Call it an FYI moment and a grumpy old man's moan.
I have been struggling with repairs of SMPS 'Brilliant' on my Karik, Numerik and Kairn, they all gave up the ghost within 6m of each other.
Struggle is the word but thank heaven for Pinkfish and those who contribute on line.
Because of that I got one Brilliant fixed so my Karik is working but the Numerik and Kairn are still dead regardless of both their power supplies being 'fixed' (values are ok) (don't listen to you nuclear physicist son warning you off, provided you use PROPER cap discharge systems and
measure with your left hand in your pocket and feet on a wooden floor. I understand his worry (I have electrocuted myself and his research companion died when a HUGE cap was thought to be discharged (having been removed from an instrument) and it wasn't). He bought me a pair of pink 10,000v skin coloured gloves for the next time I changed a mains ceramic fuse!
My Kairn's death appears to be down to an area of cooked circuitry around the battery in the display board. With the Numerik, my research continues.
Anyway long story short. No schematics with true values available. SMC's all have values on with the exception of the capacitors (some of which are very clearly cooked along with a 1001 resistor). So a call to Linn to see what I could find out about the little beige blocks was a nightmare. I managed to beg 3 values form them for identifiable locations on the board. Effectively, unless I misunderstood:
1. Everything before Akurate is now redundant and unrepairable (by Linn) and Akurate and others are falling off the fixable list shortly.
2. Linn don't release diagrams/values (they don't want people touching their kit - for safety or?) at best - ask a dealer they may let you have one.
3. Caps appear to be Linn's little secret that they hang onto like grim death. Effectively, without values and current we all know what that means.
4. I asked about 5103's, DS to replace the Kairn etc - Linn's advice don't buy second hand they are now totally beyond repair and if you think fixing a Kairn is difficult those are impossible spend £9k on new one. Their words included 'and LK are totally unrepairable now).
5. It wasn't just Akurate but another model that will shortly be dropping off the repairable list.
6. I should have remembered that when my Sizmik died I was told by Linn to buy a new one, I opened the amp and saw it was a Mosfet that had blown. I asked Linn and was told it was unobtainium and as such, dead. I found an online photo of board, took the component number, ordered the Mosfet from a electronics firm and that simple replacement saved me thousands (I'd bought a temporary REL as a standing!).
Being told that Linn will now be making their own chips (aka Apple) and their top end bursting through the bugger me price barrier doesn't fill me with anything like glee
How many people have anything like £100k of disposable income which will have to be replaced relatively shorty (in hifi terms) in the Scottish world of unobtainium parts etc?
Real question, is Linn the ONLY UK high end hi-fi manufacturer that is of the opinion people have the money to buy tens of thousands of pounds on exotic kit, have known vulnerabilities and have to be written off when a component blows when firms such as Quad, Naim, NAD, YBA etc etc are all eminently serviceable/repairable?
From a hifi point of view, my recollection of British culture is one of trading up as funds, experience, understanding and high end disposable income increases.
I started my hifi journey at 12 with pocket money purchasing Goldring Lenco, Shure, Rogers and Wharfdale. I moved on from there seeking the
best with many exotic and many stupid purchases (like getting rid of vinyl for both Mission and Quad CD's). I have many sad memories of kit I traded that I wish I hadn't - Transcriptors Reference, a REAL misery from trading up from Nottingham Analogue Spacedeck to LP12 (I lost my deep 3d imagery - it was the only deck I've had that did that (yes, the LP12 is a very musical replacement but just variant of the TD150 (another one I owned, like Ariston), then there was the FAMCO Nuance preamp, my Spendor BC's, my SME 3009, my Audiolab, my IMF transmission lines etc etc (all still recommended kit and all very repairable)
Oh and no, if any part of my formerly many £k kit is to be replaced it will NEVER be with ANY new LINN kit even IF I won the lottery
Talk about a manufacturer alienating a client base
It's like Brexit, a real Ratners moment to me.
