Dynamik in Radikal and Uphorik

ThomasOK · Post by **ThomasOK** » 2011-03-17 18:53

Charlie1 wrote:Would be great to know what you think of the upgrade Tony :) I heard the bass keeps in time better with the rest, in a similar way to the Lingo3 over Lingo2. I can only presume the Lingo3 also has the new Miniline2 - anyone know for sure?

Quite odd this delay between the Klimax Radikal getting the new PSU and Akurate Radikal. Linn confirmed November last year, so why take 4 months to introduce it into the Akurate? Do you think they wanted to sell off already constructed ARs with the old chassis? Or maybe ensure recent Klilmax Radikal purchasers couldn't complain and ask for a discount off the new PSU?

The Lingo 3 does not use a switch mode power supply - it has a conventional toroidal transformer like all previous Lingos.

I don't know why the difference in introduction of the Dynamik to the Klimax Radikal but would guess that they either were ramping up production of the power supplies or they wanted to make the change at the same time as the new casework and weren't quite ready for that change at the time.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » 2011-03-17 20:02

I installed a Klimax Radikal a week ago. It replaced a Akurate Radikal. At the same time I swapped the Urika for a new one with the new tone arm connector.
I haven't done the comparison between AR and KR prior the upgrade but from what I've been told the difference has been obvious but still small.
The KR/D is much better than my previous Radikal. And the installation isn't very akkurate as I did it without a torque wrenche. I will do it properly this weekend but my initial experience is very positive.
I use my KDS as a reality check/reference.

/Erik

Music Lover · Post by **Music Lover** » 2011-03-17 21:32

Tony Tune-age wrote: However, there could have been a desire by Linn to sell off the original Akurate Radikals first...it's hard to know for certain. Perhaps in time we'll have more information regarding this issue.

As Linn only make units after getting an order (=no stock), this is a rather unlikely scenario.

rock&roll · Post by **rock&roll** » 2011-03-18 01:15

ThomasOK wrote:Quite odd this delay between the Klimax Radikal getting the new PSU and Akurate Radikal. Linn confirmed November last year, so why take 4 months to introduce it into the Akurate? Do you think they wanted to sell off already constructed ARs with the old chassis? Or maybe ensure recent Klilmax Radikal purchasers couldn't complain and ask for a discount off the new PSU?

I suppose that this lead-in time was to carry out all safety regulations test in Europe and US markets. In Klimax Radikal there was only power supply changed, but both Uphorik and Akurate Radikal would be entirely new product with new casework and power supply. When there was first information about the upgrade - I wanted to order first Dynamik for my personal Klimax Radikal. But for my suprise... it was already installed at the factory in November. Let's treat this as a late, but very nice birthday gift. :)

Charlie1 · Post by **Charlie1** » 2011-03-18 09:38

rock&roll wrote:I suppose that this lead-in time was to carry out all safety regulations test in Europe and US markets. In Klimax Radikal there was only power supply changed, but both Uphorik and Akurate Radikal would be entirely new product with new casework and power supply.

That makes sense. Never crossed my mind. Should have though of that from my days working for a manufacturer.

You timed your purchase just right there R&R.

rock&roll · Post by **rock&roll** » 2011-03-18 09:57

Charlie1 wrote:You timed your purchase just right there R&R.

And that power supply would make such a difference between Klimax and Akurate Radikal units that I've heard. :)

ThomasOK · Post by **ThomasOK** » 2011-03-18 18:37

rock&roll wrote:
ThomasOK wrote:Quite odd this delay between the Klimax Radikal getting the new PSU and Akurate Radikal. Linn confirmed November last year, so why take 4 months to introduce it into the Akurate? Do you think they wanted to sell off already constructed ARs with the old chassis? Or maybe ensure recent Klilmax Radikal purchasers couldn't complain and ask for a discount off the new PSU?
I suppose that this lead-in time was to carry out all safety regulations test in Europe and US markets. In Klimax Radikal there was only power supply changed, but both Uphorik and Akurate Radikal would be entirely new product with new casework and power supply. When there was first information about the upgrade - I wanted to order first Dynamik for my personal Klimax Radikal. But for my suprise... it was already installed at the factory in November. Let's treat this as a late, but very nice birthday gift. :)

That all makes sense. However, the quote you attributed to me above is really from Charlie1 - I just quoted it in my original reply.

