To be fair, Linn have started paying attention to the direction of internal cables. At least some of them. Others are random or, in a few cases, impossible to change direction on due to the design.
I think the Chakra amps, both 100 and 200W, sound great. But with a little help they can gain those last few percent of performance, something that gives a rather strong impression when you hear it.
One free improvement is something Linn have already mentioned in a service paper (as a cure to a rare but possible hum problem, I believe) and that is to remove the 2-wire link (a black and red cable) that is connected at the rear of the amp, across the power inlet, between the right and the left main boards (on models 4100, 5100 and 6100) or input boards (on models 3200 and 4200). The purpose of this link is to bring all channels out of standby as soon as a signal arises on any channel. IF you use all channels for stereo, they will all wake up by themselves, so this link is not really needed. What it does that is not so good is to create an earth loop between the two boards, which decreases sound quality slightly. Remove it and all that happens is that the sound becomes a little more open and alive. If you run a home cinema system on that amp, you might have to live with the fact that each channel wakes up when it actually gets a signal.
The usual disclaimer applies: Don't open without knowing what you do and working at an anti-static workstation etc. But if you are installing the internal audio links between the inputs (those that replace the interconnects), you are already in there and can disconnect one end of that link at the same time. The internal audio links are directional, by the way, but they are not marked. To find out which direction is the best, you have to listen and compare... The amount of twist on them also matters, this is slightly more important than the direction in my opinion.
Another improvement that is a bit more costly is the speaker output cables I make out of K400, Knekt bananas and a special Japanese connector that is both crimped and soldered. This makes the output signal route much shorter and better sounding than the original. I haven't really talked about this as they are time consuming to make and what I need the most right now is more time to develop my projects...
Great you found that Tunebox, 9designs! Chances are that the cables in there might be of a good type. Check the text on them and pm me, there were many version of those looms but I think I have notes on them all.
Aktiv cards out of the amps
Moderator: Staff
Hi Lejonklou,
Did you manage getting your chakra aktv boards yoking inside LK100?
How did you power them ? did you make a voltage divider with addiding " resistors by card or did you power them with +-30 V or +- 40V that are available on the LK100 ?
I have chakra mono cards, new ones, but miss adapter board, so I have to power them with a piece of DIY wiring and soldering...
With many thanks for your help getting to it !!
Adalgrim
Did you manage getting your chakra aktv boards yoking inside LK100?
How did you power them ? did you make a voltage divider with addiding " resistors by card or did you power them with +-30 V or +- 40V that are available on the LK100 ?
I have chakra mono cards, new ones, but miss adapter board, so I have to power them with a piece of DIY wiring and soldering...
With many thanks for your help getting to it !!
Adalgrim
Hi adalgrim!
Sorry but it was seven years since I wrote about aktiv cards in this thread. And decades since I had an LK100. Today I'm into perfecting passive systems.
If you want to put Chakra cards into an LK100, you need to add regulation for sure. The easiest way is to get the mono adapters. Surely some retailer has a box of those? Linn used to supply them free of charge.
Sorry but it was seven years since I wrote about aktiv cards in this thread. And decades since I had an LK100. Today I'm into perfecting passive systems.
If you want to put Chakra cards into an LK100, you need to add regulation for sure. The easiest way is to get the mono adapters. Surely some retailer has a box of those? Linn used to supply them free of charge.
Hi,
I contacted linn dealers (only 2 in the south of France, Marseille and Bordeaux area)... so to say that they are more likely to sell new products than help people rising sound quality in their homes... very kind people, but they do not really care and help.
Anyway, I've found out what must be done, on the voltage: 13/15V seems ok and the chakra has 0.022/0.023 A of current consumption. I did those measurement by supplying 15V between ground and +Vcc.
This measns 2 voltage divider are necessary: one on the +Vcc side and the other one on -Vdd side.
I'm I right .... or may I be right ??
I contacted linn dealers (only 2 in the south of France, Marseille and Bordeaux area)... so to say that they are more likely to sell new products than help people rising sound quality in their homes... very kind people, but they do not really care and help.
Anyway, I've found out what must be done, on the voltage: 13/15V seems ok and the chakra has 0.022/0.023 A of current consumption. I did those measurement by supplying 15V between ground and +Vcc.
This measns 2 voltage divider are necessary: one on the +Vcc side and the other one on -Vdd side.
I'm I right .... or may I be right ??
ok, for non electronicians, there's a simple solution: a small power supply for chakra cards can be : +/-15V 1A AC/DC Regulator Power Dual Supply input 15-18V based on 7815 - 7915 regulators. (ex: http://www.ebay.fr/itm/301036463175?ssP ... 1439.l2649, or google "7815 7915 power" and choose images, you'll find some modules)
Modules are available on the market, simply replace capacitors if those are less than 50V on the input side.
With those modules, you can use your +/-40V or +/-30V power supply from the LK100 board to power the module. On the output side of the modul: gnd, +15V, -15V where you can power the chakra boards (GND, +Vcc, -Vdd).
Signal in and signal out from your chakra board the diectly goes on the LK100 board according to LINN procedure (depending on the serial number <>3000 of your LK).
Cheers
Modules are available on the market, simply replace capacitors if those are less than 50V on the input side.
With those modules, you can use your +/-40V or +/-30V power supply from the LK100 board to power the module. On the output side of the modul: gnd, +15V, -15V where you can power the chakra boards (GND, +Vcc, -Vdd).
Signal in and signal out from your chakra board the diectly goes on the LK100 board according to LINN procedure (depending on the serial number <>3000 of your LK).
Cheers