Klimbing The Produkt Ladder at Linn

December 2016 - and its 12 degrees C in Waterfoot, the location of the Linn factory near Glasgow - the locals are confused by the soaring Summer temperature.  Its also grey and damp outside, but dry and lifestylie in the Linn Home demonstration suite. Alloy ingots and folded aluminium boxes are arranged on shelving, but there's too many to fit so they're decorating the floor too.  We're faced (literally) with a pair of rather imposing and "high tech" looking KEF Reference 5 loudspeakers - the competition are in the house. This is probably the best place to hear the Linn hierarchy above Majik - the factory being able to supply such goodies as 8 Solo power amplifiers, several different streamers and speakers that allow conversion from passive to active in less than a minute.

So we'll come to that lot a bit later. This year, Linn didn't have a "factory event" arranged for the autumn / early Winter like they sometimes do - even though they've just launched Katalyst on the public - a major DAC architecture upgrade for the Klimax DS and DSM streamers. So a group of forum members built a demo wishlist and asked Linn very politely if we could come and have a listen. Which was the loose basis upon which an "annual event" was created for those invited along. In other words, a bunch of mates getting together to catch up, drink beer and listen to stuff they aspire to owning.

Whilst most of the group were local (meaning UK), we did have a forum member from Canada joining us on his personal crusade across Europe, so there was an international flavour to the group (being Scottish, English, Irish and Canadian). The night before was a curry followed by beer and lots of natter about what we might hear, what people have done to their music listening gear recently, what they might do next, a bit of politics around the forum etc. etc. In other words, geeky, alcohol fuelled natter. Our Canadian friend's recent tour of Linn systems in Europe was a constant thread returned to throughout the evening and how Linn can make their SPACE Optimisation tool easier for customers to get the best from - when done well it takes a Linn system several levels of performance higher, but sadly it is not often done well.

Visitors' Book

After reasonable restraint in the pub the night before, we gathered at the factory ready for a 10:00 start - with everyone looking healthy enough to handle reasonably loud music. And here its worth mentioning Linn's choice of speaker for this event - the KEF Reference 5 floorstanders.  A decent bit of kit, but not exactly big on bass, or at least not on this experience. Perhaps Linn had heard about the pub the night before and had selected these speakers in deference to delicate heads, or they'd deliberately set up SPACE to take bass energy out. But no, apparently not.  As usual the welcome at Linn was warm, friendly and informal. Craig of marketing was looking after us, clearly now somewhat more confident meeting a bunch of forum diehards compared to last year, having got over a year of experience in the meantime. Teas / coffees and then off into one of the dem rooms (for those who know the place, the one on the right at the back of Linn Home).

A vast array of kit was laid out in the room, some on the equipment rack (extended by an extra 4 shelves for today) and some on the floor waiting its turn to perform.  We had suggested some ideas on demos in advance and Linn had set up all of them for us, except the cheeky requests to hear products yet to be announced. Of course. A printed list of demos and list prices of each demo were made available to us. Probably not good to look at the list prices on the second page! We were hosted by a couple of senior guys from R&D - Ian who looks after circuit design and layout and Phil who takes the lead on speaker design. So why no Linn speakers? It was explained that there are only 2 pairs of speakers in the factory with externalised passive crossovers - something that helps with speedy system configuration changes. As all of us in the room are already at Akurate or Klimax level in the Linn hierarchy, Ian and Phil had decided that one of those pairs of speakers - Majik 140s - probably wasn't going to give us the insight into the upgrades we were hoping for, and the other pair - the KEFs - would be more appropriate in terms of price and performance. I guess there's also benefit in reminding the audience that Exakt filters are available for non-Linn speakers, in addition to those from Linn. Anyway, the KEFs did an admirable job during the morning to give a clear insight on the upgrades in the electronics. The KEF's passive crossovers have been removed from the cabinets and are housed in Akurate size cases with perspex tops.  Consistency of speaker throughout the demo was appreciated by the group.

