Ahah, you are the very person I need to talk to! I got the very same speakers for our up-the-coast place, but they are back at the Linn dealer while Linn debugs a slight hum they showed between tracks or during other silences. While we liked the Akudoriks at first, we always felt that was something slightly off in them overall. Our Linn dealer agreed, and Linn techs confirmed that the Katalyst boards in both Akudorik and Akubarik have this issue. Not those on Klimax 350, which are different and always sounded great to us at our main place. Linn are working on it, although that seems to have been delayed a bit by the rush to introduce the new Organik DAC (maybe something to do with the AKM fire?) In the meanwhile, we are borrowing a pair of 530s, which are OK but not what we want.
Thatâs unfortunate!
And strange that it sounds like Linn think it affects all such units, but I am not hearing any hum either in, nor between, tracks. The ambient noise level here is lower than at my place in Seattle also, so if it was there I would expect I could hear it - especially as after reading your post I was actively listening for it.
I wonder if âSpace Optimizationâ is a factor? I had that enabled and configured in Seattle, but itâs off here at the moment ⌠partly because I havenât felt the need to use it here yet, but mostly because I havenât had time even if I did! Easy to test, though, so will probably give it a go a bit later today.
Donât get me wrong, I think the LS50W II is a fine speaker. Itâs certainly more audiophile-appropriate than the Phantom II, and probably a better choice for most - provided the use case allows them to be setup the right way.
In my scenario, however, it was not possible to get satisfying bass extension and level, whilst also keeping the bass clean, without adding a subwoofer. That is in part due to how/where I want to run them ⌠which puts them against a wall. That results in either having to turn the bass way down (lowest setting on the speaker, plus some extra EQ) and curtailing its extension, or is a boomy, bloomy, phase-fucked mess.
Itâs a different story entirely with 18-24" inches of space between them and the rear wall, but doing that means setting up my office in a way other than I want to. Though Iâd still want a subwoofer for a bit more meat and impact.
The little Phantom IIs can just sit on the corners of my desk (which I am keeping as a very sparse setup, compared to how I used to set things up), with no need for stands, no concern about the wall, no need for a subwoofer (theyâll play 20 Hz lower than the KEFs with the KEFs on their highest bass setting, and still be within 1 dB from 25 Hz to 20 kHz).
That the Phantom IIs are tiny in comparison (less than a third the size) just makes them a better fit for use as computer/desktop speakers, for me.
Thanks for checking! When I turned off space opt, same hum. I took the Akudoriks back to the dealer, and we replicated the problem there, again with space opt off. Another of his customers also has the issue. Then, Linn replicated the issue in their lab. It could be that itâs on some batch of Katalyst boards but not on others (component change?)
It could be a change in the build, I suppose. My set of Exakt Akudorik stands were bought separately from the speakers, as an upgrade, right around when the Katalyst version was first released. So I could easily see there being running changes, especially if you bought them more recently ⌠given the state of the global electronics component supply chain right now
Congrats on finally getting moved Ian. Are you still thinking of purchasing an HE-1? Or have I misunderstood. Thats really neat.
Also, possibly considering WAMM Master Chronosonics, wow. Cool. Does this mean you are not going on the world tour any time soon (due to covid I pressume?)
The Phantom II look very nice. Pair of those here compared to the LS50W II would run a cool 40% higher $$ though, gap may not be as wide overseas. We have all sorts of inconsistent pricing here.
Yes.
Though the decision to do so has been complicated by Sonovaâs purchase of Sennheiserâs consumer division. I want some assurances on long-term support there before pulling the trigger. Weâll see how that goes if/when I can find someone appropriate to talk to.
Another potential issue here is that, now that I have my office/den/cave setup with a proper speaker system, that I can run at proper listening levels anytime I want and not disturb anyone, I may just not do the headphone thing at all.
For now, weâve just changed the form of it. Weâll do 6-9 months of travel (as things open up) over spring/summer/fall and then winter here in Florida. And we may break up the blocks of travel with time back here in between.
The original plan doesnât really work when lots of places wonât let you in at all. And those that do, then require two weeks of quarantine.
Hell, I was surprised to learn that my family in the UK is not permitted to leave the UK without a âreasonable excuseâ (for which visiting family/vacations are NOT considered as such) ⌠though I believe those restrictions are supposed to be lifted on Monday.
Australia has a history of accepting anyone from the UK. Good or bad.
And is that coming to Fla ? as we have NO ( ZERO ) restrictions on incoming international travel. But I guess actually leaving the UK could have some limitations.
Itâs literally that they cannot leave the UK for any international destination, absent having a âreasonable excuseâ:
It is illegal to travel abroad for holidays. Follow current COVID-19 rules where you live: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In England, you must have a permitted reason to travel abroad and complete a declaration form.
