Linn Exakt and PMC Twenty.26. World First Review Part One - Background

Part One of a Three Part Review

Part Two Here

Sometimes, a technology arrives that makes the previous technology instantly seem hopelessly inadequate and it makes you wonder how we ever put up with the older version. For example, DVD picture quality compared to VHS video tape. Or the jet engine compared to the turbo prop.

I'm not one for hyperbole, but there's a chance that Linn's Exakt is nearly there, but the World doesn't seem to have noticed. Lets hope its not superior in the way Betamax was superior to VHS.

Let's wind back about 2.5 years and see where we go from there. Back then (Meridian's DSP series not withstanding), the normal way to improve a Linn system was to go active. Active, in Linn terms, used to mean taking the output from a pre-amp, splitting it into the appropriate frequencies for the drive units in the speakers, feeding that driver specific frequency range to a power amp and connecting that directly to the drive unit. This is more accurate than using big clunky passive crossovers found inside traditional passive loudspeakers. Everything else being equal (sources, amps etc.) Linn's active systems sound better than their passive systems.

But on their 40th Anniversary in September 2013, Linn launched Exakt - a very different architecture for active systems.  The launch event is reported here:

http://audiophilemusings.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/exakt.html

http://audiophilemusings.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/exakt-photos.html

http://audiophilemusings.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/more-exakt-info.html

So what's different? Well, in a traditional system, using a CD or network player for example, the digital signal is converted to analogue in the player and is then analogue through the pre-amp, power amp and speaker crossover (either active before the amps, or passive inside the speakers). Exakt keeps the signal digital for longer, with a proprietary protocol connecting sources to the digital crossover called Exaktlink. So the combined network player and pre-amp (called a DSM in Linn speak) plays network and internet music, accepts digital signals from other digital sources and converts analogue inputs (such as a turntable) to digital too.  It then converts these inputs into Exaktlink format and passes the signal to be played along to either an Exakt processor integrated into a pair of active loudspeakers or to an Exaktbox which includes Exakt processing and digital to analogue conversions (DAC) to send information to a power amp dedicated to a single driver in a loudspeaker.

For the purposes of this post, I'm going to ignore loudspeakers that have built-in Exakt processors as they are unique to Linn.  Of interest here are the Exaktboxes as they can be software configured to drive Linn's extensive range of speakers both past and present and they can be software configured to drive speakers from other manufacturers too, which is why this is about PMC and not about Linn.

So, an Exaktlink digital signal is sent from a DSM to an Exaktbox. Exaktboxes are available in the usual Linn hierarchy of Majik - Akurate - Klimax. The Majik Exaktbox-i has integrated power amplifiers, the Akurate and Klimax Exaktboxes need external amplifiers. To simplify here, I'm going to write about the Akurate Exaktbox 6, a system that can support speakers of up to 3 drivers per speaker (2x 3 channels = 6 of the name). This is very relevant here as the PMC Twenty.26 has 3 drivers in each speaker. What does the Exaktbox do with the incoming Exaklink signal?  A number of things:

• Splits the signal into its right and left components
• The Exakt processor also applies phase correction which corrects for phase errors between drivers AND within each driver
• The Exakt processor applies a time adjustment to ensure the music arrives in sync at the listeners ear
• For each of right and left, that signal is then sent to 3 separate digital to analogue converters (DACs) - 3 for the right, 3 for the left
• Each of those DACs is dedicated to one driver in one of the loudspeakers
• Each DAC applies the correct filtering for its allocated driver
• For Linn drive units in the Akurate and Klimax ranges, individual drive units are measured at build time and Exakt corrects for any errors found to bring left to right matching to levels not seen before, regardless of speaker quality and price.
• The Exakt processor and bass channel DAC also apply SPACE Optimisation+ room node adjustments to the output of the bass channel, inserting sharp dips in the output volume at the frequencies where the listener's room is known to have bass "humps", hence flattening out the low end frequency response

The effect of the calculated frequency dips on the under 100Hz signal (no changes are applied above 100Hz) plus a little manual tweaking

• Each DAC then applies the volume control level before finally converting all of this into the analogue domain and passing the signal along to a power amplifier that is dedicated and has a direct connection to the appropriate drive unit in the speaker.

So for a pair of PMC Twenty.26 loudspeakers, a 6 channel Exaktbox is required, along with 6 channels of amplification, and the removal of the standard passive crossover inside the speakers to allow the amps to be directly connected to the driver units.