Dem Room

DEMO 1:

Klimax DSM/1 (KDSM/1)  which has a pre-Katalyst DAC and was, up until 6 weeks ago, Linn's top performing streamer/pre-amp against Klimax DSM/2 (KDSM/2) which is the newest version and includes the Katalyst DAC architecture. The Katalyst is a new DAC from a different manufacturer which allows for multiple separate power supplies to different functional parts of the DAC (e.g. clock, digital circuits, analogue circuits etc.). In addition to this, Linn altered some of the other areas of the circuit board layout whilst they had the opportunity to improve these too.  The rest of the system was a Klimax Twin/Dynamik power amp and the KEFs in passive configuration. Interconnects throughout the day were Linn silvers, speaker cables the recently released K200. Ethernet cables and Exaktlink cables were not declared - but Linn likes to use pretty standard stuff here.

First a couple of tracks were played on the KDSM/1 and sounded very enjoyable, until we then heard them on the Katalyst equipped KDSM/2. Which is a very significant step forward. The music seems more joined up in terms of timing - instruments, voices etc., seeming better aligned. There's more texture and believability in vocals - they're more expressive. At first it seems a little bass light, but really its just a tightening up of control, perhaps the removal of some harmonics that shouldn't be there. In more hifi related terms there's more detail in the treble and imaging is sharper, but still not up there with the kind of imaging provided by an Exakt system. Going back to the KDSM/1 (which is still a very fine player) is like going from a full fat FLAC file down to a 192 MP3 - the difference is quite stark. A great achievement.

DEMO 2:

So is this new Klimax Katalyst equipped DSM with Klimax amplification better than an Akurate level Exakt system? This, for me, was probably one of the more significant demos of the day, and one that we'd eagerly anticipated and discussed at length in the pub the night before (and, strangely enough, the evening after).
The comparison was between the KDSM/2 (i.e. Katalyst equipped) with Klimax Twin versus Akurate Exakt DSM (AEDSM) with Akurate Exaktbox 10 DAC/Processor (AEBOX10) and 2x Akurate 4200/1 power amps. So a step down in hierarchy in Linn terms and a significantly lower overall cost of the electronics feeding the KEFs.

And this was quite some contrast. I felt that the presentation of the 2 systems was very different. But let's get one thing out of the way first - both of these options are very musical indeed, with, for me, little to differentiate them in musicality - ie the ability to play the tune and carry the emotion. However, in almost every other way, the Exakt system was better. Better separation of instruments and therefore clarity of the contribution from each, vastly better imaging, tighter more controlled bass lines and therefore ability to follow these lines and real coherence in the timing. The one area where I felt the Katalyst might just edge ahead was the expressiveness and "reality" of the vocals. But an easy choice - the cheaper Exakt system would be my choice without hesitation. For those who like vinyl, I can see the Katalyst passive might be very attractive - relative to Exakt it has that less precise, more smoothed together kind of sound.

Its interesting that, for me, the magnitude of the end to end system errors corrected by Exakt are more fundamental than the DAC architecture itsself. Given the step change going from Klimax DSM to Klimax DSM with Katalyst, I really didn't expect the non-Katalyst DACs in the Exaktboxes to give a better result. But they do, and its significant.

Katalyst is on the way for Exakt - first at Klimax level - and I suspect that is going to be astonishing. The Klimax Tunebox circuitry has been squeezed into the box and is going through final revisions just now. Katalyst for Akurate level is at the design stage and will be available in 6 and 10 channel versions.  One of the benefits of the upgrade to Katalyst in the Klimax range is that the Exakt engine will be more powerful than the current version and will allow the running of dual-mono Exakt filters inside the 6 channel Klimax Exaktbox - great news indeed for those with only 3 drivers per speaker as it will be possible to get Linn's best performance from one KEBOX rather than needing 2. So the impossible for many could become aspirational for some.

