Akubarik

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Akubarik

Post by rowlandhills »

Not sure if people here have noticed this:

http://news.linn.co.uk/news/2013/03/int ... ng-for.php

Just a bit of a teaser at the moment, but there's an image of the full speaker floating around somewhere too. Apparently it's going to cost 19840 Euros, and I assume is aktiv judging by this quote:
Akurate DSM plus Akubarik is all you need to enjoy exceptional performance from a beautifully simple music system
If anyone knows more I'm sure we'd all love to hear it.
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Post by Rufus McDufus »

I'm a teeny bit underwhelmed. Unless it has a step forward in amplification then I'm guessing it's Akurate level amps which aren't terrifically exciting. The Majik Iso doesn't seem to have set the world on fire either. The exciting detail may be in the crossovers. The 3K array looks familiar and perhaps a tad on the old fashioned side. Sorry for being so negative but I was hoping for a bit more. I hope to be proven very wrong on its sound quality!
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Post by ThomasOK »

You might find the end of this page interesting:

http://www.hifiharrastajat.org/foorumi/ ... ews/page17

My understanding is that the Akubarik will initially be shipping only as a fully Aktiv system. While I would expect the amps to basicallyy be Akurate level, Linn is claiming definite improvements in having the crossover and amplifier circuits all integrated on one board. This would get rid of the maze of connecting cables and pins involved in going Aktiv with 4200s (or indeed inside the K350s) and should lead to improved performance. It is also highly likely that it incorporates Linn's digital crossover technology which a Linn engineer told me would musically exceed the quality of Klimax Tuneboxes. The digital crossover would also give the ability of having it updated if needed for driver or other improvements - although I don't know how much user adjustability it has. The Akubarik uses a bottom mounted 8" Isobarik woofer system which combined with Aktiv drive should allow it to go quite low with a lot of power. The proven 3K Array as used in the Klimax and Akurate speakers is combined with a midbass unit (it looks like something in the 5" range) to blend it with the Isobarik bass system.

It was rumored to me that the Akubarik would be around twice the price of the 242s and is not designed to replace them but as a step up. I have also heard that a passive version with Aktiv bass (like the K350P) is a possibility a month or two down the road. We'll see how much more info is in the official announcement.
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Post by Rufus McDufus »

A bargain compared with going fully Aktiv with 242s! I like the curved cabinet and the stand/bass driver design too. Still slightly surprised the 3K array appears unchanged after so many years.
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Post by Music Lover »

Rufus McDufus wrote:A bargain compared with going fully Aktiv with 242s! I like the curved cabinet and the stand/bass driver design too. Still slightly surprised the 3K array appears unchanged after so many years.
Bargain, impossible to say before comparing with other options imho.

3K is a good design and enhanced over the years but I would have preferred a simpler solution.
It's still a 5 way speaker when Ovator is 2-way and many great speakers are 3-way.
It's all about musical understanding!
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Post by Charlie1 »

Image
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Post by rowlandhills »

Those look nice Charlie. Apparently the posts at the bottom only come in chrome, otherwise I think a pair of those with black arrays and black posts would look fab!
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Post by ThomasOK »

Yeah, it looks like you will have to make or paint your own black posts if you want the Darth Vader/Stealth/bling-free version of the Akubarik.

As to the 3K array, I was fully expecting it. It is obvious that Linn have really based their speaker line identity around 4K/3K/2K arrays and having a supertweeter. Interestingly another speaker company I talked to that uses supertweeters in SOME models only uses them in truly full range models. They claim that if the speaker doesn't do the lowest bass there is little advantage in doing the highest treble. That seems like an old idea come back as I recall one of the big Cambridge (US) speaker manufacturers (I don't remember whether Acoustic Research or KLH but I think the former) stating in their lit that a speaker's lows and highs should be balanced with models with extended bass requiring extended highs but those with limited bass sounding best with limited highs as well. Interesting theories anyway.

However, it is incorrect to say it is the same 3K array after all these years. When the Klimax series speakers grew out of the Artikulat Philip Hobbs completely redesigned the 3K Array. One of the drivers (I think the tweeter) had gone out of production and since he had to replace it he went ahead and replaced the supertweeter which he had never liked in the first place. In addition to replacing two out of three drivers with improved versions, Linn tightened up the specs on the array so it was no longer necessary to hand select them. In the days of the Artikulat the best 3K arrays went into the Artikulat and the lesser ones went into the Akurate Mk1s. With the Klimax and Akurate Mk11 speakers the 3K arrays are of the same quality. So definitely not your grandfather's 3K array.

