Linn turntables:

The Linn Sondek lp12 turntable If you trace the history of high-performance LP playback, it will lead you straight back to Linns LP12, the worlds first high-end record playback system. First introduced in 1972, the LP12 was a revolutionary piece that helped define the importance of the source product. Prior to this time, manufacturers and consumers alike placed all the importance in downstream gear such as the amp, preamplifiers and speakers. The introduction of the Linn LP12 was a new era in understanding of the importance of your systems playback components. Although initially displaying some resistance in this theory, the world soon climbed onboard and manufacturers followed trying to produce better players to compete with the Linn LP12. Some 29 iterations later, the Linn LP12 remains a (some argue the) standard in vinyl playback.

The Linn Axis turntable Billed as 'Son of Sondek', Linn's second turntable design, the Axis, always had much to live up to. Launched in 1987 when Compact Disc was finally taking hold, it was Linn's attempt to lure silver-disc purchasers back to vinyl. This meant it had to outperform decent CD players, be easy to set up and use and look good. By any yardstick it succeeded on all three counts. Its problem was its big brother, which was still held in a kind of reverential awe at that time. Why, said magazine reviewers, bother with an Axis when The Best Turntable In The World was "only" 300 more? This aside, the Axis was a fine piece of kit with many interesting features - some of which actually improved on its much-hyped bigger brother.

The Linn Majik Amplifier is an integrated amplifier with 33 watts per channel (@ 8 Ohms) and the unit I'm going to tell you about was equipped with a phono board. Aesthetically the Majik is very similar to the Linn Mimik CD player. So it is a black 32 x 32 x 8 metal box and the only difference with the Mimik is that the Majik doesn't have any CD transport :-) The Mimik and the Majik, put one above the other are a nice pair, very compact in size and extremely non intrusive. You can even use the same remote control, since there's no volume knob on the Majik, just two up and down buttons.

The Linn Karik CD Player Although Linn calls their new product a CD player, it is actually a separate CD transport and D/A converter. In typical Linn fashion, they cannot imagine anyone using the Linn transport without the Linn converter, and vice versa. Both units, however, are available separately. The transport is called the Karik. The name is a variation on a Gaelic word that translates loosely to "a pinnacle appearing out of the water." The processor has been dubbed the Numerik, after Linn's professional processor. With identical dimensions and black finish, the two pieces look quite at home stacked atop each other. The Karik transport represents a "ground-up" engineering effort. Rather than buy off-the-shelf mechanisms with their inherent mass-scale cost compromises, Linn started with a clean sheet of paper and rethought what a transport mechanism should do. The entire mechanism was designed and built by Linn in Scotland. It is unusual in many ways, including the method of clamping the disc from the top. Interestingly, one of the few other mechanisms built from scratch (the Esoteric P-2) also uses top clamping, as does the popular Soloist Audio modification.

The Linn Akurate Speakers Linn Products are proud to announce the arrival of AKURATE, four distinct acoustically matched loudspeakers that can be simply configured for high performance stereo and multi-channel music or home theatre applications. The AKURATE system has been designed to do full justice to the latest high-definition sound and vision formats, such as Super Audio CD. The system also combines the latest in Linn technology and high quality materials. The full-range models within the AKURATE system, the 242, 225 and 212 loudspeakers, feature Linn's new 3K Driver Array* technology that creates a consistent single point sound source and improves high frequency response. All components used in the 3K Driver Array are tolerance matched to ensure sonic consistency throughout. Sandwich cone 6 1/2 inch bass drive units deliver pure musical bass and the highly braced internal cabinet construction ensures the best possible performance from the advanced drive units.