DEMO 3:

Akurate Exakt DSM with Akurate Exaktbox 10 into Akurate 4200/1 amps and the KEFs versus exactly the same system but with the Exaktbox 10 swapped for 2x Akurate Exaktbox 6s.  What's the difference? Well not a lot - except to say that the Exaktbox 6 has a better optimised circuit layout on the boards (which also allows a slightly different approach to the power supplies to the DACs). But the same circuit topographies.

I think all would agree that this was a bigger upgrade than we were expecting. It is more significant that you'd think was reasonable or even logical.  I don't think there were only one or two parameters that improved - rather there was an all-round improvement in everything be that musicality or any of the more hifi-like terms you care to mention. A nice one this, and worth having, particularly if you have speakers that have better dual-mono Exakt filters than the stereo filters.

DEMO 4:

Replacing the 2x Akurate 4200/1 amplifiers with 8x Klimax Solo/Dynamiks.

Gulp.  The single biggest price jump of today's demos - 60,000 gbp.  Was it the single biggest difference?  Probably not. That was either from non-Katalyst DSM to Katalyst DSM, or possibly from Akurate Exaktbox to Klimax Exaktbox (see below). But what do the Solos bring?  Well, this is always one I feel is difficult to describe. What does the Solo do?  Well there's this whole kind of feeling of effortlessness to the sound.  The amps just flow the music through and make it louder.  Sure, there's more detail, more slam / control in the bass and better image stability. But its the way it does what it does rather than the what. And that's hard to describe - perhaps its the difference between a piece of tech that sounds like its responding to the incoming signal, and one that works with that signal? More fluid, more organic, more believable.  Very nice indeed.

DEMO 5:

Replacing the 2x Akurate Exaktbox 6s replaced by their (not yet Katalyst) Klimax equivalents. The rest of the system remaining as AEDSM streamer/pre-amp, 8x Solo amps and the KEFs.

Unlike the move from Klimax to Klimax with Katalyst in the DSMs - which made the former sound rather less than satisfactory - upgrading an Exaktbox from Akurate to Klimax level (and back again), didn't give that same type of difference. Rather the Klimax is a refinement and improvement on what the Akurate box was doing - its just all-round better on detail / resolution, separation of instruments and emotional content of the vocals. It will be interesting to hear the Klimax Exaktbox when it gets the Katalyst upgrade in the Spring.

DEMO 6:

As above, but the AEDSM was replaced by a Klimax Exakt DSM (KEDSM).

A small difference in the sound here - a touch more detail, a little more space between instruments.  Really, this is just a very thin layer of icing on the cake and only really something to do if the aesthetics of the kit is important, or if you've done everything else possible in terms of the rest of the Exakt / amplification equipment. Nice but not necessary and really emphasises how good the AEDSM is in terms of price / performance.  Just one caveat on that - if you're heavily into playing vinyl then the KEDSM has a better ADC stage which would possibly be important to you, and justify the extra cost.  We didn't have the ADC comparison in the demos today.

DEMO 7:

Is a Klimax DS/2 a better source for an Exakt system than an AEDSM?

So these sources were swapped back and forth - and rather like the AEDSM vs KEDSM comparison above - not much in it - perhaps the KDS/2 edged it a little, but this is really about where are you starting from in terms of your current kit - if you have a KDS/2 and don't need the inputs of a DSM, then it works very well.  However, if you need inputs and want to go Exakt, then moving from KDS/2 to AEDSM is not really an issue.

DEMO 8:

Klimax DS/3 (ie Katalyst equipped) vs KEDSM as an Exakt source - here there's an even smaller difference and really not much to discuss.  Either is good, but it would be strange to choose KDS/3 and then shortly afterwards move to Exakt.

DEMO 9:

Akurate Exaktbox 10 vs 2x Klimax Exaktboxes.

See DEMO 5 above - exactly this, but slightly more so.

So overall, what did we learn?

