Upgrading (?) to Lintons, amp load and decoupling

[Lempelig]

I'm contemplating my switching DLS M60 speakers for a set of Wharfedale Linton.

My reasonings for this are:

1. While I enjoy my M60's they lack in the bottom end, especially since moving to a larger apartment with a larger livingroom
2. The Lintons' have very favorable reviews and seem to measure well too
3. They are on sale for 1000€ for speakers and stands there I'm at
4. They fit into my and SO's mid century aesthetics

What I'm worrying about mostly, is whether my amp can/should be able to handle the Linton comfortably. The amp in question is a DLS Amp One, a modified Bladelius Tyr mk1, From what I can read it delivers 100 watt into 8 Ohm and 180 into 4 Ohm. The DLS M60 speakers are rated at 4 Ohm nominal, but I can't find any measurements of them. I can however see that the Lintons are rated to 6 Ohm nominal and 3.5 Ohm minimum. Furthermore the Stereophile measurements note that the paired amp should be comfortable at handling 4 Ohm loads, which I guess it is?

Another thing I'm hoping to get some help with is decoupling. The apartment has quite old floating hardwood floors. At the moment the DLS M60s' are mounted on sand filled Dynaudio Stand 4s' with weight appropriate SD Feet, which definitely have helped, and no complaints from the downstairs neighbours. I would buy a new pair for the Linton, they are approx 25€ so no big expense, but would like to hear if there are better alternatives I should consider?

 

[Chazz6]

The Stereophile reviewer Herb Reichert says a Pass amplifier rated at 25 watts did just fine. Might depend on how large your room is.

 

[Lempelig]

The Stereophile reviewer Herb Reichert says a Pass amplifier rated at 25 watts did just fine. Might depend on how large your room is.

The room is approximately 20 m2 and around 55 m3. It's buy and try for the Lintons here, so might as well give it a shot.

Any thoughts on decoupling?

 

[JaccoW]

Any thoughts on decoupling?

Decoupling or isolating? Because I believe the stands already come with spikes.

I would use Isoacoustics feet on my particular floor.

 

[Lempelig]

Decoupling or isolating? Because I believe the stands already come with spikes.

I would use Isoacoustics feet on my particular floor.

AFAIK spikes couple the speakers to the floor? I am looking at decoupling, maybe even isolation if that would make sense in my room, like for example the GAIA III since my flooring is suspended/floating and plays along with the speakers. Sounds awful and travels to my downstairs neighbours.
The GAIA are quite expensive and though they look very nice in isolation, I'm concerned they'll break with the mid century aesthetics of the speakers, and stick out like a sore thumb. ATM I'm using weight appropriate SD feet, however they cannot be moved to other speakers and also can't help with leveling.

The perfekt solution would be something that either is unseen, like the SD feet, or matches the aesthetics while also being height adjustable.

 

[Ciobi69]

AFAIK spikes couple the speakers to the floor? I am looking at decoupling, maybe even isolation if that would make sense in my room, like for example the GAIA III since my flooring is suspended/floating and plays along with the speakers. Sounds awful and travels to my downstairs neighbours.
The GAIA are quite expensive and though they look very nice in isolation, I'm concerned they'll break with the mid century aesthetics of the speakers, and stick out like a sore thumb. ATM I'm using weight appropriate SD feet, however they cannot be moved to other speakers and also can't help with leveling.

The perfekt solution would be something that either is unseen, like the SD feet, or matches the aesthetics while also being height adjustable.

Sorbothane under the speaker between the stands , cheaper solution and performant, one of the best decoupling materials on the market

 

[JaccoW]

AFAIK spikes couple the speakers to the floor? I am looking at decoupling, maybe even isolation if that would make sense in my room, like for example the GAIA III since my flooring is suspended/floating and plays along with the speakers. Sounds awful and travels to my downstairs neighbours.
The GAIA are quite expensive and though they look very nice in isolation, I'm concerned they'll break with the mid century aesthetics of the speakers, and stick out like a sore thumb. ATM I'm using weight appropriate SD feet, however they cannot be moved to other speakers and also can't help with leveling.