I have been struggling with repairs of SMPS 'Brilliant' on my Karik, Numerik and Kairn, they all gave up the ghost within 6m of each other.
Struggle is the word but thank heaven for Pinkfish and those who contribute on line.
Because of that I got one Brilliant fixed so my Karik is working but the Numerik and Kairn are still dead regardless of both their power supplies being 'fixed' (values are ok) (don't listen to you nuclear physicist son warning you off, provided you use PROPER cap discharge systems and
measure with your left hand in your pocket and feet on a wooden floor. I understand his worry (I have electrocuted myself and his research companion died when a HUGE cap was thought to be discharged (having been removed from an instrument) and it wasn't). He bought me a pair of pink 10,000v skin coloured gloves for the next time I changed a mains ceramic fuse!
My Kairn's death appears to be down to an area of cooked circuitry around the battery in the display board. With the Numerik, my research continues.
Anyway long story short. No schematics with true values available. SMC's all have values on with the exception of the capacitors (some of which are very clearly cooked along with a 1001 resistor). So a call to Linn to see what I could find out about the little beige blocks was a nightmare. I managed to beg 3 values form them for identifiable locations on the board. Effectively, unless I misunderstood:
1. Everything before Akurate is now redundant and unrepairable (by Linn) and Akurate and others are falling off the fixable list shortly.
2. Linn don't release diagrams/values (they don't want people touching their kit - for safety or?) at best - ask a dealer they may let you have one.
3. Caps appear to be Linn's little secret that they hang onto like grim death. Effectively, without values and current we all know what that means.
4. I asked about 5103's, DS to replace the Kairn etc - Linn's advice don't buy second hand they are now totally beyond repair and if you think fixing a Kairn is difficult those are impossible spend £9k on new one. Their words included 'and LK are totally unrepairable now).
5. It wasn't just Akurate but another model that will shortly be dropping off the repairable list.
6. I should have remembered that when my Sizmik died I was told by Linn to buy a new one, I opened the amp and saw it was a Mosfet that had blown. I asked Linn and was told it was unobtainium and as such, dead. I found an online photo of board, took the component number, ordered the Mosfet from a electronics firm and that simple replacement saved me thousands (I'd bought a temporary REL as a standing!).
Being told that Linn will now be making their own chips (aka Apple) and their top end bursting through the bugger me price barrier doesn't fill me with anything like glee
How many people have anything like £100k of disposable income which will have to be replaced relatively shorty (in hifi terms) in the Scottish world of unobtainium parts etc?
Real question, is Linn the ONLY UK high end hi-fi manufacturer that is of the opinion people have the money to buy tens of thousands of pounds on exotic kit, have known vulnerabilities and have to be written off when a component blows when firms such as Quad, Naim, NAD, YBA etc etc are all eminently serviceable/repairable?
From a hifi point of view, my recollection of British culture is one of trading up as funds, experience, understanding and high end disposable income increases.
I started my hifi journey at 12 with pocket money purchasing Goldring Lenco, Shure, Rogers and Wharfdale. I moved on from there seeking the
best with many exotic and many stupid purchases (like getting rid of vinyl for both Mission and Quad CD's). I have many sad memories of kit I traded that I wish I hadn't - Transcriptors Reference, a REAL misery from trading up from Nottingham Analogue Spacedeck to LP12 (I lost my deep 3d imagery - it was the only deck I've had that did that (yes, the LP12 is a very musical replacement but just variant of the TD150 (another one I owned, like Ariston), then there was the FAMCO Nuance preamp, my Spendor BC's, my SME 3009, my Audiolab, my IMF transmission lines etc etc (all still recommended kit and all very repairable)
Oh and no, if any part of my formerly many £k kit is to be replaced it will NEVER be with ANY new LINN kit even IF I won the lottery
Talk about a manufacturer alienating a client base
It's like Brexit, a real Ratners moment to me.
