]

I have original, late manufacture Linn Isobarik speakers driven by 8 solos, 2x Klimax Exakt boxes, Organik, and a NGKDSM utopik hub. The Isobariks still sound superb and they have only improved when, over the years, I have upgraded other Linn kit upstream of them.

In another room I have 350 integrated organik speakers and a NGKDSM utopik hub. They are very nice but nothing like as good as the Isobarik set up. My Isobarik set up is light years ahead of the integrated 350s.

Yes… the acoustics of the two rooms are very different and perhaps the difference would be less so if they were played side by side in the same room. However… I purchased my Isobariks in 1989 and they have been (and still are) magnificent. I’ve blown the odd tweeter over the years, which my (excellent) local Linn dealer has replaced with hiphoquins. Thank you Nigel at Peter Tyson.

… so back to the point of the original post… improvements upstream will likely continue to extract many a good tune out of old (Isobarik) fiddles. I have never heard Komris but they enjoy an excellent reputation. I would keep Komris until they are unrepairable and tweak the cheaper* upstream upgrades (eg utopik for solos, utopik for Exakt boxes etc) as and when they become available.

* cheaper is of course relative in the Linn ecosystem.

Excellent advice!

I completely agree.

(Coming from an Aktiv M140 owner, who was thinking of going to Aktiv Akubarik’s, but who has decided NOT to!)

[Millennial]

I've been 'harping on' about adding a sub... But in all honesty as each days passes I'm less interested as Utopik has added so much, for the bass I feel I now have the range with some punch too. If given the choice of receiving a gift of either a Exaktboxsub or Utopik for MEBi, i would definitely take the latter.!

[Martin Kelly]

I've been 'harping on' about adding a sub... But in all honesty as each days passes I'm less interested as Utopik has added so much, for the bass I feel I now have the range with some punch too. If given the choice of receiving a gift of either a Exaktboxsub or Utopik for MEBi, i would definitely take the latter.!

The M140’s don’t go down too low. This is where a subwoofer (or ‘Bass Reinforcement Speaker’, as Linn calls it) comes into its own.

However, a lot will depend on your setup/room etc. If you feel that you don’t need more bass, than just forget about it!

[Newton_John]

I've been 'harping on' about adding a sub... But in all honesty as each days passes I'm less interested as Utopik has added so much, for the bass I feel I now have the range with some punch too. If given the choice of receiving a gift of either a Exaktboxsub or Utopik for MEBi, i would definitely take the latter.!

A few years ago, I had a Sizmik 12.45 and Exaktbox Sub. It was great for movies, but didn't sound at all good with music. I guess that was because the quality of the sub was inferior to the servo bass of the Komris.

On the other hand, putting Utopik in my DSM was good all.round. One of the best upgrades I've ever done.

[timster]

I've been 'harping on' about adding a sub... But in all honesty as each days passes I'm less interested as Utopik has added so much, for the bass I feel I now have the range with some punch too. If given the choice of receiving a gift of either a Exaktboxsub or Utopik for MEBi, i would definitely take the latter.!

The M140’s don’t go down too low. This is where a subwoofer (or ‘Bass Reinforcement Speaker’, as Linn calls it) comes into its own.

However, a lot will depend on your setup/room etc. If you feel that you don’t need more bass, than just forget about it!

I found Utopik in combination with a slight uplift of a bass shelf in SO has cured my previous need for a sub, in most cases, but not all (recording dependent).

[Newton_John]

Many thanks for all the comments

[ChrisMorton]

I have original, late manufacture Linn Isobarik speakers...

Hi Roman,

I too have Isobariks. Mine are a penultimate version, those released prior to the KuStone additions and gasket seals (yuck). I replaced the tweeters myself with originals provided to me from Peter Swain at Cymbiosis; Peter later replaced the front base B139 drivers on-site and I provided the ballast

I am using 3 Klimax Twins and an Organik Exaktbox so somewhat along the path to where you are, currently. I rather like the idea of replacing Twins with Solos. I have a Klimax LP12 with Ekstatik. My hub is however, a prior generation but with Utopik.

I'm wondering if you had the original Aktiv as I did. Mine was upgraded to Slimline power supply. I had a Klimax Kontrol at the time too.

How do you think the old all anolog vs the new setup compare?

Thx, Chris.

[Krabbler]

Hello,

my Komris are 20+ years old and I enjoy them every day. Still I ask myself if they are still working to their full potential. Do the drivers never get bad?
Especially the tweeter and the super tweeter? Is there a way to test them other than sending the array to Linn?
When would I know that they degraded.
They still sound amazing, still these are questions lingering around in the back of my head.

