Category: News

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.

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.

Following on from the success of Naim’s New Classic 200 series, we are delighted to have the 300 series available for demonstration by appointment at our Ascot showroom.

Consisting of the NSS 333 streamer, the NAC 332 Pre-amplifier, and the NAP 350 monoblock power amplifiers the New Classic 300 takes Naim’s performance to the next level.

A separate MM/MC phono stage is available, along with a matching power supply.

This year it is the fiftieth anniversary of the Linn LP12 – a product that revolutionised the way that hi-fi was demonstrated and sold by challenging the conventional wisdom that loudspeakers were the most important part of the hi-fi chain, and encouraging customers to trust their ears when making buying decisions.

The LP12 is still in production today, it’s modular design allowing even a fifty year old turntable to be upgraded, piece by piece, to the latest specification.

To celebrate this landmark anniversary Linn has teamed up with LoveFrom – a design agency run by Sir Jony Ives, formerly lead designer of many iconic Apple products.

The LP12-50 features the new Bedrok™ plinth, formed from layers of beech compressed under extreme pressure to create a solid and heavy plinth with minimal resonances to isolate the turntable mechanics.

LP12-50 also has Sir Jony’s trademark rounded corners, a new machined control button, and – refining the one part of the LP12 that really needed refining – new lid hinges, crafted in Scotland.

There will be just 250 of these turntables produced, at £50,000 each. To register your interest please visit https://www.linn.co.uk/uk/turntables/lp12-50

To celebrate their fiftieth anniversary, Naim has introduced a limited edition version of their first integrated amplifier – the NAIT1.

The NAIT 50 is a modern day re-incarnation of Naim’s first integrated amplifier, the NAIT 1 from 1983. Today’s version has replaced the Tuner input with a Streamer input, and new version includes a high quality 1.5 watt headphone amplifier instead of the balance control on the original. The main amplifier is 25 watts per channel, with a peak output of 225 watts allowing it to comfortably drive most loudspeakers. A quality moving magnet phono stage with discrete circuitry is also built in.

The NAIT 50 is a limited edition product – just 1,973 will be produced with a retail price of £2699. We are expecting delivery at the end of July but if you’d like to reserve one now please get in touch.

We are delighted to have the first products from Naim’s New Classic 200 Series on demonstration by appointment in our Ascot showroom.

The NSC222 streaming pre-amplifier can handle digital signals with a bitrate of up to 32bit/284kHz, and has access to all the major streaming services such as Qobuz, Spotify and Tidal. It also has the facility to listen to radio stations from around the world via the internet.

A high quality Moving Magnet phono stage is built in, so you can connect your turntable and give your records a new lease of life. If you want to keep your music to yourself, a headphone output using technology derived from the award winning Atom Headphone Edition is included.

It can be partnered with the latest version of the iconic NAP250 power amplifier, delivering 100 watts of Class A/B power per channel to really get the best out of your loudspeakers.

Also newly available is the NPX300 power supply, which will enhance the performance of the NSC222 and many other Naim products past and present by virtue of the 6 Discrete Regulator (DR) technology.

Our favourite loudspeaker manufacturer, Kudos Audio, has today announced a eco-friendly finish for its Titan Loudspeaker range.
Liquid Amber veneer is responsibly harvested from the fast-growing Liquidambar styraciflua tree, native to the south-east USA, before being finished with a soft sheen and hard-wearing lacquer to ensure that the loudspeakers look great for many years to come.