Inside Linn's Akurate Kontrol/0/D Pre-Processor (Exotik DA)

 In the early years of the 21st Century Linn was still fully on board with multi-channel audio / surround sound with the Akurate Kontrol product.  They're back into surround again now, with the optional module of the Exakt DSMs - albeit with a lack of choice of centre speakers and no subs at all in the range - perhaps they'll arrive soon?

Introduced in 2006, the last dedicated (audio only, no video switching) pre-processor from Linn was initally branded Exotik and with the digital processing option, the Exotik +DA. About 3 years later, when Linn rationalised their products into three distinct tiers - Majik, Akurate and Klimax - the Exotik was re-branded as Akurate Kontrol. To distinguish this from the later stereo only Akurate Kontrol/1, the product is generally referred to as Akurate Kontrol/0. Part way through its life the power supply was changed to Dynamik which was also offered as an upgrade to existing products, hence the full nomenclature of the version in these pictures is Akurate Kontrol/0/D.

It was an excellent sounding processor and acquitted itsself well enough for stereo music to justify its place in the Akurate tier.  Covering Dolby ProLogic, Dolby Digital and DTS, it was equipped to offer audiophile grade cinema sound.  It was never directly replaced when Linn decided building its own fully licenced products was no longer cost effective at their sales volumes.  The latest foray into surround relies upon the use of a module built by a partner supplier.

The excuse for opening up this particular version was for the conversion to the workshop system colourscheme...

Before

General View

The digital board (the " +DA" on the Exotik version)

Main board - notice top left that its origins are from the much earlier Kinos pre-processor product

This small board allows the user to choose between MM phono, MC phono or line level on one of the analogue inputs

Rear of the front panel / display

Across the main board

Mainboard dustscape

Refinished for the workshop system

Digital vs Analogue? But Not Streaming vs Vinyl.

Its already been raised in a couple of posts.

Linn have discontinued their analogue pre-amps.  So its digital volume controls all the way now, with the streamers and pre-amps being combined into the DSM streamer/pre-amp products.

Linn announcement covered here

Initial thoughts on a first listen to a digital volume control (DVC) are here

So how is this relevant to the main system at Audiophile Musings?  Well, it has the following streamer and pre-amp:

Klimax DS/1 (KDS/1) streamer
Klimax Kontrol/1/D (KK/1/D) analogue pre-amp

So Linn are now, effectively, advising customers that combining these 2 products into one Klimax product and using a DVC is an improvement on separates.  They still sell a separate streamer - the Klimax DS/2 (KDS/2) which features a new circuit board layout and an improved clocking system. Said to sound better than the KDS/1, of course.  The alternative, and what Linn seem to be recommending is the combined streamer and pre-amp in one box, the Klimax DSM/1 (KDSM/1) which features a DVC.  Of course, the older, KK1/D separate pre-amp features an analogue volume control.

The analogue vs DVC debate is lengthy on the Linn forum and there's the usual conjecture, assumptions and actual experiences recorded there.  Some are vehemently against, some are accepting, many are still on the fence, probably not having listened yet.  Linn themselves have produced technical information proving that the DVC introduces less distortion into a system, and is therefore, according to them, a good thing.

Why is this currently relevant?  Well, as the KDS/1 has been superceded by the (supposedly) improved KDS/2 streamer, then there's an option to consider upgrading the KDS/1 in the main system.  In typical Linn style, its possible to upgrade an existing KDS/1 to KDS/2 internals.  But it's also possible to upgrade the KDS/1 to the combined streamer and pre-amp, the KDSM/1.  So upgrade to KDS/2 or to KDSM/1 and sell the KK/1/D pre-amp? Or neither and stay as-is, or stay as-is to try and work out what Linn will do next - the myriad changes in the last 18 months or so is probably de-stabilising customers' system development plans, to say the least.  These upgrade options also come with Linn's proprietary Exakt digital outputs which allow the use of Exakt digital crossovers or Exakt enabled Linn active speakers in addition to traditional analogue output. This decision combines the following:

- commit to DVC (or not)
- upgrade the DS (or not)
- upgrade the DS to a DSM (or not)
- open up the option for Exakt at some point in the future (or not, but upgrading doesn't mean this has to be the future)
- are any of the upgrades good value (in the context of a Linn Klimax system)
- consider how any of this works with or without the KK/1/D pre-amp and the multi-channel cinema processor (or not, possibly leading to lots of other considerations / expenditure)

As you can probably see, lots of options for Linn's existing customers (although, as a new customer, things are very much simplified now), and, consequently, lots of confusion.  Change to new Linn? Move to a different manufacturer? Do nothing? Wait and see - for how long?