The really key thing about how the Exaktbox operates is that it is configured by software, using Linn's Konfig application run from a PC or MAC attached to the same network as the Linn DSM. This means that the same Exaktbox process0r / multiple DAC unit can be software programmed to support any speaker that Linn has provided profiles for - from their own range, from the ranges of others and from speaker manufacturers who have developed Exakt profiles and submitted them to Linn. So upgrading speakers is now possible without upgrading hardware crossovers - just load up the appropriate profile for your speaker, connect up and you have your system amended to suit. Very clever. Konfig also allows the input of room dimensions, listening position, speaker position and building material types to allow for the correction for room bass nodes to be applied to the music and for the time of flight to the listen to be adjusted.

Entering room information into Konfig so the software can calculate where there will be bass humps in the room (there are many more dimensions to be entered not visible in this capture

In the Linn Konfig Software, selecting the appropriate loudpeakers from the drop-down list applies the correct profiles and filters to the Exaktbox

Right, if you've kept up with that lot, well done. Let's consider why Linn would support anything other than their own speakers. Surely this would impact on sales of their own speakers? Well I would suggest not. Linn speakers (with the exception of the Keilidh), probably don't sell in massive numbers, they appeal to a limited set of listeners (like lots of other speakers do too of course), and its fairly rare indeed to see Linn speakers used in non-Linn systems, whereas it is very common to see Linn electronics - particularly sources - used with all kinds of speakers from other manufacturers. Also, Linn probably see a market where they can massively improve the performance of other manufacturers speakers and generate a new group of buyers for Linn electronics. So it makes some sense to develop Exakt filters for third party speakers. There is also the possibility that a group of speaker manufacturers will see the benefits in Exakt making their speakers sound better and therefore make them stand out from the crowd - certainly Kudos have seen this benefit and grabbed hold of it very quickly.

Of course, modifications need to be made to these third party speakers to allow amplifiers direct access to each drive unit (although Kudos now include Exakt compatible connection options as standard on Super 20 and T-808), and that's the subject of part 2 of this review - how a pair of Twenty.26 speakers can be converted to work with an Exaktbox and multiple power amps.

So is this a game changer? Well back at the launch in September 2013 I have to say I was underwhelmed. Yes, I could hear some differences, but all that clever processing to correct phase errors, supposedly seamlessly integrate drivers and near enough correct all phase errors between and internal to each drive unit should really have been very obviously an upgrade. Subsequent demos of a variety of speakers (although, to be fair, mainly Akubarik and 350) over the following year left me uninspired. Enough to decide to look for non-Linn speakers (but ones supported by Exakt in order to keep options open). I auditioned Kudos Super 20 and PMC Twenty.26 speakers at home (both of which were on Linn's roadmap for Exakt) and settled on the PMCs as a major step up from my previous Linn Majik 140s. With Linn Klimax DS/2 streamer, Klimax Kontrol/1/D pre-amp and Klimax Twin/D power amp they were good, but eventually got a little tiring to listen to - more than 2.5 hours was too much.  So there was still some doubt about if they were right for the longer term.

What has changed since then? Well, I went to the launch of the Exaktboxes and Linn's lifestyle Series 5 speaker launch (these are Exakt only) in September 2015. It was a good event and some stuff was demonstrated that was interesting, but still didn't wow me in the way the technology is supposed to do. About 2 months later Linn quietly updated the Exakt filters for some of their speakers - a significant change to the way that they handle the bass roll-off and there was much excitement on the Linn forum about the effects of this change. This was the most obvious and major change on top of a gradual trickling out of small tweaks and changes.  An early 2016 visit to an integrated Exakt Akubarik owner in Canada allowed for lots and lots of listening to a system that was transformed. Now Exakt sounded significantly different and significantly better than the non-Exakt equivalent speaker. Instruments so clearly defined, located in 3D, no bass flabbiness, such clear highs and vocals with real texture and emotion. Suddenly, the technology seems to be delivering on the promise. Listening for 4.5 hours proved extremely enjoyable and not at all fatiguing. Was it launched too early? Have lots of people heard it once, were underwhelmed and never bothered again?  I don't suppose we'll ever know the answer.

Back in the UK I went for a visit to not-so-local Linn dealer House of Linn and had another listen to Exakt Akubariks, this time using the external Akurate Exaktbox and Akurate power amps to better simulate the way the electronics would work with PMCs. Initially I would be bringing the Majik 140s back into action as their Exakt filters were available at the time, whilst waiting for the filters for the PMCs. The plan was to run the Majik 140s whilst waiting, then find out if the PMCs could be tamed by Exakt when the filters were released. If not, the Majiks could stay a while longer, the PMCs could be sold on and I would save up for Akubariks.

