On Utopik - Linn's Latest SMPS Power Supply Reviewed

Linn power supplies have evolved over the years, sometimes quietly, sometimes with much fanfare.

Its a bit tricky to say precisely when Linn started to adopt Switched Mode Power Supplies (SMPS) - but it was during the LK era and they appeared in products such as the Kairn pre-amp and Tunebox active crossover.  Initially (and, of course modestly) they were branded as Brilliant, then Slimline, then they were just a PS in a product, gradually adopted across pretty much the full range of Majik, Akurate and Klimax units - pre-amps, streamers, turntable power supplies and power amps.  Until around 2009 these PSUs were pretty much anonymous, but then Linn made a big fuss about a new generation of SMPS - the Dynamik.

This was gradually rolled out across the then current range of products but, crucially, it was also available as a replacement unit across that same product range.  Mostly as a drop-in replacement in Majik and Akurate products, sometimes as a drop-in, sometimes as a return-to-base-for-machining process within the Klimax range.  There was much fanfare about this product but, more tellingly, almost everyone who heard the difference opted for the upgrade.  Linn provided a sticker for the bottom panel of your kit and a new 5 year warranty for the power supply.  It was a big success and probably made a nice contribution to Linn's bottom line.

But hey, a manufacturer offering to make an upgrade available to existing customers is definitely something to be praised.  So many other manufacturers expect you to ditch your existing, perfectly good, equipment and buy a whole brand new box.  I hope Linn continue this service for many years to come.

Which bring us to the (u)topic of this post.  Linn's latest power supply upgrade - the Utopik - was introduced in late 2022, starting with the Selekt (now Selekt Classic) modular streamer / pre-amp / DAC / processor / power amp unit.  Soon it was available for the "next generation" top of the range Klimax DSM/3 then gradually rolled out across the rest of the non-power amplifier products, including integrated loudspeakers, streamers, pre-amps and Akurate level Exaktbox processor / DAC units. I added Utopik to my Klimax System Hub streamer / pre-amp a couple of years ago and thought the improvement worthwhile rather than revolutionary.  That unit is, of course, digital only, do it was almost a surprise to hear any improvement, but there it was for all (who have heard it) to hear.  There are some customers who say they think that it is a bigger upgrade than the Organik DAC, but that's not my perception having heard the 2 separate upgrades in the Klimax DSM which is a streamer, pre-amp and DAC.

So what have Linn got to say for themselves about the Utopik power supply?

Well, here's the blurb, sourced from Ripcaster.co.uk - a Linn Dealer:

"Utopik - the all-new generation of exceptionally efficient and highly responsive Linn switch-mode power supplies.  This exceptionally efficient, highly responsive, and precision-regulated power supply design is Linn's first entirely new topology since 2009. Multiple feedback loops measure output versus input at each stage of the power supply, and persistently filter out mains-borne noise and eliminate 50Hz hum, even at extreme volumes.  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.

Power is nothing without control:  Multiple feedback loops measure output versus input in each stage of the power supply, and persistently filter out mains-borne noise and 50Hz hum, even at extreme volumes. The sophisticated control mechanism at Utopik’s heart is optimised for handling between 90-250Hz mains supply, ensuring that it performs perfectly anywhere in the world without compromise. Utopik is electrically cleaner, and more efficient at higher power than any power supply we’ve ever made. Of course, this is better for the environment and saves on your electricity bill, but efficiency is also a reliable measure of how well a power supply is performing – as energy isn’t being lost as heat or noise. If you improve efficiency, you improve electrical cleanliness.

Intelligent Valley Switching: 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.

Precision-regulated Rails: Utopik has separate layers of precise regulation on its four power rails. Each has its own feedback loop, so that it is separately controlled, managed and isolated. This improves isolation between the relatively noisy digital power rail – with processors sporadically computing packets of data – and the analogue rails which feed components more sensitive to power fluctuations. Whatever the current demand of any aspect of the whole product, the remaining rails are unflinching.

Power Factor Correction: Switch-mode power supplies are common in modern technology. When in operation, each one of these is intermittently taking short gulps of current from the mains – acute spikes in current draw – which introduces mains-borne noise that affects other products on the grid by producing harmonics in the supply. Utopik modifies its current draw to be proportional to the voltage, and spreads it out over the length of the AC waveform. Instead of taking short gulps, the current draw is spread out to be more consistent over the length of the waveform. This is called Power Factor Correction – and by implementing it in Utopik, we can ensure that the product it’s powering isn’t introducing any distortion to the mains supply in the room, the building, and beyond.

Power Factor Correction is yet another technology in the power supply chain that regulates voltage and ensures that no ripples get through to the output stage of the product as a whole.  

Delivering the cleanest possible power to the rest of the chain. Utopik presents a consistent 400V output – anywhere in the world – regardless of mains supply quality."

So there you go. A lot of claims, although to look at, it's physically very similar to Dynamik.  Some comment on its switching frequency being much lower on Utopik to explain its performance, but I'm not sufficiently knowledgable to confirm or deny this speculation.

At the time of writing, Utopik can be added to the following Linn products:

Klimax DS (all models)

Klimax DSM (all models)

Klimax Renew DS

Klimax System Hub (all models)

Machined Radikal (original, /1, /2)

Klimax Exaktbox

Selekt DSM (all models)

Akurate DS (all models)

Akurate DSM (all models)

Akurate Exaktbox-6 and -10

Akurate Kontrol (all models)

Akurate CD

Kustom DSM Z4 and Z8

Majik DS (all models)

Unidisk (all models)

Two Versions

There is a physically larger version of Utopik that was released first, then there is the Utopik Miniline (the marketing term, as can be seen above, slimline seems to have made it onto the circuit board labelling).  The standard product is available in versions of Selekt and Akurate products and for the Klimax DSM/3.  The older, and physically much slimmer, Klimax products seem to have to make do with the Miniline version.  As there is only one choice to fit the product you might own, there's no way to directly compare the performance of each version against each other. Most new products have Utopik onboard from their release date - examples being Selekt Edition, Klimax Exaktbox/3 and Klimax Solo 500 and Solo 800.  Although the integrated top of the pile 360 loudspeaker is a very recent product, Linn are a little cagey about if it has Utopik or not - there's a fair chance that it is a hybrid product from a PSU point of view, perhaps having Utopik for the lower current areas such as the DACs, and Dynamik for the power amps.  But this is purely me speculating.

Klimax Exaktbox

As mentioned previously, Utopik for the streamer / pre-amp Klimax products, such as Klimax DSM, were released early in the Utopik product life.  Those with Klimax Exaktboxes have had to wait just over 3 years to see the retro-fit become an option. Even though it is the Miniline version of the PSU that comes to Exaktbox, its still necessary for a Linn dealer to send the unit back to the factory for some internal machining and the installation of the Utopik.  My UK domiciled unit was away for about 10 days, which is a very decent turnaround.  The PSU upgrade comes with a new 5 year warranty.

Just briefly - Exaktbox is Linn's proprietary multi-channel processor / DAC.  It takes an Exaktlink feed from a Linn digital streamer / pre-amp and does lots of stuff to do with phase correction, time alignment and loudspeaker crossover requirements.  Its a 6-channel box so is good for up to 6 loudspeaker drivers in mono or 3 loudspeaker drivers in stereo.  Its output is fed to multiple power amplifier channels (one channel per speaker driver) and on to speakers which have had their internal passive crossovers by-passed or removed.  Of course nearly all Linn speakers are supported with this digital approach to active crossovers, as are many others from third party provider speakerfilters.

Installed

For your investment, unlike with the Utopik upgrade to the Klimax System Hub, Linn provide you with a sticker for the underside of the Exaktbox to show the upgrade has been installed.  When the unit comes back from the factory (it has to go back there as the internals need to be machined to accommodate the new PSU) a "Utopik" sticker is provided in the box - it also includes the serial number of the Exaktbox.  Its good that this is provided, but its not an ideal solution - the sticker is too shallow and too long to go over the existing "Powered by Linn Dynamik" logo on the base panel, and a bit clumsy looking to sit underneath the existing serial number information.  I guess its generic and not specific to the Exaktbox, but that's a bit disappointing at this price. I opted to squeeze it in under the serial number.