So, down to the dealer to have a listen, as that's the only way to resolve a few of these questions.  But with the demise of the analogue pre-amps, even that's not so easy now.  In order to listen to the KDS/1 against KDS/2 through a KK/1 pre-amp, its necessary to take along both the DS and the KK. But this does at least allow comparison of the 2 separate products compared to the combined KDSM/1.  A time was sorted out and about 2.5 hours was spent working through the options and making a decision.

At House of Linn, we used a Majik power amp into passive Majik 140s in the upstairs front room - so similar to my own system, but not identical as there weren't enough Majik power amps on hand to run the M140s in active mode.  The shop's pair of Solo power amps were out on demo, so they weren't an option either.  Linn Silver interconnects and one half of K400 speaker cables were used.  All the source and pre-amp components were placed on the top shelf of a Quadraspire Sukono Vent rack with a bamboo top shelf supported by their latest bronze spikes. Control was through Linn Kinsky on iPad and we used volume levels in the 60-65 range. We listened to the following combinations:

KDS/1 and KK/1/D
KDS/2 and KK/1/D
KDSM/1

These were swapped in and out of the system to enable A to B comparisons.  The KDSM/1 was used with the HDMI ports switched off and the KDS streamers with their internal volume controls disabled.  SPACE was disabled and the speakers had been positioned in the room using Tune-Dem by Brian and Trevor of HoL.  We used tracks familiar to me such as Nils Lofgren Live, Malia & Boris Blank, Blues Company, Peter Alderton, Yello and FAC15.  May be a few others over the 2.5 or so hours.

Top Shelf: Left to Right - Shop KDS/2, my KK/1/D and my KDS/1
Second shelf: Majik Power Amp
Rack: Quadraspire Sukono Vent with Bamboo Top Shelf and Bronze Spikes
KSDM/1 not shown in this picture

So first up was the most straightforward option - KDS/1 versus the newly released KDS/2, both playing through the KK/1/D and therefore using analogue volume control. Given that the KDS/1 is the most musical digital source I've heard to date, its surprising to find that Linn have, again, managed to deliver another notable upgrade.  The new clocking and circuit layout has been a spin-off from work done on the Exakt versions of these products, and the changes are more significant in the sound than I was really expecting.  I was thinking (maybe hoping?) that the improvements would be negligible and I could use the cash elsewhere, but no, this is another step forward.  Listen to the KDS/1 and you would think there was no noise floor, no hash in the music, until you hear the same track through the KDS/2 which sounds cleaner - its hard to describe, but there's more definition in the instruments and vocals, there is less "background" for want of a better phrase.  Imaging is more precise (again, I wasn't really aware of a lack of precision in the KDS/1, its still an excellent product) but the biggest change for me was the intonation and expressiveness of vocals.  There's just so much more texture to the way the singer is interpreting the words and providing the feel of the song.  Good stuff.  Is it worth the upgrade price?  No, its not.  However, when factoring in the ability to use the old KDS/1 electronics to create a new streamer (the DS Renew option) and then selling that onwards, then the upgrade becomes much more affordable and worth the extra (IMHO of course).

So, within about 30 minutes it was clear (after discussion around Renew values etc.) that the KDS/2 was something that interested me.  But how will that compare to the KDSM/1?  Will the combined streamer / pre-amp outperform the separates?  The KDS/1 was replaced on the top shelf of the rack with the KDSM/1 and we got started.  Some of the same tracks were used and we swapped between KDS/2 with KK/1/D and then to the KDSM/1 and back.  And here's the thing - its pretty easy to hear the difference between these 2 options, but which you will prefer, I think, will come down to individual choice.  In terms of detail retrieval, then the KDSM/1 is a marginal improvement on the separate boxes.  There's definitely more fine details resolved and there's a little more in terms of the acoustic space of the venue (on live recordings).  So that's it then, choice made?