Well going from Klimax electronics passively driving the M140s to Akurate level (theoretically one step down in the Linn hierarchy) was a big surprise. Driven by the Exakt Akurate boxes turned the M140s into something far better than I'd imagined. Faster, controlled, better imaging, tighter bass, quiet impressive. I would've been very happy to live with them whilst saving for the Akubariks. But then the PMC filters were released, but not the conversion kit to go with them. What to do? Wait? Take the plunge?  Check out part two:

Part Two

Part Three

Naim Factory Tour 2016 via Bentley Flying Spur. Featuring UK Public Debut of the Focal Sopra No 3

Ever been anywhere and felt a bit out of place?  Well, my day began like that, at HR Owen in Pangbourne - purveyors of Aston, Lamborghini and Bentley motor cars.  I don't mind going into these showrooms - we can all dream - and I don't mind speaking with the sales staff and letting them know that I'm just enjoying a look around, if that's OK.  But this time was a bit different...

I was lucky enough to hear that Naim dealer Hifi Cinema had teamed up with HR Owen, Bentley and Naim Audio to arrange a little day out - start in Pangbourne, ride down to Salisbury, tour the Naim factory and then a ride back up to Berkshire.  Sounded great.  Both Hifi Cinema and HR Owen invited guests from their respective customer lists.

Why Naim and Bentley?  Well about 5 years ago they announced a partnership which lead to Naim audio systems being offered as an optional upgrade in Bentley motor cars.  I'm not sure how many buyers have opted for this choice, but a few of the cars today were so equipped.

Convoy Components

The day of the trip arrived - Berkshire was bathed in sunshine and temperatures looked promising.  I walked the 3 mins or so from my B&B (leaving the Insignia behind) down to HR Owen and enjoyed the views across the forecourt - particularly the Astons and noted the cluster of gleaming Bentleys lined up ready for the convoy.  Three Continental GTs and a couple of Flying Spurs.

A tea / coffee and the largest pastries known to man were on offer as the group gradually formed - friend A already there and chatting to some of the others.  Our Bentley host Andy then asked for driver's licence information.  It seems this wasn't just a ride in a Bentley - we were going to get the chance to drive too.  Fantastic!  Some folks had brought their own Bentley, some were going to meet the group at the Naim factory, some didn't turn up which meant one thing - we were allocated our own car for the day.  Maybe with a passenger, maybe not.  Paperwork was done and Andy showed me around "my" car - a metallic grey Flying Spur V8S Auto, with Naim for Bentley audio of course. £185k, 4.0 litres, two turbos, 2.5 tonnes and 500 bhp.  What could possibly go wrong?

Andy took me over to introduce the car and explain the basics such as the auto box, brake on when starting or shifting, paddle shift, how to use the sat nav, sport modes etc.  I started to get nervous - I've never had the priviledge of riding in this kind of car, never mind driving one - and its a long time since I've driven an automatic.

"My" Flying Spur for the day - beautifully built. I wouldn't choose this colour - for me its a bit understated on the outside...

...but rather distinctive on the inside!

Naim for Bentley

Mulliner = options list

Speaker Cabs in the Boot

We drove in convoy down to Salisbury, I had a passenger for this stage and we chatted about cars, Hifi, the business, and the conversation meandered amiably across many topics and decades.  The car is superb.  Its a large car, particularly on some of the narrow A roads in Berkshire, but it doesn't feel its size.
I expected floatiness and a vague drive, but there was none of that.  Once used to the size, its amazingly weildy - there is some feel through the steering, but no kick-back.  The ride is not soft, but its not too firm either - its fluid - following the road, controlling the shifting masses absorbing the worst of the crumbling roads.  You can waft or thrust - in Drive, there's a touch of hesitation as the systems work out what you want and then progress is as swift as you want it to be - a brush on the throttle is all that's needed to make good progress, and more than 1/3 throttle and the scenery starts to fly past with a blur.  Choosing Sport on the gearbox sharpens responses noticeably - now reaction is almost instant, gears are wrung out right to the 6200 rpm redline and when you back off the revs stay up rather than a higher gear being selected.  Even in Sport, shifts are seamless across the 8 speeds.

