Klimax DS & Akurate DS

We use the Tune Method to evaluate performance

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Lego
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Klimax DS & Akurate DS

Post by Lego »

I listened to the Klimax DS last night,it was very impressive,it made the Akurate cd player sound clunky.The demonstration was done by Gilad,and he did a very good job.I think the Akurate DS will be out by the month it'll have the same DAC as the Klimax and you'll be able to plug in your Ikemi Thomas and use the dac;maybe..need to go someones in for a hair cut...I'll fill you in later

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Post by Lego »

Talking to Gilad and the bloke who developed the DS I think his name is Keith, i doubt Linn will be bringing out any supa dupa cd playa like the cd12 in the future.
Keith told me he wanted to make the DS a true source,so no way was he going to add a cd player or a facility to plug in an ipod !!?? no compromises please!maybe in the future it'll be wireless if the network improves big time;the Akurate (out by xmas maybe?)will be a very affordable 4000GBP :lol: and the majik ds cheaper again, and they'll all share the same DAC.I asked him if Akurate playing a master would sound better than Klimax playing wav ,he didn't know .Whats your guess guys?I think Ivors son Gila
will make a big difference to the firm, he's just like his dad: 2 Ivors in Glasgow,good grief .It was Gilad who persuaded Keith to join Linn as they used to work together so i reckon that was a good move.
The problem i have always had with all listening to cds is you are spending a good chunk of the time trying to decipher the music with the Klimax ds no effort required .
They played the Frattellis on the Akurate cd player,i thought to myself i cant stand that band.On the DS i thought these guys sound really really happy and seemed to be enjoying singing that terrible song.Tune Dem....?Leave it out mate
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Post by 9designs »

So how close do we think an Akurate DS will get to the K version, as good just no nice case !!
Will it beat my 1.1 ????
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Post by Music Lover »

Lego wrote: the Akurate (out by xmas maybe?)will be a very affordable 4000GBP :lol: and the majik ds cheaper again, and they'll all share the same DAC.
What is faKts and what is speKulation? :mrgreen:
I dont care if delivery is in Jan/Feb (ok then...Dec should be nice 8) ) but I really hope 4k Sterling is correct as it's SPOT ON :D :D
ME LIKE!
Most likely it's better than CD12
To get many sold, it should be a good step better so ALL Unidisk, Akurate CD and CD12 owners starts jumping "I just MUST buy this and that NOW"!! (quite few can stretch to a Klimax DS)
Same goes with Majik DS, so Ikemi/Majik CD owners upgrade.
In addition to this - Linn get a healthy extra revenue from CD&studiomaster downloads to ALL THE NEW DS OWNERS!

Good business, I hope they put the money back into R/D. Where is Klimax Lingo?

Lego wrote:
he's just like his dad: 2 Ivors in Glasgow,good grief .It was Gilad who persuaded Keith to join Linn as they used to work together so i reckon that was a good move.
YES for sure :mrgreen:
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Post by Lego »

I'm pretty sure they'll all have the same DAC whether the Akurate will be 4K well just have to wait and see,it wont be long,I could be wrong tho' asI did have quite a lot to drink that night!!? I bet even the majik DS will do things that no other cd player can do even the CD12 its THat fundamental.

Klimax Lingo?Ivor thinks the DS is better than the LP12 :shock: Doubt it myself.When the CD12 came out they initially thought it could be better than the LP12 .
I wont be buying the Klimax DS or the Akurate DS,I am going to start buying CDs,I've got 20 already,its taken a long time to get this digital thing sorted but the wait was worth it ....

Thanks

Lego
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Post by teatime »

Lego wrote:I am going to start buying CDs,I've got 20 already,its taken a long time to get this digital thing sorted but the wait was worth it ....
Hehehe.. you sound like me. I'm up to 40 CDs by now (vs approx 3500 LPs). ;)
The Klimax DS does make me want to listen to it though, like no other digital source has so far (except the CD12).
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Post by ThomasOK »

Linn will be publicly unveiling and demonstrating the Akurate DS on January 7th at the CES show in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. It is expected to start shipping at about that date. The price in the US will be $6850. It is possible that some of the Klimax DS dealers may have demo units of the Akurate DS previous to the unveiling.