But this brings up an interesting thought. If the Akubariks have the same 3K array covering most of the frequency range, with an equal quality midbass that appears to be around a 5" unit and 8" Isobarik bass system then driver wise it is close to the same compliment in K350. But the Akubarik is said to have an improvement in terms of the crossovers and amplifiers all built onto one board which should give improved performance. As anybody who has tried to optimize the wiring looms in an AK4200 or in the K350A amplifier module knows, removing all that wiring can't help but improve things. So, theoretically, the Akubarik could be a more musical performer than the K350 with similat bass extension. (There is, of course, the question of dual 8" servo bass units vs. a dual 8" Isobarik system with both actively driven - which we really won't know the answer to until the Akubariks are released into the wild.)

To me the thing this all hinges on is the musical quality of the digital crossover. While I don't believe Linn has yet said it is a digital crossover, there are two things that make me pretty sure it is. One is that Linn told me they were working on a digital crossover system as a replacement for the existing analog ones (including the Klimax Tuneboxes) and that we would be seeing that technology very soon. I wouldn't be surprised if the next product announcement we get from Linn is the standalone version configurable for virtually any Linn speaker. The other is the fact that the amplifier and crossover are on one monolithic board. Think of what a problem this would cause if they decided to redesign one of the drivers or wanted to retune the bass crossover after additional testing? (Nah, couldn't be! Linn never makes Mk2 or Mk3 speakers!) With an analog crossover they would have to replace the whole crossover/amp board to do the update (as all the crossover boards are replaced in the Artikulat to Klimax upgrade). But with a digital crossover they just reprogram it for the new parameters. So the digital crossover is, in some ways, the biggest unknown about the Akubarik. If, as Linn has said, it is musically superior to the Klimax Tuneboxes then we have better crossovers with a shorter, cleaner signal path on the amp/crossover boards and roughly equivalent drivers compared to the K350s. Should make for some interesting comparisons.
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Post by lunch »

There something I don't quite get: does digital crossover imply that the Akubarik needs a digital input rather than analog? If so, won't that exclude a lot of Linn gear being used with the speaker? Certainly my KDS/KK1 as they don't have any digital outs...
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Post by Rufus McDufus »

lunch wrote:There something I don't quite get: does digital crossover imply that the Akubarik needs a digital input rather than analog? If so, won't that exclude a lot of Linn gear being used with the speaker? Certainly my KDS/KK1 as they don't have any digital outs...
Well it would have to imply A->D->A in the speaker. Unless the speaker has digital inputs as well as analogue and this is all part of a fiendish masterplan to output digital from future DSes.

Hrrm - possible isn't it?
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Post by Rufus McDufus »

Been searching for decent resolution pictures of the back of the speaker. This is the best I can find but it clearly shows just an XLR input.

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=nyxkxt&s=6
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Post by lunch »

Same as Klimax speakers then, hopefully. Thanks.
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Post by CJ1045 »

Rufus, good pic, not only can you see the connectors but also the diagram above confirms your analysis.

Would be VERY interesting if it is doing Analogue to Digtial to Analogue conversion. Clearly the Kiko is already doing this.

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Post by sunbeamgls »

Music Lover wrote: 3K is a good design and enhanced over the years but I would have preferred a simpler solution.
It's still a 5 way speaker when Ovator is 2-way and many great speakers are 3-way.
But its possible to both listen to the 3K array speakers AND enjoy music on them. Can't say the Ovators fit into either of those categories.

Naim electronics can sound great with speakers such as Kudos, ProAc, but I've heard all the Ovators (some of the more than once) and I just don't get them at all.
KSH/0; KEBox/2; 3x Tundra Stereo 2.5; PMC fact.12. Blogger. Exakt Design. SO measuring.
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Post by rowlandhills »

Interesting to read that the aktiv filters have 0.5dB increments.
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Post by ThomasOK »

Taking a bit of a read through these documents a couple of things become obvious. One will make most of us happier, the other will not be welcome to some (Music Lover among others).

The Aktiv crossover on the Akubariks allows .5dB adjustments on the 3K array drivers (1dB shelving control and roll on adjustment on the Isobarik bass drivers). However, Linn notes that these are set at the factory for flattest response and shouldn't need adjustment unless a 3K array is replaced in servicing the unit. They specifically mention that the settings might be different between two speakers in a pair and, if this is the case, they should NOT be set the same. In the photos for the crossover controls on the top of the amp assembly (with cover removed) and of the connector panel at the bottom there is no sign of any kind of computer port for uploading changes to the crossover so I still wonder whether the crossover is digital or analog.

The other thing of interest is that the Isobarik bass system is indeed ported as is the Majik Isobarik. Whether one or two ports I can't say but it definitely is ported behind the Isobarik drivers.

