advertisement


Linn amplifiers

P

per flemming

Registered User
I'm currently asking some questions on Linn Forum regarding Linn amplifiers.

My own experience is limited and helping a client to create a complete Linn setup (apart from a Rega TT)

Currently on Ikemi/LK Majik-I/Katans - its pretty good allready however he's looking for amp upgrade, thinking Wakonda/LK85 - Kairn/LK140. It has to be Linn, no Naim, no Rega etc..

We are advised Kairn to be the best of the bunch and match budget (which is £600-£1100 total, knowing the older amp won't bring huge support he might bring it into a second setup), not sure how much between a LK85 - LK140 ?

Now someone praise the current new style Majik-I integrated amplifier will perform much better than old LK box, maybe even walk over Kairn/LK140 - this comes as a surprice...virtually looking for a confirmation:)

thanks in advance
 
A couple of thoughts:

The Wakonda is similar to the Majik-I, though benefiting initially from not having to share the power amp, and latterly from the generic preamp Linn slimline SMPS, is, I suspect, not going to be quite worth the extra over a Majik preamp section, when you could get a Kairn for perhaps €150 more.

If buying a Kairn, make sure it's one with the later generation slimline smps - Linn had flushed the bugs out by that stage, and it's very reliable - the earlier round smps had a few issues. Also, unless there's evidence that it's been done, get the memory backup battery changed - much less than an hour's work for someone competent with a soldering iron - otherwise they can leak electrolyte all over the control board after 10+ years.

The new Majik-I is better than the old, if my Majik-DSI is any guide, but there's one more option to consider - taking the Katans active. A pair of LK85/140s with aktiv cards could be bolted on to the pre-out of his current Majik as a first step. That'd give a lot more power and control, and he could then turn off the power amp in the Majik. He could then enjoy that upgrade for a while while looking for a Kairn...
 
Paul McGarry said:
I had a Wakonda and it was rubbish, as was the LK100. Avoid.
Click to expand...

Hi, depends on your definition of rubbish:D
I bought a faulty Linn LK100 with the intention of repairing it and selling to fund a better Exposure amp.
When repaired I was so impressed by the Linn sound that I decied that I would try an LK280.

I have now sold all my Exposure amps and have two LK280's

Rubbish, I don't think so they make a previous well loved Exposure amp sound warm and a little soft by comparison. :)
 
For around £500 each, a friend bought the Linn pre-power combo of an AV5103 and AV5125.

This was a HUGE upgrade from his Mimik - Kollector - LK85 - bi-active Ninka, so a DAC upgrade as well as a pre-power upgrade. He also swapped out each old component when making the change, and each was huge, the better DAC, the better preamp, the better power amps.

The 5103 is a very high quality AV preamp that was at least twice (almost thrice) the price of the Kairn. A late Kairn is definitely one option, a late 5103 is another. There are two types, one has DTS, one doesn't.

The AV5125 is a 5 x 125W power amp, that is a real under-rated bargain. This is one of the first Chakra amps, so vastly better than an LK amp. This also gives the option of bi-amping and bi-active (with stereo cards). It also has the added advantage that for £400 later you can upgrade the powersupply from the original Brilliant switchmode to the latest Dynamik switchmode. In my experience upgrading to a Dynamik has a bigger effect on poweramps than earlier on in the chain.

The LK100 is a much older amp, and I wouldn't be surprised if an LK85 is better.

Apparently Wakonda sits in the range between Kollector and Kairn.

So Ikemi - Kairn - 5125 - Katan would be a great system.
 
john & Jake said:
Hi, depends on your definition of rubbish:D
I bought a faulty Linn LK100 with the intention of repairing it and selling to fund a better Exposure amp.
When repaired I was so impressed by the Linn sound that I decied that I would try an LK280.

I have now sold all my Exposure amps and have two LK280's

Rubbish, I don't think so they make a previous well loved Exposure amp sound warm and a little soft by comparison. :)
Click to expand...

Fair enough, maybe I was being a little strident, but I found the Linns flat and grey sounding and regretted my purchase.

The Kairn was much better to my ears.
 
I might be way off here, if so please ignore me but I'm pretty sure all of the old LK amps use tda7293 chip amp modules using the suggested circuit found in the manufacturers datasheet which is OK but nothing special - The amps higher up in the range have bigger power supplies & paralleled chips for more output power. All of which is "nice" but not in the same league as Naim/Rega etc...

If it must be Linn only ways to go are aktiv with an LK140 or get a new Majik-I..... IMO


http://www.st.com/internet/com/TECHNICAL_RESOURCES/TECHNICAL_LITERATURE/DATASHEET/CD00001887.pdf
 
istari_knight said:
I might be way off here, if so please ignore me but I'm pretty sure all of the old LK amps use tda7293 chip amp modules using the suggested circuit found in the manufacturers datasheet which is OK but nothing special - The amps higher up in the range have bigger power supplies & paralleled chips for more output power. All of which is "nice" but not in the same league as Naim/Rega etc...

If it must be Linn only ways to go are aktiv with an LK140 or get a new Majik-I..... IMO


http://www.st.com/internet/com/TECHNICAL_RESOURCES/TECHNICAL_LITERATURE/DATASHEET/CD00001887.pdf
Click to expand...

