Author: James Harding

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Turntable Trade In – receive £750 for your old record player

Because of its modular and upgradable design, the LP12 has remained one of the best turntables available for the past 51 years.

If you are stuck with a non-Linn turntable then don’t despair – until 31 January 2025 your old turntable is worth £750 when you trade it in against a Linn Majik LP12. Any brand, any condition, working or not – just bring it in to us, and we will dispose of it in the most environmentally responsible way and you will be rewarded with £750 off a Linn Majik LP12.

The Linn Majik LP12 features the latest Karousel bearing, Krane tonearm and an aluminium subchassis and laminated armboard, a built in power supply and a solid aluminium baseboard. It is available in two versions – the MM at £3700 (£2950 with trade in) featuring the Adikt moving magnet cartridge, or the MC at £3935 (£3185 with trade in).

This makes it the perfect time to get your old records and record player down from the loft. Take the record player to Hidden Systems, save £750 on your new Majik LP12 and enjoy your record collection all over again.

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Updated Linn Selekt Classic

Since its introduction in 2018 the Selekt has been our top selling streamer. Customers love the way it can be customised to their needs and budget, both at the time of purchase and in the future – and of course the amazing sound quality that Linn is famous for. It was also the first product to feature the Utopik switch mode power supply.

The 2024 Classic has a few refinements from the original design:

  • Headphone amp built in, with 6.25mm jack
  • RCA subwoofer outputs
  • New flat silver finish (textured black still available)
  • New heavier chassis
  • Machined steel smart buttons
  • Stainless steel feet
  • Larger, clearer display

The 2024 Selekt Classik can be configured to fit right in to your existing system, or if your are starting from scratch it is an ideal partner for the new 119 and 150 loudspeakers.

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New Linn 119 and 150 loudspeakers

Today Linn has launched two new loudspeakers, both of which are available to listen to at Hidden Systems.

Both the bookshelf 119 and floor standing 150 have been designed to be entertaining to listen to without sacrificing neutrality and refinement.

Bass is provided by a 16cm Nextel coated woofer in the 119, while the 150 has an additional 19cm bass driver. The bass reflex port on the 119 has a removable bung to give flexibility with room placement, whilst the larger 150 has two downward firing ports to minimise room diffraction effects.

Tweeters on both models are 19.55mm ferrofluid cooled Sonomex domes, protected by an electro-formed guard in the shape of Linn’s logo. The tweeter is surrounded by a finely grooved trim plate that echoes the grooves on a vinyl record.

There is an internal low order crossover uses high grade components and contributes to the fast, dynamic and pure sound. This can be bypassed easily should you wish to use these speakers in an Exakt system.

They make an ideal companion to the newly revised Selekt Classik Hub, but can also hold their own with more expensive systems.

Finishes on both speakers are either satin black, white, light oak or walnut. The 119 is priced at £2500 per pair, with optional wall brackets available at £40 per pair, or column stands at £300 per pair. The 150 is £5500 per pair.

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Naim CD Trade-in Promotion

As it becomes more difficult to source the parts required to keep older CD Players running, now might be a good time to look at alternative solutions – either a streaming system or a newer CD Player.

If you own an older Naim CD Player (see list at the end of this article) then you can receive a discount on any of the following products:

  • NDX2 Streamer (£5999 less £1500 trade in allowance = £4499)
  • ND5 XS2 Streamer (£2499 less £500 trade in allowance = £1999)
  • Uniti Core CD Ripper and Storage (£2199 less £550 trade in allowance = £1649)
  • Uniti Star Streamer, CD Player and Ripper (£3499 less £700 trade in allowance = £2799)
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Save 30% on LP12 upgrades this summer

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One of the many reasons that the Linn LP12 has been so successful over the past 51 years is that it can be upgraded over time as technology and your budget allows. This summer, Linn is making it easier to improve your LP12 by offering 30% discount on any upgrade when you buy any full price LP12 component.

For example, if you have a Majik LP12 you can upgrade to the Lingo 4 power supply, and receive 30% off a Kore subchassis, or if you have an older Klimax turntable you can get the machined Radikal 2 and save 30% on the Ekstatik cartridge.

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What should I upgrade?

The sheer number of upgrades and changes over the years mean that it can be difficult to decide what the most cost effective upgrade will be. Whilst there is no substitute for a chat with your friendly Linn dealer, we hope that the sequence below will be a good starting point.

