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.

Product Review: Songcorder Software by Meraki Acoustic

The Linn DS (digital streamer) family is, at the time of writing, just over 13 years old.  The first internationally recognised true HiFi company to take streaming seriously, Linn launched their top of the range Klimax DS as a market leader.  There have been several iterations since, all versions able to be upgraded to the current specification.

But the family has grown since then.  There are pure DS players (network connection, streaming capability, onboard stereo DAC), DSMs (all the above plus pre-amplifier capability, including analogue inputs) and other DSMs that do what DSMs do but have a built-in stereo power amplifier. Spanning the complete range too - from the designed-to-be-hidden Sneaky, through Majik, Akurate and Klimax ranges.  Most recently the  modular Selekt DSM has been launched which can be all sorts of combinations of streamer, pre-amp, all-in one stereo, all-in one surround sound and more.  Surround modules can be added to DSMs too. Then we throw in the choice of outputs - traditional stereo analogue, Linn proprietary Exakt digital link to Exaktboxes or Exakt integrated speakers and a combination of analogue & Exakt on some units.

That's probably pretty confusing to the uninitiated, and understandably so. But there's even more to it than that. Software. Without software these players would be expensive (or very expensive) decorative (or in some cases not so decorative) items.  The software that makes them operate is vital.  But one of the beauties of the Linn DS / DSM is that the software continues to evolve. And every DS / DSM since that first one back in 2007 is capable of being upgraded to today's software versions. And Linn releases the software updates without charge. That's right, a 13 year old product is still being upgraded by Linn on a frequent basis - and it doesn't cost the original, nor subsequent, owners a penny.  Buyers need to keep that in mind when they think Linn gear is too expensive. Some of these software releases have unleashed even greater sound quality and musical enjoyment from the streamers, not just new functionality.

So even though Tidal and Qobuz streaming services weren't available back in 2007, they are available on the DS/DSM today through those software updates. As is the ability to tune the output of the music to counteract the worst impact of the room on your music.

Why do I mention all of this? Well where there is software, there needs to be ideas. Creative ideas. Ways to make hardware perform tasks that weren't originally envisaged. New ways to exploit, new services to offer, new functionality for the user. And that's where Meraki Acoustic comes into the Linn DS/DSM picture.

Many of the DSM devices have a built-in analogue turntable input - MM or MC - and this was the inspiration behind the Songcorder app from Meraki Acoustic. The DSM turns that incoming analogue turntable sound into a digital signal. What if there was a way to capture that digital signal, feed it to a computer and capture it as an audio formatted file? Could that be a way to digitise all that precious and delicate vinyl? Could a DSM customer capture their favourite music in format that doesn't wear out? Would they finally be able to get that vinyl only release from 1976 into a digital file to listen to on the move, in the car, in rooms without a turntable?

The answer is yes - with Songcorder.  Meraki kindly sent me access to a copy to download to investigate further.  As most will know, although I have a turntable, its not the main source in my system.  Even so, I thought it would be interesting to give Songcorder a try.

The download was easy as was install on my up to date version of Windows 10 running on a Dell Latitude E6440 laptop which has a 3 year old Core i5, 8GB of memory and an SSD.  I tested it along with my Ariston RD80sl / Linn Basik Plus / Goldring 920 turntable and my Linn Akurate Exakt DSM through its built-in MM phono stage. The instructions recommend a wired connection for the computer running Songcorder and for the DSM - wifi being "potentially" troublesome.  In practice I found wifi to be almost always troublesome so stuck with an ethernet cable throughout, which was totally stable. Your DS or DSM must have Songcast enabled for Songcorder to do its thing.  It must also be listed in the compatible devices list here: https://meraki-acoustic.com/songcorder/#Compatibilty

If you're as old as I am you'll remember pressing pause and record on your tape deck, gently lowering the stylus onto the record and then pressing the pause button before the track started - the way we used to be able to play our own music in the car or the kitchen or later on a Walkman or similar.  Well Songcorder is similar in concept - whatever you're playing through the DS or DSM will be captured and recorded as a digital file ready for use with your streamer or loading to your DAP.

Once installed and fired up, this is the simple interface: 

Select your wired connection in the Network Interface drop down, select the Linn DS/DSM you want to record from (the software found all 3 Linn devices on my network) and select which directory you want to drop your recording into, and that's it. Nothing fancy but nothing complicated nor confusing - refreshing.  I really like the simplicity.  Start your turntable playing and click on that big red button. Done. Of course, you need to keep on top of what's going on.  You could record a whole album side and leave it at that. Or you could then use some software tools to break down the side into individual tracks. Or you can do what I did and capture individual files for each track on the LP.  When recording you get the simple screen below, just click Stop when you're done.

