Tightening Linn Silvers

JohnS · Post by **JohnS** » 2008-02-19 21:45

Hi,

I have a couple of pairs of Linn Silver interconnects (unbalanced), however they fit quite easily between components, you might even say loose.

The gold part on the outside edge is solid, and the inside edge has a number of 'flaps' that I guess have been pushed outwards over time.

How do you tighten them as they are on the inside? should I be concerned, is this important?

Thanks
John

Post by **lejonklou** » 2008-02-20 00:41

Hi John!

You have the old type of connectors on your Linn Silvers and IMHO you should be thankful for that. The spring loaded ground connection sounds better than the (more dynamic and impressive, but less musical) new Silver connector that has no spring.

The best sounding Linn Silver Unbalanced that I have is (I believe) the oldest original I have kept. I think it was made and bought during the first year and it still flows a little better than any of the newer Silvers I have compared it with. I have so far not heard or been able to make a pair of Silvers that sound better than the factory soldered ones (but I do think my Blacks sound better than the stock ones).

The spring can't be tightened easily. You can pry it out and bend it, but I doubt it would be any better for the sound. Perhaps the opposite. The tightness in connectors noticably affect how they sound, and it should not be too tight. Note also that the tightness of the fit depends on the size of the female connector: They vary a bit.

zeedje · Post by **zeedje** » 2008-02-20 21:53

lejonklou wrote:Hi John!

You have the old type of connectors on your Linn Silvers and IMHO you should be thankful for that. The spring loaded ground connection sounds better than the (more dynamic and impressive, but less musical) new Silver connector that has no spring.

I have made extensive test that confirms this. The older ones are definately keepers. Initially the newer sounds lively and fun but in my opinon the older ones are better in the long run. Easier to follow the tune...

/Zeedje

Music Lover · Post by **Music Lover** » 2008-02-20 23:23

I agree, the old silvers are slightly better.

sommerfee · Post by **sommerfee** » 2008-02-25 13:20

Just to get sure:

"gold part on the outside edge is solid, and the inside edge has a number of 'flaps' " => old one

"gold part on the outside edge is not solid, but has 6 gaps instead, and the inside egde has no 'flaps' " => new one

Or are there any interims versions, like "solid and no 'flaps'", as well?

Post by **lejonklou** » 2008-02-25 23:54

There are only two versions, new and old. But the sound is not identical between all old ones - or all new ones. There is some variation even when they look the same. I am talking Linn-made Silvers only, home-brewn ones can sound quite different (not in a positive way).

On the old, there is a round, gold plated copper spring inside the solid connector. Not really any "flaps".

On the new, the solid connector has 6 cuts, just like you describe it.

sommerfee · Post by **sommerfee** » 2008-05-23 16:18

Does anybody knows when Linn has introduced the new silvers?

bbyte · Post by **bbyte** » 2008-05-23 17:38

AFAIK in 2005/2006.

ThomasOK · Post by **ThomasOK** » 2008-05-23 17:45

I think it might have been later than that. The first time I saw the new Silver RCA connectors was on the first Ekos SE arms we received in March 2007. They also came in with the Klimax Kontrol I bought in May 2007 so I suspect early 2007 was when the changeover occurred. I know that products we sold in early to mid 2006 still had the older style Silver RCAs.

Music Lover · Post by **Music Lover** » 2008-05-24 06:55

fyi, I got 2 pair silver IC's in Q4 2006 and these were of the new model.

ThomasOK · Post by **ThomasOK** » 2008-05-24 15:24

Well, we seem to be zeroing in on the right time. I bought a Klimax Kontrol in Q1 2006 and it came with the old silvers so it looks like mid-2006 must have been the changeover time.

Post by **lejonklou** » 2008-05-25 21:20

Quite late in 2006 I'd say the new connector turned up.

Compared them yet, Thomas? I'd be interested in your opinion, as always.

ThomasOK · Post by **ThomasOK** » 2008-10-23 21:52

It has been a long time coming but I promised that I would post when I had done a proper A/B comparison of old and new Linn Silver unbalanced interconnects. I finally did get around to comparing both old and new Silvers that had been burned in on the Vidar machine and I agree with the others here - the older RCAs with the solid outer ring are better. I found that the newer slotted RCAs sounded in some ways more "detailed" but they seemed to do so by pushing some things forward at the expense of others. The older cables were more balanced and tuneful with a better flow as well.