No, its not that simple.  If I were a new buyer and only heard the KDSM/1, there's every chance that I would enjoy it and want to buy.  It plays tunes, it sounds good.  There are a couple of things I didn't like though - one is a very slight sharp edge to the lead of the notes and vocals - it doesn't sound like distortion, it's just a bit too abrupt.  But more importantly, there's less coherence and flow to the music.  The KDSM/1 plays a tune, but the separates play a more coherent and flowing tune - its easier to follow, to remember and enjoy.  Is the KK/1/D rounding the edges a bit?  Is it softening the spikes to make the music more "comfortable"?  Quite probably.  But when the music needs to shock or excite or thrill, its all there with the KK/1/D - this isn't about slowing the music or softening the impact, its about music sounding like music rather than a hifi.  The KDSM/1 is more hifi, the separates more musical.

So, is the KDSM/1 no good?  Not at all, its very good, and would be fine, and an improvement on the KDS/1, if I hadn't heard the KDS/2 and KK/1/D combination.  Which is superb and sounds like something I can listen to for hours.

KDS/1 is now back at Linn HQ, and a KDS/2 with a Renewed KDS/1 should be back in a couple of weeks.  Really looking forward to the KDS/2 in the system :-)

Renewed Listening Experience

Long suffering Audiophile Musings readers might remember this post when I went for a listen to another forum member's system in the South East of England:

Akurately Kontrolled Klimax

Have a quick read through to refresh yourself of the system and my thoughts from that first visit.  One of the best non-Exakt 350 systems I've heard (when the subwoofer was off), but still having that 350 bass that I don't get on with 100%.  Since then, Andrew (system owner) has been to my home to listen to my somewhat more modest system and we keep in touch regularly through the forum.

Disclaimer:  all my opinion, no double-blind testing, just some A-B-A comparisons which the reader may find informative
KRDS = Linn Klimax Renew DS - a Klimax DS/0 in a lower cost box
KDSM = Linn Klimax DS/1 with a built-in pre-amp

Contants in the system tonight:
Linn Klimax Chakra Twin (non-Dynamik) power amp
Linn K400 speaker cables
Linn Klimax 350 passive speakers

Stuff we messed about with:
Klimax Renew DS vs KDSM
With and without an Akurate Kontrol/0/D pre-amp
Without the pre-amp: unbalanced versus balanced interconnects

So I was down South again recently and got in touch with Andrew to see if he was around to listen to some choones.  Despite the short notice, everything was sorted and planned very quickly, but with knobs on!  Andrew arranged for Peter (forum member peter@57m) to meet up with us to make an evening of it.  And Peter was planning to bring his KDSM along to the party which made it that bit more interesting.  I headed out of Town late afternoon and Andrew kindly picked me up at the station.  We didn't go straight to the 350s, but diverted around to the home of another of Andrew's friends for a quick (very loud) blast on his home cinema system.  This is based around some B&O dalek speakers which can pump out some volume.  They're hidden away behind a massive screen which also doubles as a golf game screen - a real man cave!  I think this system is good for the whizz bang of movies and concerts, but it didn't feel musically engaging to me.  Great fun, but not threatening Andrew's system for and engaging listen.

We then had a tour around the rest of the house.  Underground garage and workshop with cars and motorbikes, a swimming pool, snooker room and the piece de resistance - the wine cellar.  The content of this room was beyond my limited knowledge, but its impressively laid out, including a little bar and all the wine is labelled by year of production and the range of years in which they should be drunk.  Of course, we had to sample some too...

Unfortunately, Andrew's friend was too busy to join us for the rest of the evening so we moved on all too soon, but onward to the main course.  Thanks to Andrew's friend - a very friendly guy who is much more down to earth than his house!

Soon we're facing the 340 centre speaker again and comfortably settled in to the listening room.  We start with a few tracks on the Klimax Renew and switch the sub woofer on and off a couple of times to decide which way to have the system configured.  Andrew loves his bass, Peter and I preferred the system without the sub - from where I was sitting there was less bass without the sub, yet strangely it went deeper.  And I'd worn jeans this time to try and avoid trouser flapping!  The sub stayed off for the rest of the evening.  A couple of minor changes to the system since I was last there - K20 has been replaced by K400 speaker cable and some kind of Russ Andrews filter mains cable now feeds the Renew DS.