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-03-23 18:36

There have been some comments from various individuals regarding how the new Dynamik power supply sounds in the Akurate Radikal. The term was "gobsmacking :!: "

I'm guessing that's a positive statement :?: Although I'm not really sure how to quantify that statement 8) .

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-05-02 18:26

Here are a few pictures of the new Linn Dynamik power supply being installed into my Akurate Radikal. The original Radikal power supply is green and the new Linn Dynamik is blue.

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-05-02 18:39

ThomasOK has several torque measurements for the Radikal, the five screws for the circuit board, four screws for the XLR sockets, three screws for the power supply cover, and two screws for the actual power supply itself, for a total of fourteen screws.

He didn't just tighten them up, he used a specific number and we all listened to how the torque measurements impacted the sonic performance in a positive fashion.

Also, the new Dynamik improve the Urika phono preamplifier, which was installed at the same time. And we listened to the Urika before and after the Dynamik power supply.

Here are a few pictures of the Urika being installed.

Post by **lejonklou** » 2011-05-02 19:05

Cool!

And how does it sound?

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-05-02 20:18

lejonklou wrote:Cool!

And how does it sound?

Actually, I'm still in shock...it sounds great! Can't believe how much improvement the Dynamik and Urika have made in my system!

Post by **lejonklou** » 2011-05-03 23:58

I can imagine that!

As I've decided to try ( after all, it depends on how costly future upgrades will be) keeping my LP12 in top spec apart from using an Adikt, I will probably go down the Radikal/D and new Mogami T kable road. Quite excited to hear what those two will do.

For a couple of weeks in March, I used a Klyde MC cartridge. Nice! Then for another couple of weeks, I used an Akiva. I knew this was going to be a risky move for my ears, as I've decided to keep away from expensive MC carts. I like to play records at a low cost per hour and not be afraid if anyone else is handling the turntable. But I had decided to fine tune my new MC preamp prototype and needed to try it with these two cartridges.

The Akiva is by far the best cartridge that I've heard, it's so much more musical than anything else I've had on my LP12 - or heard on other LP12's. Magical! Now I'm back on the Adikt and it's taken me a couple of days to readjust, but it's actually going better than I expected. A Dynamik on the Radikal will probably help me to once again forget the Akiva. :)

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-05-04 01:53

lejonklou wrote:I can imagine that!

As I've decided to try ( after all, it depends on how costly future upgrades will be) keeping my LP12 in top spec apart from using an Adikt, I will probably go down the Radikal/D and new Mogami T kable road. Quite excited to hear what those two will do.

For a couple of weeks in March, I used a Klyde MC cartridge. Nice! Then for another couple of weeks, I used an Akiva. I knew this was going to be a risky move for my ears, as I've decided to keep away from expensive MC carts. I like to play records at a low cost per hour and not be afraid if anyone else is handling the turntable. But I had decided to fine tune my new MC preamp prototype and needed to try it with these two cartridges.

The Akiva is by far the best cartridge that I've heard, it's so much more musical than anything else I've had on my LP12 - or heard on other LP12's. Magical! Now I'm back on the Adikt and it's taken me a couple of days to readjust, but it's actually going better than I expected. A Dynamik on the Radikal will probably help me to once again forget the Akiva. :)

There was a time when I only wanted a moving magnet cartridge, for several reasons. The stylus can be easily replaced for a very reasonable cost (compared to replacing moving coil cartridges). Plus, phono preamplifiers for moving magnets are more reasonably priced as well. As for the sonic characteristics, some moving magnet cartridges come very close to the performance of the better moving coils, and perform much better than many of the cheaper moving coils.

I do appreciate and respect your approach to phono cartridges, and I wish I had known about your products long before I ventured into the moving coil arena.

Your news interests me, I would like to learn more about your new moving coil phono preamplifier prototype...plus I hope it turns out the way you expect! The first really good moving coil cartridge I used was the Linn Klyde, and it sounded great...at least in my opinion.

However, the performance of my Sondek is so nice currently, that it would be very tough to for me to change...at least any time soon! And since the Urika has been installed, that will essentially keep me (financially) in the Linn moving coil game for some time.