For each vinyl recording Songcorder creates a file at 24 bit 192kHz resolution using my Akurate Exakt DSM - I suspect that this is the resolution used by Linn when converting analogue to digital. Recordings from earlier Majik DSMs would be resolved at 24 bit 96kHz due to its lower resolution ADC stage. Songcorder generates what looks like a unique filename in FLAC - a widely supported format that can be converted to other forms by many of the popular digital music file handing programs available. You'll need a music file editor (I use TagScanner but there are lots of choices) to rename the tracks and input your own meta data such as Artist, Album, Track, Year, Genre etc.

Only one element of Songcorder I didn't enjoy is that it goes back to its default folder every time, rather than remembering where you prefer to capture your recordings. Its a very minor point and doesn't take away from the fact that this is a superbly simple tool that does exactly what it sets out to do.  The good news is that this gave me the opportunity to test the bug reporting process and happy to say that work is underway to address this as I type.

Sound quality is excellent - when playing back a vinyl recording, as far as I could tell, there was no degradation from the original analogue conversion I was listening to as recording took place. 

Whilst vinyl is the inspiration for Songcorder - to preserve those rare recordings or to create back up copies, for example, I did find that Songcorder will capture any stereo audio input on the DSM that's connected by toslink, SP/DIF or analogue inputs. Streaming works, but HDMI was less successful - theoretically it should work with stereo unencrypted content, but I didn't find any. Streaming works equally as well as the analogue input and captures the file in the resolution of the original source.  Of course an anlogue stereo output from such devices would work. Songcorder picks up the signal before any of Linn's SPACE Optimization or Exakt processing is applied.

Of course, one should be careful about copyright issues and only capture music already owned, or material that is free from copyright. 

An impressive piece of very effective software - I was so pleased by its performance I have purchased a copy, an equally smooth and simple process. At the time of writing the software cost a mere 20 Euros and is highly recommended.

Exaktbox Comparison. Something to Consider When Choosing Which Exaktbox To Use: Stereo or Dual-Mono?

EDIT, 2018:  PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS POST WAS WRITTEN PRIOR TO THE /1 UPGRADES FOR AKURATE AND KLIMAX EXAKTBOXES - THE "KATALYST" VERSIONS.  THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE RELATES TO /0 EXAKTBOXES AND IS NOT RELEVANT TO /1 EXAKTBOXES

How exact is Exakt?  Well, you’d think, from the branding, that it would be as exact as Linn could make it.  A recent online “conversation” revealed that all is not exactly as it might seem.  And its all down to processing power.

A quick review of Exakt – it’s Linn specific set of processes in the digital world that changes the signal being fed to a digital to analogue converter (DAC) specific to each driver in the speakers to allow the sound coming out of that driver to correct for room nodes (like boominess), for manufacturing tolerances (in the higher range of Linn speakers), time for the signal to travel to the listening position, to make sure that driver only gets the part of the frequency range particular to that driver, to correct for phase alignment issues between drive units at the crossover point and to correct for phase errors within the drive unit itself.  All very much in real time (it takes about 45ms).  Clever stuff.  But that takes a fair amount of processing power, something that happens inside a Linn Exaktbox which takes a feed from the Linn digital streamer / pre-amp, does all that processing and feeds the signal to multiple DACs – one per speaker driver – which then feeds to the power amp per driver and then onto the speaker driver.

So all of the above, applied to a pair of speakers that have 3 drivers per speaker (known as 3-way), requires 6 channels of processing and DACs.  As this is a particularly good “use case” to illustrate the differences between stereo filters and dual-mono filters, that’s what I’ll step through in this post.

Linn make an Exaktbox that has 6 channels (in fact, there are 2 of these, one at Akurate level, the other at Klimax level).  So, that it makes it very easy to choose an Exaktbox to suit a pair of 3-way speakers right?  3 drivers x 2 speakers = 6 channels.  So Exaktbox 6 (Akurate or Klimax level) will do the job.  Well yes.  And no.  Why not?  Well, we need to take a look at what’s in each of those boxes.  Exakt processing is done in a processor called an FPGA, and the number of FPGAs you get per Exaktbox varies according to which version in use.  Take a look at the diagram below.  On the left, Exaktbox 6 (Akurate or Klimax, for this discussion they’re identical on the Exakt processing side), and on the right the Akurate Exaktbox 10 (actually called Akurate Exaktbox without the 10, but lets not get into branding choices here!).  Clearly, there are 6 DACs in the Exaktbox 6 and 10 DACs in the Exaktbox 10.  But, more crucially for this post, the Exaktbox 6 has 1 Exakt processor, the Exaktbox 10 has 2 Exakt processors.  Note that these diagrams are simplified for the purposes of illustrating this comparison and test (for those who are really interested, in Exaktbox 6 there is a "Master" processor and 1x "Slave" processor, in the Exaktbox 10 there is a "Master" processor and 2x "Slave" processors).

