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Pre amp for Linn LK140

foxwelljsly

foxwelljsly

Me too, I ate one sour too.
Whilst the Linn LK140/Royd Sorceror combo sounds fabulous, it is apparent that the input sensitivity on the LK140 is pretty low and it needs a bit more grunt than my passive pre will provide.

Any suggestions as to a pre amp with sufficient output and a decent mc stage that won't bust the bank? Preferably Linn.

Cheers
 
The Linn Karin was once the flagship pre in their range.
It worked pretty well with lk140's in an Aktiv set up for me.
It had a built in phono stage too.
 
A kairn is a fantastic bargain used. Also a Wakonda, but try to get the latest version of the PS, which I believe was the slim-line brilliant SMPS. Made a big difference.
 
Late kairn (not kairn Pro as it has no phono stage), or a Majik Kontrol or Exotik will sound fantastic, they go between £400-600. The Wakonda is good too if you're on a smaller budget but make sure you seek out a phono version and preferably with the slimline PSU.
 
There's a Kairn with slimline brilliant psu in the classifieds.
I personally use an Exotik to which I have installed the Dynamik psu. I can vouch for it's superb sound quality. Sadly though, mine doesn't have the phono stage fitted.
 
mickhick1 said:
There's a Kairn with slimline brilliant psu in the classifieds.
I personally use an Exotik to which I have installed the Dynamik psu. I can vouch for it's superb sound quality. Sadly though, mine doesn't have the phono stage fitted.
Click to expand...

Oops I forgot the early models didn't have it as standard, it's a plug in board.
 
linnfomaniac83 said:
Oops I forgot the early models didn't have it as standard, it's a plug in board.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice LFM.

There is a late phono Kairn with the slimline PSU in the klassifieds. And it's local.

What's the Kairn/140 combo like? Will I be itching to upgrade to a Klout? Or will the 140 be all I need with my ickle Royd Sorcerors? Any opinion on the Kairn MC section?

cheers
 
A lot of Kairns had no phono stage I believe the model that's line only is the Problem. The MC stage is excellent, but no Linto killer.
 
Kairn and LK140 is a wonderful combo, I'm sure the one in the classifieds is a phono model too. One thing to remember about the kairn is that it's phase inverting, all you need to do is reverse the polarity of the speakers (switch the black and red plugs around at one old).
 
Hi,

I had a Wakonda, the Kairn was better, I then got a Majik Kontrol which murdered the Kairn.

The Majik Kontrol with the built in phono stage is good, and I mean very good, it's also a lot more user friendly, put it with a Linn 2250 that has the dynamik power supply and you will never need another pre/amp combination again.

So for not a lot more outlay go for the Majik Kontrol.

Cheers

John
 
Yep, the majik kontrol and 2250 is a killer combo, I would take that over a naim 72/250 any day, it's easily in the same ballpark but cheaper and more flexible... and remote controlled.

The kairn still sounds fantastic though and will remain ever popular thanks to the lovely LK form factor... I do wish Linn could have put newer kit in LK sized boxes. The CD12 was LK sized and is by a very long way, the most beautiful CD player I've ever encountered.
 
I had a Kolektor and LK140 and it was woeful compared to various integrated I'd had before. I switched the Kolektor to an AV5103 and it was a massive improvement. You get AV5103 for <£200 now!!! Also Myryad MX6000 did well as a pre with same detail as 5103 but more lively too.
 
As wonderful as a 5103 is, and it's much, much better than a kolector, they do have reliability issues. A £200 5103 could last another 20 years and be one of the biggest bargains that HIFI has to offer. They do have a high failure rate though because they run hot and run the PSU close to it's limits. Oh and they don't have a phono stage.

The Exotik is the real bargain of the lot if you can find one with a phono stage... in fact they are still a bargain without a phono stage. The analog board is identical to that in the Akurate Kontrol, a preamp that cost over £4K and was second only to the Klimax Kontrol up until 2011.
 
zippy said:
My vote would also be a Kairn IF you can get a good one - My own Kairn died prematurely when the internal battery leaked over (and destroyed) the circuit board.
Click to expand...

Ouch! I got to mine just in time, rotting battery but no damage to the PCB.........a lucky escape!
 
Seanm said:
This Kairn thing really doesn't sound like a great bet.
Click to expand...

They are usually pretty bomb proof, most owners are well aware of the mempak battery and have them swapping out every few years, if the unit works fine when you buy it, provided you swap the battery out, it'll stay working. The only other known "common" fault is power supplies failing, this only affects models which the first variant of the "Brilliant" switching PSU (the round silver one) they were only made for a relatively short time with this PSU and in reality, only a small number of those fail, and they can often be resurrected. I can get any kairn with a faulty PSU going again even if the SMPS is totally dead. They can be quite easily retrofitted with a linear PSU.

The only Linn preamp I'd worry about is the 5103 as these do kill their PSU and need a replacement SMPS if they do. They can suffer BGA failures on the DSP board, they will display "initialising" permanently if this happens and cannot be fixed.
 
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