ThomasOK · Post by **ThomasOK** » 2011-05-04 23:09

Well, after a long wait, caused by confusion at the North American distributor, I finally received my new Akurate Radikal with Dynamik power supply. And to start of with all I can say is WOW! Now of course the Radikal isn't burned in yet but even out of the box it flattens the non-Dynamik Radikal I've been using since they came out. I knew there was supposed to be a big improvement but I really was not expecting this much. Charlie1 is right with the comment that the bass keeps better time with the rest but that way understates things. The bass on the Radikal/D is So much better than anything I have heard in a Hi-Fi system before that I am still surprised by it on any record with decent bass. Acoustic bass sounds so much more present, the resonance of the body, the vibrations of the strings, the touch of the fingers of the musician, the richness of the harmonics and the sheer rightness of the notes (tunefulness, timing,structure) is so much more like live music than what I am used to from a Hi-Fi system. And this is all with my subwoofer disconnected. Way better bass with the Dynamik and no sub than with the sub and no Dynamik.

And the bass was only the most immediately noticeable improvement. The Dynamik in the Radikal was such a big performance boost it was almost like getting another two thirds of what the Radikal did all over again. Everything flows more effortlessly, the vinyl is much more quiet yet again (we could hear the improvement as soon as the stylus dropped into the lead in groove), all the instruments sound better played and of higher quality and there is that improved sense of ease of the best upgrades.

Let me put it another way for those familiar with the Harmoni racks. It has been said that an ADS sounds better on a Mimer than a KDS does on the floor and I certainly know that the rack can make a huge improvement as I mentioned in my posts on the improvements I hear from the Mimer. Well, I had set up my Harmoni rack with an Oden on the top and Mimer just below it to allow me to do some more comparisons (which I will post when I have done them). When I first connected up the new Akurate Radikal I had it on the Oden just for convenience. After warming it up I connected the old Radikal on the Mimer and played a bit of a Jazz track. Then I connected the new unit and played it again. It sounded amazing! The improvement made by the Dynamik in the new Radikal totally overwhelmed the difference the Mimer makes over the Oden. Putting the new Radikal on the Mimer was even better but that improvement was again small compared to the Dynamik!

Another example of the power of the Dynamik/Radikal was shown when I wnet to do a demo for a customer of the Mimer vs. a Quadraspire Q4 using the KK/1/D. I used the piece of music I had for the comparison I wrote about in the Harmonihyllan thread where the subtle shifts of timing the pianist was making were removed completely when the KK was placed on the Q4. Unfortunately the demo was less impressive for my customer because the Radikal/D made the timing shifts so obvious that it overwhelmed the Q4's ability to remove them! You could now hear those subtle shifts on the Q4, you could just hear them, and all the other musical information, better on the Mimer.

So no doubt the Dynamik on the Radikal is excellent value for money and you should run - not walk - to your Linn dealer and get one on order! I knew from many other Dynamik installations what a Dynamik could do and I know the importance of the Source first. Well this upgrade proves both of these - I feel the Dynamik on the Radikal makes a bigger improvement than I have heard it make on any other component. Some of this is probably due to the double-dip that Urika users, like myself, get from the Dynamik but the commentary from all those out there without Urikas is that it is still a huge improvement to just the motor. I am quite sure it is as I really can't believe that the kind of improvements I am hearing could possibly come from a Urika upgrade. Vinyl has yet been taken to a whole new level. Others are commenting that it is like listening to a master tape on a great open reel deck. Whatever descriptions or adjectives you want to use, a fully blown LP12 brings music into the home like nothing else I have ever heard. What a wonderful time to have a big record collection! I'm afraid my MDS is likely to get even less use than it was already getting - it has justification for feeling ignored!

ThomasOK · Post by **ThomasOK** » 2011-05-04 23:30

lejonklou wrote:Then for another couple of weeks, I used an Akiva. I knew this was going to be a risky move for my ears, as I've decided to keep away from expensive MC carts. I like to play records at a low cost per hour and not be afraid if anyone else is handling the turntable. But I had decided to fine tune my new MC preamp prototype and needed to try it with these two cartridges.

The Akiva is by far the best cartridge that I've heard, it's so much more musical than anything else I've had on my LP12 - or heard on other LP12's. Magical! Now I'm back on the Adikt and it's taken me a couple of days to readjust, but it's actually going better than I expected. A Dynamik on the Radikal will probably help me to once again forget the Akiva. :)

Never! How can you forget that magical night! Come on, Fredrik! You brought it out on a public forum so you know I can't let you get away with this!

