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Linn Utopik power supply

foxwelljsly said:
The pricing of a lot of new Linn electronics seems insane, but I very much doubt they're making Apple levels of ROI. The Kairn Phono with slimline PS and the digital pre amp known as both the Exotik DA and Akurate/0 remain two of the best hi fi products I've used.
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i find Focal/Naim's pricing to be even more "ambitious"!.
 
Jazzer said:
I honestly wish I had never made that comment about Linn and Neurotik.
We all have our audio priorities and I have no right to question anyone else’s, so I apologise for that.
All i can say is that if I had say upwards of a £1000 pounds to spend on a turntable, I would keep my LP12 exactly as it is and buy a Garrard or TD124 or maybe a nice new Rega.
I like the looks of the Technics decks but I have had a couple of direct drives here and still own a very powerful DJ deck but they sound CD like and tonally grey to me.
Maybe that’s a generalisation too so is will bow out and not cause any more offence on this thread.
Sorry…
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we're all adults here on this forum,a wee bit of banter here and there never hurt anyone.

Most of us are all too guilty of taking ourselves and oor hobby a wee bit too seriously.

your comments are as valid as anyone else's on here!.
 
agnes said:
I was sort of hoping that this thread would be about the new power supply, preferably a debate led by those who knew something about it or had even heard it. To that end I made my own modest contribution which finds itself amongst a debate about Linn and a rant about turntables. It seems as though this forum is a place for those who like sitting on thorns and don't want to move.

If only Linn had put their upgraded power supply in an external box so they could sell you an expensive connection cable too. Also they should have had the case designed by a continental, put a couple of voltmeters on it, had it made in Asia, and included a triode in it somewhere. And charged a much higher price.

Anyway thank you guys, some of you, for reminding my why I contribute very rarely to hifi forums these days.....

Donuk
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This is one of the main reasons for going down the Linn fork , when i saw that external power supply boxes and their attendant cables were needed.
 
sonddek said:
I have installed many Dynamiks into 5125s and 2250s. I thought they made a worthwhile improvement. I wouldn't have any qualms about installing one of these, I don't think. Things move on, and retro- compatible power supply improvements are something to be thankful for. I hope they are made available for my Uphoriks and improve them significantly. I've had my money's worth out of them regardless and I've still found no more satisfying and versatile phono stage after more than a decade of shoot-outs.

Linn gave me a set of Chakra crossover cards with my first Uphorik, which made it a terrific deal, after I part exchanged my Linto. In fact the free card deal did not apply to Uphoriks, but my dealer and I misunderstood the phrase "with any Linn amplifier", so Linn did the decent thing. Thoroughly decent.

You don't have to buy power supply upgrades - it's entirely optional, and the old ones are very good too. As had been said, this is better than landfill churn.
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Absolutely… this has got me thinking about sticking a Utopik in an Exotik, if it works with an original Akurate Kontrol it will work with an Exotik too… as for the Uphorik, it’s on my radar, I need a good phono stage, bit of a stretch right now but if I can do it, I’ll get a Utopik with it. I need to sell some excess hifi kit.
 
foxwelljsly said:
The pricing of a lot of new Linn electronics seems insane, but I very much doubt they're making Apple levels of ROI. The Kairn Phono with slimline PS and the digital pre amp known as both the Exotik DA and Akurate/0 remain two of the best hi fi products I've used.
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Indeed, I have both… the Exotik is quite a bit better than the Kairn, but I still love the Kairn, even though mine is currently quite poorly.
 
Woodface said:
There are plenty of lore expensive brands which people get less bothered about. All very bizarre.

Lots of pearl clutching, as ever.
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I find it quite amusing… there are high end HIFI brands I find completely unappealing personally, like Mcintosh, their stuff just isn’t for me, but they have stood the test of time and have a strong customer base, so they’re getting it right and I wish them well. We don’t all like the same things, it doesn’t mean those things are bad, or poor VFM.

As for Linn I do find their upgrade model admirable, you can improve the performance of product even after it’s out of production… it’s not an obligation, just an option, which most manufacturers don’t offer.

Only others I can think of that have done that on any scale are Arcam, Cyrus and Micromega… and only Cyrus still do.

My turntable was originally manufactured in 1984, but it’s now up to 2021 spec, for a lot less than the cost of a new deck. I could’ve kept it as it was before, but I had the option… and I don’t regret it.
 
Back OT, does anyone well versed in electronics know what might be behind the differences between DynamiK and UtopiK? They are both SMPS, so what areas would you look at to make improvements?

I mean, with a linear power supply, you could play with the size/format of transformer or put in fecking great capacitors, but SMPS?
 
