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Going Aktiv with Linn 140’s

Craigy

Craigy

New Member
Hello all, it’s been a while.
I’d be grateful for some sound advice about converting my speakers from passive to active. There are a few options I could choose from, none of which I fully understand!!
At the moment I’m running the speakers with a Teddy Pardo Pr1 and Mb100 mono blocks, sounds great but the “Aktiv” thing is an itch I have to scratch.

Ideally I’d like to keep the teddy pre to use it with Aktiv power amps but I’m not entirely sure that would even work.
Also if I’m properly understanding the info on another forum, if I were to use Majik power amps, I would need 4 amps??
Not an option with my lack of shelf space.

Another option I’ve thought about is using Akurate 4200, a bit more expensive but a superior amp I’m told. Again I’m not sure how many of these I would need and if they would work with the teddy pre.

Added to all this there’s the issue of which Aktiv cards I will need, all a bit of a minefield to me I’m afraid

I’d appreciate any input (idiot proof advice would be helpful !!)

cheers

Craig
 
Hi Craig,

You're correct in that you need 8 channels of amplification, 4 per speaker. But with Linn's multi-channel amps, you can achieve this goal with just a pair of Majik 4100 or Akurate 4200 power amps, or even one of each.

I upgraded my Aktiv Ninkas from Majik to Akurate power amps. It was a nice enough improvement but not huge and I suspect you'd be much better off investing in a Linn pre-amp to maintain the synergy / voicing. Either a Klimax, Akurate, or Majik Kontrol would work really well, as would an old Exotik if funds are tight. Might also be worth noting that prior to the Majik/Akurate rebranding, the power amps were simply called Chakra 4100 and 4200. The name change didn't bring about a performance improvement to the power amps, but personally, I'd buy a Majik/Akurate model to ensure it still has a few years life before sounding tired, especially as Linn don't provide servicing on their amps. It was a few years later when Linn changed the Akurate amps to the current casework which was reported to bring a small improvement. I found that earlier amps sound softer and more flowing, later ones more detailed and crisp. This is perhaps due to the change to lead-free solder, but most likely cos Linn made continual small improvements over time.

Ideally, when buying any of the above mentioned pre and power amps, try to find ones fitted with a Dynamik power supply as this made a nice improvement for relatively low cost - many were just £500 which is cheap for Linn. Note that the Majik Kontrol was never given this option. I also have vague recollection of a memory issue with the Exotik when fitted with the Dynamik PSU - perhaps I have the same problem now :) Most people put up with it cos it sounded a lot better. Bear in mind Linn made the Dynamik available for older generations of amplifier that had ceased production many years earlier, such as the 2250, so Exotik owners were just pleased to get an upgrade so many years after production ended.

As for Aktiv cards, these fit in the power amps. The Linn helpline or a dealer can advise which ones you'll need. The channels need connecting together either via internal jumpers on the circuit boards, or you can use external RCA interconnects if you like tons of wiring round the rear of your system :) External 1.2m-long Linn Silver interconnects were reported by owners to sound slightly better than the internal jumpers, but I never experimented.

Lastly, there are two ways to connect the 4-channel amps. Either one per speaker, or in series. In series, the first power amp would drive both pairs of super tweeter and tweeter. This would then output to the second amp that would power the mids and bass. There are pro's and con's to each way but no need to get into that now.

Are you exploring Aktiv cos you need to control the 140 bass by any chance, or just fancy going active? I owned a passive pair for several years.
 
Evening Charlie
Thanks very much for your response, the way you’ve explained it does make sense to me.

I’ll weigh up the finances (won’t tell Er indoors) and see which option best suits me.
As you said the Teddy pre is unlikely to be a good match with Linn power amps but I’ll look into that at a later date, at the moment I’m just curious about the Aktiv thing.
 
When I first read this, I thought you were talking about LK140 amps, but on a second read, I think you are talking about Majik 140 speakers.

The Majik 140s have 2 Bass, a teeter, and a super tweeter. So the absolute minimum is 3 channels of amplification per speaker (both bases use the same frequency, so they can share an amp) though it is better to drive them separately, which would be 4 amps for each.

To make Aktiv work, you configure the speakers to bypass their internal passive crossover and drive each single drive unit directly.

To get the correct frequencies to the correct driver, you split the output of the pre-amp using either Aktiv cards (dedicated circuits) or possibly using a software-defined filer (like Linn Exakt). These separated signals are then amplified.

If you use Linn amps, you can send the pre-amp signal to many amps, each amp is fitted with the Aktiv filter card that filters incoming sound keeping only the part for its driver it was made for, amplifies it, and sends it to the driver.

It is possible to use third-party amplifiers in an Aktiv configuration, but it is more complex. Here you need to filter the signal for each driver before sending it to the amp. This could be done by using something like an Exakt box or a Linn Crossover (an old box that used to take Linn Aktiv cards). You then send the output of these to your speakers.

The least expensive path would be to use a Majik 6100 with internal cards and share the bass between one channel. While the 140 is not a challenging load for an amp driving two from a single channel of a 6100 may leave your experience lacking, especially as powering two drivers. You also need to think about if you are going to drive them in parallel or in series. All in all, I would not recommend it.

The best may be a pair of 4200 (or 4100) and drive all drivers with their own channel.

If you are going to be using third-party amps you are either going to be digging in used markets for a venerable Linn Crossover or investing in an Exackt setup.
 
Craigy said:
Hello all, it’s been a while.
I’d be grateful for some sound advice about converting my speakers from passive to active. There are a few options I could choose from, none of which I fully understand!!
At the moment I’m running the speakers with a Teddy Pardo Pr1 and Mb100 mono blocks, sounds great but the “Aktiv” thing is an itch I have to scratch.

Ideally I’d like to keep the teddy pre to use it with Aktiv power amps but I’m not entirely sure that would even work.
Also if I’m properly understanding the info on another forum, if I were to use Majik power amps, I would need 4 amps??
Not an option with my lack of shelf space.

Another option I’ve thought about is using Akurate 4200, a bit more expensive but a superior amp I’m told. Again I’m not sure how many of these I would need and if they would work with the teddy pre.

Added to all this there’s the issue of which Aktiv cards I will need, all a bit of a minefield to me I’m afraid

I’d appreciate any input (idiot proof advice would be helpful !!)

cheers

Craig
Click to expand...


I have a full set of 140 Aktiv cards available if of interest. www.centralaudio.co.uk also 2 4100 which the cards are already fitted in which I could do a great deal on.
 
Buy a better pair of speakers, the 140's are nothing to write home about.

Shahinian Arcs with a simple amp will take apart 140's, I know I have done it in my room, they were not very good.

Shahinian Arcs replaced a full Linn/Naim Triamped Isobarik system, says it all really.
 
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