Hi, my attraction to the LK280 was it's lack of chips, totally discrete.
 
I'd not worry too much about the ingredients - fully discrete or chips - implementation is (almost) all. All the Chakra amps use chips up to and including the Klimax Twin. The Klout was fully discrete, and general consensus is that the Chakra amps are better.

I'd worry instead about whether the amps do the job you have in mind for them - hopefully forgetting about the gear and enjoying the music.
 
Grenadier_45 said:
I'd not worry too much about the ingredients - fully discrete or chips - implementation is (almost) all. All the Chakra amps use chips up to and including the Klimax Twin. The Klout was fully discrete, and general consensus is that the Chakra amps are better.

I'd worry instead about whether the amps do the job you have in mind for them - hopefully forgetting about the gear and enjoying the music.
Click to expand...

Hi I prefer, if possible, to repair and mod, if appropriate, my amps myself.
If a fault develops in an amp with chips, then forget it. It's down to a repair shop and a big bill instead of the price of a diode, cap, transistor or resistor.:)
 
istari_knight said:
I might be way off here, if so please ignore me but I'm pretty sure all of the old LK amps use tda7293 chip amp modules using the suggested circuit found in the manufacturers datasheet which is OK but nothing special - The amps higher up in the range have bigger power supplies & paralleled chips for more output power. All of which is "nice" but not in the same league as Naim/Rega etc...

If it must be Linn only ways to go are aktiv with an LK140 or get a new Majik-I..... IMO


http://www.st.com/internet/com/TECHNICAL_RESOURCES/TECHNICAL_LITERATURE/DATASHEET/CD00001887.pdf
Click to expand...

Only the lk85 and lk140 used them, all other lk amps used discreet circuitry.
Fwiw the lk85/140 are still good amps and were well worth their price new!
 
I know the Chakra is a hybrid design - but the transistors are only there to take the load off the chip past a few amps of current delivery, so if you're averse to chips for sound quality/repairability/modability/too-many-legs-ability, you still won't be happy!

Not sure I'd agree with the 'if a fault develops with chips you've had it' either. It can make repair simpler - replace chip and you're off, rather than worrying about whether an output transistor killed or damaged which components in the driver stage etc... I suppose future availability of chips might be a concern, but finding genuine transistors can be too ...

Per's original post was requesting experience - I own quite a few Linn boxes, made from 1995 to last year and I'm very happy them all. Reliability is excellent, and they just sit there, work, and I'm very happy with the music I hear through them. The new ones are universally better than the old ones at any nominal price point, but by nowhere near as much as internet hyperbole would suggest, not least, because the original LK boxes were already very good.
 
This is from the manual to the Klimax Chakra twin:

At Linn, because we strive for continuous improvement in everything we do, we use appropriate
technologies to achieve our goals.
There have been many fine amplifier designs over the history of audio. Some use valves (tubes), some use
bipolar transistors, some MOSFETs. Some manufacturers swear by Class A, others by Class AB, one or two by
Class D, and many others are somewhere in between. Two designs can use the same components, but
achieve completely different results. We believe, and have evidence to support, that what you do with the
parts and technology is always much more important than the nature of the technology. To illustrate this,
our current power amplifier range contains MOSFET, monolithic, discrete and bipolar designs. Our latest
monolithic designs sound better than our previous discrete bipolar designs. Our latest bipolar designs have
more power and sound better than our earlier monolithic and bipolar designs.

OK, so it will have been through the marketing dept, but it seems to correlate with what people think of the amps in general.
 
Per,

I would suggest the Exotik and 5125. If you are lucky then you might hit the budget, if you are not then you will still get value for money. Many of my customers have gone from Kairn to Exotik and have loved it. You don't mention record player so the Exotik's lack of a phono stage should not be an issue. A discrete little Cambridge Audio phono stage is the solution if necessary.

Personally I am not taking on 5103s anymore as they often have power supply issues and the power supply replacement is no longer available from Linn (I bought the last one six months ago).

LK140, Kairn is a cheaper alternate but the Exotik / 5125 is so much better value for money it is almost untrue!

CJ
Krescendo HiFi
 
Many thanks, I will hand over the recommendations

Seem as we can add New style Majik-I and Exotik/5125 to the list of goodies(offers welcome) and a warm thanks for 5103 warning

Would there raise any issues using a 5.channel 5125 in stereo mode ? or can it easy be used for biamp ?

my client allready has Rega Fono so no need for phonostage inside pre
 
No issues with 5125 in stereo mode - it's just 5 channels of power amp in one box. Can use two channels and leave the rest alone, use 4 channels to bi-amp, or add aktiv kards for full aktive operation from one box.
 
Yep I have had a few customers sell a pair of LK140s and buy a 5125. The 5125 also has the advantage of taking a Dynamik power supply should you want to upgrade later.

CJ
 
lk140 is good, 5125 is better. as other advised I would go with that one if funds allow. alternatively a used 2100 might be available at good prices and its a great amp too.

on another note: why not take a majik-dsi or a sekrit-dsi. top-notch streamer, plenty of inputs, accepts toslink too and has poweramps integrated. should be available used in for around 1200.- and certainly sings with the katans!
 
Another vote for the 5103 - first time I realised that a good preamp makes a big difference!

But I didnt know that they suffered from power supply issues.

Steve.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top