- Katalyst is a fantastic step forward
- Katalyst in Exakt is likely to be something extraordinary
- Katalyst in Akurate (and the Exaktbox) is very much anticipated
- For me, the sweet spot in terms of price vs performance is currently with AEDSM and 2x Akurate Exaktbox 6 and 4200/1 amplifiers (possibly with Twins rather than 4200/1, but we didn't hear that exact combination)

With many thanks to Ian and Philbo who put so much effort into putting these demos together and running through them all - there are very few (if any) other places we could've had such a comprehensive set of demos - the team built exactly what was asked for by the attendees. All these changes went extremely smoothly with no gitches with any of the kit and that helps to demonstrate that this streaming, networking and Exakt stuff is now very mature indeed.

CRANAGE HALL AUDIO SHOW JUNE 2014 - Linn at Brian and Trevor's

Showcasing the latest iteration of Linn's Exakt digital crossover / room optimisation system with the Akubarik Exact loudspeakers,  These accept an Exakt digital signal, digitally splits this into 5 different frequency bands, corrects for phase and timing distortions between and within each speaker drive unit, corrects for the actual measured manufacturing variances in each driver and then feeds each of the 5 bands to a dedicated power amplifier for each driver.  This is all housed in the aluminium extruded housing down the back of the cabinet.  Connections in the back are just a mains lead and an Exakt Cat 5 cable (its not ethernet, its proprietary). The speakers are reasonably compact and use a pair of isobaric loaded bass drivers facing downwards, helping to make the speakers less room boundary dependent.  They're good looking, but I prefer the darker satin colours to the glossy examples on display today.

The electronics feeding the speakers is the Klimax Exakt DSM - its a streamer and pre-amp with mostly digital inputs.  There is one analogue input which uses a very high quality 32 bit analogue to digital converter, so even the LP12 signal is digitised so the Exakt software can do its stuff with analogue too. By measuring the room dimensions the software can also reduce the appropriate low frequencies in the signal to help reduce boom.

Music was being played using the KEDSM as a streamer and from a top spec LP12 turntable.  All the components were being fed by mains from PS Audio Perfect Wave power regenerators.  These are not conditioners, they take the incoming distorted AC mains, turn it to DC, then regenerate a 240V 50Hz mains output without the distortion.

Left Top Down: LP12, KEDSM, Uphorik Phono Stage, but not sure what's on the lowest shelf.  On the right is a PS Audio Perfect Wave P10 sitting on a PS Audio Power Base

So how did all of this sound?  Very Linn.  Understated, controlled, detailed, musical and very tuneful.  It doesn't leap out at you, but you can listen to it for hours.  Occasionally it was a touch too loud and the LP12 was sounding suprisingly lightweight - very unusual.  When playing at a sensible volume you could hear the benefits of Exakt with excellent imaging and no obvious timing issues.  I did think that it would be a bigger improvement than it seems to deliver over the standard active Akubariks.  This is probably due to the limitations of Akurate level DACs and amps that are somewhere between Majik and Akurate level all built into the back of the speakers.  I'm thinking Klimax Exakt crossovers, external amps and passive Akubariks might bring a better (but even more expensive) result.

Decent sounds here, much better than the Linn sound at the Manchester airport show last year, and in the top 5 of rooms I heard at Cranage.

First UK Dealer Exakt Demo

See below about the date and location of the first dealer Exakt demo evening:

http://audiophilemusings.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/house-of-linn-demo-of-exakt-will-there.html

And here's the report on activities.  How exact is Exakt?  I deliberately didn't comment on the sound of Exakt heard at the 40th Anniversary event at the factory as the conditions just weren't suitable to make a sensible evaluation.  Tonight's event wasn't perfect as most of us won't be listening to a system with 18 other people, but it was much more realistic than the factory event, and later in the evening when the room emptied out, even better conditions were experienced.

