[drubrew]

Got some directions for us. Should we bring any other toys?
Drew

[Rick Craig]

Got some directions for us. Should we bring any other toys?
Drew

From Cary / Apex / Chapel Hill :

Take the outer loop of the beltline south towards Wilmington. Exit at Hammond Rd. (exit 299). Turn right at the light and Hammond Rd. will become Timber Drive. Cross Hwy. 70 (shopping center on the left with Target / Home Depot) and go to the third light (Woodland Rd. - Eckerd Drug store on the right). Turn right on Woodland and take an immediate left onto Oakwater Drive. My place will be down on the left (1013 Oakwater Dr.).

Feel free to bring CD's and SACD / DVD-A discs are welcome. If you have an amp/preamp combo that you would like to bring please do so. And of course Moon Audio cables  

[drubrew]

I can bring a heavily modded Tube amp and a Class A Borberly Preamp I built as well.

[Carlman]

I really wish I could make this... It'd be nice to see Drew again.. haven't seen in too long.. Plus I'd really like to see what all Rick has brewing at his place...  I'm sure there's going to be something new, cool, and customizable..

Unfortunately some planned house renovations takes priority this time.

Hope everyone has fun!

-Carl

[drubrew]

When ever you want to get together let me know. I have alot of new stuff.
Drew

[Rick Craig]

I can bring a heavily modded Tube amp and a Class A Borberly Preamp I built as well.

Great - I look forward to hearing your equipment.


Rick

[BrunoB]

Hi guys, I took some pictures from the meeting. Here is the
link. Sorry for the poor picture quality, my digital camera is just a Palm pilot.

Bruno

[Bingenito]

Nice room Rick. Looks like the arrays have plenty of room to do their thing.

[Jumpin' Jack Flash]

A big thanks to Rick Craig for the Linus 3 demo.  It is really a treat to be able to meet with a product designer who is very open about his theories and speaker technology.  The speaker's workmanship, especially the curly cherry veneer on the cabinets, is superb (coming from a woodworker!).  Bruno's photos do not begin to detail the beautiful finish, and the unique curved rear of the cabinet is very nicely done.  There was a good diversity of source material, and the speakers sounded fine.  Thanks to Drew Baird (Moon Audio) for providing equipment and cabling, and Bruno for his pictures.
Jack

[ted_b]

......  There was a good diversity of source material, and the speakers sounded fine.    ...

That's it?  "The speakers sounded fine"?  

I can only guess that  this is a case of "if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything" or "I don't want to be the first to talk about their sound"?  

Ted

[samplesj]

I wanted to add another thanks to Rick Craig for opening his listening room to us for the demo.  Like the previous poster said, the cabinets were very well done.  They have very visually impressive cabinets.

I think Rick had to alter his room layout to make room for all of us so it took a little moving/angling of the speakers to get the best results.  I thought the amp/preamp combo that Drew provided were tonally a great match with the speakers.  Unfortunately something else in the system didn't get along with them so there was a mild 60hz buzz.

Because of the different environment and mostly unfamiliar source material along with the buzz it'd be hard to give a detailed review.  Even without the subs they were satisfying for the few pieces we listened to that way.  I was happy that while still keeping detail in the highs, they didn't cause listener fatigue even over the extended listening period and at the higher volumes we used.

After I finish up my new listening room,  I'll definately check back to see what type of line array options Selah has at that point.

[Jumpin' Jack Flash]

I have to agree with the previous post that the listening environment was not optimal for the Linus 3 session.  My context is one of 58 year old ears with the last dozen devoted to Vandersteen 2Cs in a non-optimized room.   The sound I heard was "fine" compared with what I have, a time correct speaker lacking somewhat in dynamics and treble energy.  The Linus 3's were "fine", in comparison to my 2Cs.  I am looking for something which has what I consider more guts and cleaner highs, and they easily met my objectives.

My listening preferences are late '60s and early 70's rock.  The Linus 3s produced excellent vocals from both Grace Slick and Marty Balin.  Drew's live Eagles and Stevie Ray Vaughn were also excellent.  Better recorded material was easily discerned, and Drew's Patricia Barber stuff sounded awesome.

Rick stated a low end of 70-75Hz for the Linus 3s, and we listened to different selections both without, and then with, his excellent subs.  The sound was seamless to me, in either case, and the bass reinforcement was easily noticable on those pieces where it was present, i.e., the Sheffield drum cuts.  The bass on the non-sub Linus 3's was very clean, but not as deep as that on my 2Cs, which have a woofer and PR, by design.  The Linus 3's plus subs were special.

My comments on the listening environment are based on the non-tweak'd room.  There were no room treatments, speakers were on carpet (the 4" bases were not used), non-measured distance from rear wall, or between speakers.  We were easily able to "create" missing center fill with slight adjustments to speaker orientation.  The sweet spot was not three people on the sofa wide, but I think the Linus 3s could sound awesome in a different room with some minor tweaking.

The electronics, as mentionned, did not allow a silent background, but the Linus 3s, in full tilt, overshadowed a lot of this.  The cables were not exotic, and a non-premium Pioneer DVD player was used for cd playback.  All in all, I thought the Linus 3's did an excellent reproduction on excellent material.  I was most impressed with their vocals and extremely clean/fast reproduction of highs (triangles, cymbals, etc.)  

I had never heard a line source (LS) speaker until this session, and I am not sure if the "fine" sound was due to those 8 mid/high Founteks, the crossover,  LS vs PS, or what, but the Linus 3's are definitely on my short list of what I have heard.  I do think that Rick knows his stuff, and is able to translate his knowledge into a fine (sound and build) product.