Context

Here's the system context of this review:

Sources: CD rips and 24 bit downloads from Minim Server on Melco N1Z / Qobuz streaming service

The Chord Company Sarum-T ethernet cable

Streamer / pre-amp: Linn Klimax System Hub/0 fitted with Utopik PSU

Meicord Cat 6 Exaktlink

Processor / DACs with analogue outputs: Linn Klimax Exaktbox/2 which has the Organik R2R ladder DAC and a Dynamik PSU - this is the item to which the Utopik power supply has been added. This is has the crossovers from speakerfilters installed for the PMC Fact.12 loudspeakers.

Linn Silver analogue interconnects

3x Lejonklou Tundra Stereo 2.5 power amplifiers

Naim SuperLumina loudspeaker cables

PMC fact.12 loudspeakers on Iso Acoustics Gaia feet

Puritan Audio mains cables

Quadraspire Evo racks with Mission / Cyrus Isoplats

Listening Notes

I ran the system for about 10 hours before I started to do any listening.  I've no idea if Utopik is considered as needing to be "burned in" but I thought I'd give it some time anyway.  At the time of writing the system has been played for around 30 hours - I can't say I've heard any variation over that time period, but obviously can't say that none will happen in the future.  Many, of course, say that there's no such thing as burn-in...

Thoughts here are directly related to how the system sounded when the Exaktbox was powered by Dynamik, they're not intended to be absolutes.

Like Utopik for the Klimax System Hub streamer / pre-amp, the first thing to notice is yet another drop in what's going on in the negative parts of the music and the gaps between the music.  Yep, a tiny layer of noise has gone - and its a weird one because (like an extremely well set up subwoofer), you don't notice it until its not there.  I'd say this was a bigger change to this aspect than the PSU made inside the streamer.

Secondly, it seems that the music has picked up in pace.  Of course it hasn't, because the track still plays for the same length of time, but there is a little more urgency - I would guess this has something to do with the reproduction of transients of each new note - presumably there's a little bit less time lag for them to happen.  Thankfully this has been achieved without any sign of aggression nor harshness, which is the danger with systems that "crack along".  Its a welcome change, not one that should put you off if you like a more laid back kind of presentation - this isn't like a change between warm valves and analytical digital which can be presented as edginess, its just what feels like a timing improvement.

The main change, for me, is in the way that the music interacts with itself, if that makes any sense.

An example is Submotion Orchestra's "Prism" (from "Kites" on SMO Recordings) starts with Wood's floaty vocals underpinned by strings - after about 1m 30s the bass line kicks in.  Now this sudden contrast feels greater, the emotional change has more impact, the contrast between voice and backing is greater. Then as the vocals and bass line work more closely together you get a real feel for a collaborative effort building the crescendo across the rest of the track.  

On Tash Sultana's "Kiss the Sky" (from "Return to the Roots" on Lonely Lands Records) the lilting dubby background flows more convincingly, the kick drum effect has more thump, the initial cymbal crash has more impact and startles that bit more than before. Its an interesting contrast between the crispness of the rimshot, the brass and the flowing easy going nature of the under-currents.  The shimmering guitar part towards the end of the track really adds more lift to the song and makes me wish for a longer version to continue the experience. Overall the track is more fun to listen to and I get into the groove straight away.

Malia and Boris Blank's "Smoldering Ashes" (from "Convergence" on Universal) starts with a tom tom type drum pattern.  Previously this was easy to follow in terms of the pattern and the indivdual drum sounds but now it bounces along which gives a more jaunty feel - the toms that have a bass under pinning them have more punch and drama.  This track is full of tension but the short punctuations of minor chords, using various different instruments, really add more impact and shades of intrigue. The drum pattern is easier to follow through the whole track. 

Bonobo adds a few clicks and twists to the beginning of the track "Brambro Koyo Ganda (featuring Innov Gnawa)"  (from "Migration" on Ninja Tune). They might seem a bit superfluous, but actually they weave in and out of the whole track. This weaving in and out is now more relevant and tends to help tie the intro into the whole track.  Then there's that bass line - now more punchy, more purposeful and again there's that new ability to drive the track along with more energy but without more aggression.

To find out how an improvement to the presentation of individuals and instruments improves with this PSU, Michael Kiwanuka's recent track "The Rest of Me" (from "Small Changes" on Polydor) is a good example. The resonance qualities of the opening acoustic guitar are richer, more nuanced and add to the feel good factor right from the off.  The cymbals are shimmering, adding to the good feeling, not clashing nor jarring - they're full of subtle complexity.  The bass guitar, like the Malia track, bounces along to add feeling and groove.

To summarise, this PSU will give you more of a feel for the rhythm of the music, the contrasts, the emotions and the complexities.  If it is value for money, or not, is a personal choice.  For me its not far off the improvement that the Organik DAC brought to the musical experience.  More believable, more engaging.

Now, just one more track...

THE MAVERICK HIFI SHOW 2025 - 26 October, Holiday Inn, Barnsley, UK

This is the big one for the year!

Now in its third year, the Maverick (nee Wigwam) Show is the one that brings you authentic music lovers' systems into one place, once a year.  35 or so systems put together by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts!  As far as Audiophile Musings is aware, its the only national show of its type on the planet.

Whilst there are a small number of commercial rooms and vinyl sales to help with funding, this is by far and away the most relaxed show you can go to - 90%+ of the rooms are doing nothing more than demonstrating some system builds that help you hear lots of options, approaches and budgets in one day.  From DIY, through budget, to high end - vinyl, digital, valve, solid state, panel or more traditional speakers - its all there to enjoy, for only a tenner!

Catch Audiophile Musings in Room 215 with Linn Akurate Exakt DSM streamer. Linn Akurate Exaktbox-i processor, DAC and multi-channel power amp driving PMC Twenty.22 speakers.

There will be a raffle and a bring and buy hifi pop-up shop in aid of the show's charity - Barnsley Hospice.

Its a bargain day out for the enthusiast and for music lovers!  More details at the link:

Maverick Show Details

PMC Twenty5 / Twenty5i Active Module Review

What's an active loudspeaker?

A passive loudspeaker has a power amplifier connected to a set of components inside the speaker cabinet that separate the music frequencies between the drivers. These components are unpowered and sap power from the musical signal - typically they need to be quite large components to cope with the power flowing through them which leads to lower levels of accuracy in their manufacture and performance.

Done properly, like this option from PMC, an active loudspeaker means a set of powered crossover components fed from a pre-amplifier which send the split signal to a power amplifier dedicated to each driver in the loudspeaker. The powered crossover components deal with low power signal levels so can be manufactured more accurately and better quality crossover designs are possible. Sometimes the powered crossover and power amplifiers are external to the speaker, sometimes internal and in the case of the PMC Twenty5 and Twenty5i conversion they're a module which fits into the back of the cabinets, directly replacing the standard passive crossover panel.

Above I say "done properly" because some manufacturers (usually in lower priced products) call a loudspeaker active when really its just powered by an internal amplifier that drives a standard passive crossover.

So what are PMC up to with active modules in the Twenty5 and Twenty5i speakers?  The first of the Twenty series speakers were called just that - the Twenty range and they were launched to celebrate 20 years of the company.  In the domestic audio market I would say that this was the range of speakers that turned PMC from a respected but relatively little known manufacturer into a much higher volume well known brand.  Five years later they launched a replacement range called Twenty5 which had different cabinets across the board and then a couple of years ago these were tweaked into the Twenty5i range.

The Twenty5i range consists of a very small 2-way standmount 21, a large 2-way standmount 22, a slim floorstanding 2-way 23, a larger floorstanding 2-way 24 and the range topping (far more impressive as a performer) 3-way 26.  More details at PMC.

What's in the box?