So far I have not seen any technical documentation but the unit looks just like an Akurate Kontrol - including the front panel buttons - if the photo is to be believed. It is rumored to have the same DACs as the Klimax DS but, of course, the power supply and case are different. It is claimed that it will be the highest performing Akurate source, indicating that it will outperform the Akurate CD!
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Post by lejonklou »

Apparently the first units have already been sent out to a handful of shops. Talked to a Linn rep yesterday, who confirmed that the sound quality is "about as good as a CD12".
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Post by Broccoli »

Yes, saw one today at Tonläget in Sweden. Unfortunately I had not the time to listen to it. Price is 49.950 SEK.
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Post by poppop »

Just placed an order for one! Ill let you know how it sounds, once it arrives in the new year! I was allowed to get one for Xmas!! LOL.

Happy Xmas all!

steve.
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Post by bbyte »

Well done!

I'm still trying to shoot all 6 numbers in lotto to buy Klimax DS, Sondek CD12 and LP12. Source first...

I've seen one of the first photo of DS, and it looks a bit like all Linn stuff. My friend sad that he might put there some more leds, buttons and more cooper, alluminium and all that kind of stuff because it looks just "too simple". :)
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Post by poppop »

Thanks Bbyte.

I know, I would have prefereed to wait for the KlimaxDS - wouldnt we all!
But I jut couldnt afford one at the minute, whereas the Akurate is in reach.
IF it happens not to sound good etc. Im sure it will be something that will easily sell on. I also like to have the time to listen in my own environment with no distractions.

I have a heavily modded and tweaked Denon, cdp, which although not as "crystal" as the Akurate cdp, will be a useful reference against the DS.

Steve.
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Post by Pediatrik »

A few days ago I had the opportunity to listen to the Akurate DS and compare it with Akurate CD and Klimax DS. The rest of the system was Klimax Kontrol and Artikulat 350A with unbalanced silver interconnects. I listened to tracks with Paul Simon, Metallica, Ryan Adams, Oscar Peterson Trio and Miles Davis.

The Akurate DS is, according to Kalle at High Fidelity Stockholm, almost an Klimax DS in a Akurate case. The D/A-converter and boards are the same and the Akurate DS also plays only FLAC and WAV files. It looks like the Akurate Kontrol and on the back there are two pair of unbalanced outputs (RCA), one pair of balanced outputs, four RS232 inputs and one ethernet input.

At first I spent half an hour playing around with the Akurate DS, the PDA (Samsung) and LINN GUI. The LINN GUI is not the smoothest application I've tried, but a new version is in the pipeline.

The difference between Akurate CD and DS was obvious on every track I played. The DS was smoother and the musicians felt more in tune. The difference was increased on more "difficult" tracks where in comparison the Akurate CD was almost struggling with the tune! The leap from Akurate DS to Klimax DS was even bigger than from Akurate CD to DS. The Klimax DS was in total control of the tune and the performance felt very "live". Ironically it was also apparent that both Akurate and Klimax DS have got a more "analog" sound!

I must say that I am VERY impressed with both Akurate and Klimax DS! Unfortunately I didn't have the time to make the comparison between LP12 and Klimax DS, but it would be very interesting!
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Post by poppop »

Hi All

just agreeing with previous comments really. Got the Akurate on Xmas eve. My first comments to a couple of friends were it sounds like the treble is turned down! BUT it really is just taking that glassy edge away?

Agree, with complex metal, instead of just becoming a "noise" (some say all metal is!) it retains layers that can be followed? Sounds like the Klimax can do even better - but I just couldnt afford the extra £6K!
Tried a couple of "master" downloads from the Linn site. I just neevr imagined recorded music could sound so good! - pity I dont really like jazz/classical!! BUT if high quality downloads increase, which I guess they will through time, this sound is exceptional IMO.

The system was installed by a network specilaist - I couldnt even begin to attempt the installation. We are still working at getting the wireless/hardwired communication right but Im still just operating from a hard drive until the Infrant NAS arrives in a couple of weeks.

Im still playing with naming/ indexing which has been detailed in other posts.

Had the Akurate cd previously which was very good, there is no doubt the ds is a nice step forward.

Happy New Year.

steve.
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Post by Music Lover »

Well done Steve, enjoy!
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Post by poppop »

Hi All,

Thought Id share an interesting occurrence!

Had a friend over last week to listen to the DS. He had previously heard the same system with the Akurate cdp. While he agreed, at that time that the sound was certainly an improvement on his own system(Ikemi, 140, kolektor) it didnt inspire him to change.

