As it turns out, I should be getting the new Khan top plate for my Sondek soon. Can't wait...this will be the second non-Linn part on my turntable. The first was a Movingui plinth by Chris Harban...and it is a great product indeed!
flatpopely wrote:I have heard Kahn deck, sounded good. They have sent me one to try. I'll fit it to my deck and take pics and give a NO BULLSHIT review of the sound.
At the very least it gets rid of the bolts being mis-aligned due to the top plate bending.
Have you been able to conduct a review of the new Khan top plate yet?
Last edited by Tony Tune-age on 2011-12-01 13:55, edited 1 time in total.
There are at least two guys who have made high resolution recordings; with standard top plate and with Khan.
I have heard one of these and I know the installation was very carefully executed. The recording with the standard top plate was much better. The additional detail present in the other recording didn't make any musical sense.
Thanks! Even though the reviews on the Linn forum is very positive I had a feeling this might be the case. Most of them mentioned an improvement in sound which often indicates that the sound distracts the listener from the music. Hopefully the Khan can give Linn (or someone else) an idea of how to further improve the LP12.
The new Khan top plate finally arrived last week, and was installed by ThomasOK. I tried several times to post pictures, but it was always an invalid entry. So, maybe in the future the system will let me post pictures. (Note: just tried again, will see if they are posted)
In any case, the Khan does make an overall improvement. The bass frequencies are much deeper and cleaner. The midrange frequencies are better defined, and voices are more human sounding. Needless to say, lyrics are much easier to understand now as well. If possible, make arrangements for a demonstration - it will be worth the effort.
I know this hasn't been as hot a topic here as on the Linn forum. But for those interested I wanted to mention that I have done a write up on the comparisons I was able to do between the Khan and the stock Stainless Steel top plate on two very similar LP12s. This has been posted on the Khan? thread on the Sondek LP12 section of the Linn forum. You will find it on page 82.
I will say here that I and the others who took part in the comparison feel that the SS top plate is musically superior to the Khan. For more information on what we heard and how the comparisons were carried out please see the thread mentioned above.
ThomasOK wrote:This has been posted on the Khan? thread on the Sondek LP12 section of the Linn forum. You will find it on page 82.
I will say here that I and the others who took part in the comparison feel that the SS top plate is musically superior to the Khan. For more information on what we heard and how the comparisons were carried out please see the thread mentioned above.
Thomas,
thank you very much for this excellent review.
It is very interesting that you did the comparisons with the TUNDRA.
Quantum wrote:I am interested in this but have heard it was not as good on tune dem as a Majik 2100. Has anyone done the comparison?
It’s good that you bring this up. If the opinion comes from someone well versed in tune dem, then I think I’d need to be present to specifically understand what the other party is picking up on. I think tune dem is not always easy, especially when the differences are not subtle. Small speaker changes are easy for me, but racks and component changes are ‘sometimes’ confusing. I thought the Tundra better enabled me to follow the music than my Akurate 4200/D, but I am always open minded and keen to understand what other people pick up on.
If you’re interested in the Tundra, then the only real way to be sure is to compare yourself – obvious, but no getting away from it.
Quantum wrote:Perhaps because he imports the Tundra?
I am not sure this is the case yet. It is not mentioned on the Nokturne Audio website.
I know people have been waiting to hear what I think about the Tundra and I do plan to post a review soon on the Tundra thread here. However, since it has come up here it seems I need to clear up a couple of questions.
First off Nokturne Audio is definitely importing the Tundra to the US as we, and others we have demonstrated it to, are very happy with the performance. As a quick answer to the question above I feel it is significantly more tuneful than a 2100 series amp and that you really need to get into the Klimax range of amps before you have a fair comparison. (I'll leave it there for now.) You'll have to excuse its not appearing on the website yet but as most manufacturers and distributors can tell you it is a bit of work keeping things up to date. Just check most websites to see how long info on new products takes to get up there - sometimes it is months.
There is another reason for the silence from this side of the pond on the Tundra. While my Tundra #11 sounds truly wonderful we ran into a problem running it at 115 Volts. Apparently the auto-ranging power supply runs into a problem with the high/low voltage relay that can cause power delivery problems in low voltage areas. This doesn't occur in 220/240Volt areas as I verified when hooked into my 230 Volt feed at home. But it was something that needed to be addressed for the US market. The response to this problem by Fredrik has been speedy and thorough. Within a day of being notified of the problem he had isolated it in Sweden. Within another day he had found the cause and had an initial fix that worked but caused a bit of a drop in musical quality. Over the next week he refined the fix until it was extremely close to the stock version but it still caused a very slight loss in the directness of the music. He sent me parts next day air for this but then told me to hold off as he had another idea for a fix. After a few more days he has come up with a totally different fix that causes no loss in musical quality. This upgrade simply bypasses the relay so the power supply is no longer auto-ranging. This means that Tundra units sold in low voltage markets like North America and Japan will only run on the low voltage - they cannot be used at 220/240 Volts. But it also means that every bit of musical information is kept intact. However, for anybody who might move to a high voltage area the modification is easily reversed making the amp auto-ranging again. This is something Nokturne Audio will be glad to do if a customer of ours is moving abroad.