There are 2 options here - you can buy a Twenty5i 21, 22, 23 or 24 speakers with the active module already fitted into the speaker in place of the passive crossover, or, if you already have Twenty5, 21, 22, 23 or 24 or Twenty5i 21, 22, 23 or 24 passive speakers you can buy the active module to be retrofitted by the dealer.  If buying a brand new speaker the active version is approx. £1500 more than the passive equivalent.  As a retro fit to an existing speaker the cost is around £1800.

Note that only 2-way speakers are currently covered by the active module.  The Twenty5 and Twenty5i 26 3-way speakers and the C centre channel are not included at the moment (even though the C is a 2-way design - I would speculate that there isn't room in that cabinet).  It seems that there's no current plan to add these models.

Demo

In the interests of transparency, I've not been a fan of the Twenty / Twenty5 / Twenty5i models with the smaller bass driver - ie the 21 and 23 models, even though its the 23 that's the mainstay of sales.

The demo system featured 2x pairs of Twenty5i 23.  Front end source was a Linn Selekt DSM streamer with the Organik stereo DAC module (approx £10k).  Output from this was fed to an ATC CDA2 combined CD player / pre-amp acting as a pre-amp (approx £3k).  The passive version of the speakers were driven by a Linn Akurate 2200 stereo power amp (approx £3.4k).

Our host played 3 tracks on the passive system - "Hey Laura" by Gregory Porter, "Here Comes The Sun (2019 version)" by The Beatles and "Happiness Is Easy (12" Mix)" by Talk Talk. Resolution is good, bass weight is fine for the size of the speaker but it feels a little "lazy". This is the main characteristic of the 23 models that I find to criticise - it just doesn't boogie, the music doesn't drive the along the way you might hope for a £4.5k speaker. Vocals are nicely resolved and have the emotion you'd hope for but are a little polite and recessed in the mix.

We get the first couple of minutes of Talk Talk again and then we swap from the passive system to the active system - the speakers now being directly connected to the pre-amp and the Linn Akurate power amp gets to rest a while. The speakers were positioned in the same marked location in the room (more on this later) and we went straight back to Talk Talk.  It only takes half the track to hear the differences the active conversion brings.  Everything is much more clearly presented - treble is tidier - bass is fuller and vocals stand clearly in the mix. Any downsides?  Probably not. The only downside we discussed between us was that perhaps the bass was a little too full - to be fair it would probably be worth experimenting with room positioning as this is a significant system change at play.  Remember here that we're looking at replacing a £3.4k power amp with a £1.8k active module.  That's not to say the Linn is a poor amplifier, its a testament to how fundamental it is to move the crossover from sapping power in passive mode to replacing it with far more accurate circuits in front of the power amp.  And I've saved the most important change to last - each driver has its own power amp and they are connected directly together - no power sapping passive components getting in the way.  And that will be part of the biggest improvement this option brings - the starting and stopping of the notes is in a different league, as is the impression of the music driving along - there's pace, dynamics and enthusiasm.  But its not aggressive nor wearing - we listened to another hour's worth of music and it was far more enjoyable - foot tapping in action.  It made a big difference to enjoyment of the music.

Conclusion

So no hesitation in saying this is a significant improvement on passive - and in this comparison, significantly better value for money.

Oh, and I've now heard a 23 I can enjoy :)

Thanks are due to Rob and Phil at Adventures in Hifi, Chester for the demo.  I'm sure they'll be happy to offer a similar demo for you.

Bristol Hifi Show 2023 - Sound of the Show Award - AVM and PMC

 PMC had a good approach to letting showgoers know what's going on - a timetable posted just outside the room. Essentially, this year, they demonstrated a gradual progression up their mainstay Twenty5i series speakers - changing from the smallest Twenty5.21i upto the largest Twenty5.26i in hourly increments, then ending the day with fact.12 Signature. All day these speakers were driven by the £18k all-in-one CS8.3 Black Edition from the German brand, distributed by PMC in the UK.

Having owned predecessor Twenty.26 and currently owning fact.12 Signature speakers, I chose to join the room at the time they were playing the Twenty5.26i and then transitioning to the fact.12s. And here's the thing - if PMC hadn't brought the facts, there's a good chance that Twenty5.26i would've been in with a chance of Sound of the Show. They're good, very good - well balanced, fantastic imaging, tuneful, easy to enjoy.

But fact.12 Signature is in a different league.  Its the kind of speaker (when driven by the obviously excellent AVM and by other suitable high performance equipment) that just simply sounds right. Within a minute or two of the first track being played you could hear people in the room murmuring to each other about what they were hearing and how much they enjoyed the music. Pace, timing, musicality, stunningly stable images, clear nuanced vocals, no harshness, stunning clarity and, above all, believability. Superb.

 

 

 

AVM and Twenty5.26i

fact.12 Signature

Product Review: Linn's Next Generation Klimax Streamer, KDSM/3 Organik

 

HOW MUCH?

Let's get the most, err, controversial element of this new Linn product on the table right from the start.  But its going to take a while to get there, so bear with me for a few minutes please. 

Here is a £65,000 BMW M4, first sold in 2015 (just over 5 years ago at the time of writing):

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104221685194?model=M4&radius=1500&advertising-location=at_cars&make=BMW&price-from=27500&sort=relevance&include-delivery-option=on&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&postcode=ch71eh&price-to=30000&page=1

If the link to the ad no longer works, here's the summary:

BMW M4 DCT;   2016 (under 5 years old);  Mileage: 38,000;  Cost New: circa £65,000;  Price Now: £30,000

But 'Musings is a music and hifi blog, so what's that all about?  Well, as they say, follow the money.

That M4 has endured £35,000 depreciation in 5 years. £7,000 every year, £1 (ish) per mile.  Here are some guesses for other costs per mile:

Servicing (5x £300) =£1500 =  £0.04 per mile

Insurance (5x £750) = £3750 = £0.10 per mile

Road tax (5x £500) = £2500 = £0.06 per mile

Fuel @ 28mpg and £8 per gallon = £10,850 = £0.28 per mile

Cleaning 1x per month at £15 =  £900 = £0.02 per mile

2x sets of tyres @ £350 per tyre = £2800 = £ 0.07

So the guesstimate total for under 5 years use is £57,500 or £1.51 per mile.

Now, if this car has travelled at an average of 50mph (lets assume its not used for commuting in London!) then that is 760 hours of travel / entertainment.

So £57,500 for 760 hours is £75 per hour.

And that's a pretty typical way to spend "disposable" income on a luxury product.  Whilst some might find that a little profligate, its really never questioned.  Luxury cars and the money they consume are normalised.  But hifi?  Oh no, that's in a completely different space when it comes to luxury products.

Let's do a few more loose calculations:

Listen to music = 10 hours per week, that's 520 hours in a year or 2,600 hours in 5 years.

Buy music = 5 new albums per month at £15 (expensive for a FLAC download, a little low for a slab of vinyl) = £900 per year or £4,500 over the 5 years.

Electricity?  Let's call it £1,000 over 5 years.

So, if you prefer music to driving, where does that leave us?

The "sunk" costs of new music and electricity over 5 years = £5,500. So how much should you invest in your system to give you that 2,600 hours of music in 5 years, compared to the M4?

Let's take the £5,500 music "running costs" from the £57,500 BMW 5 year costs, leaving us with £52,000.  So we can now look at this in 2 ways:

Spend the same money on the music system = £52,000 divided by 2,600 hours = £20 per hour (compare with £75 for the BMW)

OR spend the same amount per hour on the music system = £75 x 2,600 hours = £195,000 to spend on the hifi

OK, the arithmetic might not be perfect and its probably easy to pick holes in it, but here's the thing - compare the equivalence factor in cash vs the equivalence factor in "acceptability" in the eyes of others. £75 per hour on a car is generally accepted, but spend £20 per hour on listening to music - you must be crazy is the normal reaction!  But why do I bring all of this car based accountacy to the 'Musings? Its because there are plenty of people losing their cool that Linn has just launched their new "next generation" Klimax DSM - a streamer / pre-amplifier that costs up to £30,000. That's not a typo - it is essentially twice the price of its predecessor, the Linn Klimax DSM/2.

