advertisement


New Linn streamer

Woodface said:
Other brands have been at this elevated price level for far longer but that is OK?

SME30A is £30k? & has been at this kind of level through its lifespan. dCS has again been at elevated levels for some time but this is fine as it isn’t Linn etc.

I still don’t understand why it is so abhorrent for Linn to pitch in at this level especially when it has products at lower entry points.

How much is the cheapest broadly similar dCS product, £10k? Entry level SME TT is, what, £8k?
Click to expand...
Like I say, what I think is annoying for some people, is that they’ve moved the goalposts for their flagship product... that doesn’t bother me personally, but I do understand that point of view. The other kind of negative comments I’ve seen are just Linn bashing comments, those are just a bit sad. I posted on a Facebook thread full of angry nerds the other day, where the vast majority were very anti linn, that it was really all just a bit sad that they were so upset by it. Why feel so aggrieved about the price of a product from a company you wouldn’t buy from anyway? Why does it affect them? (These are rhetorical questions).

As for SME and the Model 30... well I want one, but I can’t afford one, I want a Singer 911 too, but I can’t afford one of those either, and that’s okay, I just look on them with warm admiration.

DCS? Yep, they’re very, very expensive, and on hearing a top flight DCS DAC and Streamer via Wilson Audio speakers (can’t remember the model but they were like cuboid daleks), I was unmoved, if anything, I found it a bit bright and edgy... but the stuff sells, so it’s obviously worth it to some people, just not me. Am I bothered, and do I think they’re ripping anyone off? Nope, not at all.

I’ve a strong feeling that if/when I do hear the new KDS, I will want one, but see my comments on the SME 30, it’ll be put into that category.
 
I've heard the dCS Vivaldi set up with the clock at a hifi show and in my book (limited experience) it's the best DAC I've heard and it easily rivals the best TT, it was put up against an Arirfoce 1 I think and if anything the Vivaldi was a cleaner sound. These uber top of the line products do perform very well.

These products are out of my purchasing power by an order of magnitude at least. I just like to bench mark them in my mind against my own little set up. I'm very satisfied that the uber stuff is better than my setup but it's not by much in SQ terms. Sometimes I hear expensive stuff that sounds a lot worse than mine. I guess, I wouldn't want to waste too much time deciding if I won the lottery...just get dCS and Linn in to fight it out.

I'd love to hear the Linn Organik up against the Rossini in an AB type demo to hear the difference if any. On the bling aspect the Linn wins from my viewpoint.
 
linnfomaniac83 said:
Like I say, what I think is annoying for some people, is that they’ve moved the goalposts for their flagship product... that doesn’t bother me personally, but I do understand that point of view. The other kind of negative comments I’ve seen are just Linn bashing comments, those are just a bit sad. I posted on a Facebook thread full of angry nerds the other day, where the vast majority were very anti linn, that it was really all just a bit sad that they were so upset by it. Why feel so aggrieved about the price of a product from a company you wouldn’t buy from anyway? Why does it affect them? (These are rhetorical questions).

As for SME and the Model 30... well I want one, but I can’t afford one, I want a Singer 911 too, but I can’t afford one of those either, and that’s okay, I just look on them with warm admiration.

DCS? Yep, they’re very, very expensive, and on hearing a top flight DCS DAC and Streamer via Wilson Audio speakers (can’t remember the model but they were like cuboid daleks), I was unmoved, if anything, I found it a bit bright and edgy... but the stuff sells, so it’s obviously worth it to some people, just not me. Am I bothered, and do I think they’re ripping anyone off? Nope, not at all.

I’ve a strong feeling that if/when I do hear the new KDS, I will want one, but see my comments on the SME 30, it’ll be put into that category.
Click to expand...
I could afford the CD12 when it came out or the CDS2 or 3 but even back then there were far more expensive products. Krell had a £25k CD player for example. I think mega bucks TTs are absurd but I would still quite like one.

I think it is just envy in the end that feeds such bitterness.
 
stairpost said:
To me there are 2 Linns, the one that sells decent but expensive attainable products. And the other one that sells stupidly expensive products to stupidly rich people.
Click to expand...
Indeed, I aspired to that when talking about the Akurate Katalyst Exakt stuff earlier, it’s not cheap, but then it is some of the best sounding kit I’ve heard at any price, absolutely superb.
 
Woodface said:
I could afford the CD12 when it came out or the CDS2 or 3 but even back then there were far more expensive products. Krell had a £25k CD player for example. I think mega bucks TTs are absurd but I would still quite like one.

I think it is just envy in the end that feeds such bitterness.
Click to expand...
Definitely, like I say, I’ve always had a warm admiration for some of those uber high end products, even if I can’t afford them, I’m happy that they exist... especially the Singer 911s, they make me go weak at the knees.
 
Vinny said:
Higher price will reduce volume, lower price will increase volume...
Click to expand...

