im sure can sound great in a linn system

i can´t afford a linn system

One thing you notice reading many of these reviews is that most of the people have linn systems,or at least components. I was thinking of buying these speakers used from a friend (for a very decent price) and they are going back tomorrow. They sound very shut in (this is more apparent on some recordings than others.) There is very little bass extension for such a big heavy pair of speakers. I suppose the best way to describe them is "blah"
I think "Mike" below really hit the nail on the head in his review.

Similar Products Used:

tannoy 637,opera prima,rtl monitors,etc...

I have had the Keilidhs for 5 years now. I still like them and they have proven themselves in two vastly different systems.
Previously I ran them using Naim amplification (72, Hi-Cap, 140) and the sound was wonderful. I have had other speakers in my system which sounded better but only if you were in the sweet spot and only of the room was setup just right. Position affects the Keilidhs but not to the degree of many other speakers. This makes them work well in a hybrid system with video. Multiple listeners can enjoy them.

I recently purchased a more AV oriented front end for my stereo (B&K 4090, 5000) and was initially a quite disappointed. The sound was not engaging at all. I was running the speakers in stereo using 2 bi-wire runs of Naim NAC5 cable. I exchanged this for 4 runs of Kimber blue which I am currently running in passive bi-amp mode. The combination of changing the cable and bi-amping made an astonishing difference. The sound was not only engaging, the bass definition is great and there is a real sense of ease in the high end. The Naim gear is still better in absoute terms but the sound is great with both systems.

The speakers are placed a couple of feet from the rear and side walls and toed in slightly. I usually leave the grill cloth in place as it's removall has only a small benefit.

Overall I am very satisfied with the Keilidhs. They sound good, they aren't too finicky about room location and they are shielded to work well in an AV oriented environment. That and my wife doesn't mind the looks.

I find the Linn Keilidh very versatile and has proven in many systems I have tried. I am now using an all linn setup and activ therefore the sound produce is now very open. I have heard the Keilidh in an all audiolab setup and it sounds delightful as it is warmer then the usual cold and clinical audiolab amplifiers. (audiolab 8000A, 8000C, 8000P and 8000M).The other system I have heard with the Linn Keilidh is with a full Naim system (72/140 & 82/250). Sounds very full and the music gives out full body and weight with the Naims dynamic clout and sheer guts. Better at presenting Naim's clarity then Naim speakers at the same price.
Of course Linn Keilidh must come with the ceramic plinth that you must purchase extra to get the full sounding capability of the speakers. In my setup with Linn Aktiv system it sounds open and powerful. Used in an all Linn System, you must go Aktiv to realise its full potential. I find few speakers in its price range that can match its sonic prowess be it in an all Linn setup or others.

The first time I heard the Linn Keilidhs they sounded dreadful. They were in a toatally Linn system and located on the short wall of the room with no metal bases attached.
The second time I heard them they were on the long wall of the room with the metal bases attached and they were terrific. I bought a pair and placed them into my bi-amped Linn system in my listening room and was very dissappointed once again. I called my Linn dealer who came over to help me place them. After several hours they still didn't sound right and the bass was very muddy and boomy.

Finally, I remembered that they had been placed on the long wall in the Linn listening room and as soon as I changed them to the long wall the sound quality improved greatly. They still had a slight sibilance in the upper tweeter and had to be positioned well away from the back wall but the sound was now acceptable.

My reccomendation is to make sure and purchase a pair with the metal bases and experiment with different placements as they don't work well in all rooms.
Also, I have seen them for sale used on the net for $500 and at this price are a steal.

I have had the Keilidh's for approx three years and they sound vastly better than the KEFs and Hanson Monitors which preceded it. I have always enjoyed the sound and have been able to wring a lot of extra performance out of them with upgrades. I used an LK100 at first in bi-wired passive mode, then went to passive bi-amped LK100's ( a big improvement in resolution, and bass slam)and finally to fully "aktiv" with an LK140 replacing the older LK100. The sound has opened up and is both sweet and detailed in the treble at the same time. The soundstage opened up with air and openness to rival much more expensive systems. The Linn Keilidhs are very resolving and need a good system to sound their best. Linn was certainly right about the benefits of active bi-amping, the results were very satisfying. I know that I could continue to make improvements in the system upstream as the Keilidhs have enough resolving power to communicate the improvement. I would definitely recommend them, plus they really sing in the context of an all-Linn system

I recently bought the Linn Keilidh's (+granite bases) after many comparisons with British and Canadian made speakers. My requirements were a floor standing speaker (not to large) with a light wood finish (to please the wife) in the $2000 range. The Keilidh's are being powered by a Bryston 3B power amp and BP5 pre amp. I use Kimber cables and bi-wires.
I have been really pleased with the sound they will produce-more bass than you would expect from the specs. However,their real strength is the fullness and rich sound of instruments-especially guitars. Voices tend to be behind the instruments (not forward)which is good-and they can make some of my old raunchy Rock discs sound less harsh.
I wonder what I would hear if they were bi-amped or active-but, I need to win the Lottery first!!