As usual, Brian and Trevor were excellent hosts - drinks (including an excellent Malbec from Morissons, a bottle was seen in the hands of one Managing Director on his way out at the end of the evening...) and snacks made available and a relaxed atmosphere as the gathering built momentum from about 19:45 onwards.  For those who don't know House of Linn, it is just that - a very large substantially built end terrace house.  So the rooms are much more "domestic" than most dealers, including the kitchen / diner at the back of the house where we gathered - in the case of HoL the party starts in the kitchen, but usually ends with ears glued to the music in the large listening room at the ground floor front of the house.

Gilad Tiefenbrun, Susan and Andy represented Linn this time around and they were running the first dealer version of the Exakt demo for the UK, being an evolution of some demos done during the 40th Anniversary weekend at the factory.

Gilad kicked off the evening with about 18 customers in attendance (many happily making the best of the Malbec) explaining the basics of the Exakt technology (see here: http://audiophilemusings.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/more-exakt-info.html  and here: http://audiophilemusings.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/exakt-photos.html  for the salient points) and introducing some nicely produced animated videos to help with the explanation.  If anyone was still confused about what the technology is, the Q&A session didn't reveal any fundamental mis-understandings.

Andy from Linn (standing) and Gilad Tiefenbrun (sitting) and Some Abstract Art (hanging). Note the Dark Wood  Non-Exakt 350a Speakers in Place At This Point

 
Disclaimer:  I'm not the biggest fan of Linn's 350 speakers.  So please bear that in mind here - I prefer the Akubariks and Komris.  Having heard 350s in a number of different system configs and locations, I've never really got on with them.  However, its also worth saying that they sound much better at HoL than the did in the Linn Home dem rooms at the factory...  I mention this as I won't be able to say that what I heard was the best system I've ever heard (which I would expect Linn to be hoping customers to be saying), as there are compromises with these speakers that don't suit me, whereas the compromises in the Akubariks (for example) are easier for me to put to one side given how well they do pretty much everything else - particularly their ability to be difficult to listen to as a hifi component, because there's just so much music to listen to.  Anyway, I digress - so back to the 350 speakers used tonight - I'll not describe what I heard in absolute terms (other than setting a baseline from the non-Exakt system), but just in terms of the way they changed as the demos progressed.  Hope that makes some sense - trying to evaluate the effect of Exakt, rather than the basics of the system.   As usual, these notes are only my opinion and thoughts, based on the experience of the evening - its not definitive!

With the system feeding from PS Audio power re-generation products all evening, Andy then stepped us through the demo process as follows:

Starting System: KDSM, maxed out Klimax LP12, 350a in "tune-dem" determined position
2 x 30-45 seconds of track 1 - 24 bit FLAC
2 x 30-45 seconds of track 2 - vinyl

Audiophile Musings thoughts: the usual sound here - very tuneful, bags of detail in the treble and mid, sparkling smooth top end, something not quite right about imaging and the integration of the upper mid and lower mid drivers (exhibited, for me, as the vocals being clear, but strangely recessed in the mix, but moving forward and back in the mix, depending on the singer and even which part of the tune is being sung) and deep, powerful, but somewhat (struggling for the right phrase here) less than detailed bass.  I know this is not the KDSM electronics as it sounds great with other speakers in the Linn range.  So a very good sound, but not the ultimate sound, for me at least - but remember this is in context of a very expensive system - I suppose I just expect a bit more at this level of spend, but in terms of the complete hifi spectrum, this is still a very good sounding system.


Changed system to: KEDSM, maxed out Klimax LP12, Exakt 350 in the same location as the 350a - room optimization settings off, speaker position optimzation settings off
2 x 30-45 seconds of track 1 - 24 bit FLAC
2 x 30-45 seconds of track 2 - vinyl

Discussion on the differences
Audiophile Musings thoughts:  The tune is just as easy, if not easier to follow.  Timing of the bass lines improves dramatically, snapping into line with the rest of the music.  Instruments much more separated, much more stability in the vocals in terms of front to back in the mix and in terms of left to right image stability.  350s much easier to listen to.  Generally the room agrees it can here a significant difference but not all are fully convinced that everything is unequivocally better.  There is no disagreement about the effects being just as dramatic on vinyl as it is on the digital source.


