Linn Klimax DS - Network Music Player

[norderney]

Just been reading a review of the Linn Klimax DS - http://www.linn.co.uk/klimax_ds - in the October issue of Hi-Fi World - http://www.linn.co.uk/files/eaccc978/Linn%20Klimax.pdf.

Sounds quite an impressive piece of kit, but then it should be for £9600.00 !!!!

I wonder how it compares to the Transporter?

Has anybody been able to try the Klimax DS?

[pfarrell]

Sounds quite an impressive piece of kit, but then it should be for £9600.00 !!!!

I wonder how it compares to the Transporter?

Isn't that about $20K US? Wow, it should be fabulous.
Of course, for $10K, you can get many years of front row seats at the Lincoln Center.

[musiklov3r]

A little surprised the reviewer used Yamaha NS1000M speaker...

I think the Linn release will be great for our community of users as it might introduce a whole new group of high end listener types who want the best performance from a network music player. I'm already curious as to how our forum's jitter experts will break down the jitter and distortion specifications listed in the Linn review.

Given the discussions about the desire for a less expensive Transporter sans DAC that could be coupled with a higher grade* DAC than the Transporter, perhaps this announcement will put into perspective the price and functionality of the Transporter. While it would be great if Slim Devices were to create the "slimmed down" Transporter, and one could wait in hopes of its creation, maybe we are lucky to already have the ability to match a word-clocked Transporter to an external DAC of our choice. Certainly the combination should cost significantly less than $20k.

*Please note that I am in no way disparaging the quality of the Transporter's built in DAC. I think it is excellent for the price-point.

__________________________________________________ _
Transporter => ATC SCA2 => ATC SCM 100SL AT
Ayre C5XE => ATC SCA2 => ATC SCM 100SL AT

[cliveb]

Just been reading a review of the Linn Klimax DS - http://www.linn.co.uk/klimax_ds - in the October issue of Hi-Fi World - http://www.linn.co.uk/files/eaccc978/Linn%20Klimax.pdf.

The one positive thing Linn has achieved is to make the ultra-conservative audiophile press to start taking the concept seriously.

Apart from that, I find little to cheer. To start off, we encounter a massive error in the very first sentence of the review:

Linn's new network-enabled music player is quite unlike any other such device on the market

<sigh>, but I suppose that comment is to be expected.

I note that the device itself has no display, which means that you need the Linn remote to control it. (It's unfortunate that this review doesn't give us any description of how this device operates). In this respect it's operationally akin to the Sonos (or the Jive, when Slim Devices actually get that interface working).

From an audio performance perspective, of course, it's more akin to the Transporter. Yes, the Klimax supports 192kHz compared to the Transporter's 96kHz. So what? But it appears to lack a couple of things that we take for granted on the Transporter: wireless connectivity (surely this would have been mentioned in the review if it was present), and digital inputs so you can use it with other sources.

I would also be extremely surprised if it has a digital volume control. Assuming it lacks this feature, it means that use of an analogue preamp is pretty much compulsory (and many forum members will already know my views about the desirability of eliminating the preamp from a system).

The price is what you'd expect from Linn. Just because it costs a king's ransom is no guarantee that it will sound fabulous. (Consider Linn's ludicrously overpriced loudspeakers, for example).

And finally, the review's conclusion repeats the opening howler:

Essentially, the first truely high-end, high resolution network music player

Essentially, this review is a kick in the teeth to Slim Devices (and Sonos, for that matter). Neither of these pioneering companies get a mention. Shame on you, Hawksford.

[dcote]

yeah, looks frustrating.

a word of advice to slimdevices/logitech: this is the kind of faux-pas that good marketing could avoid.

i work for a large european computer manufacturer and their main problem is also that no one knows about them. the result: in reviews and discussions they dont even get mentioned, much less positively!

a GOOD example was the review in stereophile magazine, which even turned out extremely postive. you need more exposure like that!

at the end of day, unfortunately, not the quality of the box counts, it is how good the marketing works which decides who wins a market or not. :-(

ps. dont get me wrong, as the computer co. i work for, you guys produce great products, but too few people know about them!

[amcluesent]

>Neither of these pioneering companies get a mention.<

Then again, do they advertise in the magazine? UK hi-fi reviewers are bought and paid for

[thomsens]

I had a personal demo of the Klimax DS last week. It's all business. Ethernet only, no other inputs either. It relies on UPnP and comes with (or at least suggests you use) Twonkymedia. They built a very basic Linn GUI for a front end on a PC or handheld as the case for my demo. The Linn guy played a CD on the Unidisk 1.1 and then switched over to the Klimax DS. I can say they sounded slightly differently. I do think I liked the Klimax DS more, but the differences didn't exactly jump out at you. When the Unidisk played, I didn't think it needed improvement.

What it comes down to is that they needed an updated CD12 and decided to make it a network player instead. There's no way it's worth the $18,500 vs. the Transporter at $2k, but then I didn't compare them side-by-side either. The store owner said I could borrow it for a side-by-side if I wanted to. He was intrigued by the Transporter when he came over to setup my system originally. I don't know if I'll take him up on it because even if it is much better, I can't imagine buying one (vs. waiting for Transporter 2 or something). After all, it's basically a specialized PC with a DAC. We know there aren't many ways to make the PC part expensive, so the DAC is basically at least $18K of it.

[haunyack]

I had a personal demo of the Klimax DS last week. It's all business. Ethernet only, no other inputs either. It relies on UPnP and comes with (or at least suggests you use) Twonkymedia.

FWIW -
Before I became a SB/Transporter devotee, I used my Onkyo TX-NR801 to stream digital from my computer.
Their delivery system is called "Net Tune" and is very clunky - almost impossible.
Some Net Tune users found that the Twonky server was an alternative.
I could not get Twonky to work reliably on my system, then along came Squeezebox and I have not used the Onkyo for music since.
If Linn uses the Twonky system I assume the Klimax DS user forum will be rife with angry,disgruntled bickering to the degree that will make some of these threads look like so much bliss.


.

[emilioforte]

This just sounds like an ill-conceived and stupendously overpriced device.

Then again, most things in high-end audio are way overpriced. The Transporter is overpriced and, almost surely, it is so in order to meet the expectations of some audiophiles (I have it on good authority that this is the case, in addition to the obvious profit motive). It is terrific, though, as is the humble Squeeze Box. (I own both) However, Linn and some other companies go completely over the top. Why someone would pay ten times as much for a device with fewer features and that almost certainly won't sound better is beyond me.

[funkstar]

Why someone would pay ten times as much for a device with fewer features and that almost certainly won't sound better is beyond me.

It may sound better, but will it sound 10x better?