Having talked myself into a hole with the resident Linnies, I was looking forward to re-evaluating some Linn kit. As luck would have it, I was able to spend the some quality time at the Linn shoppe this afternoon.
I told the salesman of the heavily mulleted setup previously demmed so this time around he put together a system that he felt would be comprable to mine. Up to bat were Ikemi/Kolektor/LK140/Ninkas . I brought some of my favorite discs, including Me'shell Nedegocello, Badmarsh & Shri, Portishead and of course those forum darlings, Lambchop.
It was quite an experience. We had the volume up to "80" at one point (do they go to 99?). Immediately, I noticed the bass was detached and lumpier than what I'm used to- most probably due to casual placement, but hey, can't these Ninkas be plopped anywhere? The tweeter isn't as bad as I remembered it (break-in perhaps?) but they're still uncomfortably wierd (imagine running your hands across a clammy Mark Levinson fascia).
Speaker wierdness aside, the Linns were far more open than I remembered and they played the tune quite well, thank you very much. Still, the music didn't totally impress my Naim trained ears. More accurately, the music gelled, but at a greater distance from the listener. With the Naim, I'm right in the thick of it. The Linns put me just at the far edge of the mosh pit(does that make sense?). For example, with Naim I can clearly discern the tiny hesitations in Lambchop's "I've Been Lonely For So Long". Still possible with Linn, but not as evident. Also, the Linn seemed far more expansive; roomwise, there was stuff going on all over the place which to me was rather distracting.
This is possibly just me, as I'm used to a smaller, tighter and more intimiate presentation.
To my surprise, I thought the Linns were very fast and fleet of foot, perhaps "faster" than Naim. I can't account for this(not confusing speed with tune). I'd never accuse them of being polite, either; Nedegocello's "Only You" is just as grating and nasty as the Naim (great tune, nevertheless). At the same time they had a lighter touch; the Linn was missing a certain "swagger", which I suspect everyone here is familiar with. Sometimes this swagger amounts to a bludgeon over the head; I can understand why some don't like that.
Like I said, it was an interesting experience. One very pleasant surprise was the price. 10,000 cdn, much less than I thought. The Kolektor seems like a particualarly good geal. For 1400 bucks you get a fine preamp that doesn't need a HiCAP 
People started coming in, and since I wasn't going to buy anything, I didn't want to take any more of the salesman's time. I'd like to go back and try some other speakers so I can get a real handle on what's going on. Perhaps their Katans or PMCs monitors might do the trick. Overall, I find the Linns are really quite flat-earthy, and can appreciate that some prefer their approach. Ninka is still a poor speaker IMHO.
Ultimately, no epihany was had and there's no way I'd switch bandwagons as I really do love the way Naim smack me upside the head and seats me right in the artist's lap. No new news here, then. Just another dem in another corner of our flat world.
Posted on: 07 April 2002 by Bas V
Hi Mike,
As you might know, I have a Classik now for a while. So, I can answer Q1: yes. I notice that on the Classik I turn volume up between 50 and 80, where on both my 90/3 and 180 I never came further than 1/3 (and that's really loud!).
I experience the same as you do. I guess it's in this month's HiFiChoice where they put a Genki/Majik to the test against a CD5/Nait5. They describe it exactly as it is: the Naim rocks, swings. The Linn does this not as good, but has other strengths at the expensive of naturalness I guess.
I am very curious how a CDX would perform in the system you have listened to. The CDI makes the Classik rather good...
Greetz, Bas
Posted on: 07 April 2002 by Rico
Interesting thread, guys!
Cool as it is, I suspect I'd rather see those friendly "don't panic" words after an intergalactic hyperspace bypass had just destroyed my world on the front of a certain e-book, rather than on the front of my Kairn. But still heartwarming.
And of Spinal Tap moments, I always liked the way Mikey Fremer's reviews in The Tracking Angle expressed performance and sound ratings (respectively) with a graphic of a Stratocaster volume knob calibrated to '11'. 
Rico - SM/Mullet Audio
Posted on: 07 April 2002 by Steve Toy
This was bloody marvellous and great VFM imho into JM Lab 806s on their own wooden stands using Music Works Megablock.
If I had to start all over, this is the way I would go.
Great PR&T and tune, although the bass was a little ripe as I have grown to expect with Linn gear in general.
Yes, it lacked the swagger of Naim gear and my Naim/Densen "mongrel" set.
Regards,
Steve.
The proof of the pudding...
Posted on: 08 April 2002 by garth
Hi Mike,
I noticed in your report that you appear to attribute certain characteristics to the ninkas and other characteristics to the electronics or the Linn system as a whole. Maybe I'm not understanding you corectly but isn't it difficult in a strange room, with no components in common with your home system, to accurately determine what is doing what? Wouldn't you have to insert components individually in your home system and your room to come to accurate conclusions? Personally, I find that different rooms, in particular, seem to have a far great effect on the sound than anything else. I am not trying to catch you out or anything. I don't really spend time or enjoy comparing and contrasting different components except when I am going to purchase something and in those situations I just borrow it for a weekend.
Personally, when I have heard Linn speakers in my dealers all Linn setups, I have always preferred them (the linn speakers) with my Rega/Naim components which seem to bring flesh, blood, guts, and soul to the proceedings. When I borrowed a used Mimik CD player a couple of years ago to compare with my Rega Planet, I was initially impressed with the extra detail but after a few hours found it rather sterile and irritating. I was happy to give up abit of the "superficial detail" to get the body and soul I had grown accustom too.