Changed system back to KDSM, maxed out Klimax LP12, 350a in "tune-dem" determined position
1 x 30-45 seconds of track 1 - 24 bit FLAC
1 x 30-45 seconds of track 2 - vinyl

Discussion on the differences
Audiophile Musings thoughts: Going backwards in the upgrade path for me is usually easier to hear than an upgrade.  And so it proves here.  In the upgrade, what I've described above as much greater separation of instruments, in the step back, is much more discernible muddling (remember, this is all relative and the system is still very good in absolute terms - I think the reference point has been moved by Exakt, up a couple of steps on the ladder).  The vocals are much easier to identify as changing position over the pitch range to the point where its now clear that they are wandering around quite distinctly.  That lack of detail in the bass is back too.


2 x 30-45 seconds of track 3 - 24 bit FLAC
2 x 30-45 seconds of track 4 - vinyl

Changed system back to: KEDSM, maxed out Klimax LP12, Exakt 350 in the same location as the 350a - room optimization settings off, speaker position optimization settings off

1 x 30-45 seconds of track 3 - 24 bit FLAC
1 x 30-45 seconds of track 4 - vinyl

Discussion on the differences
Audiophile Musings thoughts: unsuprisingly all the Exakt changes are back.

Changed system to: KEDSM, maxed out Klimax LP12, Exakt 350 in the same location as the 350a - with room optimization settings on (determined earlier in the day), speaker position optimization settings off

1 x 30-45 seconds of track 3 - 24 bit FLAC
1 x 30-45 seconds of track 4 - vinyl

Discussion on the differences
Audiophile Musings thoughts: Bass much more tuneful.  At first it sounded less extended, but this is often the effect heard when bass is brought under greater control.  This also freed up the mid-range somewhat to let vocals be rock solid in the image now, and to really breath freely and flow in a very natural and fluid way.  Given that this software works based on the physical measurements of the room, I found the effect more profound than expected.  Was it a complete success?  May be not - I thought the music lost a touch of liveliness or impact, so its a different set of compromises.  On balance on the evidence of the evening, I preferred the music with the optimisation on, but I think its something that would have to go through a more thorough comparison in your own home to be absolutely sure.

Changed system to: KEDSM, maxed out Klimax LP12, Exakt 350 moved back into either side of the large bay window - with room optimization settings on, speaker position optimization settings off

1 x 30-45 seconds of track 3 - 24 bit FLAC
1 x 30-45 seconds of track 4 - vinyl

Discussion on the differences
Audiophile Musings thoughts:  Disastrously bad positioning of the speakers in this room.  Image collapsed and the tune was dragging its feet through mud.  A clearer demonstration of the benefits of placing speakers in the correct place in a room as I've ever heard.  And its amazing how you can pick this out in the first 3 or 4 bars of a very simply constructed acoustic track such as Emily Barker.   The idea here is that the speaker placement optimisation software is supposed to allow for a more "domestically acceptable" positioning of speakers, but only when the ideal position is not tenable.  To configure the speaker optimisation software, first the dealer will identify the best place for the speakers in the room using "tune dem" and record the measurements (from back and side walls), then tell the software the domestically acceptable position in the room and the optimisation is then applied to the signal by the Exakt engine in each speaker.  Interestingly, the distance to the side walls became the distance to the edges of the bay window, not to the edge of the room.

Changed system to: KEDSM, maxed out Klimax LP12, Exakt 350 moved back into either side of the large bay window - with room optimization settings on, speaker position optimization settings on (determined earlier in the day)

1 x 30-45 seconds of track 3 - 24 bit FLAC
1 x 30-45 seconds of track 4 - vinyl

Discussion on the differences
Audiophile Musings thoughts: The tune comes back, imaging somewhat improved, but its not a complete success - having the speakers in the correct position in the room is still clearly better.  But its an impressive result.  If 350s are too big for the room and you would need to apply speaker position optimisation, I think it would be worth trying some smaller speakers in the correct room position before making a decision.