When he heard the DS in the same system, he couldnt believe the difference and the fact the DS was cheaper than the cdp. So much so, he has gone off and ordered one!! LOL. He, of course, appreciates that the rest of his system will probably require an upgrade to get the wow factor. Which he is now happy to do - not very scientific I know, but the power of listening, when it sounds right to you is clear!?

Steve.
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Post by jeffrey »

Steve/poppop,

Couple of questions for you.

What preamp are you using with your DS?

Are you using the Akurate DS to distribute audio to any other rooms? As I understand the images from linn.co.uk, there is a capability to distribute to 4 zones/rooms. I have a Line Driver/Receiver configuration distributing audio from my main room (2xLK85, Kolektor, Mimik, Pekin, Keilidh, Line Driver) to my office (Majik +Sneaky Receiver, Kan). If I bought an A.DS I'd want to duplicate that setup.

Thanks,
Jeffrey.
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Post by poppop »

Hi Jeffrey

My pre amp is a Kinos.

At the minute Im using the DS via an Exterbal Hardrive attached to my pc and via a Netswitch to the DS.

Im awaiting delivery of the Infrant NAS. It is then my intention to run from NAS via netswitch to DS and also to 2 squeezeboxes in other rooms?

How to integrate properly with a knekt system Im not sure, but Im certain there will be others on this forum who could advise.

steve.
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Post by jeffrey »

How is the Linn DS interface working with your music archive? Does it get in your way of enjoying the music or does it enhance your experience?

I'd love to see the Klimax DS or Akurate DS ship with a handheld remote like the one shown with the new Squeezebox Duet.
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Post by poppop »

Jeffrey,

I know there have been a number of comments about how poor Linn gui and the remote actually work. I cant comment in relation to other remotes or gear as I ave no direct experience.

In practice once the "playlist" is selected on GUI which can either be individual track or complete genres etc. The remote can then be used to play the 10, 20, 30 etc tracks you have selected. The tracks can only be selected on the remote by number or froward/back as with a cd.
Its not possible to save playlists on GUI, therefore each list is cleared before building another. So, not great - especially as my pc is along one end of the house up a flight of stairs! LOL.

However, once I get the NAS installed and overcome the glitch with the laptop and pda, it will be great because gui will be "with me" and Im sure as others have stated on other forums Ill listen and select many tracks that I dont listen to as a cd collection. So, for me, using gui directly is fine.

Each time I use the pc I rip about half a dozen cd's.

steve.
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Post by Moomintroll »

As far as I can see, there would be no point in Linn producing a controller for the DS - you can use any uPnP control device. For instance, the Nokia N800 Internet tablet using the Media Streamer software, which, incidentally, looks very similar to the Linn GUI. The Linn GUI is "only" for those who wish to use a Windows device (laptop, PC, UMPC etc) to act as a controller. The main use of the controller is simply to build the current playlist and, optionally, skip or pause tracks. If you have a Kontrol connected via RS232, you should also be able to change volume via the controller, otherwise you'd have to use the pre-amps remote.

'Troll (Klimax DS arriving next week)
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Post by Moomintroll »

Have you also noticed that Linn are now recommending Ripstation MicroDS to rip CDs instead of EAC? A download is available at http://www.linn.co.uk/ds_software MicroDS seems to be twice as fast as EAC.

'Troll
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Post by poppop »

'Troll

You obviosuly feel that the Klimax DS is worth the extra spend in comparison to the Akurate DS. Im convinced the Akurate DS is a fair move forward from the cdp.

Can you just give a flavour of the further improvements that the Klimax DS brings? Im avoiding the Klimax DS as its just not on the budget sheet at present!

Thanks.
steve.
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Post by Charlie1 »

Has anyone had the opportunity to properly Tune Dem either the Akurate or Klimax DS against an LP12SE?
Whilst I've heard the Klimax DS, It was only for a few minutes. It was very impressive and seemed similar in tunefulness to the Sondek, so I would love to know how they compare in a proper Tune Dem.

Personally, I've never been able to properly relax when listening to digital, but I think Linn is really moving things on at the moment. I also heard the Akurate CD a short while back and must admit that I thought it was very musically engaging. I should admit that I have never heard the CD12 by the way :(
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Post by Moomintroll »

Poppup,

I haven't heard the Akurate DS, so can't comment. Once I'd decided I wanted the Klimax, that was it. Sources that I trust tell me that the Klimax is an even bigger step on from the Akurate than the Akurate is from the Akurate/Unidisk cdp. As you'd hope for the price?

'Troll[/quote]
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