You put a brand new £65,000 M4 on your drive and most will take no notice or be impressed. Put a £30,000 streamer on your hifi shelf and those same people may well be questioning your sanity.  But look at the numbers above - assuming the Linn will be worth around £12,000 in 5 years time you'll have spent £23,500 against the car which will have cost you £57,500, but you'll have had 3.4x the number of hours of entertainment.

So who's the crazy buyer? Either, neither or both?  I think its a choice for the individual here, and I'm sure there are a subset of people who can enjoy both of these luxury products, but really I'm trying to drive at perceptions of value and social norms.  The new Linn is crazy expensive for a hifi product, but its not crazy expensive when compared to luxury products, per se.  A BlueSound node will do as much or more as the Linn in the same way as a Dacia Sandero will do a similar job to an M4 - but that's not what luxury products are about, is it?  I do wonder if the Linn brand can sustain that level of pricing - its a new tier of luxury somewhat higher than their normal heartland.  I wish them well with it, but also think that those (like me) who might've aspired to the earlier Klimax products are just, well, disheartened by the size of the new gap - discouraged rather than encouraged to save for the flagship product. I hope Linn choose to maintain a product priced somewhere between existing Akurate and this new tier of Klimax.

By the way, I'm not in the game of justifying the price of the new Linn streamer, I just wanted to provide some kind of context that challenges why that price may or may not be reasonable in a World of luxury products. Everyone has their own perception of value for money, everyone has their own ceiling that they consider is reasonable within a product category. And that's fine and quite right. But please don't lecture others if they choose a different mix of parameters from you.

Which is a long winded way to get to the product itsself, so let's take a look.

(NEXT GENERATION) LINN KLIMAX DSM

Naming - sometimes Linn are inspired (LP12, Klout, Kremlin), sometimes mundane (350, Basik) but quite often just a bit, well, contrary.  And here, in my view, we're in the latter territory.  Klimax has been the top of the house range for about 15 years. The last streamer / pre-amp was called the Klimax DSM/2 (being, confusingly, the 3rd generation of this product).  That's a very elegant, slim, understated but quality design. So now we have a new Klimax DSM/3 (2020 variant) which is in a brand new enclosure, features a brand new Organik DAC and is twice the price of a DSM/2. It'll be a replacement, right? Well, no, or at least not yet. The existing DSM/2 will continue in the range with its onboard Katalyst DAC.  As will the Klimax System Hub which is the Exakt only version that has no DAC - of which there is also a next generation version, presumably named Klimax System Hub/1.  Even more confusing, the older Klimax DSM/2 will later be upgradable from Katalyst to Organik DAC.  Goodness knows what they'll call that version!  Its almost as if its all designed to be confusing so that you feel the need to go to a dealer just to figure out what's going on - if they're not scratching their heads too of course!

In physical terms, here's the old one (black and silver options):

and here's the new one (black and silver options):

Looks are very much a personal thing, of course.  For me, the pictures make the new DSM look a bit, well, clunky next to the original which is slim and elegant. The review sample was silver, which, when looked at from the top is well finished and attractive with is machined in "record grooves" and classy but understated Linn logo to the left rear, also machined into the panel.  From the side though, the way the silver top plate overlaps the black display glass is a little jarring.  I expect this will not be an issue with the black version.  The 3 feet (the front one aligned centrally, echoing the dial) are well finished with a polished look - high quality but a little blingy for my taste. The front full width panel acts pretty much as a mirror when the display is dormant.  When the display is in use the font is extremely clear, simple, attractive and understated but its pretty obvious that the display is not full width which spoils the effect a little.  There is a "LINN KLIMAX DSM" illuminated logo at the bottom right of the front panel which is much nicer that the old Linn ultra bright blue LED.  The display goes to sleep after a few seconds of no changes but comes back to life when you approach the device (optionally - this can be switched off) or when the track changes or an instruction to do something is sent to the device or input by the dial.

Along the front are a row of high quality feel switches which can be "pinned" with a user defined function - perhaps go straight to a radio station, or a streaming service playlist, or an album.  Useful if the unit is being used by members of the household who aren't into the whole hifi stuff for quick access to what they normally like to listen to.  The remote is the standard £55 Linn slimline unit - neat enough, but not in the same league as the finish and luxury of the main unit.

Knob - where do you stand on the knob, or "dial" as Linn prefer to refer to it? Its a beautifully crafted thing - the action is smooth, the circle of LEDs very responsive, the finish first class, the inscription full of confidence.  The vertical click action (for on/off) is not very positive and has a tiny bit of "squish" - the rocking action (for next track, for example) is quite a pronounced movement, much further than I was expecting, but I guess that is to avoid accidentally actioning something unwanted. For me, and I know this is a personal thing, the dial is fabulous in a couple of ways - it is a fabulous bit of jewellery and a fabulous waste of money.  I would never use it as everything it does can be done from the listening position - on your tablet, PC, phone.

Beautifully crafted jewellery. From my perspective, it adds nothing to the user experience and nothing to the way it sounds.

The top plate is machined with curved grooves from about 1/3 of the way from the front right to the back and this is enhanced by the deeply machined "Linn" logo at the left rear corner.  All very crisply executed.

Groovy

Back panel connectivity depends on if you select Music (no HDMI) or AV (with HDMI) versions. Included are ethernet ports in both copper and (new to Linn) optical connectors, USB, optical digital, analogue, coax digital and Exaktlinks. Addition Linn is now supporting wifi and bluetooth connectivity.  As with other Linn streamers, management of the product (setting preferences, amending room optimisation options etc.) are available through the desktop Konfig application and your online Linn account in a browser.  I noted that Konfig does not allow the rear panel LEDs to be turned off as they are in other streamers, but Beta versions of the Davaar operating system suggest that this is on the way.  It is totally necessary otherwise the flashing network LEDs reflect distractingly against the wall behind the device (post review update: software has been updated to allow the LEDs to be switched off).   I'm not clear on the precise details, but I understand some, or all, of the circuit boards inside the unit are on suspension systems and this was a major part of delivering the performance improvements.

Here are a few shots of unboxing the device:

 

Chunkier than the traditional Linn packaging

Pair of Linn "silver" interconnects, standard mains lead, standard Linn slimline remote

The unit is enveloped in a folded thick soft plastic wrap which curiously leaves the dial uncovered - I understand that there is a separate piece of vinyl for the dial which has gone missing on the review sample - this unit has already been out for demos in several homes

Peeling back the wrap

Unboxed

The KDSM/3, as with all Linn streamers, supports the Glaswegian approach to room optimisation called SPACE.  I won't go into the details here, you can learn more at Linn: SPACE Explained

As with the original generation of Klimax product, this new version is machined from solid alloy billets in Linn's in-house machining department. Here's a video featuring the previous generation Klimax DSM where you can see the complexity of the internal machining:

Some internal photos of KDSM/3 from Linn dealer Silences are available here: https://blog.silences.be/2021/04/klimax-dsm-organik-ouverture-des.html

Then there's the whole Selekt comparison - they're visually, superficially, very similar but sit in very different price brackets indeed.  Clearly Linn like this form factor, but is the Selekt too similar and might it therefore subconciously eat into the Klimax's kudos?

Price run-down:

Klimax DSM/3 Music - £30,000; onboard stereo Organik DAC, aimed at being a source / pre-amp in a traditional system. Can be used as a source / pre-amp in an Exakt system, but that's not very cost efficient.

Klimax DSM/3 AV - £30,000; onboard stereo Organik DAC but also HDMI inputs to enable connection to video related sources. Can be used as a source / processor in an Exakt system when equipped with the optional £1200 surround processor module. Can be used as a source / pre-amp in an Exakt system, but that's not very cost efficient.

Klimax System Hub/1 - £15,000; no onboard DAC, can only be used as a source / pre-amp in a full Exakt system (Linn Exakt active speakers or more interestingly with Exaktboxes and power amps to feed a wider range of speakers). Has HDMI inputs and can be used with the optional surround processor module (£1200) for DTS / DD high definition surround goodness. 

The unit on review as the AV version and has been used for several tens of hours already - I didn't notice any "burn in" nor "warm up" when listening - but then again all listening was done after at least 20 minutes of playing as that's necessary for the Lejonklou amps to come fully on song.