Throughout, the TV in the room displayed the configuration in use and the track being played, to help us remember what was going on!  Also worth noting is that the speakers not in use were wheeled out of the room, so Brian and Trevor had a good deal of (heavy) box shifting to do through the evening.  So particular thanks to them for the hard work on this.

Brian Installing the Exakt 350 (again!) in Oak Finish

A Q&A session followed with Gilad which covered a number of topics.
Will there be an Akurate Exakt DSM? Nothing definite yet, but probably.
Will there be a Majik Exakt DSM?  Highly unlikely.
Will there be an Akurate Exakt Tunebox - probably and like the Klimax Exakt Tunebox it will eventually cover most, if not all, of Linn's current and previous speakers.
Including the Keilidh?  Yes, as there are around 27k Keilidhs out there, it would seem to make sense to do so, but it might not be an economically sensible way to spend a system upgrade budget, particularly with the Klimax Exakt Tunebox.
Akubarik the next to have an Exakt module?  Very likely, given that it was developed in parallel with Exakt and it has the ideal amp module format. As an aside, Gilad shared that there is no such thing as an "Aktiv Akubarik".  There is only "Akubarik" and "Akubarik Passive" as Linn now see active as the norm at Akurate and above, not the exception.
Will there be Exakt modules for the rear of Majik speakers and older Akurates such as the 242?  No, Exakt Tunebox will be the approach for these - the speaker cabinets are not designed for a built-in or built-on module.
Gilad confirmed that the Klimax (and Akurate, should there be one) Tunebox will be the same for all Linn speakers, with only the software for the digital crossovers being different for each speaker model - these will be downloadable from "the cloud" as the Internet seems to be referred to these days.
Confirmation that Exakt Tunebox and the relevant settings for Komri and Keltik will be next and soon.
Will there be a Urika Exakt version?  Unlikely.
Which is Linn's top system - is it KEDSM and Exakt 350a, or is it KEDSM, Exakt Tunebox, lots of Solos and 350p?  Gilad's answer was very revealling of Linn's thinking - they're both seen as the Linn reference system.  With KEDSM and Exakt 350 being the reference simple solution and the KEDSM / Tunebox / Solos / 350p being the reference enthusiast system.  They meet different demands and exhibit different compromises so are different references. So Audiophile Musing's take on this is that there is a "tidy reference" and a "geek reference".
Questions about pricing - no change here.  KEDSM with Exakt 350 is £50k.  KEDSM and Exakt upgrade for 350a / 350p / Artikulat priced at £25k (in this case you retain your KDS or KDSM to re-use elsewhere or sell on.
Will the optimisation software improve over time?  Yes, as more and more data is collected from installations, then the algorithms will be amended to improve the capability of the optimisation software - and these will be downloadable to be applied to their systems.

We then went back to KEDSM, maxed out Klimax LP12 (interestingly, not used for the rest of the evening), Exakt 350 in the same location as the 350a - with room optimization settings on (determined earlier in the day), speaker position optimization settings off and some really great tracks (I have to say this, they were from my own playlist!) were enjoyed as folks came and went - music in the demo room, chatter in the kitchen.  As usual, I came away with an introduction to some new music that I'll be buying.  In this instance it was Rachelle Ferrell's Individuality album.  Give it a try on Spotify - particularly the track "Sista".  Incredible voice.  Stayed until after midnight, just to be sure I'd given the system a good listen in a quiet room and with some very familiar music.  Overall the system at the end of the evening (I wasn't on the Malbec by the way, so I hadn't mellowed through the evening!) was significantly better in pure hifi terms and in sheer musicality - but my prejudices about the 350 remain - I just don't get lost in the music the way some systems can take me. 

