First up: the Linn DS range has been revamped. There are new versions of the Klimax DS, Akurate DS, Majik DS and Majik DSM players. These updated players benefit from a new clocking architecture.
Audio circuitry layouts have also been improved to reduce the number of components, shorten signal paths, and reduce jitter. Exakt Link connections have been added to enable future Exakt upgrades.
You’ll be able to buy the new players from today, at the following prices:
Klimax DS – £13,300
Akurate DS – £4,750
Majik DS – £1,990
Majik DSM – £2,965
MORE: Linn Exakt/Akudorik review
Linn has also launched SPACE Optimisation. ‘SPACE’ stands for ‘Speaker Placement And Custom Environment’. This software builds an acoustic model of the listening environment based on the choice and placement of speakers, as well as the properties of the listening room.
It is designed to remove the unwanted distorting effects of a room. The point is to take the room out of the equation, regardless of how much glass, concrete or partition walling you may have. The software is even capable of emulating your speakers’ ideal position, so you can place them wherever you want.
All Linn network music players will get SPACE Optimisation. New products will come with the software pre-loaded, while existing units will get it via a software upgrade.
If you have a Linn Exakt system, you’ll benefit from SPACE Optimisation+. This takes things further by modelling the acoustic response of each individual drive unit.
Finally, good news for owners of Bowers & Wilkins 802 Diamond speakers: Linn is announcing Exaktbox support for you.
The speakers can be "upgraded" (in Linn's words) with a reversible operation to bypass the speaker’s passive crossover. An Exakt conversion kit is attached to the end of the 802s, to be connected to an Akurate Exaktbox, which performs the crossover digitally.
Exakt technology then aims to eliminate distortion, corrects for drive unit variation, and optimises the performance based on the room.
Linn launched Exakt back in 2013, as a new streaming system that aims to put "the source in the speaker".
See all our Linn reviews