Highly reflective front panel

AV Version Rear Panel - inputs on the lower half and top left, outputs top right

Once connected to the network, just like any other Linn streamer, the new box appears in Konfig for set up purposes:

At the time of the review the product was about 2 weeks old. There was already a software update available to install.

NEXT GENERATION KLIMAX DSM AS A SYSTEM HUB IN AN EXAKT ACTIVE SYSTEM

Snappy subtitle there.  There are 2 ways you can use a new fully featured Klimax DSM/3 - either with its internal stereo Organik DAC as a source into a traditional pre-amp / power amp / passive speaker system, or you can use the Exaktlink output and connect it to a pair of Linn Exakt active speakers or to one or more Linn Exaktboxes and power amps into speakers that are ready to accept an active signal per individual drive unit.  It is this second context that we explore here as that's how it easily sits into my regular system.  If used in this way then it would be better to go with the DACless Klimax System Hub/1 which halves the purchase price. Of course, its necessary to have the Linn Exaktbox DACs or a set of Linn Exakt speakers with their integrated DACs and power amps, so that money is spent elsewhere, albeit with more choice of price points.

More information on Linn's Exakt technology can be found here: https://www.linn.co.uk/uk/technology/exakt  If you look at that page you'll see that Linn claims Exakt transfers digital data to the DAC and on to the speakers flawlessly.  So why would anyone purchase a Klimax System Hub at £15k when "exaktly" the same digital information can be delivered by a new Akurate System Hub at £2700 or even a used Majik DSM at £1500?  A very valid question. 

So, finally, on to some listening.  The system used for this demo:

PS Audio PowerPlant 5 power regenerator powering DSM, Exaktbox and Melco.

Melco N1ZH "NAS"

Linn Akurate Exaktbox 6/1 (with Katalyst DACs)

3x Lejonklou Tundra Stereo 2.5 power amps

PMC Twenty.26 speakers converted for active use, Gaia III feet

PMC Twenty.26 Exakt Filters Production v2.2 by Speakerfilters.com

Quadraspire Evo racks, Cyrus Isoplat isolation platforms

Cables by Chord, Meicord, Linn, Naim, Puritan

Comparisons between the AEDSM and KDSM/3 were achieved by moving the cables to the Melco and the Exaktbox between the 2 units, hence minimising changes. Both were powered from the PS Audio using Puritan mains cables.  As the KDSM/3 on demo was not fitted with the optional surround module, all the listening was to stereo music.

SPACE Optimisation was the same for both devices - my regular settings were used.

Here's the silver demo unit sitting alongside my Akurate Exakt DSM (now named Akurate System Hub, but functionally identical to each other):

A streamer - it just takes 1s and 0s from a storage drive (local, or in the cloud) across a network, reads some metadata for control / information purposes, and passes the 1s and 0s unmolested along to the DAC which turns them into analogue waveforms that we can listen to, after amplification.

Right?  So as long as the streamer is competent, there will be no difference in the 1s and 0s that get to the DAC and its all about the DAC. Right?

In my Exakt system the Klimax DSM is doing precisely the same job as the Akurate Exakt DSM that is the main source / pre-amp in use every single day.  With the system being Exakt, the DAC is at the end of another piece of Cat 5/6/7 cable in the Exaktbox which does the Exakt phase correction, separation of frequencies for each speaker drive unit and applies time correction, room optimisation and volume levels. So, in this demo the Klimax DSM/3 is only acting as though it were a Klimax System Hub/1 which would be a much more cost effective approach in this system.

Start up sequence:

 

 EXAKT LISTENING

Below I list the tracks used for testing.  My notes are not "absolutes" about the tracks, what I've tried to capture is what KDSM/3 does over and above AEDSM and these are highlights from tonight's session:

Agnes Obel - Aventine - The Curse - 16/44.1: Strings that "breath" as they are bowed. Pizzicato that twangs with a convincing staccato pluck. Coherence across all the strings as they form the flowing build up with the piano remaining crisply contrasting with its clipping percussive feel. You get a much better sense of not only what is being plucked / bowed, not only how it is being plucked / bowed, but much more about why its being played the way it is being played.

Rufus du Sol - Live From Joshua Tree - Eyes - 24/44.1: A track that drives along at a pace but that pace is far more "driven" and precise with a much wider image filling the room better.  There's a bridge at about 2:50 that I've never really thought fitted in with the song but now it seems to make far more musical sense as the song "rests" from the driving beat - giving a breather along the way.

Rufus du Sol - Live From Joshua Tree - Underwater - 24/44.1: From about 50 seconds in this track has a deep bass / percussive underpinning which is a little loose and bloated on the AEDSM but now it i taught, balanced in the mix with the notes having incredibly complex texture. I close my eyes and get a little lost in the way the music is structured, layered - complex but fully coherent. 4 minutes in and there's a tense build up using entirely synthesised sounds that works on a more emotional level than usual. Its impossible to ignore the music's message.

Christine and the Queens - Chris - 5 Dollars - 16/44.1: A track I really like musically but it can get a bit strident in the chorus, and to an extent its still there in way, but is better tamed here.  Other than that and a little more stability in the imaging, I didn't get a great deal more out of this than I do with the usual streamer.

Renegade Creation - Bullet - Bullet - 16/44.1: Blues rock from Robben Ford and friends, not a bad recording but not the best - perhaps a more rough and ready feel is part of the intended approach. Again that timing thing - there is a sense of urgency here that works perfectly on this track, plus the vocals are easier to follow as the cacophony of instruments are both controlled, aggressive but not overwhelming the singer. Somehow the track seems about 30 seconds shorter than usual!

Eddi Reader - Mirmama - Hello In There - 16/44.1: A very emotional piece and one that didn't become any more emotional here.  There was a little more definition in the the breathiness of Reader's vocals and perhaps a little more insight into the technique of the percussionist.

Sun Kil Moon - Admiral Fell Promises - Half Moon Bay 24/44.1: In typical downbeat mood, SKM uses short stringed instruments (mandolin?) to illustrate melancholy with short piercing minor chord changes that give a feeling of extra pains experienced from time to time. Here those minor chords carry just a little more heartache and as the track reaches its conclusion I'm under the impression that life continues regardless, may be even despite of the singer's grief. The instrumental finish is beautifully resolved and emotional. Blimey.

Calexico - Carried To Dust - Man Made Lake - 16/44.1 - opens with a delicate bell-like sound that floats effortlessly mid air and then is punctuated by a bass drum of solidity in stunning contrast. You pay attention. The carefully picked guitar has a hard twang that's better defined, the distorted screaming guitar is better resolved but not painful to listen to (to be fair, its not painful on the AEDSM either, its just a little less screamy) and the lyrics float over the top but bring it all together as something that gels better on the KDSM.

Oh, I've been listening for 3 hours.  Where did that go?  Off to bed and more appraisal tomorrow.

Submotion Orchestra - Fragments - Thinking (Mark Knight Remix) - 24/44.1: Opening with some lightweight faux percussion, this track doesn't bode well. But then the bass percussion punches in and the track gets going - the KDSM/3 really kicks this out, super tight, really driving and a bit addictive. At 1 minute there's a break and the bass riff gets going. The electronic instruments are just bleeps and blops, right? Well no, not with this source - its difficult to get across just how much more nuance is in these notes, and there's that differentiation between notes but with a timing precision that's better again. Some of the background intertwined vocals, electronic swooshes etc. are more prominent here, yet they add to the feel of the track, they don't shout "look at me", then add to the mix. Its quite the trick.

Joan Armatrading - Love And Affection - 16/44.1- the opening sequence has a very gentle set of chords that introduce us to the feel. Now the strings are struck with more care, with more thoughtful intervals, the background splashes feel more like a part of the feel rather than mere jewellery. The background male vocals have more of a raspy edge. Unfortunately for my family I feel I just want to "sing it, sing it, sing it".