I have had the Kelidhs for over 4 years now. I have to disagree with the previous reviewer who said they sound like other Linn speakers. I owned a pair of Helix speakers for 2 years before the Kelidhs arrived and these are a vast improvement. The Helix had all the annoying characteristics the previous reviewer attributes to Linn speakers. The Kelidh on the other hand has corrected all of those deficiencies and is one of the most balanced all round performers in the grouping of floor standers in the $1500-2000 price range.
I must first indicate that they are being used in combination with a Linn Majik amp, a Rega Planet and a Rega Planar 3. I do think Linn components generally sound better used within a Linn system.

When I refer to them as a well balanced speaker this is not faint praise. Over the past 25-30 years I have listed to many, many speakers that were touted as the best new speaker available in a given price range. In most cases I found that while they excelled in one area (i.e. tight and deep bass), they had deficiencies or could be very irritating in another area (i.e. tizzy or bright highs which destroyed cymbals or woodwind instruments). Many speakers impressed at first as being the ultimate in high resolution, only to prove very fatiquing if listened to for more than 15 minutes at a time. Some were extremely impressive if played only at low to moderate volume, only to become boomy or muddy if played at high volumes. Some could impress initially with a killer soundstage and ability to separate out individual instruments and voices during complex passages, only to fall down on realistic production of the human voice. Or they might impress with their musicality and "warmth", only to disappoint in terms of imposed a layer between you and the music. Those who have auditioned many speakers over the years will be able to relate to this list of faults. The Kelidh excels because it does a good, and in some cases very good, job in all of these areas without showing significant faults in any areas.

Those looking to disagree would probably point to soundstaging and lack of high resolution as the possible weaknesses of these speakers. But with the right amp and source component they perform quite adequately in these areas as well.

They do sound much better bi-wired. The granite stands also improve their definition and slam a great deal. And active amplification takes them to a whole new level (one I cannot afford). The listener should also be warned that they have a ceramic tweeter that requires considerable break in time. But if given the time this tweeter will provide very sweet and accurate highs.

In short, I highly recommend these speakers for buyers in their price bracket. Ihave compared them directly to some of the most well known competitors (NHT, PSB, Totem, Meadowlark, Naim, KEF, and B&W). In all cases I have found they are on a par or better than comparably priced floor standers from these competitors. For that reason I give them five stars on a value for money scale.

These Linn speakers are among the best speakers in their price category. My brother purchased a pair and after a year parted with them. We believed that over time, they sounded very coloured. We were using a Linn Majik and an Arcam Alpha 5+ source (passive set-up). We thought it was the Linn products but and kept the Arcam. Over time, we realized that it was the Arcam that was to blame when we were listening to the B&w Matrix 805's (a very neutral speaker).
After this realization and listening to other floor standering speakers in the 2000-3000 dollars (Cdn) price range. They are very hard to beat.

SO if anyone is consider listening to these speakers, take my advice:
1. Source is important.
2. The Granite stands are very important (they will tighten up the bass and clean up the midrange).

These speakers are an excellent value and are also the best built in the price category as well. I am very interested to hear what they sound like in an aktive set up.

P.S. There resolution is depends on the equipment which are used with them.

I am generally a huge fan of Linn gear, and recently bought the outstanding and inexpensive Linn Classik for my bedroom. I have never liked Linn speakers, however, and the Keilidh are no exception. Their sound is very mellow and laid back, yes, but they are not exceptionally detailed and the sound has a generally "thin" quality to it -- the "body," or full-range character of even high pitched acoustic instruments is very much lacking with the Keilidh's. They are also extremely sensitive to room and placement, and lack the extended bass that I generally look for in heavy, floor-standing speakers. I personally found them quite uninvolving and, although I do think they look exceedingly beautiful, I think there are far better speakers to be had for similar amounts of money, most notably the Dynaudio Audience 60 ($1200) or Audience 70 ($1600), The Sonus Faber Concertino ($995 w/o stands), or even the Phase Technology PC-2 ($750 w/o stands). Although these are all far from perfect, I would take any of the above four before the Keilidh's. These comments all apply to the Keilidh's in passive mode. Run in Aktiv mode, they are totally different animals. Sounds is sharp, phenomenally detailed, and spectacularly lifelike. Dynamics and imaging are superb and bass, although still not extremely extended, is excellent -- very clean and tight, without ever getting irritating. In Aktiv mode, these are some of the best speakers I've ever heard, but even the cheapest proposition to run these in Aktiv is $2400 (3 Linn LK85 power amps), and I don't imagine that people who have $1500 to spend on speakers will have $2400 to spend on power amps, not to mention the prohibitive cost of all that cabling! If you want to upgrade, fine, but I'd rather bi-amp a pair of Sonus Fabers that sound fantastic NOW, and wait until I can afford to run the Keilidh's in Aktiv mode before I even consider buying them. I give them 5 speakers in Aktiv mode, but if you only have one power amp, I'd suggest looking elsewhere.

Having been a Linn fan for years, i am finally buying my first Linn System and the Keilidh is at the heart of it.
In my opinion the are great in passive mode and truly excetional in Active Configuration, having listened to them in both the store and home environments.

The build quality is exceptional and they look beautiful. I look forward to having them in my home.