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Silver Member Username: ExerciseguyBrooklyn, NY USA Post Number: 113 Registered: Oct-04 | OK, the Lings seem to be in a class by themselves. Should I be concerned about purchasing a speaker from a start-up company? I want to know how many on this board actually own the Lings? 3? 12? 100? |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 6057 Registered: May-04 | What concern would you have about buying from a start up company? The drivers are off the shelf models that will be available for several years. If warranty is the issue, there is little to be concerned about there. Not that it is likely in some cases, but almost any company can go out of business no matter how long they have been around or the reputation they have developed. Sansui and Kenwood were very big names in home audio for decades until the fairly recent past. Restricting your purchases to "safe" companies will leave out a substantial portion of the market. At some point Sony was a start up company. |
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Silver Member Username: ExerciseguyBrooklyn, NY USA Post Number: 115 Registered: Oct-04 | Say cool, I just wan't to see how many people I can get to chime in on these speakers. |
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Gold Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 1911 Registered: Feb-05 | I'm not sure how many own them but a good number have heard them and been impressed. |
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Silver Member Username: ExerciseguyBrooklyn, NY USA Post Number: 116 Registered: Oct-04 | That I'm sure of, I've read the reviews. I'm on the verge of ordering a pair myself. I just want to be sure. I don't have alot of money to throw around. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 6067 Registered: May-04 | Whether we own the speaker or not shouldn't mean much to you. We have our ears and you have yours, not to mention your system and your room. In my case the Ling is not going to replace the speakers I have which cost several times the selling price of the Ling. It comes very close to competing with those speakers though, and at a substantially lower price. The Lings would have replaced my HT speakers until someone got into my garage and made like $700 of my tools belonged to them. Which they do now. So the next spare $700 I get is going to replace tools I no longer get to look at. I have ordered a driver from Tim to use in a DIY subwoofer project. The driver is similar to the one used in the Ling except for its size and low frequency response. The company that builds the driver in the Ling is well thought of in the DIY forums and the specific driver for the Ling has caused quite a stir in the single driver forum due to its performance. There is no doubt you cannot find better components in a speaker for anywhere close to this amount of money. The tweeter alone would normally go into a system with a few more zeroes in the price tag. The main driver is probably at least twice to three times the cost of what you normally get in the best speakers in this price range. For the money asked, you can get too many speakers with $10-15 woofers. I think my write up fairly describes when the Ling might not be the speaker to buy. Give it a read and consider whether your needs and tastes suit the speaker. (Note; this is not a JBL/Klipsch sound alike.) If they do, you are unlikely to be sorry you made the purchase. |
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Silver Member Username: ExerciseguyBrooklyn, NY USA Post Number: 118 Registered: Oct-04 | Sorry about your tools. I've done some digging into the DIYcable website, and have become a bit more familiar with some of Tim's components (maybe you've purchased the FR-125's?). I've read your review, and it's helped. But I'm still quite new to this process, and am still trying to determine my own preferences. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 6071 Registered: May-04 | The Lings follow closely to what is considered the traditional "BBC curve". They are as flat as possible through the mid band and gently rolled off at the very top where most speakers will gain output due to room reflections. There is also a small emphasis placed on the mid bass performance which is not that untypical for most small speakers today (and even some very large, very expensive speakers for that matter). This "bump" gives the impression of a physically bigger speaker without the drawbacks to a bigger speaker. This is a speaker which sounds "different" from a speaker which shows measured flat response at the top end. The measurements are done, most often (though not always and can get confusing when making comparisons) in a "quasi-anechoic" space. Few of us really live in that sort of environment and the result of this "flat when measured" sound balance when put into a real room and run from less than stellar equipment, is a tilted high end which can be somewhat fatiguing over the long haul. On the other hand, that response curve can be very impressive on first listen since it presents what many people mistakenly consider "detail". Detail-schmetail! It comes down to what you prefer. As I said in the write up, the Llng will not be that happy with poor electronics. It will undoubtedly survive and let you appreciate the next up grade in electronics but you will not get the best from the Ling with a cheap HT receiver. The BBC curve which the Ling generally follows best suits listeners who do not play hard rock or any of the derivations of that style. Though, as you can see