I have to admit, I preferred being in Cheshire (not that Chester West are much better)!
(I decided not to “tempt fate” with that previous post)
I made no mention of what you owned (actually didn’t know for sure, but now I do), I was taking point with what you have written in your posts. Apparently you are making the “references” without even realizing it. I know at one point a few months back someone called you out on touting a certain brand repeatedly (don’t recall the brand’s name) and you said you hardly ever mention it. I went back through the forum and found about 20 posts where you mentioned it. I didn’t think it appropriate at the time to present that, so I let it go. Well, today I checked again and found you mentioned Chord in 42 posts, Cambridge in 27 posts, Rega in 50+ posts (the search stopped at 50), and dCS in 50+ posts (ditto). I didn’t read every post to get the context, but you do mention those four brands a lot. Not what I would call “rarely”. I’ll reiterate that I’m not trying to censor you, just making you aware of how I perceive the situation, not that that is important …
That would be me…! The excessive amount of times “Deviant” amplifiers gets mentioned per post. 
Very good research. So I mentioned Rega today as @minnesotafats mentioned his little turntable, a Rega RP 8. Three mentions. And @Serhan’s new Rega Aura that he displayed today. The Chord I mention is not Chord Electronics, but Chord Cables, a different company, as their $50 usb cable has served me well for almost 10 years and I highly recommend it. I recently bought the Cambridge Audio CXA 81, they are big in the USA and there is a full feature review in this month’s Stereophile along with the M1200 amplifiers. I’m sure I’ve mentioned Wilson loads of times, I’ve always been impressed by them and finally bought them.
Anyway, @Dirk started this thread and angled for a response, so I had a look at this. It’s an upgrade with a new name.
Linn is the complete opposite of PS Audio, it’s a lifestyle brand, compact minimalist products that look good. PS Audio built Music Room 2, Linn built a family living room in their factory. To most audiophiles “lifestyle” is a swear word, which is perfectly understandable.
Far more interesting is that Linn Records is an exact model of what Octave Records seems to be aiming at. I would bet on Octave Records being a success, but it will take time to build a production team and artist roster.
You’ve got to love Liverpool, the music, the golf courses, the accent. I’ve mentioned our best friends when they first came to the UK lived in Liverpool for 4 years, an experience they’ll never forget. You just have to put up with the Punch & Judy politics.
1 Like
I ignore the local politics, though Wirral’s one-time mayor and still councillor was also my mother’s gardener, he still is, and still was when he was mayor - he would take the official car when he had the gold chain on to go to some or other function, then he would send the gold thing home in the car and get the bus home so the driver could have the night off.
My kinda politician!
1 Like
He may be a great guy, but probably got the job because all Liverpool politicians know money grows on trees, and he is an expert.
Reminds me of my grandmother, we used to have dinner at my aunt and my uncle used to give her a tenner for a taxi home. She put the tenner in her pocket and took the bus. My kind of grannie.
I have a part-time gardener (for the tricky stuff) from Edmonton, 20 years or more, where everyone talks like Beckham circa 1996 and every other word starts with F. He believes in aliens and is a sucker for a conspiracy theory, however bizarre. I think I’d pay him just for the b/s and the chat every other Thursday. Salt of the earth. He’s just moved to Essex, so gone quite upmarket.
It turns out we have a Mayor for our borough, population about 400,000. She has a Doctorate in In-Vitro Fertilisation. Obviously massively overqualified. She has a huge gong.
Are all their amplifiers Class D?
Class D, they also utilize switch mode power supplies.
From memory, I don’t think Linn’s top of the range Klimax 500 Solo amplifiers are Class D. Bipolar devices… ?
I am sorry you are right. They do use switch mode power supplies.
I had a chance to listen to their Akurate system with the Uphorik phono pre amp, also switch mode power supply. It did sound really good and has a truck load of useful features.
Wow, you performed a lot of work to support a post dedicated to a single forum member.