Thanks to Rick again for opening his home to a group of folks who know him primarily due to Audiocircle and/or word of mouth.  Never did I feel that I was there because someone wanted to sell me something.  In fact, during my 3+ hours, he never mentionned pricing, availability, or any other of the "closure" that you might receive in an audio salon.  

I left early, so maybe some of the other attendees can provide other points of view.

Jack

[BrunoB]

First I would like to thank Rick for organizing this meeting at his nice house.

I would like to say I like the speakers but, unfortunately, I did not like them.

I first listened to the speakers sitting on the chairs behind the sofa that was setup as the main listening position. The sound was well balanced. I was positively surprised that the room sonic contribution did not bother me because the room is untreated. I would have thought that I would hear much more room interaction (which I really don’t like – my system is not far from being anechoic). I guess the cylindrical sound wave of line arrays is very helpful in this respect.

Thereafter, I had the chance to move the optimal seat on the sofa. The sound was very different. I found it better first but when playing a piece of Beethoven symphony, I did not like it anymore. My problem was the treble. I found  it  bright and hard. Of course, it could be that the recording was not good, but when I played a piece of orchestral music that I know very well (Outcast), I had the same problem. Later in the afternoon, we played a Pink Floyd track (Dark side of the moon?) and I still did not like the treble. Listening fatigue was coming very quick.

The fact that there is such a sonic difference between the two listening positions, on the sofa and on the chair behind the sofa, puzzles me. I wonder if this is related to the ratio of the height of the line array to the listening distance? May be there was some comb filtering due to the line of tweeters?

The subwoofer was nice in the sense that it did not add boominess and seems to be well integrated with the main speakers.

When I came back home, I checked the sound of my system to confirm what I have heard. Rick’s speakers have more deep bass (with the subwoofer on) and display larger images than my speakers, which is something I  miss for playing large orchestral works. But for the treble, I can confirm that my speakers are very very different.  I have invested quite a bit of time and money to modify my speakers to suit my taste. This might explain why I did not like the Linus 3 at the sweet spot.

I nevertheless enjoyed the meeting and I am happy to read that others did like the Linus 3.


Bruno

[dhwilkin]

Would people like to share what they were playing for musical selections? I heard some stuff I'd like to hear more of, but had to leave early and didn't get a chance to ask what was being played?

[Rick Craig]

Thanks to everyone that came by to visit and do some listening. Hopefully my speech on speaker design didn't put anyone to sleep  

As expected I received a variety of comments and I appreciate the feedback. I apologize for the equipment problem but Drew was kind enough to bring over his amp and preamp. Maybe at some point I'll be able to afford a front end like most of my customers have    

[RichardS]

Thought I'd pipe in here, as I just bought Bingenito's Incredarrays, and
was also at Rick's toward the end of the afternoon on Saturday. I'd heard his Xcelarrays before, and was impressed with the natural detail, extension, dynamics and lifelike presence to vocalists, but also somewhat bothered by a lack of layering and depth in the soundstage (though the speakers weren't very far out into the room).

On Saturday, again I wasn't impressed with the Linus 3s in the soundstage arena (it seemed somewhat flat and forward) and like some others, had concerns about the treble as well. Didn't seem to have enough air and shimmer. But detail was quite good, smooth and with great presence. Promise was there.

I've been looking to replace my Talon Khoruses with a speaker with a flatter mid and more-detailed treble. Since I use subs, I was mostly considering a monitor. When I saw Bingenito's ad for his Incredarrays, I was intrigued but somewhat skeptical that they'd be what I wanted, but a friend who uses line arrays kept after me, so I went to hear them today, and was blown away, and my doubts vanished instantly.

Now, I realize that these use more expensive mid drivers than the Linuses, but I also think that possibly much of the problems heard on Saturday can be laid at the feet of a combination of three things: the inexpensive Pioneer DVD player used as a digital source, the already-mentioned AC problem, and, in my opinion, the most problematic was likely the placement of the speakers so close to the front wall with an A/V cabinet in-between.

These designs, and especially these ribbons, CAN sound really lifelike. The leading edges can have almost a startle factor, without any etch. But they certainly show better with better electronics and better placement (i.e., room to breathe and open up).

Count me as one who is really sold on the value of having the speakers way out into the room (6 or 7 feet). WAF be damned. Now I'll have to see if Bingenito's Incredarrays sound as good in my room with my Tact equipment as they did in his with his Sim/Blue Circle stuff.

And thanks again to Rick for his hospitality, as well as his design talents. Now, if I can only get my wife to warm up to the size of what she calls the 'monoliths.'

[BrunoB]

Thought I'd pipe in here, as I just bought Bingenito's Incredarrays, and
was also at Rick's toward the end of the afternoon on Saturday. I'd heard his Xcelarrays before, and was impressed with the natural detail, extension, dynamics and lifelike presence to vocalists, but also somewhat bothered by a lack of layering and depth in the soundstage (though the speakers weren't very far out into the room).

On Saturday, again I wasn't impressed with the Linus 3s in the soundstage arena (it seemed somewhat flat ...

Richard,

do you notice a difference in treble quality when you move closer or farther away from your line array? I am just wondering if what I have heard is specific to the Linus3 or the setup used on Saturday.

A question for Rick: is there a particular optimal listening distance for your line arrays?

Thanks,

Bruno

[Rick Craig]

Richard,

do you notice a difference in treble quality when you move closer or farther away from your line array? I am just wondering if what I have heard is specific to the Linus3 or the setup used on Saturday.

A question for Rick: is there a particular optimal listening distance for your line arrays?

Thanks,

Bruno

If your ear level (listening height) remains the same then the treble will be even from the suggested listening distance (8-15 ft.).

Rick