The dedication Fredrik has shown, not only to getting the Tundra to work here effectively but also doing everything possible to make sure there was no loss in musical quality from the fix, is exemplary. It definitely shows his love for his products and dedication to his customers.
I just received the instructions for the final fix over the weekend and hope to have time to install it today or tomorrow. I have not posted my findings so far as I wanted to make sure what I was reporting on was the final version that would be sold here. Once I install the update I will give it another listen to verify that the musical quality remains the same and then I will post my findings on the Tundra thread. What I will say now is that it is an extremely musical amplifier, performing well above its price range (which will be $4700 in the US - $500 below an A2200) and it plays much louder than the power ratings would suggest. Definitely an exciting new product.
Addendum: My review has been posted in the thread on the Tundra so please see there for more detailed (and musical) information.
Last edited by ThomasOK on 2012-06-03 02:06, edited 1 time in total.
Just though I'd post another note for those who may be interested. There has been a fair bit more going on in the Khan? thread on the Linn forum. There were some questions about why my results differed so much from a number of others and some questions about my setup technique. In response I conducted an expanded range of torque tests which, unfortunately, came to the same conclusion. I posted a fairly long document (imagine that ;-) which explained my additional testing procedure and the workings of the precision torque setup technique in detail and the results of the tests. I'm afraid it has become a bit of a free for all since then!
hcl wrote:Any more experiences regarding the Khan? Anyone in sweden?
I'm in the US and recently fitted a Khan to my modest LP12 and I'm very happy with the results. I purchased mine based on the majority of positive comments on the Linn forum and the fact that I could sell it on if it failed to deliver the goods. I'm pleased to say that it has turned out be a nice improvement along the line of other major upgrades I have fitted to my LP12 over 20 some years of ownership.
My recommendation would be for anyone wishing to get more out of their LP12 is to find an authorized TP dealer and have a listen for yourself. Folks in the UK are fortunate to have many top dealers offering direct comparisons between the Khan and SS top plates. I'm fortunate to have some before/after recordings to listen to for tune dem analysis purposes which have always served me well in the past.
hcl wrote:Any more experiences regarding the Khan? Anyone in sweden?
I'm in the US and recently fitted a Khan to my modest LP12 and I'm very happy with the results. I purchased mine based on the majority of positive comments on the Linn forum and the fact that I could sell it on if it failed to deliver the goods. I'm pleased to say that it has turned out be a nice improvement along the line of other major upgrades I have fitted to my LP12 over 20 some years of ownership.
My recommendation would be for anyone wishing to get more out of their LP12 is to find an authorized TP dealer and have a listen for yourself. Folks in the UK are fortunate to have many top dealers offering direct comparisons between the Khan and SS top plates. I'm fortunate to have some before/after recordings to listen to for tune dem analysis purposes which have always served me well in the past.
Here's a shot I took of my LP12 while in the jig.
Interesting write-up, and I have essentially the same perspective as well. To my ears, the Khan is an improvement over the original stainless steel top plate. And as you stated, it would be a good idea to schedule a demonstration (by a competent dealer, if possible) in order to determine if the Khan is worth installing.
Nice to read an open and clear response from Linn on the topic of a machine top plate:
Was asked this a number of times over the dealer conference & 40th celebrations.
No we are not doing a machined top plate.
No staff have or would change to a Khan, for the simple reason that it is may well sound different, but not better, if you use the Tune Dem. Hence my post on the Kore thread.
Charlie1 wrote:Nice to read an open and clear response from Linn on the topic of a machine top plate:
Was asked this a number of times over the dealer conference & 40th celebrations.
No we are not doing a machined top plate.
No staff have or would change to a Khan, for the simple reason that it is may well sound different, but not better, if you use the Tune Dem. Hence my post on the Kore thread.
Linn top plate
Linn top plate
Khan top plate
Khan top plate
Linn and Khan braces
Linn and Khan braces
Installation process
Installation process
Installation process
