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Am I the only person running a passive Linn system?

T

Topofthemorning

Member
Hello, I'm new to the forums, after having been a member of the old Linn Forum years ago, which led to me buying a Linn DSi system.

I'm currently using a Linn DSi (2010 model) with Ninkas, passive wired, with the stone bases and K400 speaker wire. I also have a Sneaky DS with Katans blue tacked to heavy solid iron speaker stands, with K400 speaker wire, in the bedroom.

Despite many Hi Fi outlets advertising "Magik 140 Systems" for sale (Magik DSM + Passive 140s, which is similar to my setup), I constantly see people talking about the only thing worth having being either Activ, years ago, or these days, Exakt.

With a few exceptions, my system does sound good to my ears, and nothing that I've heard while visiting any HiFi store, even five figure setups in listening rooms, come close. I've auditioned a passive Akurate 4200 with my Magik, and listened to a fully Aktiv Akurate system at my dealer's showroom. It sounds nice, but not in a way that made me say "I've got to have this."

I previously planned to upgrade to an Activ system, and asked a lot of questions of an overseas dealer until finally he asked "Do you actually like how your system sounds?" I said "Yes." He said "Then don't change it."

I stopped thinking about upgrades and just enjoyed my system for years, until I started thinking about Exakt.

Now, I see people constantly talking about how "Ninkas are garbage run passive, they only sound good if they're Exakt." Did I just get lucky with placement and Sound Optimisation? Everyone who comes over raves about how amazing my system sounds, but that's understandable, because they probably all have things like Bose Sound Bars.

Am I the only person who actually likes the sound of the passive system, or are there others out there who have Magik + Passive Ninka, or Magik + Passive 140 Setups? I've been thinking that I should spend a fraction of the Exakt upgrade money on a Magik LP12 to use my vinyl again. I prefer the sound of Studio Master FLAC to vinyl - this is purely to be able to listen to my existing vinyl/buy obscure vinyl records I find.

Some dealers offer Magik DSM + Magik LP12 + Magik 140 Passive Systems as package deals. That seems logical, and I'm sure I'd like the sound. I can't help think that they're bought by people who want to set and forget and enjoy the music like I did (until I thought about upgrades again), and whose experience doesn't suffer for "only" having a passive system. Does anyone else have a setup like this?
 
Welcome. And, as that dealer questioned, if you like the sound your system produces, why can be it. Rather deploy the cash on more music.
 
I used a passive setup for several years (4200/M140s) and was very happy with that.

When I had active Ninkas with 6100, I once compared it to passive using the 6100 and found passive more cohesive. This lead to some head scratching and eventually changing the order in which the aktive cards were distributed within the amp. Once done, aktiv was as cohesive as passive. Just saying that aktiv needs more care with the setup.

One benefit of aktiv is with poorer sources. A friend of mine with aktiv Ninkas says that when he tried passive for a while, the LP12 still sounded great, the CD player was OK, but the TV really suffered. Similarly, my dealer was streaming a standard Youtube video through a top end Exakt system the other week and it sounded really good.

There's a lot to be said for leaving well alone when you're happy with your system - not that I've always followed that advise. An LP12 would be fun though :)
 
Ninkas, definitely aren’t garbage when passive and I’ve not seen anyone say that, I’ve had Ninkas deployed in various setups for years both passive and active. In active mode, you simply get more from them, deeper soundstage, more detail and most notably, the bass extends lower.

To know if it’s worth it for you, you could really do with hearing them active, properly set up, in your listening space.
To my ears, it is a big improvement, but that’s not to say passive Ninkas are weak, they most definitely are not, same applies to Katans.
 
I run a passive Linn system. Had active setups with their kit twice, but upgraded the amps and now run passive. Works for me. There’s too much hyperbole over kit in general, I think. If you enjoy the setup, keep it and (as suggested above) spend any available cash on music instead.

Mick
 
I forgot to add, I do also run a passive system, I use Royd Sapphires and Linn Katans in rotation in my second system.

My point above about hearing your speakers active in YOUR room is that it’s the only way to validate any differences, hearing different speakers in a different room won’t tell you anything. And personally, I also prefer older Linn speakers such as the Keltik, Ninka and Katan to most of their newer stuff.
 
Hi,

Went from an active Linn Naim Tri Amped Isobarik system to a passive Linn Majik DSi and Shahinian Arcs, better. I also have a Majik DS into Naim 12s/HiCap/250 into Linn Akurate 212's, amazing system, again passive.

If you like what you have don't change it as other have said.

Exakt is just another marketing way by Linn to get you on the ladder to buy more and more equipment, once you have an active system is is very hard to upgrade to another component or supplier part as the sum of the parts of an active system are all dependant on each other.

Active also means that when one part needs servicing or breaks the whole system is then useless until fixed, with a passive system you can easily get it going with a loan or buying a cheap amp or pre amp to keep you going, then resell on.

Keep what you have and enjoy the music.

Cheers

John
 
Eyebroughty said:
Hi,

Went from an active Linn Naim Tri Amped Isobarik system to a passive Linn Majik DSi and Shahinian Arcs, better. I also have a Majik DS into Naim 12s/HiCap/250 into Linn Akurate 212's, amazing system, again passive.

If you like what you have don't change it as other have said.

Exakt is just another marketing way by Linn to get you on the ladder to buy more and more equipment, once you have an active system is is very hard to upgrade to another component or supplier part as the sum of the parts of an active system are all dependant on each other.

Active also means that when one part needs servicing or breaks the whole system is then useless until fixed, with a passive system you can easily get it going with a loan or buying a cheap amp or pre amp to keep you going, then resell on.

