I never got round to dedicated stands - diy wooden wall ‘shelves’ that also braced the back of the cabinet against the wall, or cobbled-together-from-secondhand-speedframe two-legged lean-to ‘stands’ seemed ok… I guess the latter should be speaker ‘leans’… 
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Interesting. I get more bass out of my Proac 1SCs with blue tac between the speakers and very heavy Target stands.
That would be ideal. Well the up against the wall part. However in this space I cannot do that.
These rosewood stands sound better than the original 2nd gen kan stands which I also have. I’m actually borrowing the Kans from my living room setup to use temporarily. My SW1X M 963s are being built
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The most important is to get Kans active,having had Nap 110,120,140,160,250 and Nap 135 active,they all bring advantages over passive even a Nap 500 DR.
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I have a pair of Kans for my second system and I run them with a Rega Elex MK4 iV. It’s not set up the best as the speakers are placed in a small built in book case kind of thing. I’d love to set the up on proper stands but there is a limit of what I’ll ask my wife to put up with. I already have taken over 2 1/2 rooms with my nonsense. It’s a solid little amp the front end is a Rega p6 an Apollo cd player and a Lumin D2. I use the internal DAC in the amp for my digital gear.
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The Kans are amazing the best I have ever heard them was at the Penta Heathrow HiFi show…there was an open area rather like a big foyer…and the Kans on dedicated stands were hard up against a wall driven by NAP250 CB not sure of pre I think it was a 72…the front end was Sondek with Ittok and Asak cartridge. They played Tracy Chapman…omg they sounded epic…the bass was superb we (the audience) were all blown away…I have been a convert ever since…although I don’t own an original pair…I use Vivid S12’s which are another step along. The Kan is definitely not the most accurate speaker…but it certainly can boogie and be very entertaining which in my view is what it’s all about…to my mind LS35A’s sound throttled in comparison (but are ace with the human voice). The Kan - is not great with piano music…I think the mid exposes some areas a little to much for my tastes…
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Its been decades but LP12/CDS/135 based setup were quite interesting.
Nowadays I would just pick a Nait 50 and the best possible source.
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Yep…if I was pairing now I would go straight to the Nait 50 and try that…I did hear them once with a 140 setup at a dealers…and that was good…I would imagine a Nait 50 would surpass that… I seem to remember I preferred the little Ruark Sabre on the end of the 140…that was another funky little speaker.
Linn LK1 and LK280 conspicuous by their absence
(I always quite liked them with Sondek, Ittok, … K20 wires and Kans.)
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Thanks for sharing.
So I guess it wasn’t a Linn or Naim stand then, if listening to Tracey Chapman (in '88 or later)
So a CB 250 with an olive 72 maybe?
Well it was a long time ago - I think it was a Linn demo. What staggered me was the space was pretty large - yet the Kans filled it really well…to quite a good volume. I think they were trying to demo the importance of a really good front end…with a relatively humble speaker… Actually…it might have been one of the Bristol Hi Fi shows…sorry. Defo Tracy Chapman, confident with deck/power amp/speaker. The CB 250 seems to work really well with Kans…I am not sure quite how digital would sound through this combo now…but certainly with analogue it was fabulous.
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Thanks Richieroo!
When I had this combo:
42/SNAPS/110…
…It was as is they had been designed to be together. Such was the Linn-Naim axis at that time.
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So was that mid eighties?
Indeed it was…great times, but if I were to hear it now, who knows what I might think?
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While I wouldn’t name it the best amplifier or system for Kans, I was pleasantly surprised with Quad 67 CD-player, 66 pre- and 606 power amp feeding Kans on dedicated wall shelves.
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The best demo for me has been in '87 at Audiotech showroom, located in a big room of a 17th palace in Pisa. System was LP 12 Ittok with the recently launched Troika into 42.5/HC/250 CB. The sheer scale of dynamics and engagement was simply mindblowing. For comparison my home system, pretty much the same bar Asaka and NAP 110 sounded like an intercom. Of course the room shape and set up played a big part.
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So, it had decent bass? Although, they may have picked ‘bass-heavy’ tracks that would sound like ‘normal’ bass played through Kans.
No heavy bass afaik, one was '81 Alice album produced by Franco Battiato
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I bought my LP12/Ittock/Karma from Hamish.
Not to mention a snaps to go with my 42/110.
Later upgraded to 32.5, Hicap, bolt together 250.
Not convinced it was money well spent in my then room.
Still have the 250 upstairs; and a pair of Kans in the loft.
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