Now, the Exaktbox 10 has to be capable of running 2 speakers of up to 5 drivers per speaker (5-way).  So, for the sake of argument, lets assume that a 5-way speaker will use 100% of each Exakt processor in the Exaktbox 10.  This might not be true, but it keeps the discussion relatively simple – believe it or not! So, with 2x mono Exakt filters – one mono filter per speaker – both Exakt processors will be fully busy:

 

But we’re talking in this post about 3-way speakers, which probably need less processing power than a 5-way speaker filter.  Again, using an assumption that is purely that, I’m going to say that a 3-way speaker will consume 3/5s of the processing power of a 5-way speaker.  So then we have the 2 Exakt processors in an Exaktbox processor, running a pair of mono 3-way filters might look a bit less busy than the above example.

Now, if we take those left and right Exakt filters out of the Exaktbox 10 and put them into the Exaktbox 6’s single Exakt processor, what happens?  Well, it gets a bit over full.  I know these are all approximations and assumptions, but its just to illustrate what’s going on here.  The principle applies, regardless of the precise percentages of capability.  So we then have an Exaktbox 6 single processor that’s too full, you can see here that stacking up the 2x mono filters into the single processor doesn’t fit:

So what to Linn do to make it possible for an Exaktbox 6 to support 2x 3-way full range speakers?  Well, they don’t run the 2x mono filters like the Exaktbox 10, they run a cut-down stereo filter.  In order to achieve this, the stereo filter does less complex (and therefore less accurate) processing so it will squeeze into the space available in a single processor:

 

And what does that mean for sound?  Well, it’s less accurate, as you might expect.  Hence, Exakt is sometimes less exact than it might be.

Experiment

Its taken a while for this experiment to happen in Musings’ listening room.  Why?  Well, it took a while for Linn to get around to releasing the “dual mono” Exakt filters for the PMCs amongst others such as Linn’s own Keilidhs.  So if you were running an Exaktbox 6 or an Exaktbox 10 for PMCs back in May 2016 (like me), then you’d not hear much of a difference between them as they were both running the compromised stereo Exakt filters.  In fact, the Exaktbox 6 sounded slightly better due to the greater space and better circuit layout inside the box.  But this was a small difference and has nothing to do with the Exakt filters in use.

Let’s be clear here, even the compromised stereo Exakt filters, with my PMC Twenty.26 speakers, Exakt brought a step change in performance to the system.  See my review here of my first impressions of these speakers with Exakt.  Those impressions were written with stereo Exakt filters in an Exaktbox 10, per the diagram below:

But a few weeks back, Linn finally released the dual-mono Exakt filters for the PMCs.  So the system was set up with stereo filter in the Exaktbox 6 and dual-mono filters in the Exaktbox 10.  As below:

Everything else in the system was kept the same – same Akurate Exakt DSM source, same Chord C-Stream cable for the Exaktlink, same 6x Linn silver interconnects and same 6x channels of Akurate power amplification and speaker cables.  The same SPACE Optmisation settings were applied too, leaving only the stereo vs dual-mono Exakt filters being the only difference between the 2 set ups.  Yes, there’s the better layout of the circuitry in the Exaktbox 6 to allow for, but earlier testing has shown that as being fairly minor (worth having, but not worth trading equipment for, if you already have an Exaktbox 10, IMHO).

Although it takes about 10 minutes to swap all the interconnects over between the 2 boxes (and power up each drive unit one at a time, starting with bass and working up the frequency range to ensure all the connections are correct), its pretty easy to hear the benefits that dual-mono filters bring.  As is often the case, its not that easy to describe, especially given how good the stereo Exakt filters are. But lets say there’s just a lot more of everything without adding any clutter at all.  What you think is very stable imaging, becomes even more stable, wider and deeper too.  What you think is lots of space between and around instruments is a good bit better defined.  Bass appears to go a bit deeper, but room nodes are not excited any more than they were.  Some sounds evolve with even greater texture through the lifetime of a note.  There’s another improvement in the flow and effortlessness of listening to the music and following the tune – without thinking about it.  Are there any downsides?  Not that I’ve noted, its all good.  At least its all good if you don’t think too hard about the financial implications, or the idea that, with even greater processing power in future iterations of Exaktboxes, that there might be yet more to come.  But let’s not go there just now!

