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Favourite Linn Power Amp - LK series best all rounders ?

This is going to turn into another "brand loyalty" thread but why do people feel the need to declare their audio tribe?

I've never stated what kit I have as I don't care what people think, I buy stuff and then keep it because I like it. I don't want peers to validate my choices or join an owners club.
 
I like the LK amps I've heard but that's only the LK280, Klout, and LK140. I think they offer some of the benefits of the CB Naim gear mixed with some of the benefits of Linn's later stuff, so kind of a middle ground.

Recently compared late serial Wakonda/LK140 to a 2016 Majik-i with Tukans. The modern Majik sounded cleaner and was more tuneful but at the same time was a bit less engaging.
 
tenpercenter said:
Regret starting this thread now :)

Each to their own but a Kairn / Klout or LK100 combination is a very musical amp. I agree their later stuff does sound a bit tonally dry but some of the previous comments are very much tinged with unbalanced bitterness………

Must be the word Linn, it reaches part of the Gator brain other makes cannot reach :)
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Bitterness? Nope, regret that I didn't discover other amps earlier on in my hifi career? Yes.
I also had a pair of Sara's for a long time and managed to convince myself that my hearing must be at fault as I never heard the sound that the myriad of reviews and Linn acolytes told me they where capable of.
As for Isobariks, about 20 years ago a friend of mine bough an active pair along with a full set of Naim chrome bumper power amps. I went round to his house expecting to hear magic... I didn't. Another friend has a pair of active Keltiks driven by some pretty meaty power amps (4 x Nakamichi PA-7E II Stasi's!) and they sound glorious if a tad harsh in the top end for my liking, probably more to do with the digital source he uses - so no, not all bad.
I'm sure the Linn sound suits some people and they have a devoted following but I now view them as a bit of an outlier.
 
tenpercenter said:
Neither, just a bit more balance but where’s the fun in that I guess…….
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You’re never going to get balance on here mentioning Linn or Naim. A certain section of the posting massive for some reason trusted magazine reviews and manufacturer marketing from both companies over their own ears (in some cases seemingly for years) and yet they now view that as the fault of the manufacturers rather than themselves. Maybe their ears were hijacked by special Linn/Naim implants or something equally daft :D
 
Greyandy said:
As for Isobariks, about 20 years ago a friend of mine bough an active pair along with a full set of Naim chrome bumper power amps. I went round to his house expecting to hear magic... I didn't.
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I've heard classic Linn speakers sound everything from great to horrid. System matching, including the room, and set up are everything. That's true of all kit but these Linn speakers are worse than average. Especially Kans! I've got a pair of Saras in my shed system and they don't work very well. Tolerable but nowhere near as good as they should be.
 
Greyandy said:
Bitterness? Nope, regret that I didn't discover other amps earlier on in my hifi career? Yes.
I also had a pair of Sara's for a long time and managed to convince myself that my hearing must be at fault as I never heard the sound that the myriad of reviews and Linn acolytes told me they where capable of.
As for Isobariks, about 20 years ago a friend of mine bough an active pair along with a full set of Naim chrome bumper power amps. I went round to his house expecting to hear magic... I didn't. Another friend has a pair of active Keltiks driven by some pretty meaty power amps (4 x Nakamichi PA-7E II Stasi's!) and they sound glorious if a tad harsh in the top end for my liking, probably more to do with the digital source he uses - so no, not all bad.
I'm sure the Linn sound suits some people and they have a devoted following but I now view them as a bit of an outlier.
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Yeah bitterness was too strong a word on reflection and of course there are many different flavours of music reproduction but some brands can’t be discussed in a balanced pros vs cons way.

I’ve recently tried some LK amps - a Kairn, Klout and LK100 - after being disappointed with more recent Linn amps I’ve heard and actually I’d mentally given up on the brand tbh. I’m not a Linn fan-boi…..

However, I’ve been really impressed with the musical communication of these older generation LK units - actually surprised on how natural and engaging they’ve sounded.
 
I have a shed load of LK280s (14) which I recapped with over-specced Mundorfs and Elnas. I have pretty much no knowledge or experience of electronics, I just thought: let's get the most expensive that would fit in the box.

I was very self satisfied that I got the job done and really enjoyed messing around with soldering and messing around like an engineer. I even resprayed a few cases as the paint is so easy to scratch with mixed results. Not perfect but a lot better aesthetically than they were.

6 are on active duties with the Bricks. The rest are stacked on a shelf that's bowing (they are really heavy buggers). There's a couple of Sparks in the stack I now recall too.

They are a neat design imo and extremely reliable. Since I would need at least 6 stereo power amps to swap to compare with anything else, it's not something I've done in my system. But a friend has Activ Bricks with Linn 4 channel amps from the Akurate range and they sound better than my LK280s but it's a different setup completely.

I got the LK280s for an average of about £300 each, which I think is a bargain the caps were about £150 per amp. This is incredible good value imo.

To me they sound awesome and as I've said before, you'd need a system over £50K new to get better.... Just my opinion hearing systems at demos and shows.
 
tenpercenter said:
Having tried several Linn power amps over the years from vintage to modern, I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that the LK series of power amps are probably their most musical and incredible value.

The Linn Klout and the LK100 are just so musically satisfying.

Anyone else found a similar or different experience?
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I really like the LK280 it sounds great, it's well built and looks neat on the table. It's off the scale on VFM second-hand. If you can use it without a pre-amp it's even better.
 
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