Does anyone have any experience of or thoughts on this speaker? Am thinking of matching with the Nova. Apart from one very good write up on Stereophile, there is not much info out there. I appreciate that there are many other speaker choices (PMC, Proac, Focal, ATC are on the shortlist) but a pair has just come up second hand.
Speakers are so personal so take all this with a large pinch of salt…
I owned 140s for several years, with upgraded steel bases. The top end is very refined but the bass can be a bit loose until driven by a quality amp. They actually sound quite good driven by a Nait using the amp’s line input. The 5i and 72/140 can also drive them but it took a much more expensive Linn Akurate 2200 or Lejonklou Tundra 2.5 to get a hold of the bass.
Like all Linn speakers, they are tuneful and will sound very melodic with Norah Jones, or something like that, although they are equally happy with rock music. I prefer them to 109s but, like all modern Linn speakers, they can be a bit boring to my ears for some reason, although this is only by comparison to earlier generations.
Speaking of which, don’t discount their predecessor, the Linn Ninka, which has a sealed cab and better rhythm to my ears, but lacks the treble refinement and some midrange resolution.
Ultimately, they are voiced for Linn amps which are quite lean / dry so my (complete) guess is that you might find a better match elsewhere.
Note: If the 140 bass is too much then you can cut a wire on the crossover that will reduce it by 2db. It’s easy enough to remove the rear panel and snip the wire.