Veblen was the economist who observed that there is a class of products, which for various reasons including communication of wealth as social standing, sell more units when the price is higher. Linn's top streamer is in some respects a Veblen product. Some of its owners will enjoy telling rich friends how much it cost them. But knowing Linn, it's likely also a very good product, as most of their products are at least competitive, so complaints about its pricing are mostly envy. Perhaps the more envy there is, the more they will sell.

I couldn't afford one, but I'm not sure making it look a bit like a photocopier was a good choice. The Klimax aluminium cases were beautiful, giving Veblen customers real pride of ownership. This one looks a mess to me. I expect it sounds good though.
 
sonddek said:
Veblen was the economist who observed that there is a class of products, which for various reasons including communication of wealth as social standing, sell more units when the price is higher. Linn's top streamer is in some respects a Veblen product. Some of its owners will enjoy telling rich friends how much it cost them. But knowing Linn, it's likely also a very good product, as most of their products are at least competitive, so complaints about its pricing are mostly envy. Perhaps the more envy there is, the more they will sell.

I couldn't afford one, but I'm not sure making it look a bit like a photocopier was a good choice. The Klimax aluminium cases were beautiful, giving Veblen customers real pride of ownership. This one looks a mess to me. I expect it sounds good though.
Click to expand...
I pretty much agree with all of that, not sure I see a photocopier when I look at the new KDS, looks more like a very expensive games console to me. I might feel differently seeing it in the flesh. As for the traditional Klimax boxes, they’re a timelessly beautiful piece of design, and look outstanding in black or silver. The only improvement they could’ve made on them for me, is green displays and lighting, particularly on the black boxes, it would look amazing, but blue was all the rage when they were originally introduced.
 
I must agree with those that think the aesthetic is a bad move. Why it needs a hideous knob on the top or indeed a garish display on the front is beyond me.

I think they wanted a change to justify a price rise and the resulting case is a step backwards.
 
A friend of mine was the drummer in Rob Dickinson’s band (mr singer). I think he would like a cheap Singer Porsche too :p
 
It will be interesting to compare the outgoing klimax dsm once fitted with an organik dac and its replacement.

It will also be very interesting to discover the cost of the update.
 
stairpost said:
I've only ever owned LK kit, and a basic LP12. LK kit makes a very good system for the price, but my experience was all Linn or no Linn for best results.
Click to expand...
I do love a bit of LK kit!

AeQx0Tf.jpg
 
Heckyman said:
Maybe it's their pompous style of marketing? Even the engineers seem content to parrot off the lines of a 3rd rate copywriter (the boss?).
Click to expand...

Yep - There is certain marketing style that works with wealthy punters - being modest or understated risks you being overlooked in favour of the louder/shouty competitor - that’s say if the buyer’s attention span to the details is no longer than a knat.

The high end luxo market is all about immediate impact, perception and status without the need to understand what makes a product good or better.
 
linnfomaniac83 said:
I get that, it’s a pretty small target market though. This was the case with the CD12 too, in 1998, £12k was a ton of money and way out of reach of the majority. I think what really irks people, is that Linn have a loyal customer base, and for many of them, their flagship product were just at the point where we could aspire to them, but the goalposts keep moving.
Click to expand...

The answer is simple, if the perceived quality of ownership for brand X has deminished for you, go to brand Y. I don’t understand the loyal customer base mentality. I.e Linn owners spending £4000+ in upgrades to make their LP12 compete with a modern £2k deck?

Another example I have been using Apple iphones for over 10 years, but I find them lately to be increasingly frustrating to use efficiently in a work or private capacity. Poor battery life, poor App performance, bugs, itunes device lock-in etc, I wont wait around and continue to pay through the nose until they get it right, I’ll go elsewhere. Yet you see suckers queing up outside the local Apple store for the latest iphone,
many hoping it addresses the problems or feature limitations of the older model.
 
There is no envy on my part. Linn have pedigree and should know what they are doing. They made the genius decision to propel into CA years ago. The issue for me is in their presentation. The Apprentice appearance made me question their seriousness. Very pretentious and more aimed at the , ‘this would look nice with your Matisse maquette market’ than the audio market. More attention on appearance than the function. What does their ‘in house’ approach mean apart from more money and grip on after market profits? I’ve heard some high end Linn CA. Very nice sounding indeed but so are many others. They also look nice and sound good. And they are a fraction of the price.I also feel the same about other CA equipment that has excessive pricing. The CA market is full of it and one needs to tread very carefully to avoid a range of nonsense. Regarding other brands, such as DCS, I feel the same about pricing. But you don’t seed the marketing drivel that was so nauseous on TV. I hate the feeling of being hoodwinked, but you do get the feeling that many companies are sniggering at the
buyers who fall for this and drop their money on products and marketing like these. I think this is very prevalent in CA today.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top