Came away with a positive impression of Exakt - can't wait to hear KEDSM / Exakt Akubarik!  Best start saving, or buy a lottery ticket.  Probably both.

More Exakt Info

The basics of Exakt:

A new type of DSM that accepts analogue and digital inputs.  Analogue signals are converted to digital (yes, including the Sondek!).  The Exakt DSM translates the data into Exakt Link format and sends this to an Exakt engine which can be either inside an Exakt Tunebox or inside an Exakt active loudspeaker.  The Exakt engine knows which speaker it is inside so takes that signal from the Exakt link and then decodes it into the correct frequency bands for each drive unit inside the speaker.  Each frequency band is then fed to a dedicated DAC and power amp for each drive unit.  Volume is controlled by the Exakt DSM but applied by the Exakt engine in the Tunebox or speaker at the last point in the digital chain before it goes to the DACs.

The Exakt engine is capable of correcting for manufacturing variation in the speaker drive units, 0dB distortion frequency crossover filtering and, by delaying some of the signal, 0dB phase distortion too.  It can also be fed room dimensions during installation to compensate for the type of room modes (typically heard as bass boom) expected for that size of room.

Signal  Exakt DSM to Exakt speakers is along cat5 using proprietary Exakt link protocols. Its not ethernet.  Lossless, guaranteed delivery and ultra accurate clock sync:

CD12 jitter 41ps
KDSM jitter 11ps
Exakt jitter 6.3ps 

Individual clocks in the Exakt engines. 1.8 nano seconds clock sync accuracy. This is equivalent to getting both speakers located to within 1/100th thickness of sheet of paper distance from the listening position.

Components:

Klimax Exakt DSM has analogue, digital and ethernet inputs. Only ethernet RJ45 style outputs. Cat5e cables to speakers which carry proprietary Exakt Link signals.  There is no concept of left / right channels for Exakt Link outputs - there are just multiple outputs to enable connections to multiple speakers.

Speakers have an Exakt engine inside (to decode its signal from the Exakt Link and to filter the signal into individual frequency bands) which then feed to a DAC and amp dedicated to each drive unit.

Pricing At Launch (from a dealer conversation and updated during the week after the launch through Linn forum posts by Linn employees, not officially provided by a Linn presentation nor on their website at time of writing):

£ 50k for KEDSM and a pair of 350 Exakt speakers

KEDSM and upgrade to existing 350 speakers £25k
A KEDSM and 2 x Exakt Tuneboxes will be £26k for owners of Keltiks or Komris
No official word on the cost of a KEDSM on its own at the moment, but word from Linn employees on the Linn forum that it will be "substantially less than the current KDSM" - so that means under £13k then

Klimax Exakt DSM

 

Futures

Exakt will be available in stand alone version for older speakers as an Exakt Tunebox which will contain an Exakt engine and 6 channels of DACs. Komri and Keltik for certain in November.  Other Linn speakers to come, but no schedule released at this point.

Possibility of Akurate and Majik versions later, but no definitive statements yet.

Exakt Photos

Klimax Exakt DSM Front Panel

Klimax Exakt DSM Rear Panel

Top row from left to right:
- L & R unbalanced inputs
- L & R balance inputs
- 4 x Exakt link RJ45 outputs (with 2 x Cat5e cables plugged in - one going to each Exakt speaker)
- 2 x SPDIF inputs
- 1 x Ethernet RJ45 network
- 2 x optical inputs (I think, but not 100% sure)
- Mains power input

Bottom row from left to right:
- Earth post
- 4 x HDMI digital inputs (not sure, but being HDMI, digital output may be possible here - I expect these behave in the same way as a KDSM)

So no analogue outputs. At all.

Exakt 350 Loudspeaker Back Panel.  From the top: Exakt Link connection, another Exakt Link connetion, power switch, mains input.

 

Inside the Exakt 350 Module (photo courtesy of musiikin.com)