[Komri]

I don't often post on forums, but as the guy who designed the Komri's along with Philip Hobbs this thread makes me smile, as I sit listening to my own pair of Komri's. I've not found another speaker that has the fantastic bass of the Komri.

I'm really pleased there are still people enjoying them.

Regarding driver deteriorating, it's most likely with the bass units, they may start to rattle over time due to the excursion and force the servo puts on them, possibly repairable. The mids and tweeters don't really age.

[Newton_John]

I don't often post on forums, but as the guy who designed the Komri's along with Philip Hobbs this thread makes me smile, as I sit listening to my own pair of Komri's. I've not found another speaker that has the fantastic bass of the Komri.

I'm really pleased there are still people enjoying them.

Regarding driver deteriorating, it's most likely with the bass units, they may start to rattle over time due to the excursion and force the servo puts on them, possibly repairable. The mids and tweeters don't really age.

Thank you, Komri. I love your speakers. They have given me twenty years of great music. Hopefully, there’s many more to come.

[entdgc]

...the guy who designed the Komri's along with Philip Hobbs this thread makes me smile...

You deserve to be grinning from ear to ear not just smiling. Greatest respect to yourself and Phil.

[Sound Hound]

I am curious to know how people view the viabilty of the Komris in a Linn system twenty plus years on.

I really don't know much about the alternatives, except that the 350s never really challenged them. Kudos Titan 808s have higher quality drivers and arguably a better design. The same is certainly true for the 360s, which have superior imaging. All three of these speakers look so much better than the Komris and are probably less demanding to set up. Are there other options?

It always makes me smile when people speak about the appearance of Komris as being unattractive !! I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but really ?!!! Then again, I'm probably not the only one who thinks the 360 is visually unappealing. To each his own !!

[Newton_John]

I am curious to know how people view the viabilty of the Komris in a Linn system twenty plus years on.

I really don't know much about the alternatives, except that the 350s never really challenged them. Kudos Titan 808s have higher quality drivers and arguably a better design. The same is certainly true for the 360s, which have superior imaging. All three of these speakers look so much better than the Komris and are probably less demanding to set up. Are there other options?

It always makes me smile when people speak about the appearance of Komris as being unattractive !! I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but really ?!!! Then again, I'm probably not the only one who thinks the 360 is visually unappealing. To each his own !!

Your Komris look great in your room.

Mine look a little dated because they are maple. Maybe if I keep them for long enough they'll come back in fashion.

[timster]

I am curious to know how people view the viabilty of the Komris in a Linn system twenty plus years on.

I really don't know much about the alternatives, except that the 350s never really challenged them. Kudos Titan 808s have higher quality drivers and arguably a better design. The same is certainly true for the 360s, which have superior imaging. All three of these speakers look so much better than the Komris and are probably less demanding to set up. Are there other options?

It always makes me smile when people speak about the appearance of Komris as being unattractive !! I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but really ?!!! Then again, I'm probably not the only one who thinks the 360 is visually unappealing. To each his own !!

Your Komris look great in your room.

Mine look a little dated because they are maple. Maye if I keep them for long enough they'll come back in fashion.

Well, flares did so you never know!

[dol]

Mine look a little dated because they are maple. Maybe if I keep them for long enough they'll come back in fashion.

Someone sent their komris to the kabinet/finisher linn used for the komries to make them piano black. Looks wonderful.
So as an option together with refurbishing the Bass amps could be to sand them down and respray them!

[Newton_John]

Someone sent their komris to the kabinet/finisher linn used for the komries to make them piano black. Looks wonderful.
So as an option together with refurbishing the Bass amps could be to sand them down and respray them!

Thanks for the suggestion. Actually, that was already in the back of my mind. This isn't piano black, but it does give an idea what they'd look like.



My friend, Mike Wilkinson from the Linn Owners at the Wam got his Keltiks done.



I am not sure that the Komris wouldn't be overpowering in piano black because they are so big.

It's quite expensive to refinish big speakers like that. May not be sensible to sink more money into twenty year old speakers.

Funnily enough, I have an Lp12 plinth away getting refinished piano black. It would be good to have the loudspeakers match them.

I'll check with my dealer about refurbishing the bass amps. One of the speakers failed a few years ago and both modules were replaced. I was told that effectively upgraded them to Dynamik.

[Newton_John]

Oh dear! I spoke too soon. The sub bass on one of my Komris has failed.

I am going to have a nervous week or so while my dealer finds out if they can be repaired.

Fortunately, the speakers can still be used in the meantime without the sub bass.

[timster]

Oh dear. Sorry to hear that.
Hope it can be replaced, if not... time for something new?