We listened to some Blues Company, Seal, and some other stuff that slips my mind (maybe Andrew or Peter will be along soon to help me out here).  Then we picked a track and listened to the first 90 seconds or so 3 times.  Then Peter got to work behind the Hutter rack with the KDSM and cables.  Konfig was spun up and the volume control disabled on the KDSM as we kept the Akurate Kontrol/0/D in the system and used unbalanced silver interconnects from both streamers.  Then we went back to the track we'd listened to three times.  It took about 3 or 4 bars for us to be convinced.  We all looked at each other with a look of surprise.  This wasn't slightly better, it was significantly better.  Using the usual hifi terms then the separation between instruments was massively better and the noise floor had fallen again, enough to hear instruments you didn't notice with the Renew.  The acoustic of the recording venue (or maybe the effect of the acoustic of the recording venue added in production) opened out - for example on the Seal track it sounded like he'd moved from a living room into a concert hall. Going back revealed the closing in of the sound stage and now we could hear those instruments we hadn't heard before, but they're in the distance and they're muffled in comparison with the KDSM.  Vocals loose some richness and texture, the bass is that bit less tuneful and more difficult to follow.

We swap back, using a different track for before and after.  We're all agreed - the difference is quite distinct and much bigger than I think all of us were expecting.  Also interesting is that the Akurate Kontrol/0/D pre-amp was clearly capable of revealing these differences which is good for those of us who like to have a Linn processor for our movies.  But how much is it hiding?

Peter leaps into action again, Konfig is booted up and the volume control is enabled again on the KDSM.  The KDSM is then connected directly to the Klimax Twin power amp using balanced silver interconnects and no pre-amp.  Yet another layer of detail is revealed, along with yet further differentiation between the instruments.  However, a touch of harshness has come into the system - perhaps a hint of graininess.  I almost feel like it there is a little more "hifi" to the sound rather than just the music.  We go back to the unbalanced cables into the Akurate Kontrol with the KDSM volume control disabled.  Sure enough, the sound is a little less distinct and there's a much warmer feel to the sound - the graininess disappears.  Its one of those changes that really is more about personal taste rather than one being distinctly better or worse.  Hmmm, interesting.

Poor old Peter was again pressed into cable swapping duty (to be honest, I'm usually the one doing all this stuff so it was good to kick back and let someone else take the strain).  What now?  Well, how about taking the pre-amp out of the system again, re-enabling the KDSM volume control and using unbalanced silvers into the power amp?  So that's what we did.  Interestingly this was, for me, the best sounding the system had been all evening - this configuration sat neatly between the system with the pre-amp (warmer, friendlier, no harshness, no grain) and the system with the KDSM connected directly to the power amp using balanced cables (more detail, more separation, some grain /  harshness).  So we get more detail and separation (but not quite as much as with the balanced connection) but some of the warmer, less challenging sound of the system with the pre-amp.

So what did we learn (and, it must be said, very much agreed upon):
KDSM is significantly ahead of the KRDS - a much bigger difference than I think any of us were expecting
The Akurate Kontrol/0/D is a decent pre-amp, it clearly shows the difference between the DS products
The Akurate Kontrol/0/D is not transparent - it adds a warmth and a little haziness to the sound
The KDSM without a pre-amp is a mixed blessing - choose your method of connection to the power amp with care

We briefly listened to the KDSM with the HDMI switched on and with it switched off.  At this point, I was sitting to one side of the room so I found it difficult to hear a major difference.  Peter was finding it easy to hear and preferred the sound with HDMI switched off, as it had been through the earlier listening comparisons.

So a very revealing and entertaining evening (I know, some will find this a bit sad!) with excellent hospitality from Andrew (and his friend earlier in the evening), and generous support from Peter - great of him to bring over his KDSM, doing all the cable work and dropping me back at the station.

p.s. received a note from Peter the following day - his Klimax Twin Dynamik and Wilson Benesch standmounts and a sub is a very different system to Andrew's set up.  He doesn't use a pre-amp and had spent a little while the following day re-checking balanced vs unbalanced cables in his own system.  This allowed him to confirm that he still prefers the balanced cables in his own system.  The previous evening must've created some doubt in his mind, so good to hear that he's confirmed his original choice as working well in that system.

