detailed, great soundstage,even little bass that it has it's accurate (80 hz)

unforgiving toward lousy recorings/slight etch...in highs

Tukan's are best sounding speakers in that price range, that i auditioned.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm-20 active, B&W302,Energy connoisseur C-2

Deatil, accuracy, transparency. The value, even at full retail has to be one of the best in the audio world. Incidently, this is the first purchase that my wife has not complained about - she loves them and that's worth a lot!

I think speakers that require stands should come with them. I'd be happy to pay extra for a stand matched to the speaker by the engineers who designed them.

After a long stint in speaker hell - auditioning everything anyone said was good, I heard these when I went to purchase a new pre-amp and ended up with both the speakers and pre-amp. The detail, balance, and warmth are unsurpassed in anything I heard for this price and size. Sure, If you want to thump the neighborhood, these won't quit get the job done, but the bass is excellent and more importantly, accurate. I have these bi-amped with a 5 channel Rotel 985 mk II (what's a two channel fanatic to do when he's offered a great deal on a amplifier with three unescessary channels?)and I am enjoying them a little more each time I listen to them.

Similar Products Used:

Auditioned; PSB,Paradigm,Dynaudio,Magnepan & B&W

too many to list out of maniac fanaticism

get real

Where to begin? Quite simply, the Tukans rock. I first heard them at Ensemble, mated to a Sunfire True Subwoofer sourced by all Linn gear and I was not very impressed. Later, my next door neighbor brought a pair home to demo and, in the smaller area of his garage, their accuracy and detail took me aback - I had never heard such a razor-sharp image! After listening for hours, I returned to my setup and found myself sorely missing the Tukan sound.

Jump ahead six months. My neighbor, who has gone through 16 sets of speakers in a year, has now owned and sold a pair of Tukans. After extended listening, I knew I must own a pair of these for myself, but they had been discontinued, and I had failed to jump on a pair from Ensemble when they were selling out at $500 :(

As luck would have it, Joe (my neighbor and friendly fellow audiophile who has also posted his Tukan review) bought another pair off Ebay and, since he was also running Magnepan 1.6s in the same system, was having a hard time decided on which speaker to keep. In the end, between the two he chose the Maggies because they were a better match to his listening area, and the Tukans went to me for the very reasonable price of $450.

WOO HOOOOOOO! My listening room, which is smaller than Joe's finished garage, is perfect for the Tukans. Their output is huge, with an insane, razor-sharp image, amazingly true and uncolored sound, and soundstage that transcends their small size. Vocals are beautiful, string decay is natural, the Tukans are fast, musical little magic boxes that remain perfectly paced through even the most demanding songs. I (and all who experience it) enjoy my "new" system in wide-eyed wonderment.

As of now, my system is complete. I could not be happier with my sound, however, taking these babies active has now become my first order of business. Until then I will enjoy their passive sound for what it is: Absolutely stunning.

Anyone watch the Simpsons? Nine Thumbs Up for the Tukans! :)

Chris

Linn Tukan
B&K Reference 4420
Adcom GCD-750 CD
Adcom GFP-750 Preamp
Music and Sound (MAS) Reference power cables
Audioquest Viper interconnects throughout
JPS Superconductor speaker cable

Similar Products Used:

Mirage OM10, but the only similarity is that this, too, is technically a "speaker."

accuracy, musicality

none

Not only do they sound good but
because they perform so well at high
volume I think I am doing structual damage
to my house.
I have an Aktiv set up with two Lk85s
running the Tukans through a Kairn from
an Ikemi with a Sizmik bass enhancer.
I listen to systems that cost thousands more
but don't sound any better.
Accurate,musical,open!

Similar Products Used:

B&W

These speakers are pint sized bookshelf speakers, but with floor standing sound. They cover all sound ranges very well, only dipping on lower frequency bass (yet still out producing many other bookshelfs and some floor). They can cover very fast music with ease and gives off the best vocals I've ever heard. Mated with a good soft sub (B&K or if you have $4000 the Linn) they are awe inspiring and they out perform just about anything in the market at the sub $1500 range ($400 each speaker $700 b&k sub).
Personally I believe they are the best sounding speakers Linn produces. The Keilidh, Kaber, and even the Keltik sound flat and unresponsive compared. Infact, I don't like any of Linn's other products, especially their electronics. The only complaint is, without a mated sub, the Tukans can sound harsh on certain types of music. These speakers (since they're rear ported) require good speaker placement. But, then again, which speaker doesn't. Oh, the Tukans are flat out beautiful.

I have two pairs of the Tukan speakers. I absolutely love them. I have one pair of the speakers paired up with a Rotel Stereo receiver (no sub). The other pair is connected to my home theater amplifier. On that system I have a pair of Boston Acoustics Di-polar surround speakers and the Boston Acoustics CR400 mini-sub. I find the Tukans perform excellent in both the stereo music only environment and the home theater environment.