I am fortunate in that my system was completely wired in the older Silvers before the new ones came out. I did, however, have the new style RCAs on the T.Kable that came with my Ekos SE. After my listening tests I also replaced the RCAs on my T.Kable with a spare pair of older style ones I had. There was a noticeable improvement in musical reproduction from this change as well. As you would expect from only changing one side of the cable the improvement was not as big but it was still worthwhile.

Post by **lejonklou** » 2008-10-24 02:23

Thanks for reporting, Thomas.

The question that remains is WHY did Linn change to the new connector? Odd move.

I had an interconnect project running for a while, and contacted many companies that made connectors. One of them was most likely the ones who made the old style RCA connectors for Linn. They didn't have that exact model in stock, but they had two different RCA's that when put together was identical to the Linn model. One had the solid front part with the gold plated copper spring inside, the other had the solid rear end piece and an identical outer barrel.

I never managed to beat the Linn Silvers, but one day I will. The problem was not the connectors, which could be specified, ordered and evaluated without much problems, but the coaxial cable. It proved very difficult to persuade the cable manufacturers to make variations of their products without ordering kilometers of it.

moog_man · Post by **moog_man** » 2015-07-23 11:41

Bumping this with a fresh enquiry which is related...

Does anyone know:
What is the difference between Linn Silver i/c, product code: CONN 476/1
- and Linn Silver i/c, product code: CONN 476/2 ?
Both feature the "slatted" plug-fit that (I guess) indicates a Mk2 version of the Silver.

Takk,

beck · Post by **beck** » 2015-07-25 13:25

So what is this?

image.jpg

Post by **lejonklou** » 2015-07-25 13:49

The original Linn Silver RCA connector.

Whether the soldering is original can usually be identified visually on the joints below the barrel.

Whether they sound any good must be verified by listening. Some are incredible, others sound broken.

moog_man · Post by **moog_man** » 2015-07-25 17:05

Yes, beck - those are the original Linn Silvers

I'm keen to know what the difference is between:
Linn Silver i/c, product code: CONN 476/1
~ and ~
Linn Silver i/c, product code: CONN 476/2

- both of which seem to feature the latter 'slatted' plug-fits.

My thanks to anyone that can explain further...

beck · Post by **beck** » 2015-07-25 21:15

Thank you.

I only have this one pair and have never compared it to other pairs. I use it between the linto and my preamp and it works well. They look dealer made to me or?

moog_man · Post by **moog_man** » 2015-10-22 12:14

woo hoo - just scored a new pair of original Linn Silvers that had been gathering dust in a dealer's stockroom.
I resurrected my earlier enquiry [above] with them and they kindly offered some timelines for the variants. Their notes follow in quotation marks. This may help others on the quest:
CONN 476 - the original set, dating from 2000. "Everything is slightly bigger than the following series."
CONN 476/1 - 2006 to 2012. "Which has the slotted shroud on the connectors."
CONN 476/2 - 2012 to present. "The current version which seems visually identical to 476/1."

As per Fredrik's advice above, I shall give them a good listen alongside the /1 pair that I got.
The /2 pair I bought earlier this year still sound glary..... shouty. Not pleasant.

Post by **lejonklou** » 2015-10-22 13:18

beck wrote:I only have this one pair and have never compared it to other pairs. I use it between the linto and my preamp and it works well. They look dealer made to me or?

Sorry, I didn't see your pictures until now.

They look like originals. Not made by a dealer or at home.

moog_man: Looking forward to your report!

beck · Post by **beck** » 2015-10-22 18:50

Thank you for the answer. As you know now I prefer my blacks used between my linto and my amplifier.

Post by **lejonklou** » 2015-10-22 21:04

I know.

Sell those Silvers to me!

beck · Post by **beck** » 2015-10-22 21:57

Ha, ha! A week ago I maybe would have done it but they are nice to have to make comparisons in the future. So better luck elsewhere. On the danish webside DBA there is a pair for sale (early model) so if someone is in need have a look.

All the best to everyone. Beck

Spannko · Post by **Spannko** » 2015-10-23 19:11

lejonklou wrote:
beck wrote:I only have this one pair and have never compared it to other pairs. I use it between the linto and my preamp and it works well. They look dealer made to me or?
Sorry, I didn't see your pictures until now.

They look like originals. Not made by a dealer or at home.

moog_man: Looking forward to your report!

How could I tell whether cables are made by Linn or a dealer? What should I look for?

Tightening Linn Silvers

Tightening Linn Silvers

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