Linn Streaming Evening, Chris Brooks Audio

Late summer and Chris Brooks Audio in Warrington has a streaming open evening (A Mid-Summer Night's Stream, but we'll forgive that one!) to launch the new Linn Akurate DS/1 and Klimax DS/1.  The local debut of the new Isobarik speaker was quite and interesting addition.

Chris did lots of talking about the technologies and why they were so much better than CD etc. etc.  As is often the case with this kind of evening, there was a bit too much talking rather than letting the music do that by itsself, but I guess us punters need to pay for our glass of wine / orange juice!  It was a very warm evening which gave the guys in the shop a bit of a problem as the main upstairs listening room was rather stuffy with 10 or so bods and some heat producing hifi gear.  Windows open to cool the room was just too noisy so it was a constant swing between noise then heat then noise then heat.  A shame, but a bit beyond the control of the shop.

In the upstairs room, the comparisons were performed - and very well too, it must be said.  Constantly swapping between different streaming devices could've been a problem as the iThingy control devices could've easily suffered from user error and be pointing to the wrong source at the wrong time. The system was an interesting mix of amps (all from Linn of course), and I can't remember if the speakers were being driven actively or bi-amped.  I think the Isobariks were being driven by the power section of a Majik DSi (that's a Majik DS and integrated amp all in one mid-sized case) and an Akurate amp of some description - probably a 4200.

Firstly, impressions of the new Majik Isobarik speakers.  They're about £3,500, so that makes them low mid-range in Linn terms and top of the Majik speaker range.  The shop had only had them for a few days so they might not've been run-in properly, I wasn't convinced that the Majik DSi amp would be really grunty enough for a speaker of this size and quality and I would imagine that the shop guys would need to experiment some more to get the best positioning for them.  There was a Linn guy on hand from the factory, so they had a reasonable chance of being about right.  I found them extremely dry but really rather superb on the detail front.  Bass, for an Isobarik, is not as deep and extended as I imagined it would be, but as expected from Linn, timing felt very accurate and enjoyable.  They were great for hearing the differences in the sources - but they didn't really give that sense of excitement that I look for in a system - just a bit to restrained.  Amps?  Not run-in? Or is that just the way they are?  Perhaps we'll see them in the press soon and find out what the "experts" think.


So to the sources.  All the following were demonstrated through this system:

Majik DSi (no recent changes to this, save the addition of the Dynamik power supply about 12 months ago) - the standalone streamer version of this (without the integrated amp section) is £1,900

Akurate DS/1 - the new version @ £4,500


Klimax DS/1 - also a new version @ £10,000 (top centre in this mouth-watering stack of music playing technology drool-fest)



How was the sound?  Well the Majik was very impressive as a starting point - lots of detail, good timing, clear vocals, good imaging.  Bringing in the Akruate was a big step up, much larger than any of the audience were expecting - the imaging filled the room, timing was stunningly better, separation of the instruments very clear and the pace of the music seemed to pick up somewhat.  Those in the audience with a Majik DS were either reaching for their cheque book, or looking a bit glum.  Then comes the Klimax.  If you look at the pictures of the Klimax circuit board vs that of the Akurate that can be found on the internet then there doesn't seem to be that much difference until just before the final analogue output stages.  Of course, the box is significantly different too.  However, it is clearly different to listen to.  I remember from the first generation of DS products that there was a big difference from Majik to Akurate, then a smaller difference from Akurate to Klimax, meaning that the Akurate was the price / performance sweet spot.  Now though, when you listen to the new Akurate DS/1, you're probably going to think "good grief, how can the Klimax be better than this?".  But it is, and significantly so.  The step from Majik to Akurate described above is delivered again in the next step.  Very, very impressive.

So those with Majiks and Akurates where then concerned that they were going to be disappointed when they got home, and those who have yet to go streaming were thinking that they would have to save up for the Klimax, or give up now if that was unlikely to be attainable.  However, Chris had another trick up his sleeve.