After extensive auditioning, I recently purchased a pair of Linn Tukans (along with the matching K-300 stands, and Linn's integrated amp, the Majik).These things sound fantastic! They've apparently been redesigned within the last few years, and sport the same ceramic-dome tweeter as Linn's most expensive speakers (the $10,000 Keltiks) and a new woofer.

Highs and voices are superb, as is the stereo imaging. Bass is fast and tight, though doesn't go very low (the speakers are spec'ed at 70hz - 20,000 hz).
The other advantage is that the Tukans can be upgraded by bi-wiring, bi-amping, or "active" biamping, using Linn's "Aktiv" modules. (In active mode, each of the four drivers in the speaker pair is independently driven, bypassing the in-speaker crossovers.)

Can't recommend these little, beautifully-made gems highly enough!

First off, let me state that I don't own these speakers. I have listed to them quite frequently at my favorite audio emporium, however, and tend to migrate to them every time I enter the store. They are normally hooked to a Rotel pre-amp and small amp combination, though I've also heard them hooked to all Linn electronics, too (and prefer this setup, to be honest).
First of all, these are SMALL, attractive speakers (as speakers go... especially with the "cherry" laminate finish). They sound anything but small, however. They have enough midbass energy (or "slam") to fool most into thinking that the Velodyne sub sitting on the floor next to them is turned on.
It's not boomy, sloppy midbass, either, but tight and well defined. Make no mistake, though, it IS midbass you are hearing. These speakers will not reproduce true fundamentals below 70Hz or so. Don't expect lower regions of organ notes to be reproduced, nor will those intense special effects movie scenes bowl you over with trouser-flapping bass. But that's asking far too much from this dimunitive speaker.

Besides a surprising presense for such a small speaker, you get a very detailed, unfatiguing high end with plenty of air. You also get a clean, clear midrange that does justice to vocals and guitar. While not a perfect speaker, it has no quirks that I couldn't live with. Add a subwoofer or two and you're ready to rumble.

While I haven't personally tried to blend this speaker with a subwoofer, the guys at my local audio emporium didn't seem to have too much trouble. The small Velodyne subs (FSR-10, and later a FSR-12) used with these speakers blended well under less than ideal conditions. It's not too hard to figure out why.

A word of advice, set these speakers close to the back wall of your listening area. The farther you move them out, the less "presense" they will have. They are ported from the back of the speaker, and use wall reinforcement to boost their usable bass output.

I like these speakers better than the "Kay-lee" (phoenetic spelling as Scotland's use of vowels and consonants in their names baffle me), to be honest. I think that the "Kay-lee"s are a bit too loaded in the lower mid-bass area, which makes them sound less accurate than their smaller cousins. Besides, if you are going to use a sub, the Tukans will likely be easier to blend. It seems odd suggesting that a small speaker is easier to match with a sub, but from listening experience, I think it may be true. [I could be wrong, of course, not having tried, personally, to set either speaker up with a sub.]

What I like most about these speakers is that they involve you in the music, which is what it's all about. I'm not distracted by harsh highs, muddled midrange or boomy midbass. I just sit back and enjoy the music.

You would be hard pressed to find a cleaner bookshelf speaker, or one that gives you so much in such a small package. If I was in the market for a small set of speakers, these would be on my short list.

I'll have to qualify my rating a bit...

For value, 4 stars. They'd get a full 5 stars if they were more affordable.
$800 seems like a lot to pay for a small, two way speaker system, IMO (not that they aren't worth it, but they are at the price point of resistance when it comes to bookshelf speakers - at least for me).

For sound, I give them 5 stars. They are one of the best bookshelf speakers I've listened to.

here was my setup:Proceed Amp5
Theta Cassablanca
Transparent Musicwave Ultra Bi-wire

I orginally had a pair of Polk RTA-11T's (tower speakers)and was looking to add some bookshelf, I listen to several including the Linn and B&W Nautlis 805's.. I think the B&W's had more dynamics, more body but the Linn's were a close 2nd..

I decided to buy the linn's based on the price ($800 -vs- $2000 B&w retail) for the price they are really a good deal.

Spot on musicality. Build quality. Linn reputation.

A tad pricey.

Always makes music. Always easy on the ears. Always brings a smile. Good for music and movies. Puts out more than it's size would show. Natural cherry finish is fine. Solid construction. Match these sweeties with a decent sub and you're set for many a year. Wouldn't mind two more pair for other rooms. Linn has another winner. I understand, however, that the Tukan has been replaced. Haven't heard the successor. If you can find a demo pair, or used in good shape, step up.

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MB Quart, Dynaudio, Paradigm, Monitor