Presumably if you go higher frequency pulse duration it might deliver cleaner power, or at least power with artefacts further from the audio band. That might improve dynamics or hf resolution. As you can see, I'm very ignorant about such things.

OTOH I found that upgrading my first Uphorik to Dynamik seemed slightly to increase clarity in bass notes, making it a tiny bit easier to follow note sequences played by bass players, whether orchestral, jazz or electric. I did not perceive any other change, but that alone was a welcome step because it affected nearly all the music I listen to.
 
Featuring intelligent Valley Switching, Power Factor Correction, and with precision-regulated and isolated power rails – these power supplies are Linn's cleanest and best yet.

Utopik is an extremely sophisticated switch-mode power supply. In a sub-optimal switch mode power supply, you have no control over where in the input voltage waveform the
switch turns off or on. It would switch anywhere, and randomised noise is generated. With Utopik however, we monitor oscillation at the transformer’s input, and look out for the lowest troughs in the voltage – a technique named Valley Switching.

Utopik only throws the switch when at the floor of one of these valleys. With intelligent monitoring and control, we’re therefore keeping voltage as close to the ideal 0V when switching, resulting in dramatically reduced switching noise.
 
david ellwood said:
Featuring intelligent Valley Switching, Power Factor Correction, and with precision-regulated and isolated power rails – these power supplies are Linn's cleanest and best yet.

Utopik is an extremely sophisticated switch-mode power supply. In a sub-optimal switch mode power supply, you have no control over where in the input voltage waveform the
switch turns off or on. It would switch anywhere, and randomised noise is generated. With Utopik however, we monitor oscillation at the transformer’s input, and look out for the lowest troughs in the voltage – a technique named Valley Switching.

Utopik only throws the switch when at the floor of one of these valleys. With intelligent monitoring and control, we’re therefore keeping voltage as close to the ideal 0V when switching, resulting in dramatically reduced switching noise.
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That sounds like it requires some complex (probably IC chip related) fast switching electronics to achieve that.
 
Richard Lines said:
Good evening all,

It would seem I could have one fitted both to my Klimax System Hub and my Accurate Exactbox 10. That would be £2700 in total.

As I only intend keeping the KSH long term I would only be looking to upgrade that - not sure when though.

Regards

Richard
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Look very carefully at the "buy a product get a Utopik of your choice free" offer!
 
Iain Docherty said:
And it stayed pretty much the same price in real terms all the way through its life.

I just find all this Linn bashing tedious. Don’t like their stuff? Fine. Some of it (top end stuff) is priced according to what the market will bear. Lots of it isn’t, and reflects tje real costs of manufacturing in Europe these days.
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Feb 2013 price list, 470GBP
 
Can someone provide with some specific info about the Utopik?

I looked at several reviews on-line - but all of them merely regurgitated the Linn marketing drivel ... so I am none the wiser. :(

Perhaps someone here can answer these Qs?

Q1: I presume it's a SMPS?
Q2: is it designed for power amps (ie. can deliver many amps of current) ... or source components (ie. low power draw)?
Q3: what DC voltage does it deliver?

I ask these bcoz I'm currently powering my 'Number9' AC motor speed controller with a 48v Meanwell SMPS. A better (than the Meanwell) SMPS will undoubtedly make my sound even better - so if it does deliver 48v ... I'd consider it.

Thanks.
 
andyr said:
Can someone provide with some specific info about the Utopik?

I looked at several reviews on-line - but all of them merely regurgitated the Linn marketing drivel ... so I am none the wiser. :(

Perhaps someone here can answer these Qs?

Q1: I presume it's a SMPS?
Q2: is it designed for power amps (ie. can deliver many amps of current) ... or source components (ie. low power draw)?
Q3: what DC voltage does it deliver?

I ask these bcoz I'm currently powering my 'Number9' AC motor speed controller with a 48v Meanwell SMPS. A better (than the Meanwell) SMPS will undoubtedly make my sound even better - so if it does deliver 48v ... I'd consider it.

Thanks.
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Q1 yes it’s a switch mode
Q2 there are high current versions in the pipeline
Q3 depends on the application

you can only get one fitted by a dealer to a Linn product, so largely irrelevant to your speed controller
 
david ellwood said:
Q1 yes, it’s a switch mode
Q2 there are high current versions in the pipeline
Q3 depends on the application

you can only get one fitted by a dealer to a Linn product, so largely irrelevant to your speed controller
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Thanks very much for the info, David.

So at this stage it is for source components - excellent! :)

As my 'SkeletaLinn' uses:
* an LP12 outer platter
* and a Karousel bearing

... maybe a local Linn dealer will deign to deal with me? (Of course, whether or not it can supply 48v is the key issue here! 😮 )
 
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