The perfekt solution would be something that either is unseen, like the SD feet, or matches the aesthetics while also being height adjustable.

Well, you're in luck. Here is someone who used the stands of the Linton with a pair of Harbeth SHL5's ($5000+ pair of speakers) and added the Gaia feet.

Personally I think it really works with these stands.

 

[Lempelig]

Sorbothane under the speaker between the stands , cheaper solution and performant, one of the best decoupling materials on the market

I remember reading about sorbothane. I think I'll go with this suggestion, if I can find anything suitable in the EU region, mostly it seems to be readily available in the US.
Do you by any chance also have som information/recommendation, on how to select the correct dia and duro for using, preferably, 4 bumpers?

Well, you're in luck. Here is someone who used the stands of the Linton with a pair of Harbeth SHL5's ($5000+ pair of speakers) and added the Gaia feet:

Thank you! Surprisingly they don't really mess with the aesthetics. I'll start looking for the cheapest dealer

 

[JaccoW]

I remember reading about sorbothane. I think I'll go with this suggestion, if I can find anything suitable in the EU region, mostly it seems to be readily available in the US.
Do you by any chance also have som information/recommendation, on how to select the correct dia and duro for using, preferably, 4 bumpers?

The trick with sorbothane is that they work best at a certain load. So calculate the total weight of a speaker + stands and find bumpers that work for that weight.

 

[Lempelig]

The trick with sorbothane is that they work best at a certain load. So calculate the total weight of a speaker + stands and find bumpers that work for that weight.

Exactly. I am however thinking about putting sorbothane between the speakers and stands and if necessary install GAIA III under the stands.

 

[fineMen]

Exactly. I am however thinking about putting sorbothane between the speakers and stands and if necessary install GAIA III under the stands.

And again the story telling about coupling / decoupling / isolation ...
First of all, 'spikes' do no good. And if it were four (instead of just three) it's a desaster.

In order to prevent resonance excitation the speaker shall stand on some material that sinks in by about 2..4mm once the speaker is positioned on it. The stand would be a tiny little bit wobbely, but not by much. That simple rule comes from calculating spring forces, accounting for the speaker weight and the gravitational constant of mother earth.

Regarding the amp, what do we expect to happen if the amp was overloaded by the speaker?

 

[Eleo]

I have the Lintons too and fear that 25 watts are not enough, not even in small rooms considering that Erin estimated 85 db sensitivity . I have a medium sized room and two very powerful Chinese irs2092 monoblocks. Dynamic is great but sometimes I think I could upgrade to something better. However, I don't know how many watts I really need and if the upgrade could take any audible improvement

 

[fineMen]

In order to prevent resonance excitation ...

Sorry, I forgot to say that damping is a non-issue with setting up a speaker stand. It doesn't help because damping would increase the force transmission which counteracts the intended isolation by the soft material.

With the specified sinking depth of 2..4mm, the resonance of the loudspeaker versus the floor is about 20..15Hz. This will almost certainly never be excited.

 

[Lempelig]

Small update: Got the Linton speakers and set them up yesterday. So far they sound great straight out of the box, set up with no toe-in.
Downloaded the Vibrometer app which doesn't detect anything on the speaker, bottom of the stand or floor when playing bass heavy non-electronic music, but I don't think my old phone is sensitive enough to necessarily detect much. Tomorrow, when the shop is open, I'll contact a local HiFi shop and ask if it's possible to demo a pair of GAIA III at home. From there I'll decide if it makes sense to go down that road.
Thank you very much for all the help so far!

Edit: The Lintons come with spike tables that are fitted with rubber underneath, which might help with the issues I was worried about. Going forward I should probably get a measuring mic first, so rule out any possible placebo effect.