AudioAficionado.org - Review of Linn Klimax DSM & Klimax Twin

I've had my new Linn Klimax DSM (preamp and digital streamer/DAC) and Klimax Twin power amp setup for a couple of weeks now. I haven't been keeping track, but I would estimate I have about 30 hours on the system and so far, so good.

Appearance, fit & finish, etc.
Very sleek, slim boxes - can be ordered in silver or black. They're machined from solid blocks of aluminum and feel quite heavy, probably because they're so small and you're not expecting the heft when you pick them up. Finish is impeccable.
The preamp has a small, curved window insert in the front which displays the source, and track name when switching tracks when playing digital. Other than that, there's a faint blue Linn logo when in standby. The power amp also has a small blue light which dims when idle. All very discreet. It's a huge change from my Audio Research DSi200, which was attractive in its own way, but I find these boxes beautiful and understated, and very living-room friendly. The slim size has allowed me to shorten the height of a couple of shelves and lower my turntable wall shelf for easier access. Everyone’s taste is different of course - if you like big boxes with lights and dials you probably won't care for this look.

Setup
Completely painless, since my dealer came to the house and set them up. A couple of minor drawbacks:
1) the back is hooded on both boxes and there isn't much room for big power plugs. For the preamp I had to get a Shunyata adapter for the Shunyata Taipan I’ve been using. The Ztron Viper plug was a little snug on the power amp, but did fit. I think the next step in this upgrade will be Shunyata’s Ztron Z-PC10 power cables, which are thinner and have smaller plugs.
2) The boxes are fairly low slung in the middle and the bottom tapers inward. The only space for my Rollerblocks is a smaller square in the center of the bottom, which leaves the Rollerblocks fairly close together and makes it very difficult to position them. I have them in place now but will pull them out shortly to see what the impact is. The more practical approach would be to replace the feet with something like Stillpoints.

Preamp Inputs/outputs
Ethernet port, 1 SPDIF RCA, 2 Toslink, 3 HDMI, and 1 set of balanced XLR analog. No RCA or other analog inputs - if you have more than one analog device this is definitely not the preamp for you. For me it's fine since my turntable is the only analog device in my system, and my phonostage (Linn Uphorik) has balanced outputs. There are XLR and RCA pre outs, one HDMI, and 2 "Exakt" ports, which are RJ45 connectors for sending a digital output to Linn's powered speakers with built in DACs, if you want to go the full Linn ecosystem (not for me).

Power amp
XLR and RCA inputs, and nice speaker binding posts, although a little cramped to work with due to the tight spacing. Linn provides a tool to tighten the posts, since finger space is limited. My speakers are connected with spades, and the REL sub connected to the binding posts using banana plugs. If I were changing speaker cables often the tight quarters would become a real pain, but they shouldn’t be so bad for just disconnecting once a year for cleaning. The amp is rated for 200 watts/channel into 4 ohms, has a set of air vents down the middle of the top, and cools by convection under most circumstances. There’s also an internal fan, but so far I haven’t been able to push the amp hard enough to get it to come on. The unit uses what Linn calls it’s Dynamik switch-mode power supply, which is part of how they manage the small size. Although switching power supplies are typically anathema in audiophile circles, Linn claims to have perfected their system so that it has all of the potential benefits of switching with none of the downsides. In any case so far my experience is that it works remarkably well.

Use
It doesn't get any easier than this. There are no buttons anywhere on these boxes except the power switches, which are tucked under the bottom front and designed to be left on all the time. At idle the pre draws 19 watts and the power amp draws 13. There's a fairly comprehensive remote, but so far all I've done with it is adjust the volume when it was handier than my iPad.

Everything is controlled from an iPad app, called Kazoo (in keeping with traditional quirky Linn nomenclature.) With the app you can control volume, select source, browse and select digital music from your own library or from Tidal or Qobuz (fully integrated), manage playlists and favorites, and listen to Internet radio using TuneIn. Digital music is streamed from an NAS via ethernet. Linn has server software, but frankly it's very limited in functionality and only works on Windows, MAC, a QNAP NAS - no Synology support. A much better option is to run Minimserver on an NAS, a very capable server package with incredible functionality to customize music browsing. You can configure to browse by album artist, artist, composer, conductor, orchestra, bitrate, or just about any other tag you can think of if you don't mind doing a little work managing metadata. To play records, simply select the analog input from the app. The preamp also has AirPlay so you can stream from iPad to pre, but I haven't found a need for this since both streaming services I use are already integrated. I suppose it could be handy if you listen to music via YouTube, want to use Spotify or some other streaming service, or have friends over who want to share something from an iPhone.

The preamp can be configured with a PC or MAC using a program called Konfig. This allows you to set startup volume; enable, disable, and rename inputs; and manage a variety of other settings including Linn's SPACE optimization, a sort of tuning system designed to manage bass nodes, etc. I'm not using this so won't comment on its value here. I'm strictly set up for straight pass-through from the analog input or the DAC.

Sound
Comparisons are to my previous system, an ARC DSi200 integrated and an Akurate DS for digital. Since I’ve changed amplification, streamer and DAC in one fell swoop it’s a little difficult to distinguish which changes are causing what effect, however when I auditioned the Twin amp with a Klimax DS streamer/DAC in my system a few weeks ago, we switched out one box at a time and the biggest impact came from the DS streamer/DAC.

On first play, my first impression was detail, and plenty of it. The old hackneyed reviewer language about veils being lifted came to mind. I had that classic experience of feeling like I was hearing things for the first time in recordings I know well: distinguishing individual handclaps or the subtle tonal changes of brushes on a snare or cymbal. Clarity and imaging are remarkable. The DSi was no slouch at imaging, but this setup is in another league. It's much easier to distinguish individual instruments (when you should), especially in orchestral music, and with jazz combos there's a much clearer sense of where individual instruments are on the stage, including better depth. My old setup was a little more congested. Bass is also cleaner and clearer, but not lacking in heft. Tonal balance is excellent, although just a touch leaner than my old setup - this may be just getting used to the greater clarity of the bass and lower midrange. The only downside I've heard so far is a touch of edginess and maybe a little glare in the upper midrange when I first started listening, but this has already softened and I suspect will resolve after some breakin time, since I didn’t hear this on the demo equipment. I've heard Linn amps need 50-100 hours, so time will tell.

All in all I'm very pleased so far. I'm planning on retiring in about 18 months, and I think these two components will make a great foundation for my main system for the next few years. http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...psc1flcath.jpg http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ps2gseorw2.jpg http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ps9x8qh4ya.jpg http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...psaasehzoe.jpg http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...psocodaqsy.jpg