I mean, we know that you are the King of the MM and that has certainly lead you to make some fine phono stages for them. But everybody needs a little Magic in their lives! And how will you ever make a world-beating preamp if you can't hear what it really sounds like? You NEED an Akiva as an evaluation tool! It is a business expense. ;-)

And that excuse about low cost per hour of playback just doesn't cut it. I believe that your typical Akiva should last a good 2000 hours of play, possibly more. So lets look at the cost. An Akiva sells for $3610US but a chunk of that is the cost of acquisition so we won't count the full amount. When yours wears out you get a replacement for $2400US so I'll use that as the cost of use. So we have $2400 divided by 2000 hours which gives us $1.20 per hour of use. With the typical record being 45 minutes then we have $.90 per record. Don't you think that a little under $1.00 per record is a fair price to pay for a magical experience?

Come on, you know you want it! Go with the gusto! Feel the burn! Seize the day! Get yourself some magic! Now, before it's too late! ;-)

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-05-05 01:35

One of my friends just told me on Monday, that my Sondek sounds very much like a master tape recording. All of the descriptions made by ThomasOK are basically what others are saying regarding the Radikal and Dynamik power supply.

I made a statement on another forum, that the Radikal with Dynamik power supply and Urika might be the wisest purchase and best sonic performance overall in my system. Although some of the other upgrades (i.e., Movingui plinth, Keel, Ekos, Akiva and proper torque adjustments) are contributing to the Sondek performance also.

At this point, it will be very hard for me to spend any "real money" on digital components!

Charlie1 · Post by **Charlie1** » 2011-05-05 09:43

ThomasOK wrote:So we have $2400 divided by 2000 hours which gives us $1.20 per hour of use. With the typical record being 45 minutes then we have $.90 per record. Don't you think that a little under $1.00 per record is a fair price to pay for a magical experience?

HOW MUCH!

Time to get my old tape deck down from the loft and record each new LP. Could save a fortune :O)

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-05-05 12:22

Charlie1 wrote:
ThomasOK wrote:So we have $2400 divided by 2000 hours which gives us $1.20 per hour of use. With the typical record being 45 minutes then we have $.90 per record. Don't you think that a little under $1.00 per record is a fair price to pay for a magical experience?
HOW MUCH!

Time to get my old tape deck down from the loft and record each new LP. Could save a fortune :O)

It's been so long since I've used my tape deck that it would need some maintenance in order to function properly ! ! !

Post by **lejonklou** » 2011-05-11 18:15

ThomasOK wrote:Come on, Fredrik! You brought it out on a public forum so you know I can't let you get away with this!

Sorry for my late reply to this. You probably thought you'd get away with your violent MC-assault. Not so.

ThomasOK wrote:And that excuse about low cost per hour of playback just doesn't cut it. I believe that your typical Akiva should last a good 2000 hours of play, possibly more. So lets look at the cost.

Ok, so you pay a dollar per record for Akiva wear and you think that's a bargain. Well, that's one way of seeing it. Let me present another one.

First of all, let's assume funds are limited. Mine are. If they weren't, we didn't need to argue, just go out and buy the best every time. With limited funds, the question is how to optimally spend the available funds. My suggestion is this:

Place a piggy bank next to the turntable and pay a dollar for each record you play. When the stylus wears out, get a new one - for the Adikt cartridge you're already using. Then spend all the remaining dollars on the latest turntable improvements, the ones that have been released while you were busy playing records. Because rest assured, after a year or two, there will be upgrades available, either to your LP12 or your phono stage.

Apart from this brilliant idea, which I expect will permanently annihilate your insidious MC assault, I wasn't surprised that you completely ignored my wish to let others handle my turntable. This I can, while staying extraordinarily calm, with an Adikt. I can also check whether it's time for a stylus replacement in, hmm let's see, about 1 minute. Yet another bonus for those of us who are wise enough to stay on the sound(!) MM track.

ThomasOK · Post by **ThomasOK** » 2011-05-11 20:33

I didn't mean to ignore your wish to let others use the LP12, I just forgot to counter-argue that point at the time. Debbie handles my LP12 all the time - no problem. She prefers to use the cueing device as opposed to my hand cueing but we've had no mishaps. Jake prefers to not touch my Hi-Fi at all and listens to music in his room (I've never seen any reason to complain about this choice ;-). In all my years of MC usage starting with the Asak through Karma, Troika, Arkiv A and Akiva I have only had one stylus killed by mishap - the Karma which was killed by my stepdaughter. While I wasn't totally happy about the unexpected outlay it did give me the necessary excuse to upgrade to the Troika which I enjoyed for many a year.