St. Germain - St. Germain - Mary L. - 24/44.1: complex multi-layered jazztronica sophistication. Who knew there was even more complex multi-layered stuff going on here. Plus, that underlying bass rumble is now not just bass, but a little threatening and tying the whole thing together much more coherently. You know when you watch an artist start a painting of a lanscape with a pink base, then adds multiple coloured layers that are nothing to do with what you see as a moor of heather, then, with the last layer or 2 and a few brush strokes it comes together to give you the feel, the atmosphere of the scene? Well, that, but with music.

Rush - Moving Pictures - Red Barchetta - 24/96: chosen as this is one of my favourite tracks but is pretty poor in terms of production values. I listen to it now and then, but the poor quality is always a bit of a distraction. Well. Its very good this streamer, but its not a worker of miracles, after all. That thinness and feeling of compression is right there, unfortunately. On the plus side that ability to really drive the tune without aggression is displayed well.

An observation - the Linn Akurate Katalyst DAC is quite capable of revealling what this streamer is doing to the musical message, which is very good sign in terms of its capabilities.  There's lots of talk / hope of a version of the Organik DAC coming to the Akurate range, but I'd add that it would be great to get something of what this streaming platform is doing as an update to the Akurate Exakt DSM / System Hub please.

I think the imaging stability of my system is one of the best I've heard anywhere but the Klimax DSM/3 takes it to a level I've never heard anywhere on any system at any price. Its one of the most uncanny aspects of this source - what is it doing to the digital bits that its sends to the DAC that makes this happen?  What's wrong with systems that don't do this?

Summarising all the above is to say that this is another step closer to the musical experience - yes, there's lots of "hifi" improvements but they do not distract. And that's really important - too often at shows a system sounds amazingly detailed, or startlingly clear, or really dynamic but within a few minutes of trying to figure out what's going on with the artists' messages to the listener it becomes apparent that you either don't have a clue, its taking too much effort or you just can't be bothered.  There's something not getting through, or there's so many individual bits coming through at their own pace or volume or time that they don't join up at all.  I'm finding the dynamics of the tunes enjoyable at 4 or 5 volume clicks lower than usual - more dynamic but more relaxed at the same time? And that's the trick that the KDSM/3 (used as a KSH/1) pulls off - it does oodles of detail, masses of information, but the information is not tripping over itsself. Its not getting in the way of the message, its a solid and coherent part of the message. There's so little processing for the brain to do - the emotion is being provided for you, you don't have to go looking for it.  Given that this is "just" a streamer, that's a remarkable achievement and really clarifies that the streamer is important, that source first is still the right approach.

NEXT GENERATION KLIMAX DSM AS STREAMER, ORGANIK DAC AND PRE-AMP IN A MORE TRADITIONAL SYSTEM

By more traditional I mean no Exakt, and no active amplification. So source - pre-amp - power amp - passive speakers. I thought for quite some time about how to do this, and what would the comparison be with.  Certainly I needed to convert my PMC Twenty.26 speakers back to passive, but then I don't have a streamer that's capable of outputting an anlogue signal.  I resolved it using a feature Linn added about 18 months ago to their Exaktbox - if you're not interested in this detail, skip the next paragraph.

How to run passive speakers in a system with a Linn Exakt streamer and a Linn Exaktbox DAC / DSP that is designed to operate with multiple amplifers (one for each speaker drive unit) and active ready speakers?  Well about 18 months ago (maybe a little longer?) Linn added the option to run a surround module inside the Exakt DSM. But along with that they added a lot more options to the Exaktbox configurations so that an Exaktbox could be used as a multi-channel full range DAC. So rather than using an Exaktbox to DAC per drive unit, it was possible for it to DAC per complete passive speaker.  So that's the route I went down for this comparison.

PMCs after conversion back to passive

Using long Linn Silver interconnects to reach the power amp for passive use

Organik passive listening.  The table is faulty - no beer!

 

I don't have a previous generation Klimax Exakt DSM/2 to hand for comparison. But I do have Akurate level Katalyst DACs in my Exaktboxes - so here the comparison is with Linn's previous generation DAC, albeit from one down in the hierarchy.

Linn has been in the digital business since they launched a CD player (reluctantly, and late to the game) in the 1990s. Since then we've seen a number of DAC iterations in Linn products, culminating in their "Katalyst" architecture in Klimax and Akurate products about 2.5 years ago. This uses an "off the shelf" AKM DAC chip built in a Linn designed multi independent power supply setting along with Linn's usual FPGA based pre-DAC processing and upsampling etc.  Now, with Klimax DSM/3, Linn has moved to an in-house design from scratch DAC. For Linn its a major change and places them in a similar place to other high end DAC designs from the likes of Chord and dCS. So the previous Katalyst DAC was a major uplift in the musical ability of the Linn streamers - now they claim, with their in-house Organik design to have taken it a step or two further.  You can learn a little about it at the link, along with a nice marketing video.  Suffice to say, Linn are claiming much greater control over the whole digital to analogue conversion with the ability to prioritise what they believe is important in getting the music to the listener:  https://www.linn.co.uk/uk/technology/organik

The system used for this demo:

PS Audio PowerPlant 5 power regenerator powering DSM, Exaktbox and Melco.

Melco N1ZH "NAS"

Linn Akurate Exaktbox 6/1 (with Katalyst DACs) - used as a 2 channel DAC in pass through mode

Lejonklou Tundra Stereo 2.5 power amp

PMC Twenty.26 speakers running in standard passive configuration, Gaia III feet

Quadraspire Evo racks, Cyrus Isoplat isolation platforms

Cables by Chord, Meicord, Linn, Naim, Puritan

Comparison between the Akurate Exakt DSM, Akurate Katalyst DACs (not working as Exakt, but in pass through full range mode) and KDSM/3 working as a standard analogue output source with the Organik DAC.  This was achieved by switching the analogue output cables from each of the units at the back of the power amp, hence minimising changes (although the KDSM/3 location necessitated a longer interconnect, but both were Linn silver). Both were powered from the PS Audio using Puritan mains cables.  All the listening was to stereo music.

SPACE Optimisation was the same for both devices - my regular settings were used.

Mark Knopfler - Privateering - Privateering - 24/96 Qobuz: I'm not really a fan of Knopfler's post Straits work - it feels too much like American country and western which is not a genre of music I choose to purchase.  Americana yes, C&W, no. I'm listening to this track as part of a regular on line music introducing session run out of the Linn Enthusiasts Facebook page. Normally I would get about 30 seconds to 1 minute into a song like this and dismiss it. But these sessions are about recommended music to try, so I listen to all the tracks all the way through. And with Privateering this turns out to be a good thing as it develops into something more rounded and complex compared to my expectations. I get involved in the song. Is this just because I've forced myself to be more patient, or is it part of the KDSM/3 experience?  Either way, I enjoy this song - a first really. I can't give you specific comparison comments, but that bigger picture of enjoying a song I didn't expect to - perhaps that's enough to be getting on with.

Rush - Moving Pictures - Red Barchetta - 24/96: as earlier, the next gen Klimax is not a miracle worker, yet there is another improvement in understanding the song and the intent - possibly from the timing, possibly from better resolution but the urgency of the chase here is just that bit more, err, urgent.

Roisin Murphy - Crooked Machine - Capable Rhythm - Qobuz 16/44.1: this track has a very solid, driving bass line and percussion, played off against an insistent strumming electric guitar and interspersed short sharp chord changes. That "very solid", with Organik becomes 3 dimensional, tangible bringing the track into the room almost as if the bass is being carved into the air. At the end the backing track fades and the guitar strumming is crisp, sharp, intense compared to a more subdued feel with Katalyst.  It puts you on edge, eager to hear what Murphy is going to conjure up next.  And that's the point isn't it? Wanting more music.

Christine and the Queens - Chris - 5 Dollars - 16/44.1: As mentioned above, a track I really like musically but it can get a bit strident in the chorus, and to an extent it was better tamed with KDSM/2 as a system hub, but here its pretty much eliminated.  Using the Organik DAC adds to the sense of pace in this track, further driving foot tapping and appreciation of the energy involved - it remined me of the first time seeing "Tilted" being performed on Jools Holland and marvelling all elements of the artistry involved - words, music and dance.