At 70 mph there is hardly any noise at all and everything is both effortless and completely stable.  I'm told it stays like this at 100mph too, but can't comment on that myself :)
What about the Naim sound system?  Well its not easy to tell. The car's HDD was loaded up with jazz lite hifi show music, recorded in MP3 format.  So I'll just say it sounded pretty good, given those constraints, other than that, it wasn't a good opportunity to test out the sounds.

The journey down to Salisbury was a pleasure and passed very quickly, except the last 4 miles or so in the city, which took us an unreasonable 30 mins.  Still, the Sun was glorious, the environment was sumptuous and the company good, so no problem really.  We arrived at the Naim factory late morning and enjoyed the sunshine as we waiting for everyone to turn up and form the full group.  The factory has evolved over the 40 years of Naim - from a small single building, but now occupying 3 separate buildings that are interlinked into one facility.  Below you can see the most recent addition to the site. Its quite a contrast to the Linn facility which was purpose built from the ground up - here you can see the history and evolution of the company, almost from its roots.  We were welcomed into the factory by Jason and Dan and teas and coffees were served in the dem room with a Mu-so playing the background tunes.

The convoy gathers at the Naim factory, Salisbury

Damson Continental GT in Salisbury

Dem room - ethernet lifters?  Really?

500 in the Dem Room - We listened to NDS and a single 555DR

We were welcomed by Jason, the UK Sales Director who explained the planned itinerary. Dan, our host for the factory tour, sorted us out with smocks and anti-static straps. Visitors are welcome to take photos, which is rather enlightened I feel. We headed straight for the Statement build area, which is a small dedicated area of the factory.  Very much a success story - Naim have now sold 52 sets of Statement pre- and power-amps - that's quite some achievement at £155k a time.  Below is a built up (but without side panels) of a pre- and power-amp.  The quality of the engineering inside this amp is astounding, in addition to being massive, by hifi standards.  This part of the factory has been adapted to Statement production by the addition of overhead rails and cranes - its just not possible to lug this thing around all day.

Statement pre-amp on the left and power-amp on the right

Castings and machining of the highest order and beautifully finished.

Statement chassis showing complexity of the structure

Statement power amp output chassis

Statement packaging

Statement power amp transformer (note size of 1 pound coin)

Statement volume control

Statement power amp output board

Statement board

Statement caps

Statement input board

Statement PSU Caps

Statement machined frame

Statement in build

Attention to detail everywhere

Statement bracket

Between build areas we passed through a storage section where there was a selection of wrapped and a bit sad looking Ovators.  These are reference examples, not the end of stock - apparently there are a few pairs left, but not many.  The green ones looking interesting.

Ovators.  Reference Units - only a handful of cabs are left now

Naim likes to take matching of transistors somewhat further than the transistor manufacturers.  So they match them to 1% rather than the typcial 5%, and if you have an active system, they'll build a stack of amps matched to 1% too.  Below is the rather prosaic looking tool used to complete the matching process.

Rather Prosaic Transistor Matching Machine

A somewhat venerable single automated PCB populating machine occupies one corner.  Its not the fastest machine and works on full size lead type components.  Not much in the way of surface mount in Naim. Where they are used seems to be more in control circuits than audio circuits.

Populating Boards (mainly traditional components, not many surface mounts)

Relaxed?  Naim interconnects certainly are.  There's a belief here that relaxed cables sound better, so they're given a 120 cycles shake before being packed off to customers.  Would be good to hear a with and without comparison, but its not offered today.

SNAIC Shaker

Super Lumina Speaker Cable Waiting To Be Built Up

SNAIC Shaker

SuperLumina speaker cable is also given some relaxation.  First on this barrel, then it's run through a series of pullies which flex the cable one way then the other.  I suppose this is yet more attention to detail, but it does seem a little on the eccentric side.

Super Lumina speaker cable having a nice relaxing time

The populated circuit boards meet the outsourced casework and start to look more like components. One person builds up each product, the main skill being the shaping and soldering of the internal wiring.  Carefully and precisely bent, the cabling is a work of art.  Each product has a "reference template" to work from.  Everything down to the position of each cable-tie, which cable is next to which other cable, when to bend (most are at a rather precise 90deg), lengths etc. is carefully defined and followed.

Part way through build (case tops added only after successful testing is completed)

Supernaits in production

Reference build units (particularly for cabling layouts)

Every single component goes through a measurement test and a soak test.  The tops of the cases are only fitted after testing so that any fettling takes less time.