  1. The bearing: Quality vinyl replay starts with extracting the maximum amount of music from the record, whilst minimising the amount of noise added to the signal. A turntable that turns smoothly and quietly will enable the arm and stylus to do the best possible job of extracting the music from the grooves. Introduced in 2020, the Karousel is the latest incarnation of Linn’s patented single point bearing – the heart of the LP12 and the reason it stands apart from the competition.
  2. Power supply: Pitch perfect music reproduction needs a pitch perfect motor. If your turntable has a mechanical switch that clicks between the on and off positions then you will have a Basik or Majik power supply. Upgrading this will be the most significant upgrade you can make, apart from the bearing. Not only will you have a quieter, more stable motor, but you will also be able to play 45rpm records without resorting to the adaptor pulley.
  3. Subchassis: To minimise the impact of airborne vibrations it is important that the arm and turntable move as one unit, and this is down to the quality of the subchassis. The traditional LP12 subchassis, an improved version of which is still used in the Majik LP12, consists of a laminated armboard screwed on to a pressed aluminium subchassis. The Kore armboard is machined from aluminium and bonded to the subchassism with an arm collar bolted directly to the subchassis. The Keel is a perfectly balanced subchassis, armboard and collar machined from a single billet of aluminium, which ensures the highest possible level of performance.
  4. Tonearm: A high quality tonearm will control the cartridge more effectively, minimising unwanted vibration and ensuring that the stylus retrieves the maximum amount of music from the groove. The Arko is a great upgrade from many earlier arms, or for ultimate performance you can go for the Ekos SE/1.
  5. Cartridge: The Adikt moving magnet cartridge is a great replacement for older cartridges, or there are five moving coil cartridges to choose from: Koil, Krystal, Kendo, Kandid and Ekstatik.
  6. Phono stage: Once you are sure you’ve got the best possible signal coming from your LP12, you could consider a phono stage upgrade. The Uphorik standalone phono stage is easily configurable to work well with almost any cartridge on the market, or you could go for the Urika dual mono design, which fits inside the LP12 to minimise the signal path that the low level signal from the cartridge has to take. If you have Exakt ports on your system then Urika II will convert the signal to a lossless Exakt format to ensure that you hear even more of the music.
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Naim Summer Promotion

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Save £2299 on Supernait 3 and NDX 2

We are delighted to announce that Naim is running a promotion on the NDX2 streamer and Supernait 3 amplifier. Considered by many to be one of the finest two-box systems on the market, for a limited time this system is available for just £7999. This represents a saving of £2299 on buying the streamer and amplifier separately.

The NDX2 normally retails for £5999. It can play from a range of digital sources, including high-res UPnP streaming, AirPlay, Bluetooth, Spotify Connect, TIDAL, and USB. Its advanced DAC and discrete analogue stage gives a superb quality of sound, and the NDX2 is flexible and upgradeable ensuring listening pleasure for years to come.

The Supernait 3 is the result of six years of painstaking research to deliver the most engaging listening experience. Its upgraded power amplifiers will drive a wide variety of loudspeakers and headphones with aplomb. Supernait 3 delivers Naim’s signature sound with any line level device, or from a turntable using the built in phono stage. Supernait 3 usually retails at £4299.

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Kudos Sigao – the sound of silence

Launched at the Munich High End Show in May 2024, the Kudos Sigao Drive is an unpowered crossover that sits between your pre and power amplifiers to improve the performance of your Kudos loudspeakers, no matter what amplifiers you use.

There is no loudspeaker drive unit available that can reproduce the entire spectrum of frequencies that the human ear can hear (20 – 20,000 hertz) which is why hi-fi speakers have woofers for the low notes and tweeters for the highs. Conventionally the audio signal is split inside the loudspeaker with a passive crossover circuit, which means that your amplifier has less control over the loudspeaker drive unit because of the components in the crossover.

To combat this, active crossovers split the signal before the power amplifiers, which means that you have one power amplifier for each loudspeaker drive unit, and the power amp is connected directly with nothing between it and the loudspeaker drive unit.

However this solution introduces problems of its own. The active crossover needs to be designed for each amplifier and speaker combination, and more importantly, it needs to be powered, which can introduce noise into the audio signal.

The name Sigao is from the ancient Greek word for maintaining silence. This is appropriate because Sigao Drive does not need a power supply, so it does not add any noise. It silently splits the signal so that each power amplifier has direct control of the drive unit, and only needs to amplify signals in the frequency range for that drive unit, giving you a cleaner, clearer, more focussed sound.

On the back of the Sigao Drive is a set of RCA input connectors to connect to your preamplifier output, and three sets of outputs to connect to your power amplifiers. With the exception of the Titan 808, the Kudos range only needs two of these to be connected.

There are also five “plugs” which enable Sigao Drive to be perfectly matched to your system. Three of these are to provide the optimum loading for the power amps, one determines the crossover frequency (the frequency at which the tweeter takes over from the woofer) and finally the treble gain, which allows you to tailor the sound depending on whether you prefer smoothness or detail. If you change your amps or speakers at any point, we can provide you with a new set of matching plugs so that Sigao Drive will continue to help your system perform at its best for many years to come.