Incidently, I have found that setting up my Ninkas - with my rega and naim components upstream - as linn suggests, with the speakers and listening position forming an equidistant triangle, puts you much more in the thick of things. While more like the sound you get playing a grand piano with the music stand out - more up front, immediate, and personal - I wouldn't describe it as compact, at least not in my room.
Cheers,
Garth
Posted on: 08 April 2002 by Mike Sae
Hi Garth,
Please take my comments with the appropriate grains of salt. All I wanted to do was hear a full Linn system again and juxtapose it with my Naim and Rega experiences.
I absolutely agree with you on the room factors, for that reason I tried not to get too specific. Even so, after doing countless dems, I feel I can get the gist of what's going on, don't you?
OK, if the Canucks get into the playoffs, I'll cease all Linn commentary forever 
P.S. What system are you running?
Posted on: 09 April 2002 by Andrew Randle
quote:
Does the pre-amp volume go to "99"?Are Linns as horribly fussy about power-downs and warm up as Naims?
Are Linns as horribly fussy about racks as Naims?
Do their stock interconnects do the biz a la Naim?
Hi Mike,
Interesting to hear that you gave a Linn system a good work-out. Was it in a single-speaker room? Ninkas are fairly fussy about set-up too. I've heard them sound different on two different occassions in the same dem-room with the system.
In my experience, the warm-up time is quite short with Linn. Even with my previous Linn CD player (Mimik) most of the warm up took about 15 mins.
Same with the my new Linn system, although the gradient in which it takes to warm up is steeper, because of the timed cut-out switch on the LK140 (when no music is playing for 15 mins the LK140 goes into standby mode) - in this case it usually takes about 3 songs in which to get to near peak performance. Having said that, after the initial 15 mins, there is a small amount of improvement over the duration of 3 weeks. After the first month, the system hit a very magic point in its warm-up cycle (when I really started raving on about it).
Regarding racks I'm not sure (although for the LP12 it is a certainty). I've only tried them on Sound Org tables and they work very well. A dealer has reported that they do respond to differences between tables. Even a Classik could be used to evaluate the difference between say Mana, Naim or Qs tables.
Does the preamp go to 99 - yes. On CD I tend to average around 76 (depending on recording level).
Stock interconnects are also recommended. I use them, and in a Linn context I have no desire to change them.
Sorry for the late reply, I'm in Paris at the moment and this is my coffee break.
Andrew
Andrew Randle
Currently in the "Linn Binn"
Posted on: 09 April 2002 by Frank Abela
In my view:
Linn is as fussy as anything else when it comes to racks. Get a good rack and it 'responds' appropriately.
The stock interconnects work well. The Linn Silvers make a big difference as do the Chord Chorus interconnects, bringing extra scale and life to the party. That's not to denigrate the Silvers. In the top CD12/5103/Klimax system, I prefer the Linn Silver interconnects over anything else I've tried. In the Ikemi/Kolector/140 range of stuff, I tend to prefer the Chord Chorus which brings some extra life and scale to the party.
Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.
Posted on: 09 April 2002 by garth
Hi Mike,
I guess I can still count the number of demo's I've done as I don't think I can confidently decipher what elements or components I should ascribe sonic characteristics to with unfamiliar rooms and components, if that makes any sense. If I know the room or comapare systems in the same room or insert various components in the audio chain, then yes I can come to some general conclusions.
My system is Rega Planar 3/Planet/32.5/90/Ninka. It is rather unbalanced due to taking advantage of exceptional deals as they arise as opposed to upgrading based on the principles of system hierarchy. I had hoped to be on the lookout for a good deal on an LP12 and maybe a Naim CD player over the next while but changes on the domestic front have postponed that.
I am interested in yours and others experiences with Ninkas as I replaced my Keilidhs with them about 6 months ago and sometimes wonder if I did the right thing - mind you being borderline neurotic I tend to question every major purpose (audio or otherwise). While I enjoy the increased detail and extension, I sometimes think they may sacrifice some of the warmth, weight, and body, of the Keilidhs. I am not sure however that the Ninkas may just be revealing weaknesses upstream, activating high frequency overtones in my rather bright reverberant room, or if I am just hearing a lack of the veils and sonic grunge compared to the Keilidh, or all of the above. Haven't heard Keilidhs in my system since I replaced them, and the Ninkas certainly do change throughout their prolonged break-in so its hard to know. I am currently on the lookout for some used NACA5 to replace my K400 with. From descriptions on the forum this may be just what I am looking for.
I thoroughly enjoyed Andrew Randle's excellent conparison of the Katan to Kan and would be very interested in any opinions he, and others, might have on the Ninka or comparisons between it and Katans or Keilidhs.
Cheers,
Garth.
Posted on: 10 April 2002 by Bernard Paquet
Hi Garth,
I'm with mike on this one. I also had a Planet / 32.5/180 and going to the Cd 3.5 was one of the best upgrade i've ever made. Later came a Snaps dual railled (another 300$).
I'm in Canada also (Ottawa). CD 3.5 don't come really often on the second hand market here. But you can grab one on e-bay or audiogon without trouble. Just make sure it is fully insured and well packed.
I've bought my 3.5 and CDX this way without any problem. For the CDS, i went to the seller because this kind of unit has to be checked carefully.
Good luck
BTW, You can e-mail me in private. I always have some good deal on Naim stuf or know where to find some... 
Bernard Paquet