Anyway, should you wonder why he mentions those brands a lot, because he is a Brit and UK companies do have a pretty long history om making good quality audio gear, Steven happens to know a lot about.
1 Like
Linn amplifiers are pure Class D. They are not hybrid. They name everything, the power supply is called Dynamik and the amplifier Chakra.
The system I owed was their original version from 2007. It was a bit cold and unengaging, which rather put me off pure Class D, although it has been significantly improved and you can upgrade the power supply without having to change the whole unit.
Linn are one of those companies that like to make as much as possible in-house. This new DAC design looks interesting, there is a fun animation, but I can’t say I really understand it.
I just looked at their last annual results. With sales of $25 million (all to dealers, none direct), they spent $4.5 million on research and development, plus a further $0.5 million on new plant and equipment. They basically put 90% of their profits into R&D. The R&D team is 32 full-time staff. That seems an awful lot of research for a small audio company. I wonder how that compares to PS Audio.
Americans may not appreciate that European companies have to develop a big export market to grow significantly. Company data is available in most European countries. Paul mentioned that PS Audio is 70% USA sales 30% export. The likes of Cambridge Audio, Rega and Linn are the opposite, about 30% UK sales and the rest about equally Europe and the Rest of the World, the latter mainly USA. So Rega probably sell as much audio in the USA as in the UK.
There are loads of local UK and European brands barely known outside of their own village, but these are international brands. The Cambridge Audio CXA81, which I bought, is a $1,300 integrated A/B amplifier - so nothing particularly special - designed in the UK and built somewhere in Asia. But it still managed to feature on the cover of Stereophile in a stack of amplifiers including PS Audio, McIntosh and Marantz. The CXA81 is actually cheaper in the USA than the UK, which almost never happens on imported brands.
2 Likes
Kerosene asked a specific question. “Are all their amplifiers Class D?” You answered with your usual great gusto “Linn amplifiers are pure Class-D, etc." WRONG! Linn’s top tier mono amplifiers “Klimax Solo MonoBlok Power Amplifier” doesn’t contain or embrace charka topology. Well Well, so much for you being a polymath.!
1 Like
Thanks, Steven. That was a very well made video from Linn. Seems rather straightforward what they’re doing with their discrete DAC. They’ve optimized the trace length of each switch so the timing is the same (standard practice where we come from).
1 Like
I’ve heard the Klimax (original version), but don’t have that buying power. I didn’t even know they did a Klimax amplifier.
I only really know about the Magik and Akurate that I owned. I seem to remember I bought a Majik system and then upgraded to Akurate DS when the DSM came out and got ex-demo DS units. They were all Dynamik/Chakra. I also seem to remember the DSM had upgraded power supplies.
I’m pretty sure the Selekt DSM is Class D. Very pretty and pretty expensive.
You have to be a polymath to remember all the names Linn gives their products.
Hi Rudolf,
Any update on your NAD units?
Paul, you’ve highlighted a point that to people like me, a consumer who has no interest in becoming an engineer to enjoy domestic stereo, I have no idea if Linn have done something revolutionary or it’s just more of the same.
New Linn under Gilad has been structured at three levels, typical for lots of companies - budget, affordable audiophile and money no object. I suspect this component is cheap to make because they have all the high-tech circuit printing machinery in house that they run at 5,000 - 6,000 components per hour and the the price reflects the R&D expenditure.
I’m sure you understand better than most the cost structures of investing in automated multi-layer circuit equipment, hand building, outsourcing and R&D recovery. The consumer just looks at the price tag and has no idea.
My preference is for a high degree of automation as it tends to bring down costs long-term and has a much lower failure rate.
Actually it only took about five minutes, if I wanted to get more specific it would take a lot more time, something none of us needs. I understand the British thing, but this is a PS Audio forum, and in my opinion, it has gotten a little excessive. Remember the last time someone got a little too persistent?