So what is the conclusion?  Well, Exakt isn’t always as Exakt as it could be.  And if you’ve got 3-way full range speakers like me, the Exaktbox 6 isn’t necessarily the “lower cost” route it might’ve been, as it involves a level of compromise.  But its also worth saying that the benefit brought by dual mono filters is worth having – if I knew this when starting out with Exakt, I would’ve saved up for the Exaktbox 10 over the Exaktbox 6.  It just so happened that the ex-dem Exaktbox available to me was the 10 channel version and it was part of the purchasing choice for a different reason – the option to go to the 5-way Akubariks, had I wanted to do that at some point in the future.  What does that mean for choosing an Exaktbox for other systems?  Well here’s the run down, as it stands at the time of writing, for a stereo pair of speakers:

• 1x Majik Exaktbox-i – 8 channels – 2 Exakt processors – capable of running stereo or dual-mono filters up to 4-way
• 1x Akurate Exaktbox 6 – 6 channels – 1 Exakt processor – capable of running stereo filters up to 3-way (and for some small 3-way speakers, that might be as much as is needed as the stereo filter is as good as the processing is going to get)
• 2x Akurate Exaktbox 6 – 12 channels – 2 Exakt processors – capable of running dual-mono filters up to 6-way (actually, this might be up to 5-way as that’s the maximum number of channels in currently released Exakt filters, but Linn would have to confirm)
• 1x Akurate Exaktbox 10 – 10 channels – 2 Exakt processors – capable of running stereo or dual-mono filters up to 5-way
• 1x Klimax Exaktbox – 6 channels – 1 Exakt processor – capable of running stereo filters up to 3-way
• 2x Klimax Exaktbox - 12 channels – 2 Exakt processors – capable of running dual-mono filters up to 6-way (actually, this might be up to 5-way as that’s the maximum number of channels in currently released Exakt filters, but Linn would have to confirm)

Some observations / thoughts:

• Linn should update the Klimax Exaktbox to further differentiate it from the Akurate Exaktbox 6 by adding a second Exakt processor.  The idea of a 6 channel Exaktbox that could run a pair of 3-way speakers in dual-mono is very attractive indeed and would be something to aspire to.  Currently, the cost of 2x Klimax Exaktboxes to run dual-mono 3-way speakers is just financially so far out of reach.  Or maybe produce another model called the Klimax Exaktbox 2 with 2x Exakt processors, priced slightly above the single processor version.
• The Exakt part of the Konfig interface doesn’t tell you which filters your Exaktbox is running.  Exaktbox-i and Exaktbox 10 will run dual mono filters by default, where they are available.  They will run stereo filters if dual mono are not available.  Multiple Exaktbox 6s will run dual-mono if the user / dealer install the mono filters into each one.  Either way, Linn really needs to make it obvious in Konfig precisely which filters are in use.
• Should I stick with dual-mono filters in the Exaktbox 10, or take the plunge and go with 2x Exaktbox 6s to get that last chunk of performance?
• Does a Klimax Exaktbox running stereo filters sound better or worse than 2x Akurate Exaktbox 6s running dual mono filters?  Maybe there’s someone out there with deeper pockets than me (or a dealer with the boxes to hand) who would like to experiment?
• Thanks to MaH at the Linn forum and some pointers to comments made by Linn's lead speaker designer, its clear that not all 3-way speakers will benefit from dual-mono operation over and above stereo filters.  For smaller speakers that don't need such a wide range of low frequencies to be corrected, then the stereo filter is all that's needed and Linn won't be producing dual-mono for those (an example might be the Majik 109).
• Does this apply to 2-way speakers?  Or does the lower processing requirement of 2-way speakers mean the stereo 2-way filters are just as comprehensive as dual-mono filters?  The bullet point above suggests that small 2-way speakers will probably have only stereo filters, but maybe the larger ones, such as Kudos Super 20 will still benefit from dual-mono filters due to their greater bass extension.

Conclusion

I like the effects of dual-mono filters in the Exaktbox 10 and will be sticking with them for the time being.  I was very happy with the system before the move to dual-mono, its just a very substantial layer of icing on my system cake!  I’m off to consume another slice…

FYI, for those systems using speakers with built-in Exakt processing and power amps, none of the above applies – this is because each speaker has its own Exakt processor on board and therefore, by definition, are running a mono filter each.