Besides, that's what house insurance is for. I have one customer who has personally broken two Arkivs (yeah, he is a bit clumsy). In both cases he had the insurance cover it as it was accidental damage. The insurance company smilingly paid the cost of the replacement cartridges. The most recent time (a few years ago) they paid the full price for the replacement Akiva and told him not to worry about the replacement credit which he was able to pocket. That's what I call turning circumstances to your favor!

As to your piggy bank scheme "permanently annihilating my insidious MC assault" I'm afraid I don't give up quite so easily. I suggest you do put a piggy bank next to your LP12 and put in a dollar each time you play a record. When you are about to put your second stylus on the Adikt count up your money and use it for an Akiva. After all, sooner or later Linn have to run out of upgrades for the LP12 (and the most often rumored next one is an upgraded Akiva anyway). They did go for quite some period without upgrades a while back - from around 1992 with the new top plate post, Ekos 2, Trampolin and the Cirkus components to the Keel, Ekos SE and Trampolin 2 in 2007. So all that piggy bank money could be put to bring the "magic" of the Akiva into the system.

Need to optimally allocate the funds? Sell the AK, buy a Kikkin 2.2 (I know the manufacturer and I'm sure he'll give you a really good price ;-) and get your Akiva - source first!

Post by **lejonklou** » 2011-05-12 21:44

ThomasOK wrote:Well, after a long wait, caused by confusion at the North American distributor, I finally received my new Akurate Radikal with Dynamik power supply. And to start of with all I can say is WOW!

I have listened to it today and the only thing I can add is YES! No Urika connected, just original Radikal against a new one. An absolutely wonderful comparison, and I simply can't get into my head how a power supply for a unit that drives a DC motor (stuffed in foam and driving the platter with a rubber belt) can do this. Amazing.

And let me add that upgrading to an MC cartridge before driving your LP12 with a Radikal/D is madness. This is Source First once again surprising me with its consistency.

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-05-13 12:53

lejonklou wrote:I have listened to it today and the only thing I can add is YES! No Urika connected, just original Radikal against a new one. An absolutely wonderful comparison, and I simply can't get into my head how a power supply for a unit that drives a DC motor (stuffed in foam and driving the platter with a rubber belt) can do this. Amazing.

And let me add that upgrading to an MC cartridge before driving your LP12 with a Radikal/D is madness. This is Source First once again surprising me with its consistency.

For the money, and in my opinion, the new Linn Dynamik power supplies are a high value item, which provides great performance for a very reasonable price. And they seem to make a larger improvement for way less money than the Naim power supplies I've heard.

ThomasOK · Post by **ThomasOK** » 2011-05-13 13:25

lejonklou wrote:
ThomasOK wrote:Well, after a long wait, caused by confusion at the North American distributor, I finally received my new Akurate Radikal with Dynamik power supply. And to start of with all I can say is WOW!
I have listened to it today and the only thing I can add is YES! No Urika connected, just original Radikal against a new one. An absolutely wonderful comparison, and I simply can't get into my head how a power supply for a unit that drives a DC motor (stuffed in foam and driving the platter with a rubber belt) can do this. Amazing.

And let me add that upgrading to an MC cartridge before driving your LP12 with a Radikal/D is madness. This is Source First once again surprising me with its consistency.

I am in 100% agreement with both statements made above.

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-05-13 13:58

ThomasOK wrote:
lejonklou wrote:
ThomasOK wrote:Well, after a long wait, caused by confusion at the North American distributor, I finally received my new Akurate Radikal with Dynamik power supply. And to start of with all I can say is WOW!
I have listened to it today and the only thing I can add is YES! No Urika connected, just original Radikal against a new one. An absolutely wonderful comparison, and I simply can't get into my head how a power supply for a unit that drives a DC motor (stuffed in foam and driving the platter with a rubber belt) can do this. Amazing.

And let me add that upgrading to an MC cartridge before driving your LP12 with a Radikal/D is madness. This is Source First once again surprising me with its consistency.
I am in 100% agreement with both statements made above.

It could be a very long time before Linn makes any additional improvements on these items. Although ThomasOK did make an improvement by proper torque adjustments!

At this point, it would be tough to predict how they could improve upon the Dynamiked Radical and Urika.

However, many people think Linn might improve the Akiva, or create a replacement. That would be interesting...