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Integrated valve amp circa £2.5k?

Mmmmh, I thought the whole point was to 'scratch a valve amplifier itch' rather than the predictable change to another Linn amp to match an elderly set of speakers?

Opportunity missed?

Yep, that was the original thought but following a lot of the posts here I've decided to put the valves on the back-burner for a while and concentrate on the front end. The LK140 came in at under £300 so was a bit of a no brainer plus I can trade in the LK85. Once I have moved on up to the P8 then I'll revisit the valve idea but it looks like the Sara's are difficult to drive so I might need to look at upgrading everything down-stream of the TT.
 
After the helpful advice here (particularly regarding how the Sara's will work better with a more powerful Power Amp) I've bitten the bullet and bought an LK140 which arrives next Friday. I'll post once I have had a chance for the system to settle in.
Next step I think will be a P8.

That advice is given by loads of people everyday but it's wrong.... and no I ain't explaining why for the 20th time...
 
That advice is given by loads of people everyday but it's wrong.... and no I ain't explaining why for the 20th time...

OK... maybe the phrase 'more powerful' is the wrong way to put it. Will you settle on the Sara's will sound better with the LK140 than the LK85?
Plus an explanation would be useful, if you have time to write a slightly oblique reply then why not write an explanation instead!
Anyway, I'll know by the weekend.
 
I believe LK140 is the same amp as LK85 but with larger PSU capacity, I may be wrong of course.
Kairn/LK140 are decades old, no idea if they benefit from a service.
Back then I tried valve amps with Kaber & Kan's, its was horrible bad, went into Naim & Exposure amps instead.
 
There are so many possible directions its a total minefield.

The LK140 is the same amplifier topology as the LK85 just with twice as many output devices and a bigger PSU, it should give a significant improvement given how power hungry the Sara is.

I think if it were me i'd find a good dealer to advise and play the options. Personally id stick with the Saras/Kairn/LK140 and see what cheap LP12 options might be available.
 
I think you will fink the LK140 gives you more of what you are looking for. After finalising your Turntable front end, you might want to look into running the Sara's active. I'm no Linn expert, but would have thought you need the active cards, more speaker cable and another LK140 , unless you could use the LK85 within the setup. Worth looking into.
 
I think you will fink the LK140 gives you more of what you are looking for. After finalising your Turntable front end, you might want to look into running the Sara's active. I'm no Linn expert, but would have thought you need the active cards, more speaker cable and another LK140 , unless you could use the LK85 within the setup. Worth looking into.

I've looked into running the Saras active and from what I found there was never an option available to do this (maybe on the Sara 9's but not the originals). However I would be more than happy if someone could prove me wrong on this!
 
I have heard Audionote's OTO integrated a few times in Audionote systems and always liked what I did hear.

However, finding a price is like trying to extract a state secret.

I've got an Oto and while it's a great sounding amp I don't think it'd be one to use with Linn Sara's. I'm also not sure how representative mine is, but it blows up a lot. It lasted about a year from the last time it went back to Audio Note for a service before blowing up again so it's been consigned to the loft (living next to the hated Onix DNA45) until I can bear to look at it again.
 
For me it was an opportunity missed, a nice valve amp, newer speakers to match, each approx £1.5k, there's so many bargains out there now on the 2nd hand market.
 
If Saras are like briks they came in DMS form (passive) and PMS form (active). OK later ones were all called PMS and could be changed from one mode to the other. I believe early passive ones can be converted to active by removing the internal crossover and connecting additional speaker cable connections. Probably not for the inexperienced as these things need to be kept air tight.
 
So the LK140 arrived earlier on today and I've given it a few hours playing music through it by itself before settling down to listen to it.
First impressions... It has quite a different character to the LK85, most noticeable is the improvement and slight increase in the lower range, it definitely has more grip over lower frequencies and sounds 'darker' compared to the LK85. It's certainly bringing out the bass in the Saras.
The LK85 could get a bit lost with more complex music but the 140 keeps a tighter grip on things and individual instruments are better separated. It also seems to have less of a sharp edge than the 85 which my ears need to get attuned to.
Different? Yes
An improvement? I'll need to live with it for a few weeks before I make my mind up.
 
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I believe the original Sara's were launched back in late 70'ies
Meaning they were developed on Nap 160 or Nap 250 ?
The first Linn LK2/80 amp came later around mid 80'ies, followed by a revised Sara 9.
 
So... after having lived with the LK140 for just under a week and having had around 10 hours listening time with it, the jury is definitely not still out!
Put simply, an improvement in almost every area. As well as the improvement in the lower frequencies being more present and tighter, there is a load more detail in the upper range and I'm hearing things like subtle symbol splashes on old records that I've never heard before. The sound is more relaxed but importantly more controlled than the LK85. Also the sound-stage has deepened somewhat and is more 3-D.
I have to confess that on first listening I did wonder if there was any significant improvement over the LK85, but having the chance for my ears to settle in, it's better... not by an enormous margin but certainly worth the reasonably modest cost of a £290 upgrade.
Due to various rather boring 'life reasons' my original intention to buy a valve amp have to be put on hold but I think the next step is a better front end... Opinions on a P8 please!
 
I don't think you need to ask that one, it's a really well thought of deck, most possibly your final tt you will ever need buy in the age of streaming, get yourself to a dealer and listen it.
 


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