Slipsik 5

Post by **lejonklou** » 2010-02-09 22:21

In late February, the new version of our reference Moving Magnet phono stage Slipsik will be released.

Slipsik 5 has been completely redesigned, from the ground up. Performance has taken a bigger leap than with any of the previous upgrades.

Older units are fully upgradeable by an exchange of the entire circuit board and an electrical calibration. For a limited time, there will be a special upgrade offer for all current owners of Slipsik.

More info soon.

stefan · Post by **stefan** » 2010-02-25 09:26

Good news Fredrik. When do you plan to annnouce the upgrade price ?

Post by **lejonklou** » 2010-02-25 22:43

Now!

The upgrade of a Slipsik (regardless of age) to version 5 will cost SEK 3950, €405 or £360.

During March, April and May this year, there will be a special price for the upgrade: SEK 3125 , €320 or £285.

The upgrade consists of the new circuit board and a calibration, where fixed resistors are soldered to the board, making it perform optimally. The calibration procedure is done after the upgraded Slipsik has been running for 24 hours and makes different units sound almost exactly alike.

An upgraded Slipsik will sound exactly as good as a brand new Slipsik 5.

Early European versions of Slipsik were fitted with a Power One power cord, later ones with a Volex cord. I have found that in most cases, the Volex cord sounds a bit better (those of you who prefer Power One for the rest of your system should preferably keep it). The Power One can be replaced with a Volex if the customer so wishes, to the cost of 375 SEK.

Return postage will be added (actual postage fee only). To order the upgrade, contact your retailer or Lejonklou directly. The upgrade will be available in the beginning of March (some production details caused a delay).

Post by **lejonklou** » 2010-03-06 14:10

Slipsik 5 will be the first Lejonklou product to be available in a new finish: Glossy white

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2010-03-06 15:50

That's a very nice looking product, and the pictures are great :!:

Post by **lejonklou** » 2010-03-13 22:24

And finally the first batch of board arrived yesterday afternoon!

It's been a long journey getting these boards perfect. Just the final soldering process is done in three separate steps: First in a reflow oven, then wave soldered and finally hand soldered.

Earlier this evening, after 24 hours of burn in, the very first Slipsik 5 received its final tuning with resistors soldered in place. I'm just about to give it a listen!

Post by **lejonklou** » 2010-03-14 21:32

First demo today for two visiting enthusiasts, comparing Slipsik 5 to the MM of an Akurate Kontrol/Dynamik. Both feeding AK/D, 2100/D and passive 109.

Went well. I am very pleased! :D

Slipsik 5's are now beginning to ship. Upgrades of old Slipsik's will have priority.

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2010-03-15 00:05

lejonklou wrote:First demo today for two visiting enthusiasts, comparing Slipsik 5 to the MM of an Akurate Kontrol/Dynamik. Both feeding AK/D, 2100/D and passive 109.

Went well. I am very pleased! :D

Sounds very impressive Lejonklou 8).

per · Post by **per** » 2010-03-15 01:53

I attended to the demo of Slipsik 5 today. It is better than the MM-stage in Akurate Kontrol with Dynamik. I can not say how much better, but it is better. Fantastic!

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2010-03-15 12:11

per wrote:I attended to the demo of Slipsik 5 today. It is better than the MM-stage in Akurate Kontrol with Dynamik. I can not say how much better, but it is better. Fantastic!

That is good news for individuals that don't have lots of money 8) .

Post by **lejonklou** » 2010-03-15 20:08

Yes, I hope to live up to my company mission in that 'nothing shall give you more musical enjoyment for the money'.

If Uphorik is better than Slipsik 5, I will take comfort in the fact that Linn's alternative is >2.5 times as expensive and takes up 8 times as much space.

Slipsik 5 is a product for those who've decided to stay with MM, make the best of it, and direct the massive funds required for MC elsewhere. Either to more important parts on the turntable (Radikal, Keel, arm) or to a different part of the system.

In my opinion, MC doesn't make any sense until you've arrived at LP12-Radikal-Keel-Ekos SE.

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2010-03-15 20:24

lejonklou wrote:Yes, I hope to live up to my company mission in that 'nothing shall give you more musical enjoyment for the money'.

If Uphorik is better than Slipsik 5, I will take comfort in the fact that Linn's alternative is >2.5 times as expensive and takes up 8 times as much space.

I certainly like that concept Lejonklou 8) . There was a time when Linn had a similar concept, and perhaps to some extent they still do, but not like before (in my opinion).

The next upgrade on my Sondek will be exchanging my Ekos II tonearm for the newer Ekos SE tonearm. Already have an Akiva moving coil cartridge, Keel, Movingui plinth and Radikal.

Post by **lejonklou** » 2010-03-20 23:32

The first Slipsik 5 is now on demo at HiFi Forum in Copenhagen. A white one.

Next week, Tonläget i Gothenburg will receive a black one. They also have a Uphorik, for those who'd like to compare.

An interesting effect of Linn's release of the Uphorik is that the interest in Linn's Adikt MM cartridge seems to have markedly increased. And with that, also the interest in KINKI3 and Slipsik 5.

