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Linn Tukan loudspeaker System & Setup
Sidebar 2: System & Setup
I drove the loudspeakers with a wide range of amplifiers and source components over the past five months. The Linns saw action with five integrated amplifiers: the Audio Note OTO SE, Linn Majik, Sonic Frontiers Anthem Integrated One, Rotel RA-970BX, and NAD 317. Source components included the Well Tempered Turntable and Lary Pederson-modified Well Tempered Arm, fitted with an AudioQuest AQ7000nsx phono cartridge; all the budget and midpriced CD players I've reviewed recently (particularly the Rotel RCD-990); and that long-term favorite, the Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1. As another point of comparison, I had a pair of Diapason Adamantes II loudspeakers (reviewed by Jack English in Vol.19 No.9). These $3998/pair Italian monitors, now undergoing auditioning for a Follow-Up report, provided an interesting contrast with the Aerials and Linns.
Loudspeaker cables were primarily MIT Terminator 2 bi-wire and AudioQuest Forest bi-wire. When using the Audio Note OTO, I used the Audio Note AN/L cable and AN/C interconnects. Other interconnects included AudioQuest Topaz and Jade, and MIT Terminator 2. You'll note that most of my listening was with source components and cables priced appropriately for a system using the Tukans or Aerial 5s (excepting the Well Tempered Turntable).
I tried the Tukans in a variety of locations, including those that are not optimal for imaging but are likely to be used by the typical Tukan purchaser. When mounted on the Aerial 5 stands with Tiptoes, the Tukans' tweeters were 36" high.
Finally, the loudspeakers was broken-in with two days of out-of-phase pink noise followed by months of playing music.—Robert Harley
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