Linn announces new Exakt speakers

[ThomasOK]

Linn announces new Exakt speakers with an emphasis on...

http://www.whathifi.com/news/linn-launc ... -conscious

[beck]

I would end up buying B&O! If for no other reason than buying something made in my own country.
Well, Linn has to make a living so maybe not so surprising after all!

[Ozzzy189]

My first thought was how utterly ridiculous, my second was ffs have they lost the plot, but hey they might sound OK ? My third.... Can't type most of it.
Are they serious? If it was April 1st maybe I'd get my heard around this... Time will tell.

[rowlandhills]

I was at the customer launch event tonight and they're really not that bad looking or sounding. A friend and I agreed that hopefully they are what the Cayenne is to Porsche - a money spinner that lets them keep producing the enthusiast products.

I also see it as a bit like a "gateway" drug. Get one of these systems into the house, the take round a pair of Akubarik Exakt or Exakt 350s and show them what a hifi is really capable of!

[macrotech2]

I was at the customer launch event tonight and they're really not that bad looking or sounding. A friend and I agreed that hopefully they are what the Cayenne is to Porsche - a money spinner that lets them keep producing the enthusiast products.

I also see it as a bit like a "gateway" drug. Get one of these systems into the house, the take round a pair of Akubarik Exakt or Exakt 350s and show them what a hifi is really capable of!

I hope it's a money spinner but at 9k and 12k it's still very expensive for a black box and a pair of luxury cat scratching posts! Not sure what demographic is being targeted.

[WIJI]

I hope it's a money spinner but at 9k and 12k it's still very expensive for a black box and a pair of luxury cat scratching posts! Not sure what demographic is being targeted.

I'm not sure that the prices include the black box (DS), I think that's for the speakers only.

Paul.

[anthony]

The price includes an akurate edsm.

[WIJI]

Ooooh....

I stand corrected. Thanks Anthony :)

Paul.

[rowlandhills]

That's the Akurate EDSM, so no analogue outputs. Worth £2750 at previous retail prices, so that suggests that the 520s are £6500 or so if you already have an Exakt equipped player.

[Ozzzy189]

I just showed Jane the new linn speakers... Why on earth would you spend so much money on something that looks so hideous? ' was her response.
If they get the same response from a lot of the better halves then they have a huge problem. Part of the reasons for covering speakers up with massive socks is probably to appease the ladies. I really am bemused.

[ThomasOK]

A few additional notes on the new Series 5 speakers. They are available as a system with an AEDSM (no analog outs) or by themselves. Here is the pricing in US$:

530 System $19,200
530 pair $15,200

520 System $14,800
520 pair $10,800

Some interesting things to note: These are full Exakt Aktiv speakers with the amps and DACS, etc built in. Linn appears to place these between the Akurate and Majik series in terms of performance. The 530 (30 liters) uses a floor facing Isobarik bass system presumably similar to that in the Majik Isobarik and Akubarik models although I can find no specs on driver size. The 530 is a three way system and the 520 (20 liters) is a two way system without Isobarik bass loading but still a floorstander. This means that they do not use 2K or 3K arrays but a single tweeter although it is still located over a "Skoop". The 530 "bass/mid driver uses a unique doped, dual-layer, sliced cone design" which,except for the doping, appears to be the highly popular unit from Scanspeak. No mention of specs on the other drivers. They all also feature Linn Fabrik in many colors and designs. Very interestingly Linn claims that they have modeled the frequency and phase problems caused by each different fabric and have, of course, been able to eliminate the negative effects of the fabrics through Exakt technology. So if you change the fabric cover, which is apparently easy to do, you pick the new fabric in Konfig. They also have glass top plates and bases in grey, white or black.

Here is a link to the visualizer which will let you evaluate the most important part of your speaker purchasing decision:

http://www.linn.co.uk/hifi-separates/sp ... ries-5#530

Note: Harris Tweed may not become available until 2016, shock, horror!

[donuk]

Do they do a "hair shirt" fabric for flat earthers who maintain that the Cirkus ruined the LP12?
Donuk, beautiful downtown York

[Ozzzy189]

Or a wood version so they look like speakers? As you've probably already guesses, I'm not a fan. I can't imagine passive versions will be available this time, they seem to be targeting people who don't want extra boxes.

[macrotech2]

I was surprised that they actually look better and smaller in the flesh. As part of one of the dems the fabrics were changed mid song by two guys who appeared from behind the rear partition in the den room. Surreal! I now also have a Linn branded blindfold.

Mrs Macrotech wasn't with me but she looked online and commented "those things that look like naff condoms" among other choice descriptions.

They're not for us, but I think Linn have made a brave decision to try and attract a new demographic. I'm not sure it's there but all credit to them for giving it a go. Time will tell.

[ThomasOK]

If I read correctly there seems little to no chance for passive versions. They state that they were able to achieve acceptable low bass with a smaller cabinet than normal because of the tailoring they can do with Exakt technology. This would make one expect that these are likely Exakt only designs.

And addendum: I found a photo of the bottom of the 530 and it confirms that it is a dual-ported Isobarik loading like the MIso and Akubarik. It looks like it a smaller bass driver like 6" or 6.5" rather than the 8" ones in the other current Isobariks. They appear to have some kind of carbon-fiber or similar composite woven material for the cone. From the looks of the structure of the basket assembly they are probably from the same manufacturer as the ones in the larger models.

[Azazello]

I can't help but wondering if Fredrik had something to do with this?!

[sunbeamgls]

Here's some notes about the factory launch event this week, just in case there's still anyone interested.

For Lejonklou fans, note that the Exaktbox-i has analogue outputs for the use with other power amps - so its possible to go Exakt with Majik power then upgrade to something better later.

http://audiophilemusings.blogspot.co.uk ... event.html