Bear in mind that I have a Meridian CD player and chose this over and above players from Linn and Naim - albeit about 10 years ago.  I've never really been convinced about Linn's CD players - they've always been somewhat underwhelming.  However, Chris rolled out a Linn CD12 - no longer in production now, but a £12k machine in its day.  Lets cut to the chase - the Majik DSi completely wiped the floor with this CD player.  Period.  I hope there was no one there who'd bought one of these...  This made the Majik DS or DSi owners and those who can't aspire to anything further up the range much happier!

Elsewhere in the shop, the back room downstairs was running a Klimax DS/1, Klimax Control, and indeterminate Klimax power amp and a pair of 350A speakers.  Outside the dem room, this system was attracting the most attention.  It was sounding very detailed and bass was stonkingly deep but extremely well controlled.  But for me, there was something missing.  Its a bit difficult to put into words, but I would describe it as a coolness - and I don't mean a lack of warmth, I mean a lack of emotion in the music - for me this makes it a bit pointless as its the emotional content that's most important.  Technically very very impressive, but overall just not something I wanted to sit down and listen to attentively.  It doesn't help on evenings like this that folk like to chatter when there's music playing, so its not a truly fair position to take, and I won't write off this system on the basis of this event.

Fortunately, no-one was interested in the downstairs front room, given that there was lots of loverly Klimatic Kit to listen to in the bacK.  Here in the front room I discovered something rather wonderful - the opportunity to listen to a complete "as good as it gets within the Akurate range" fully active system, all on my own, with no interruptions from chatter.  Akurate DS/1, Akurate Kontrol, 3 x Akurate 4200 power amps and fully active Akurate 242 loudspeakers.  Once the guys got this powered up for me, initial impressions weren't all that good - good, but not stunning.  A quick look down the back of the source / control components an "ah!" and off went my attentive shop assistant.  Approx 30 seconds later, he returned to the room clutching a pair of Linn silver analogue interconnects.  Off went the system, out came the balanced XLR leads from DS to pre-amp and in went the unbalanced Linn sliver interconnects.  Once powered up again, this change was absolutely stunning.  I've read lots about balanced connections outperforming unbalanced - this is the conventional wisdom.  However,  I would suggest its a matter of the combination of kit in use and the cables in use too.  This was not a subtle change, in this system, the unbalanced Linn interconnects were clearly superior.  Never assume without listening!  At last I was hearing something truly great.  Track after track (16 bit CD rips and 24/96 high res) had me glued to the music, often staggered by the scale and depth of the soundstage, shaking my head at the resolution of female vocals and actually gasping at the lowest of low notes, slamming out in a controlled way, or rumbling - deeply underpinning the rest of the music.  I spent a good hour browsing through the tracks available on the shop's NAS via an iPad - this is a great interface and very intuitive to use.  This system is the top end of Linn's mid-range range.  But that's not mid-range in traditional hifi terms, its a Linn perspective.  This system is knocking on the door of £30,000 without cabling, so its truly in the aspirational class for most of us.  However, I'd have no hesitation in recommending this system as a must listen to anyone fortunate enough to be able to consider spending that kind of cash on music.

It gets me thinking though...how long will it be before you can pick up this system for under £5k on ebay?  I'd give it 5 years or so.  Hopefully the DS tech will still be relevant then!

There was no LP12 vs DS comparison at this event, I'm sure that would be an interesting one, but a top end LP12 is North of £10k now, and I doubt it would get close to the Akurate DS/1, never mind the new Klimax DS.

P.S.  There's a lot of debate in the bloggosphere and the forumosphere (?!) about what Linn's doing for owners of the existing Klimax DS (now known as the DS/0).  If you take your Klimax DS/0 to your Linn dealer they'll upgrade it to a DS/1.  I'm not sure how much this costs, but the key thing here is that they don't just throw out the old DS/0 innards.  In fact, they re-box them into a case that's somewhat simpler and more cost effective than that of the Klimax - they call it the Renew DS.  The idea is that it gives customers and "almost" Klimax DS/0 to use in a second system in their homes.  Some customers think this is a great idea, others seem to think Linn are exploiting them by charging them for a Renew box to put their old innards into.  For me, this sounds like a great solution - you get a lower cost Klimax DS/1 through the upgrade and then you get a brilliant DS player for another room, meaning that the old electronics don't go on the scrapheap.  Its optional.  What's not to like - it would be good if other hifi manufacturers could follow this lead - re-boxing older kit when an upgrade is applied to the main system, great idea.