As a complete source - streamer, DAC and pre-amp, there's no doubt from this experience that its a huge uplift from Akurate level Katalyst and - from memory - from KDSM/2 too. This is the first Linn source I've heard that makes a passive Klimax level source sound better than an Akurate Exakt Katalyst source - and its not by a small margin. Can't wait to hear Organik in an Exakt system!

SUMMARY

Do I want one? Close my eyes and ignore the bank balance and the answer is an unequivocal "yes", no doubts. Would I get more emotional connection to my music choices? Yes. Would I spend even longer browsing through new music on Qobuz to see what grabs the attention? Yes. Would I only leave the music room for food and beer? Possibly :) Open my eyes and it would have to be the black version. Open my bank account and it would be screaming at me with red ink. Do I need one? Not quite, but only because life's other priorities mean its just not realistic.

Is it value for money? In absolute terms, no, but nothing is at this level. The law of diminishing returns kicked in at many thousands of pounds further down the ladder. Is is value for money against the way a brand new BMW M4 depreciates? Yes, totally. But then again, that 5 year old M4 will depreciate much more gently now...

If you enjoy your music and can indulge yourself in luxuries at this investment level, by all means go and have a listen, the chances are very high that you'll place the order, probably you'll have decided within 5 tracks.  If you can possibly save hard and get there, go for a listen - you'll need to make your own vfm judgement of course, but don't be surprised if you start working out what there is in your house that could be moved on to make the KDSM/3 happen for you, within the first 5 tracks.

If you like the pace, rhythm and timing of a Naim system (downside: aggressive, sometimes harsh), but the refinement and sophistication of a Linn system (downside: too polite?), then finally you can have both without any of those downsides. But more and better than both combined together.

If you browse the blog from time to time, you'll know the number of systems, shows and homes that have been visited to bring the content to the readers. And you'll know that there are some seriously high priced systems that get short shrift for their lack of musicality. It would be easy to dismiss the KDSM/3 as a pointless luxury, a way to generate profit. But don't, it would be a mistake to miss out on what would seem to be a landmark product in the streaming world. I'm going to plagiarize and slightly amend a phrase from a friend: the songs don't serve the KDSM, the KDSM serves the songs. Unequivocally.

Enjoy a demo at your peril!

Thanks to Simon and Marcus at Grammo for persuading me to have a listen, bringing the unit over to allow this in very familiar surroundings and leaving it for a good few days to try out the different combinations and to get some time to get to grips with what's going on.

System Synergy and Expectation Bias

A couple of phrases you might hear or read from time to time when researching or in dicussion about music playing hardware.  What are they about, and why would I be writing about them right now?

Sometimes how to phrase an audio experience is very elusive.  Some readers might say that continues to be the case, even for published posts!  This particular case has been more elusive than usual - its been a year since I made my notes on this project. How to frame those notes have been through about 6 iterations and I'm not sure I'm there yet. But a lot of time and effort went into this, and its time to just put it out there, good or bad, as the products involved might be old hat before I'm content with the wording.  I wanted to not just list the reviews, but to try and put them into some kind of relationship - finally settling on the synergy and expectation bias frame to hang it all from. So here it is, some kind of a review from circa Christmas 2019:

A 6 week or so period of frenzied (at least by my standards) box swapping, mostly for research purposes, but also to inform some purchasing options, mainly not for me, but for a good friend of mine, who's system features here. And it's all given the opportunity for another few blog posts too.  Elsewhere on the blog you'll soon find some impressions of some of the products involved so I won't go into huge amounts of detail here, but will cover a "flavour" of the systems involved. Long form, no photos and no apologies for that.

Coming to Terms

What do these words mean, in an audio system context?  Well, let me have a go at describing how I would use them, so these aren't definitions as such, but more setting the context of this post.

System Synergy - when putting together a whole series of components into a system - CD player, turntable, amp, speakers, cables, the room - do they work together in the way you would like them to?  Or do they lead to some kind of imbalance in a system?  Do you hear a coherent musical message, or is there something that grates like a bloated bass when you wanted tight tunefulness or a laziness to the sound where you wanted pace and energy?  Well, when it all comes together to meet your hopes, that, to you, would be a system that displays good synergy - the components complement each other to give an overall positive result.  If it doesn't work, the synergy's not there, then there needs to be a further search to find what's causing the imbalance, to work out what needs changing or improving.  Note that there is no mention of cost in this description - it has nothing to do with cost, it has to do with balancing characteristics of components to get a good result.

Expectation Bias - we'd probably all like to think we're impartial and can evaluate what we're hearing without regard to what we think we're going to hear or prefer.  Are we going to prefer one brand over another because its been a favourite for years? Are we going to like the sound of the component that has the nicest finish or a preferred species of wood on the front? Will we expect the more expensive bit of cable to sound better than the cheaper one?  Of course we all have these biases - its part of what makes us human.  I think its possible to try and minimise them by being concious of the issue, but probably not to eliminate it.  Blind testing (where you don't know which component is playing) is often advocated, but it just introduces different problems (such as an unnatural focus on the listening process), so I don't consider it to be the answer.  Just accept that a level of bias is inevitable and that it influences your opinion, but try to minimise this as much as possible.  That's one of the reasons why this blog is just opinion - there's nothing scientific about most of it, and that's just the way I prefer to keep it - the disclaimers make this clear.

So How?

If we're susceptible to expectation bias, how do we know if a system really has good synergy or if we're just expecting it to have good synergy?  Well I don't think there's a way to be totally objective (objectivity is restricted by the measures used anyway, as there's no way of knowing if a set of measures is comprehensive or relevant enough, that's why science keeps evolving) so just embrace the subjective and try to deal with it.  Its also worth noting that listening to music is meant to be an emotional experience and therefore, to me, it seems that choosing a system on some level of emotional evaluation is entirely reasonable.

Rooms

Mustn't leave the room out of the equation either.  Lots of impact on the way a system sounds comes from the room and the interaction of the speakers with the room, so I've included that in these musings to try and cover a little of the less obvious.  Where possible (ie with the Linn front end) SPACE optimisation was set up for each system.  What is often referred to as "Tune Dem" or "Tune Method" was used to position speakers and adjust SPACE.

Expectations

I'll go straight into listing the systems that I listened to over those few weeks a year back and that have fed this post, along with my expectation bias - as without that the rest of the post will be a bit meaningless.  The premise of the post being that my expectation bias wasn't met and I'll describe where and in what way.  Perhaps this is part of trying to be aware of my own bias and trying to rationalise how I have, at least partially, probably, tried to put it to one side and listen to what's actually going on. Still a big "if" though.

Systems

I won't go fully into every detail of the systems here, such as precise cables etc., but the main components that differentiate the systems.  I suppose its fair to say that my expectations are in comparison to my everyday system.  They're based on a mix of hearing 2 of these systems frequently and hearing the other components in other systems. It is fair to say that every single one of the components in these systems is highly respected, so there are no "duds" at all, and that's where the synergy element becomes so intriguing.

System 1: 

Melco N1ZH server, Linn Akurate DSM / Exaktbox Katalyst streamer, 3x Lejonklou Tundra Stereo 2.5 power amps, PMC Twenty.26 converted for active use, medium size pretty much rectangular room. This Exakt system uses filters for the PMCs available from SpeakerFilters.com, not the standard versions.
Expectation Bias 1: this is my everyday listen - its taken a long time to get to this system - it has a great deal of  detail but also a very musical flow to it.  Its not the last word in dynamics and slam but I can listen to it for hours (and do so, most evenings), following the tunes, enjoying the emotional impact of the music.  Its not perfect, no system ever is, but its what works very well for me.  What's my expectation?  Well, its more a reference point for comparison than an expectation really, but I would say that I expect it to be very difficult to beat in this evaluation with other systems having some benefits but not the overall balance of this system.

System 2: 

Melco N1ZH server, Linn Akurate DSM / Exaktbox streamer, 2x Lejonklou Tundra Stereo 2.5 power amps, Kudos Titan 505 on their dedicated stands and configured for active use, medium size pretty much rectangular room
Expectation Bias (comparative to System 1): more detail, a more dynamic presentation, a touch of brightness. Perhaps a little looseness in the bass.