Just this weekend I've talked to several MC owners who said that once it wears out, they'll upgrade their mechanics (Keel), motor controller (Lingo or Radikal) or arm and settle for an Adikt. And try some phono stages to find out how the investment should optimally be spent for best results.

Music Lover · Post by **Music Lover** » 2010-03-22 10:48

lejonklou wrote: Just this weekend I've talked to several MC owners who said that once it wears out, they'll upgrade their mechanics (Keel), motor controller (Lingo or Radikal) or arm and settle for an Adikt. And try some phono stages to find out how the investment should optimally be spent for best results.

Make sense!
Last week I heard three different Lp12s, all with Adikt; entry level Majik LP12, LP12 without Keel/Ekos and LP12 SE.
With Uphorik it was the first time I was able to enjoy MM.
We demoed valhalla, Lingo2, Lingo3 and Radikal (a huge performance jump up to Radikal)
And many phonostages including Kinki3, Slipsik4.X and majik pre phono stage.
The two biggest enhancements were Radikal (from Lingo3 that is clearly better than Lingo2) and Uphorik!!!

I consider Radikal more important than Keel/EkosSE together, and Uphorik is not far off from the improvement in Keel/EkosSE but in another way.

I wonder, how far off is a LP12SE/Adikt/Uphorik from LP12SE/Akiva/Urika?

For all those years I considered Adikt crap, I admit I was wrong!

Love to compare with Slipsik5.

Post by **lejonklou** » 2010-06-18 00:04

I've now listened to the Uphorik. It's very good and does sound better than Slipsik 5. However, I still think Slipsik 5 is an absolute thrill when partnered with a good turntable (listening to an original pressing of Further Definitions by Benny Carter right now). For the money, I have yet to hear anything that comes even close.

And it just got a bit better! The following was just posted under News on the main website:

Our best phono preamplifier, Slipsik 5, has just received a sound quality improvement. All owners of Slipsik 5 are offered to have this upgrade without charge.

The improvement is incorporated in all Slipsiks that have been sold or upgraded since June 12th 2010.

For more information, contact your retailer or Lejonklou.

Linnofil · Post by **Linnofil** » 2010-10-24 19:13

Rumours are spreading on the Swedish Linn forum that the Slipsik 5 is getting an exciting upgrade very soon! The Slipsik 5.1 is about to be released, even better than the 5.0! I wonder how close to the Uphorik it can come?

Read Swedish or translate from here: http://forum.selleri.de/viewtopic.php?p=77934#p77934

I wonder who is spreading these rumours prior to official release? ;)

Great news for me, as I still have an old Slipsik 3.0 waiting for an upgrade.

Post by **lejonklou** » 2010-10-25 18:10

True, Slipsik is just about to be upgraded to version 5.1.

Official release date is the 1st of November, but new Slipsiks starts shipping as version 5.1 now.

What this upgrade brings is mainly a more dynamic performance, as if a slight hesitation has been removed. It may not seem like a big difference at first, but once you make the comparison, it becomes impossible to go back. 5.1 is just more fun.

The upgrade from version 5 will cost only SEK 400 (plus shipping costs).

No other changes will be made to Slipsik for at least six months.

rock&roll · Post by **rock&roll** » 2010-11-03 20:29

Sound great with Adikt. I don't remember I had so much fun listening to MM cartridge. And that's only with the 'Majik' Sondek. Great! :D

Next week I'll be setting up new demo LP12 with Jelco SA-250ST 9" tonearm (instead of Pro-Ject 9cc) and Trampolin 2.

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2010-11-05 17:39

rock&roll wrote:Sound great with Adikt. I don't remember I had so much fun listening to MM cartridge. And that's only with the 'Majik' Sondek. Great! :D

Next week I'll be setting up new demo LP12 with Jelco SA-250ST 9" tonearm (instead of Pro-Ject 9cc) and Trampolin 2.

That should be very interesting, and very entertaining... 8)

AdamWysokinski · Post by **AdamWysokinski** » 2012-03-19 21:35

lejonklou wrote:True, Slipsik is just about to be upgraded to version 5.1.

Does the version 5.1 differ visually from 5? How can one tell the version of Slipsik without opening it?

Thanks,
Adam

Post by **lejonklou** » 2012-03-19 23:26

AdamWysokinski wrote:Does the version 5.1 differ visually from 5? How can one tell the version of Slipsik without opening it?

Hi Adam!

On version 5.1 there's a golden dot after "Slipsik 5" at the back of the unit.

AdamWysokinski · Post by **AdamWysokinski** » 2012-03-19 23:32

lejonklou wrote: On version 5.1 there's a golden dot after "Slipsik 5" at the back of the unit.

Thank you, Frederik.

AdamWysokinski · Post by **AdamWysokinski** » 2012-03-26 22:17

Being a new owner of the Slipsik 5.1 I must say that I like it a lot. It's refined, detailed, smooth and with deep and fast bass. It works like a charm in my setup. Well done, Frederik!

Post by **lejonklou** » 2012-03-26 22:49

Thank you, Adam!

I just learned that both Slipsik 5.1 and KINKI3 are in Stereophile's latest list of 'Recommended Components'. On the Slipsik they used a quote from the review saying that it's probably the best MM-only phono stage Michael Fremer has heard.

I'm really happy it's being so well received.