A couple of interesting specs:

6" midbass driver (so it might be a unique driver to the Akubarik)
Dual 8" Isobarik bass drivers
Crossover frequencies: 110 Hz, 318 Hz, 3.6 kHz, 9.84 kHz
Rated frequency response: 28 Hz – 20+ kHz
1 x 200W amp for Isobarik drivers, 4 x 100W amps for the rest

Interestingly the amplifier gain is 22.6dB, noticeably less than separate Linn amps. Physically it is a little, but not much, bigger than the 242 at a volume of 44 liters.
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Post by anthony »

ThomasOK wrote:Taking a bit of a read through these documents a couple of things become obvious. One will make most of us happier, the other will not be welcome to some (Music Lover among others).

The Aktiv crossover on the Akubariks allows .5dB adjustments on the 3K array drivers (1dB shelving control and roll on adjustment on the Isobarik bass drivers). However, Linn notes that these are set at the factory for flattest response and shouldn't need adjustment unless a 3K array is replaced in servicing the unit. They specifically mention that the settings might be different between two speakers in a pair and, if this is the case, they should NOT be set the same. In the photos for the crossover controls on the top of the amp assembly (with cover removed) and of the connector panel at the bottom there is no sign of any kind of computer port for uploading changes to the crossover so I still wonder whether the crossover is digital or analog.

The other thing of interest is that the Isobarik bass system is indeed ported as is the Majik Isobarik. Whether one or two ports I can't say but it definitely is ported behind the Isobarik drivers.

A couple of interesting specs:

6" midbass driver (so it might be a unique driver to the Akubarik)
Dual 8" Isobarik bass drivers
Crossover frequencies: 110 Hz, 318 Hz, 3.6 kHz, 9.84 kHz
Rated frequency response: 28 Hz – 20+ kHz
1 x 200W amp for Isobarik drivers, 4 x 100W amps for the rest

Interestingly the amplifier gain is 22.6dB, noticeably less than separate Linn amps. Physically it is a little, but not much, bigger than the 242 at a volume of 44 liters.
Is the gain 22.6dB due to a balanced i/p?
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Post by Spannko »

ThomasOK wrote:Taking a bit of a read through these documents a couple of things become obvious. One will make most of us happier, the other will not be welcome to some (Music Lover among others).

The Aktiv crossover on the Akubariks allows .5dB adjustments on the 3K array drivers (1dB shelving control and roll on adjustment on the Isobarik bass drivers). However, Linn notes that these are set at the factory for flattest response and shouldn't need adjustment unless a 3K array is replaced in servicing the unit. They specifically mention that the settings might be different between two speakers in a pair and, if this is the case, they should NOT be set the same. In the photos for the crossover controls on the top of the amp assembly (with cover removed) and of the connector panel at the bottom there is no sign of any kind of computer port for uploading changes to the crossover so I still wonder whether the crossover is digital or analog.

The other thing of interest is that the Isobarik bass system is indeed ported as is the Majik Isobarik. Whether one or two ports I can't say but it definitely is ported behind the Isobarik drivers.

A couple of interesting specs:

6" midbass driver (so it might be a unique driver to the Akubarik)
Dual 8" Isobarik bass drivers
Crossover frequencies: 110 Hz, 318 Hz, 3.6 kHz, 9.84 kHz
Rated frequency response: 28 Hz – 20+ kHz
1 x 200W amp for Isobarik drivers, 4 x 100W amps for the rest

Interestingly the amplifier gain is 22.6dB, noticeably less than separate Linn amps. Physically it is a little, but not much, bigger than the 242 at a volume of 44 liters.
From the pictures I've seen on the Linn website, it's a two ported design like the Majik Isobarik
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Post by ThomasOK »

anthony wrote: Is the gain 22.6dB due to a balanced i/p?
Makes sense to me. I should have thought of that.
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Post by matthias »

ThomasOK wrote: 6" midbass driver (so it might be a unique driver to the Akubarik)
Possibly the midbass driver of the Majik Isobarik ?
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Post by anthony »

matthias wrote:
ThomasOK wrote: 6" midbass driver (so it might be a unique driver to the Akubarik)
Possibly the midbass driver of the Majik Isobarik ?
The 6" upper bass is a new design for the Akubarik.

Otherdevelopements include new crossovers with improved phase response alignment.
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Post by Azazello »

I feel almost prepared to say that I'll eat my systems mains cables if this "akubarik" is better than passive 242 with 2200...
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Post by Charlie1 »

Azazello wrote:I feel almost prepared to say that I'll eat my systems mains cables if this "akubarik" is better than passive 242 with 2200...
A senior Linn engineer quoted the following on the Linn forum today:

"Although on the face of it is looks easy - 3K array, curved cabinet, Miso bass system, active amp - we have done all this before.... but it is all new! Ground up design. The crossover, the cabinet construction, the thermal cooling of the amp, the boards, etc, etc."

I've heard a report from outside the UK that they are better than 350As, but that's all so far.

Still, you could well be right Azazello.
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