Production units should be available for demonstration and delivery from July 2024 – please get in touch if you would like to hear Sigao Drive for yourself.

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Organik DAC Promotion for Akubarik owners

If you are lucky enough to own a pair of Linn’s fabulous Akubarik floorstanding loudspeakers, then you are now able to upgrade to Organik, Linn’s best ever DAC.

Introduced three years ago in the Klimax DSM, Organik is the first DAC to be completely designed and manufactured in-house by Linn. Improving on the already excellent Katalyst, Organik uses advanced circuit design to deliver an analogue signal with lower noise and distortion than has been possible previously.

For owners of the Akubarik Exakt loudspeakers, we will need to visit your home to remove the amplifier modules from your speakers and return them to Linn to be upgraded. Once complete we will then refit the upgraded modules for you to enjoy. Cost of this service is £7000.

If you have Aktiv Akubarik speakers then for a limited time you can trade in your amplifier modules for brand new Exakt Organik modules. This costs £11000 per pair including fitting and allows you to enjoy the benefits of Exakt and Organik in one upgrade.

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Linn Klimax Solo 800

Today Linn has launched their most powerful amplifier ever – the Klimax Solo 800 Monoblock.

As its name suggests, it has a power output of 800 watts into a 4 ohm load. However, as the saying goes, power is nothing without control. Klimax Solo 800 ensures any speaker, no matter how difficult the load, can perform to its full potential. At normal listening levels, Klimax Solo 800 has a Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise ratio that is around a hundred times better than other similarly priced amplifiers.

Innovations in the design of the Solo 800 which enable this leap in performance include:

  • A new, high power version of the Utopik Switch Mode Power Supply that has transformed the performance of Linn source components recently. In Klimax Solo 800, the Utopik can provide up to 2,000 watts of stable power to drive the amplifier, regardless of mains voltage and quality.
  • Adaptive Bias Control to minimise transistor crossover distortion. In common with most high powered, high fidelity amplifiers today, the Solo 800 is a Class AB design, which uses multiple output transistors (16 in this case). For a Class AB amplifier to sound its best and have a long lifespan, there is a bias current that needs to be adjusted to an optimal level. This is normally only done when an amplifier is built or serviced and tends to drift over time. Adaptive Bias Control allows Klimax Solo 800 to continually adjust its own bias current to each of the 16 transistors which keeps crossover distortion to an absolute minimum, no matter what the age or temperature of the internal components.
  • Well designed, cool running circuits and thermodynamically efficient casework mean that Klimax Solo does not need the cooling fan that competitor products depend upon.
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Power up with Utopik

Launched in the Selekt Edition Hub last year, the Utopik is Linn’s best ever Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS). It provides clean, stable and isolated power for your Linn equipment regardless of your mains voltage or quality, whilst being incredibly energy efficient compared to conventional power supplies.

Whilst the superior efficiency of switch mode supplies has long been acknowledged, along with their smaller size and weight, they are rarely used in hi-fi equipment due to difficulties in keeping electrical noise levels low. Linn’s expertise and 30 years of experience in SMPS manufacture has overcome these difficulties and the power supplies easily outperform their heavy and inefficient conventional competitors. New features in Utopik include:

Power Factor Correction: Normally Switch Mode Power Supplies draw current from the mains in a series of short pulses. This introduces noise into the supply which can affect other equipment on the same circuit. Utopik’s design draws current evenly across the AC Mains waveform, in proportion to the incoming voltage, which can be anything from 90V to 250V.

Precision Regulated Voltage Rails: Each voltage rail within Utopik is precision controlled, with a feedback loop keeping the voltage level stable regardless of the current demands on the power supply.

Intelligent Valley Switching: Usually a SMPS switches in and out at random points within the AC Waveform. This can introduce randomised noise into the power supply. With Intelligent Valley Switching, Utopik switches as close as possible to the zero voltage point on the AC wave, minimising the noise.

Utopik is fitted as standard to all Klimax, Selekt and Kustom DSMs from 1 November 2023, and can be retro-fitted to any of the following products regardless of age:

  • Klimax DSM (All Models)
  • Klimax DS (All Models)
  • Klimax System Hub (All Models)
  • Selekt DSM (All Models)
  • Akurate DSM (All Models)
  • Akurate DS (All Models)
  • Akurate Exaktbox-6 and -10
  • Kustom DSM Z4 and Z8
  • Majik DS (All Models)

With the exception of the Kustom DSM we can carry out the upgrade at your home in less than an hour so there is no need send your equipment back to Linn.

Price for the upgrade is £1350 including fitting and VAT.  However if you buy any qualifying Linn product (which includes the Majik 109 loudspeakers at £1500) before 31 January 2024 you can receive a free Utopik upgrade for a product you already own. In many cases we can also provide a free Utopik upgrade if you spend £3000 on other upgrades (e.g. turntable parts or DACs).