System 3:  

Melco N1ZH server, Linn Akurate DSM / Exaktbox streamer, 2x Naim 250DR power amps, Kudos Titan 505 on their dedicated stands and configured for active use, medium size pretty much rectangular room
Expectation Bias (comparative to System 1): more detail, a more dynamic presentation, a touch of brightness, possibly assertiveness approaching aggression, more impact in the lower frequencies.

System 4:  

Melco N1ZH server, Linn Akurate DSM / Exaktbox streamer, 3x Naim 250DR power amps, PMC Twenty.26 converted for active use, medium size pretty much rectangular room
Expectation Bias (comparative to System 1): a more dynamic presentation, a touch of brightness, probably assertiveness approaching aggression, a loss of musical flow.

System 5:  

Naim NS01 server, Naim NDS streamer with 555DR PSU, Naim 252 pre with PSU, SNAXO crossover, 2x Naim 250DR power amps, Kudos Super 20 configured for active use, a medium sized room but L shaped, using the larger part of the L, which is smaller than the other listening room.
Expectation Bias (comparative to System 1): a system I'm already very familar with - a more dynamic presentation, too bright for my taste, assertiveness approaching aggression, a loss of musical flow somewhat compensated for by the enthusiasm.

System 6: 

Naim NS01 server, Naim NDS streamer with 555DR PSU, Naim 252 pre with PSU, SNAXO crossover, 2x Naim 250DR power amps, Kudos Titan 505 on their dedicated stands configured for active use, a medium sized room but L shaped, using the larger part of the L, which is smaller than the other listening room.
Expectation Bias (comparative to System 1): a more dynamic presentation, slight brightness, assertiveness approaching aggression, perhaps retaining the music flow, extra weight (because of the smaller room mainly), more information delivered.

So there we are, cards on the table. Something else worth mentioning - those who say "all competently designed solid state amps that measure within a gnats whisker of measurement-of-the-week all sound the same".  I have an expectation bias about that too - its just not true - I've heard far too many amplifier changes in systems to know that this is not true.  Unless I've only ever heard incompetently designed amps with bad measurements, which is also not true.

LISTENING WITH BIAS, OR NOT. MAYBE.

So here we go, here are the descriptions of systems 2 to 5 and a conclusion, that's not what I thought it was going to be:

System 2: the biggest suprise for me really.  The Titans give a far more detailed presentation than the PMCs, its suprising how much more they reveal in the recording. The extra brightness is certainly there, as per expectation, but is this just brightness or is it more detail too?  I'm going with the latter as there's more expression too in the vocals.  In fact the greatest strength of the Titans in this and the other systems is their vocal expression - its quite outstanding by any standards of the many systems I've heard.  Another element that was as expected is that, compared to the Titans driven by the Naim amps, there is a softness in the bass with the Tundras.  And here I think we see the first of the synergy issues - perhaps the Tundras and the 505s don't sit all that comfortably together as there was another element here that I wasn't expecting as the Tundras have never sounded like this in any other system I've heard - a sense of relentlessness.  Not shouty aggression, just a bit too much going on and losing some of that lovely flow that the Tundras present in partnership with speakers such as the PMCs and Graham Audio LS5/9. That, juxtapositioned with the lack of pace in the bass lines, meant that this wasn't the best of the combinations compared here.  There was a fair bit of experimentation with toe-in with the Titans in this room as there's definitely not the width or precision of soundstage compared to the PMCs. Don't get me wrong, we're talking about a decent sounding system, but in absolute terms, it lacked the right synergy.

Expectation bias 0: Systems 1

System 3: its long been a thing, a Linn front end with Naim amplification into a pair of speakers of choice.  Traditionally, of course, that was an LP12 and a passive Naim pre-power combination. Here we bring the tradition up to date with Linn streamer/pre and Naim power. Yep, more impact in the lower frequencies, no doubt about that - nearly reaching as low frequencies as the PMCs too - impressive. Mind you, the 505 standmounts on their dedicated and structurally massive stands are actually much more intrusive in the room than the much more constrained PMCs (which I always use the the grilles on). Definitely more detail from that (very) expensive tweeter - is it too bright? Its touch and go and track dependent, sometimes just tipping over the edge. But here's the thing - music, because listening to the music on this combination was very engaging - but its different to the regular system 1. There's an immediacy without shoutiness and that detail mentioned earlier but there's not the same musical flow that a Tundra delivers (in partnership with speakers they work happily with!). Whilst the Titans have very impressive bass power and immediacy, they still didn't quite fill the room like the PMCs do. Vocals are excellent again and there's plenty of engagement into the meaning of the music. This is good, but is very much along the lines of the expected.

Expectation bias 1: Systems 1 

System 4: before I go any further, just consider this: moving from Tundra to Naim power amps is a 50% price hike in amplification prices. And they do have a very different mix of abilities. I can also say that the Naim NAP250DR is a heavy beast.  Not too easy to lift onto a shelf and keep the shelf edges in pristine condition.  Those massive toroidal transformers are very heavy indeed. And noisy, good grief they're noisy. Not through the speakers, no issues there at all. But my goodness do they hum. I know my incoming mains typically carries about 2.5% distortion (the PS Audio regenerator displays this information) - I'm not sure if that's high, typical or low, but its certainly enough to get the NAPs a buzzin'. Just to be clear - neither of the power amps in this sequence of tests were plugged into the PS Audio, only the low current source electronics are fed from the regenerator. So there is no doubt that the 250 boxes have a tighter grip on the PMCs. There is more slam, there is more immediacy. There is a little more enthusiasm in the upper frequencies but it never becomes wearing in this system. All of this as expected.  What I didn't anticipate at all was the way everything hung together as a piece of music in very much the same manner of the Tundras into these speakers. Even that very taughtly controlled bass didn't disrupt the ability to follow the tune. Very good indeed. Except for gaps between tracks when the boxes from Salisbury irritated me significantly. Expection or surprise - calling this one a score draw.

Expectation bias 2: Systems 2

System 5: nearly all change.  Change of front end, speakers and room. As I'm very familiar with this system as it as grown and developed over the last 5 years with the Super 20s, then my "expectation bias" notes above are really all you need to know - they're more about experience than expectation. So let's call this one a no score draw!

Expectation bias 2: Systems 2

System 6: Would we expect (or have a bias!) that the 70% more expensive 505 with their stands would have a family feel when contrasted with the Super 20 floorstanders? Would there be a family resemblance from the North East parentage? Yes. And No. The Titans have that same family immediacy but the way they feel more "grown up" was far greater than my expectations.  Especially in the treble - where the Super 20 appears to major on detail, I find it gets too much after a while. What seems to be the case with the 505 is that the detail is real and it knows that it doesn't have to try too hard. I was a little worried about the size of the bass that comes with the upgrade to Titan (yes, the standmount has far more bass output than the floorstanders, in part due to their isobaric loading) in this smaller room, but it worked very well indeed - and there's an important reminder that system synergy includes the room.  Here, of course, there is no SPACE optimisation to make the best of the room so its all down to component choice and speaker positioning. What was just a touch underwhelming from these speakers in the bigger room is just right here. I don't get the same sense of ease of musical delivery compared to the Linn front end with Naim amps and these speakers, but I can see how their immediacy could appeal. No stridency, no experience of fatigue.

Expectation bias 2: Systems 3

OUTCOME

So you can now decide if any of this tells you anything about expectation bias or system synergy (which needs to include the room).  I certainly was surprised that the weight of the 505 could work in the smaller room, that the Tundras and Titans just didn't get on together at all and that I'd enjoy the Naim power amps in my regular system anywhere near as much as I did.

I wish the Naims amps didn't have 2 faults: that hum I can't just dismiss nor excuse, and their price. So I shall continue to be extremely happy with the Tundras as they work very well indeed with the PMCs.  As for my friend with the largely Naim system - he bought the 505s and has them working even better now the speaker cables are Super Lumina.