The last time I looked there was no specified end-date for those restrictions, but sometime in the last week it was updated such that they are supposed to be lifted on May 17th. Weâll see how that works out âŚ
15 years ago my wife and I quit our jobs to go and travel for a while. For immigration reasons, we couldnât be gone for more than 3 months at a time or 6 months out of the year. We ended up doing multiple 2 month trips, with breaks at home in between. It worked out perfectly. Any more than two months and logistics at home started becoming trickier (having mail held, getting prescriptions etc). We also got tired of living out of a small suitcase each, though with your boat you wonât have that problem. Itâs a fun way to travel: long enough to not have to rush, short enough that going home isnât too far in the future.
Well hopefully soon they can get over here for a visit.
Are the Phantoms that good? Compared to the LS50W ii? Or is it their size and deeper bass that wins out for desktop?
Is there a easy plug and DSP system I could add to the KEFs? Something that measures via mic, applies appropriate full EQ curve accordingly.
Edit: Phantom have built in DSP? Figured they would, website didnât mention it.
I think the Phantom II sounds more balanced than the LS50W II, response wise, and definitely has a better bass response in terms of level, extension and linearity. I suspect the LS50W II takes them in terms of mid-range resolution. And while the concentric driver gives the LS50W II point-source like levels of imaging, the Phantom II matches them there.
Outside of near-field usage, the LS50W II is probably a better bet, particularly as the size of the room goes up (though the Phantom IIs are handling my office nicely*, and thatâs 400+ sqft), though the LS50W II still needs a subwoofer to match the low-end response of the Phantom II.
There is. The miniDSP DDRC-24 ($449). The package even includes the measurement microphone.
Thatâs a DIRAC based system, so itâll do full room correction (EQ, phase, etc.) for both a main/full-range speaker and a sub, for each channel.
However, itâll only work with the analog inputs on the LS50W IIs, so you wouldnât get the benefit of its effects with any of the digital inputs nor their onboard streaming capabilities.
The make heavy internal use of DSP, including Devialetâs proprietary SAM technology, but this is not something thatâs user accessible. If you want to apply EQ to them, you have to do it in whatever source youâre feeding them with (I use them via Roon for music and TOSLINK as my âcomputerâ speakers, so I can apply EQ at those points - though I havenât felt any need or desire to).
*The main speakers in my office are my Linn Akudorik Exakt ⌠and itâs having proper access to those thatâs making me question using headphones at all. The Phantoms just sit on my desk for more casual, near-field, listening - even though theyâre certainly capable of much more.
Any other powered speakers youâve tried that you liked for desktop use?
Recently, no.
For the last few years Iâve primarily used headphones at my desk. The only speakers there were some HK SoundSticks III, purely for computer output (no music), since they looked okay and took very little space - and sounded less tinny than the built-in speakers in my monitors.
Prior to that I ran passive B&W bookshelf speakers and a 12" sub.
Iâve had various active studio monitors in my production setup, ranging from relatively inexpensive JBLs (too much hiss near-field in a quiet room for me) to the higher-end Genelecs, but those are seriiousl pushing what Iâd consider âdesktopâ usable.
The new office setup was absolutely going to be LS50W IIs ⌠until I spent some time with the Phantoms. But, again, for the KEFs add a sub and run them so theyâre not stuck against a wall and theyâre a different animal.
If I didnât have the ability to have my Linn rig in my office, I might well have been tempted to let the desk sit off the wall, so I could place the LS50W IIs properly, and do the sub there. But the Linn rig makes it all redundant for proper listening ⌠and as said before, even has me thinking I donât need headphones, or at least wonât use them, when I can now run proper speakers, at proper levels, 24/7 if I want to).
Thanks for the breakdown.
Does the miniDSP or other system, generate a EQ correction graph I could then replicate in EQ APO and continue to use the KEF via digital input? Basically what I do now but science adjusted, not by my ear.
Sorry to hear about the covid complications. I hope it clears up (for all of our sakes!) soon!
Winter in florida certainly sounds nice. Iâve long thought about the future and spending the rainy winters elsewhere. Who knows once Iâm a bit further down the road. This part winter in particular has beenâŚwellâŚshite. Nice sun today though, so Iâm not complaining 
Iâve been doing more and more listening to speakers as well, but do still enjoy my headphones in the nighttime. Iâd say im at about 50/50 in terms of time spent with each.
Not directly.
You could do that more easily just using REW (free) and the same measurement microphone (Umik-1, which is $79), though youâd have to figure the corrections yourself. Which is easy enough to do, as you can simply make adjustments and re-measure until youâre getting the response you want.
Thatâd only cover frequency response adjustment, of course. Thereâs more to Diracâs processing and compensation/corrections than that.
The manual for it is here, in case you want to take a more detailed look.
âŚ
There is also the DDRC-22D, which is purely digital (digital in and output), but itâs more expensive, is 2-channel only so it wonât help with integrating sub-woofers if you ever want them, it relies on an earlier version of Dirac and it still wonât let you use the network interface on the KEFs.