Keep what you have and enjoy the music.

Cheers

John
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I do think active is a genuine improvement whether analog or Exakt, but it is optional, nobody, not Linn or anyone else is making anyone go down that route... and if you do have a fault in a Linn active system, revert to passive until it’s resolved.
 
How do you revert a new Linn system to passive?

Have you seen them, all the amps are in the back of the speakers, you take one out or disconnect one connection and you cannot make it passive.
 
You can still use traditional external amps and passive speakers with Exakt Eyebroughty.

I think you connect the amps through an Exakt box (Majik, Akurate and Klimax versions) but never paid much attention to it all.
 
Eyebroughty said:
How do you revert a new Linn system to passive?

Have you seen them, all the amps are in the back of the speakers, you take one out or disconnect one connection and you cannot make it passive.
Click to expand...
If you’d referring to Linn speakers with built in amplification, the same rules apply as with all powered speakers, those are not the topic of conversation in this thread though. This thread is really talking about Linn passive systems and questioning the merits of converting converting them to active.
 
Charlie_1 said:
You can still use traditional external amps and passive speakers with Exakt Eyebroughty.

I think you connect the amps through an Exakt box (Majik, Akurate and Klimax versions) but never paid much attention to it all.
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Yes, this is the case with externally amplified Exakt systems. Linn do male a range of speakers with all the amplification and digital crossovers built in, they ONLY work with Linn Exakt DSM streamers/preamps.
 
Hi,

Yes I agree that with external active systems you can convert them back to passive, however I know of two people who have systems like that and both have spare passive systems in case their active systems fail.

Their reason being that to convert the active system back to passive you need to take out all the wiring, crossovers, interconnects and speaker cables then rewire with a passive system, they find it easier to have a simple one box and speakers as a backup in case of issues with their active system.

If I were to activate my Akurate 212's I would need four amps, four sets of speaker cables, interconnects and a crossover system, and having heard them active against a passive system the gains are not that great in terms of the financial outlay and the overall extra it gives the sound.

I would accept the room and the integration of the system into it does make a large difference to getting a system to sound good.

However that is my take on things, others have different views on this and all are valid in this thread and I will accept that, I will however stick with my passive systems now.

Cheers

John
 
I do have a passive back up, however it does take minutes to pull an active card from an LK85/140 and convert Ninkas to passive... granted, the Ninka, Katan and Espek are the only models where they can be easily converted without opening anything up.
 
Thanks for the replies - and for confirming what I suspected, that there are a whole lot of people with passive Linn systems. I'm another one of those people who likes the older speakers, like the Linns and Katans. The first Linn system I ever heard was a Classik Music with a pair of Kans, and nothing else I'd listened to since seemed to compare, until I was able to buy my own (my mother now has my original Classik + Katans in her bedroom at her place). I've only ever had speakers from this family - across the board, even with a Trikan at one point for the now dismantled home theatre system. It's lucky that the Ninkas work so well, since they are the only speaker that fit/work where they are.

Regarding the downwardsability of an Exakt system that's been discussed on this thread, I believe the upgrade path proposed by my dealer was buying an Akurate Hub + Akurate Exaktbox I. This would mean that if anything broke, I'd be without a system, since neither the Akurate Hub nor the Exaktbox I can be used with non Exakt components.

Things would have been much simpler if I had a more current Magik DSM, with Exakt plugs, but if I did, that would mean I'd have missed out on a few years of having had my Magik DSi.

I agree with the sentiment that if the system sounds enjoyable, to put the money into new music - which never ends.

As I mentioned, the system receives a lot of great reactions - most notably from a guy who came to buy my old Project record player. From what I'd gathered, he'd fallen on hard times, and had a vast record collection, but nothing to play it on, having sold his equipment a while ago. When he came to pick it up, I asked him if he'd heard a Linn DS system. He said he'd heard of the technology, but had never heard one. I can't remember what I played, but within the first few seconds, he had a look on his face that I'd never seen on anyone's before. He just seemed shocked into awed silence. Finally, he shook his head as if to clear it, and said "I can't ... no, I can't. I have too much vinyl to start again." I can only imagine that during his trance listening to the system, he was mentally writing cheques ...
 
And thanks for the welcome above to me being a new guy here. I sometimes feel like I'm a bit one eyed (eared?) when it comes to Linn, being one of the people who likes the dry/clinical nature of the way mine sounds. It's nice that the forum is open to even those with my tastes, and I've found the posts very useful, having read the forums for a little while ...
 
Topofthemorning said:
And thanks for the welcome above to me being a new guy here. I sometimes feel like I'm a bit one eyed (eared?) when it comes to Linn, being one of the people who likes the dry/clinical nature of the way mine sounds. It's nice that the forum is open to even those with my tastes, and I've found the posts very useful, having read the forums for a little while ...
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I’m a diehard Linnie too, I’ve tried (as in bought and used) a wide variety of kit from the likes of Roksan, Cyrus, Meridian, Naim, Focal and some more I’ve probably forgotten. The only other brands I’ve stuck with long term are Rega and Royd. I just simply enjoy the way music sounds on a Linn system.

If you’re in or near the West Midlands, you’re welcome to come and hear how a pair of active Ninkas sound in a late LK series system.
 
As one (subjective) data point, I have to say that converting my passive Isobariks to active with proper DSP really changed them for the better.
 
Julf said:
As one (subjective) data point, I have to say that converting my passive Isobariks to active with proper DSP really changed them for the better.
Click to expand...
Yep, that’s what Exakt does and makes easy... albeit at a fairly high price.

How did you do it?
 
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