Soak testing

Some kind of test gear

After the tour we ended up in a reception room for lunch.  MD Trevor Wilson talked us through the history of Naim, their principles and how they want to bring people closer to the music.  Trevor used to work at Bentley and was part of bringing the 2 companies together and helping them understand each other's challenges and approaches.  To meet Bentley's requirements, Naim had to work out how to design a DSP system which allows the "image" inside a car move from seat to seat, according to the owner's requirement.  This lead to Naim building the Mu-So which uses a similar DSP engine.  Its built in China in dedicated Naim facilities in 2 factories, with rigorous quality control from Naim UK employees. We learn that the Mu-So has been a massive success - moving the company from 1,500 new customer per annum to 10,000 new per annum in the last 18 months.
Trevor mentioned several times about the Naim attention to detail, the consistent attention to quality and the priviledge of bringing quality sound into the home.  Not forgetting the company's pride in its ability to service every electronics product they're produced in the past 40+ years.  There were a few questions about company funding (Focal and Naim merged and are now partly owned by equity financing) and we heard about how the updated DR range of amplifiers has been a huge success - causing an extended waiting lists for some products and upgrades.

One-off Frame AV in the customer briefing room

After an excellent lunch we were back in the dem-room for the listening session.  We had an NDS streamer with its 555DR power supply (just the one), Super Lumina interconnects, Statement Pre- and mono power-amps, Super Lumina speaker cables and the UK public debut of the Focal Sopra No3 - a new larger, £16k floorstander topping the Sopra range.  So we're looking at around £200k system here.  Anyone want to choose between a Flying Spur and a hifi system?  I guess many customers at this level won't need to choose - lucky them.

Jason had a few tracks lined up  - for example Roadhouses and Automobiles by Chris Jones, Jenny Again by Tunng and some female vocals and jazz. I've heard the Statement on a couple of previous occasions - at the Bristol show and at the Chester Show - on both occasions it was partnered with Focal Grand Utopias which gave a very hifi sound full of detail, but no real emotional connection for me.  And harshness to the point of having to leave the room at Chester.  But the 2016 Chester show gave me a chance for and extended listen to the Focal Sopra No 2 - the first production speaker designed with the use of Naim electronics - and this transformed my opinion of Focal's more expensive speakers (I rather like the lower cost Arias that I've heard to date), although the Sopra is the middle range in Focal terms.  The Sopra No 2s have banished that harshness - there's still lots of details but there's music too - very much flowing and enjoyable.

So what of the Sopra No3?  Well, its bigger than the No2 and the sound very much reflects that.  If you like the No2 but wanted more weight, this is the place to look.  So that means lots of detail and nusances, speed, space and the ability to really let the Statement shine through.  Really, Naim should stick to demoing with these speakers until the time comes for Focal to release a new Utopia range that's been developed with Naim electronics.  Any downsides?  Well, despite all the treatment in the room, it was still contributing from time to time, leading to a thickening in the mid-bass, and the imaging, whilst very stable and 3 dimensional, was rather exaggerated - vocals being central, but typically around 3 feet wide, which is a bit odd. But that's being picky - this is an excellent system and the Sopras are a major step forward for Focal's musical abilities.

Dem Room - NDS / 555DR / Statement Pre and Power Amps, UK Public Debut of the Sopra No3

Afterwards we were free to take the Bentleys back up to Pangbourne - this time I was solo which didn't matter too much as the car itsself was enough entertainment for the journey.  I followed my nose for a while and found some entertaining roads, but just for fun - this wasn't the place nor the time to find out the car's capabilities - I really wanted to take it back unscathed. Had a play with the flappy paddle changers but they're a bit superfluous really - sport mode does everything that's needed. The Sat Nav is infuriatingly slow to respond to any inputs, but that's the only thing I didn't like about this car.  Fantastic.

A Flying Spur (for a moment)

So, a great day out and a great combination of cars and hifi.  Toys at their best.  A big thank you to:

Bill and Alan at Hifi Cinema
Andy Smyth and the team at Bentley Berkshire
Trevor, Jason and Dan and the team a the Naim Audio factory.

House of Linn / brianandtrevors Interview At Hifi Pig

These guys have been part of my music enjoying experience over the past 6-7 years and here's an interview with them at Hifi Pig

http://hifipig.com/behind-the-brands-with-brian-trevor-of-house-of-linn-brianandtrevors/

LINN Majik 140 Speakers FOR SALE. Black Ash. Mint. Boxed. Also Active Cards

My Linn Majik 140 Speakers for sale.
Mint condition
Boxed

Please see the listing on ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/-/291753146223?