in the write ups, it does manage the experience with aplomb. In many ways this frequency response curve is the compliment to what was, at one time, referred to as the American East Coast Sound. The high frequency response is slightly rolled off in the lab and becomes reasonably flat in the real rooms it will be used in. The sound is generally considered most able to give what the artist/engineer put on the recording without any artificial hype from the playback equipment. It certainly suits classical, most jazz, light rock/acoustic rock and any music where the "personality" of the original performance is essential. To anyone who appreciates this frequency balance the Ling will do quite well on all recordings since it plays up nothing but the sound on the disc. Whether or not "headbanger" is still an apt description of the music choice some people make, that is who may not enjoy the Ling. As I wrote, the Ling is not about "detail" as many people think of the term. In this case, "detail" has too often become a worn out term meaning "too bright" at the top. The Ling is about nuance and expression. (The humor and darkness of Johnny Cash are a good example. Speakers at a comparable price are unlikely to contrast the inflections in Cash's voice which make the two qualities so irresistable and so genuine.) The coherence of the Ling system is as good as most panel type speakers without any of the significant drawbacks of those designs. This coherence is not what you generally get from speakers in this price range. What you can buy at this price range is a nice hifi speaker. What the Ling will give you is a very musical system. One is like gourmet cooking with electricity and the other is like gourmet cooking with gas. Hamburger or lobster. Fresca or Chianti Classico. Ask yourself what type of music do you mostly listen to and what equipment do you own? How loudly do you listen? Is this meant to be a system which evolves or remains the same for the next ten years? Musically, what is important to you? These answers should help you decide whether the Ling should be given an audition. You will not, as I have stated, find better quality components for this amount of money. If the system will evolve with your tastes over the next ten years, the Ling will be an excellent choice for many people. If you own low end gear and that's what you will have for the next ten years, I would say listen to the Single Ling and learn what it has to offer. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 6072 Registered: May-04 | I clicked on your name link and see you own Marantz and Monitor Audio. Why are you considering the Lings? What do you want them to do and what do you think your present system isn't doing that makes you think about changing speakers? If you've read my write up, you should know the Ling takes a bit of set up to get the most out of the speaker. Not much but some. Simply plopping it down on a stand or shelf is not going to get you what you paid for. https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/165848.html |
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Silver Member Username: ExerciseguyBrooklyn, NY USA Post Number: 121 Registered: Oct-04 | I'm setting-up a 2nd music-only system for a small room. I recently purchased an NAD C740 & also own a pair of Infinity Alpha 20's. I'm quite certain the Alpha 20's can do a more than decent job for my needs, but I wanted to see what other options I had. I got a very good deal on the receiver, so I thought I could treat myself to a speaker upgrade. |
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Silver Member Username: ExerciseguyBrooklyn, NY USA Post Number: 122 Registered: Oct-04 | Updated my profile. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 6078 Registered: May-04 | Go back to here; "Ask yourself what type of music do you mostly listen to ... ", and only you can decide whether you can benefit from new speakers. I've not heard the Infinity's. Depending on how you judge audio equipment, I would recommend the Lings. |
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Gold Member Username: T_bomb25Dayton, Ohio United States Post Number: 1101 Registered: Jun-05 | They are certainly gonna be a different sound from the Alphas,If you plan on listening to rock,pop,jazz(newage ex.Boney James) the Lings are not gonna be for you.They are some what restrained in dynamic exspression,they are very good at micro dynamics and vocal technique,they are not a do everything speaker,what they do well at they do great.As Jan said you are gonna have to think about what you listen to on the regular baises,and listen to some other speakers with your favorite recordings and make a decision from there. |
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Silver Member Username: DakulisSpokane, Washington United States Post Number: 580 Registered: May-05 | Great additional insights Jan and Tawaun, enjoyed the continuing dialogue on Tim's speakers. Not much I would add, except I would like to have them back and play with them on set-up and with a different component source. |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 2524 Registered: Mar-05 | "They are some what restrained in dynamic expression,they are very good at micro dynamics and vocal technique,they are not a do everything speaker,what they do well at they do great." DITTO! (btw Tawaun, your typing is coming along very nicely these days, kudos!) |
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Silver Member Username: GavincummPost Number: 240 Registered: Feb-05 | LOL... Boney James jams on my maggies! love that guy! |